Men With Hats

Last week, I introduced you to our two cats - Scottie and Kells. When we first got them, they were fearless. 

Guests to the house were greeted naturally like the comings and goings of the residents of the colony. But then, change happened slowly. And dramatically.

We noticed the visits of friends and family resulted in fast exits to the basement. And any introduction of vendors or service providers to the abode prompted a frenetic mad dash.

Then, it happened.

When a vendor came last summer to service the HVAC, the tabby siblings retreated to the basement and took their usual position behind the furmace.

Bad move.

What they didn't know (and where their misculation quickly became clear) was that the repairman would be working on the outside of their hide-out. 

• Banging
• Grinding
• Drilling
• Sawing

And more odd fumes than a feline's heightened sense of smell could bare.

From that point forward, enemy number one at our house: men with hats.

You see, our HVAC rep wears a particular type of hat. I have one of them myself. Great for keeping off sun when working outside. They are quite popular.

I've seen them labelled as being "a fishing hat" or "a sun hat." Either way, I found a display of these lids at a local retail establishment. 

I have to be careful not to wear mine around the skittish creatures. In fact, for a few days after the aforementioned incident, I was also branded an enemy. For that week, any man (hatted or othewise) was to be feared. Hats, still, are judged with complete disdain.

Eventually, the terror wore off. And, then, we enjoyed a return to a hat-free normalcy.

But it is a new normal. And it is so different from our previous cat, Roger, who was known by some as "The Mayor."

For the new guys, there are only four acceptable additional members of the cats' colony - mother, father, sister, brother. Those four plus the tabbies complete the list. Any other visitor is scrutinized quickly and dismissed as unworthy company.

• A knock at the door? They gone.
• Holiday gatherings?  They're out.
• People looking after them while we are on vacay? No way.

Guests come. The quick retreat begins. Fortunately, when most folks show up, they are generally men (or women) without hats...and not preparing to bang or saw.

JG