One bad cat...

We have owned alot of cats, yet we (Tiffani and I) are not really cat people...
Since we were married, we have had a total of 6 cats. One found at a super market, one saved from a "long sleep", and 4 more, born from the rescued cat...
We now have only one, the lone survivor of the litter, also the smallest, and ultimately. the baddest cat we've seen. Her name is Morticia.
I call her "puffykitty", as she looks like a frizzy black afro, with 4 small black legs dangling down, from which the hair never seems to grow.
She is very vocal, loves to try to trip me with her "last minute rushes" as I walk through a door, or down the steps, but she's not mean, doesn't bite, or even fight with other cats...
Her Bad-ness comes from her ability to stay calm in any situation.
You have probably heard the old saying; "It's not the size of the dog in a fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog", but there are exceptions to this rule.
If you go to see a rodeo, the riders (also cool characters) are just part of the show. When the bull riding starts, watch the guys on the horses who round the bull up after the ride.
The bull is still mighty tweaked and spinning (What's that leather strap on his hind-quarters for?), and about 3 riders are then dispatched to head the bull in the right direction, down a certain chute, and then to safety (everyone elses!).
The riders are pretty routine, but the horses they ride waste no time rushing up to the thrashing bull (usually making eye and body contact), where they block, steer, and totally confront the huge animal (twice thier size, triple thier weight!) until finally the bulls would submit.
These brave horses would never hesitate, flinch, or back down, they would just rush right into the bad situation time and time again, always coming back without a scratch!
You could just see the confidence in thier eyes!
OOPS!, back to the cats!
Over the years, our 6 cats began dissappearing.
One got hit by a car, one got eaten by coyotes (one of our other cats escaped the attack, and hid under our bed for a week!
One ran off, one we gave away,(a good move,the new owners adored her!) and we were left with 2, Morticia, the smallest and meekest, and her mom Rachel, a pissed-off, bitey, and unpredictable crank.
Tiff and I wondered how this under-cat managed to escape all the pitfalls that had claimed the others(except mean-old Rachel), and we found out when we packed them both up in carriers and temporarily moved to Placerville in our RV.
These carriers were about 15" by 15" by 23" deep, made of plastic, lots of vents and a wire door in front.
We put both carriers in the shower (good move, as it turns out!), and away we went for a 6-hour drive.
The whole way, Rachael was screeching, spitting, spraying (FOUL!!), and trying to claw her way out! The first time I saw a cat do a back-flip inside a 2-cubic-foot box was when Rachel did it! She did this for 400 miles, never letting up for a scecond.
Meanwhile, little puff was still and silent, not a peep or complaint, while her mom was going haywire.
When we arrived, the shower was a wreck! Rachael sprayed her bad cat scent all over the walls, and as we removed the carriers from the coach, she was still spinning!
When we unlatched the door (dodging her grasping claws), she took off like a shot into the wild woods (The Sierra Nevadas are home to large deer, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, wild turkeys, etc)!
We never saw her again. Inside her cage was blood, cat spray, and hair.
Moricia, on the other hand, didn't panic.
She kept her cool for the entire trip. She Meowd' softly as we let her out of the cage in Placerville, not a hair out of place, she stayed by the RV the whole time we were there (6 short weeks), and we scooped her up and took her home when we left.
I decided that there was a great lesson clearly demonstrated here...Panic and fear can only make a bad situation worse, and you really can be your own worst enemy!
Since that day, I have tried to be more like that cat!
These days, Morticia is still displaying her cool character.
Our Rat Terrier Cole is constantly trying to intimidate her (he likes nothing better than when his subject runs away!), and he will rush right at her, full speed, growling and barking madly, but "Puffykitty" just stands her ground, frozen in place, and confidently stares him down, which stops Cole in his tracks!
If Morticia (or those rodeo horses) were to show fear, they would be giving the aggressors the advantage, and they would loose control of thier dicey situations.
(That trick is a little harder to master!)
Now Cole still barks and runs at the cat, but since cat doesn't react, he just runs right by her...we like to call this a "drive-by".