Builder vs Cat —one of our all time favorite columns,
reprinted from the April, 2000 Villager
I received this letter the other day and thought you might get a kick out of it.
Dear Laura and Peter,
We’ve been in our new house for three months, and a hole was left in the front of the tub so the plumber could do some work. Tuesday the builder came and closed the hole and tiled it over. About this time I called for Frick, the cat, who usually hangs out wherever I am. Then my husband called me from the basement. We could hear the cat crying from a small hole in the ceiling under the tub so I called the tile man and asked him how long he had been in business. “Twenty years,” he said, “What did I do that you don’t like?”
“You sealed my cat up under the tub!”
“You’re joking, right?” was his reply. “I saw your cat sitting in the bedroom.”
“Wrong cat!” So they sawed a hole around the plumbing in the basement so fat Frick could get out. But the basement ceiling is pretty high and Frick wasn’t about to jump into my arms. Frick put his little face through the hole and cried, but he was too afraid to jump and he backed up when I tried to grab him.
Days went by. Like Motel 6, we left the light on for him. Finally, Steve lured Frick to the opening with tuna, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him out.
Is there a moral to this story? Of course, but I don’t know what it is. Love, Billie.
As for our animals, funny stories abound. Laura was e-mailing her sister when Oliver the cat pulled the mouse down under the computer. When Laura bent to pick it up, Oliver sent the partially finished e-mail by stepping on enter. I wonder if Laura’s sister knew a cat had sent it.
Dr. Segall can be reached Tues thru Thurs am at The Hudson Valley Animal Hospital, 4 Old Lake Rd Valley Cottage, NY (845) 268-0089 ex 3.
