The Superior Milking Team of Daddy and Der Doc stepped through living room door side by side, heads held high. Der Doc saw and smelled parakeet in same instant. Without thinking, he instinctively made a flying leap across room and onto cage.

And, without thinking, Daddy instinctively gave Der Doc a boot with his foot that sent him flying.

Our good-looking member of Superior Milking Team did not believe for a moment that Daddy, who was so very kind, had given him boot. Clearly we had an evil bird, one who could, from inside its cage, send a cat flying.

Der Doc never again stayed in same room as parakeet. This inconvenienced him a good deal, particularly when parakeet flew into room while Der Doc was asleep on living room sofa. He nevertheless stuck by his motto, “Better safe than sorry.”

Fortunately worst did not happen. Der Doc did not have his little feeties cut right off, but he did lose last two inches of his tail as he belatedly fled.

Bleeding profusely, Der Doc ran to safest place he knew, inside of our house. Everyone was tremendously sympathetic. My little brother asked, “Is it all right to pray for a cat?” Learning that it was, he prayed fervently. Daddy probably did too. He felt terrible about what happened. I was away at camp that week, but when Der Doc decided my bed with its snowy white bedspread was best place to convalesce, everyone was sure I would want him to sleep there, so he did.

I came home to a bloody bedspread and a traumatized cat. For rest of his life, Der Doc felt that only vast distance could protect him from a John Deere tractor. As soon as he heard distinctive put-put-put of its engine, he put not one but several fields between him and tractor and did not return until tractor was through with its day’s work.