A Case of Mistaken Identity

Some years ago, Mr S and I together with our cat, Percy, were long term house sitting for a friend who was abroad. Part of the deal was that we were to look after the two cats of the house, Olga and Jessie.  They were outdoor cats but Percy was very nervous and preferred to stay indoors, which suited us all.

One day, however, Percy took a bravery pill and decided to go out for an adventure with the other two. Not a good idea as it turned out as he got into some difficulties, the details of which are another story!! While Percy was in the process of being rescued from his predicament, Mr S was not impressed by the crowd of local felines who had gathered round to watch the fun.

He suggested that I should perhaps take Olga and Jessie into the house (an attempt at crowd dispersion) so I grabbed the two of them and put them indoors. Shutting the door behind me, I went back outside to assist with the rescue of Percy, shooing away the other cats as I went.

When Percy had eventually been liberated from his situation, we took him inside for a bath as he was absolutely filthy. I opened the front door and we all nearly passed out from the stench wafting out, the unmistakable smell of Entire Tom Cat!!!!

We ventured cautiously into the house, completely puzzled by the stink because Olga and Jessie were, as their names suggested, both female.  As we entered the sitting room we saw Olga, a large black cat, finishing off the remains of the cat food. When she spotted us she got up, sauntered past us and wandered past us through the open front door. A second later, Jessie emerged from under the bed and scooted out as well, giving us Looks Of Death as she went.  Mr S and I exchanged confused glances and then realisation dawned –“That wasn’t Olga” I said -  “No, it wasn’t was it?” said Mr S.

Slowly, the penny then dropped - in all the excitement outside with Percy, I had picked up the wrong black cat!!!  You just would not believe the smell that was left behind as a thank you from the interloper!!  It was a small flat and he had managed to spray everywhere it was possible for a cat to spray plus other places! I spent the next few hours on my hands and knees, at cat’s bum level, with disinfectant and a scrubbing brush!!! 

The cheeky cat must have thought it was his birthday as not only had he decorated our walls, he had also emptied all three of the cat food dishes and had even made use of the toilet facilities!

The real Olga returned home later that evening with Jessie and I have to say the pair of them were somewhat disgruntled.  I dread to think what Jessie thought of being locked in the house with the other cat and often wonder what she had told Olga, who was most unimpressed about me shooing her away with the cat rabble! It took lots of cuddles and tuna to get them to forgive me and from that day on, Percy was kept strictly indoors!!