THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 20, 1995 TAG: 9505200328
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Mention ``cat'' to me and there steals to mind the sort of aloof personage depicted in Egyptian tombs.
Not at all like the Siamese kitten that took over the household of Phyllis and Tony Stein and their four ``sweet-natured and well-mannered'' mixed-breed dogs.
Neither Tony nor Phyllis had any doubt about getting along with the kitten given to them by friends who found it in a trailer park.
Phyllis, then the state humane officer for Chesapeake, had rescued hundreds of cats from storm drains, roofs, telephone poles, and trees. Tony, a splendid columnist, is attuned to all animals.
Their daughter named the kitten ``Baby.''
A more apt name, Phyllis writes, would have been ``Enfant Terrible.''
She would not let sleeping dogs lie.
``The sight of our four dogs lined up dozing in front of the fireplace drove her crazy. She would launch herself like a missile, deftly popping each dog on the nose as she sailed by.
``Then she would retire to a living room chair or among the hat boxes in the bedroom closet.
``I am ashamed to admit that our whole family was held hostage by this cat for two years until our daughter moved away and took Baby with her.
``We were very firm that her cat belonged with her. To keep her company in her new apartment, you understand.''
``The last news I had of Baby was that she was the beloved pet of an older couple who were neighbors of our daughter. They said she was the sweetest little thing in the world. Go figure.''
As artful a rescue of a cat as I ever heard about occurred when Sugaree, owned by Elsa Lazaron, became entrapped behind a radiator.
Elsa and three friends from high school couldn't free Sugaree. They called the fire department, which advised them to call the police, who said they would send help when they could.
It arrived in the person of a pleasant young officer, J.T. Beer. At his suggestion, they fetched a soft scarf. Officer Beer looped the scarf beneath Sugaree. Elsa took hold of the scarf's two ends, and he pulled the radiator an inch from the wall and she pulled the scarf.
And out popped the cat.
Which is doing fine.
All of us can profit from that.
I wish we could think of a way to rescue a cat that has cowered four days in a tree in Virginia Beach.
Bill Harrigan called here an hour ago asking for advice. The fire department is prohibited from rescuing cats; Animal Control had no gear to try it.
An update: Bill and a resourceful young neighbor, Gary Lord, placed a ladder against the tree, and Gary, despite wind, rain, and the terrified cat, brought it down.
And it isn't even Bill's cat. by CNB