Biting off more than you can chew

I have already told you about the vicious feral cat that continues to stalk my yard, well, he again cornered one of my cats on the back deck yesterday afternoon! Mother frenzy went into overload. I grabbed a fresh can of Fancy Feast, raced outside and popped the top. No matter where a cat may be from, they know that sound. It was enough to break the kitty-tension and and Muffin, tail and back all puffed out, raced into the house. I closed the door behind him and flung a few forkfuls of Fancy Feast out onto the deck. The thug sniffed around and ate it. I then went in through the kitchen and out the front where I already had the capture cage at the ready. I clinked the can with the fork and waited for the kitty Pavlovian response to take effect. As the cat turned the corner of the house, I place more food at the entrance to the cage, leading to more food in the back of the cage. I set the trap and went inside,

Watching through the front window was an exercise in being on both sides of a fence -- I really need this horrible cat out of our lives (he has beaten up on both Muffin and Lucy on their own deck and has attacked and scratched me, as well), but I know his fate will lead him to the farm you cannot visit and I am very sad about that. But in he finally went, and down came the trap door. Animal Control has been called. They'll be here this morning. I did not sleep well last night. (Update - Animal Control just came to take him away. I cried like a baby.)

From the horrible and scary (the thug cat) to the exciting and scary --- my waitlisted cruise cleared yesterday afternoon and I am now officially on the high seas, back-to-back on three different cruise ships, for total of 31 days! YIKES! But the lure of Venice, Dubrovnik, Olympia, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Ephesus, Istanbul, Naples/Pompeii, Rome, Monaco, Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon, the Azores, and Ft. Lauderdale was too great. I'm on. I'm trying to learn how to blog from afar with pictures so that I can share the trip with everyone.

I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.