Bebe Katz and the Big Owl

First, an explanation of the name. Bebe Katz' real name is Smokey. He is a long haired lynx-point siamese kitty we adopted from a shelter. Somehow when he was little he got stuck with the nickname. We continue to call him Bebe Katz (pronounced Baby Cats) even though he is now getting close to 2 years old. Since he answers to it, we figure he does not mind.

One evening I was working outside here at the Montana ranch when I saw a big owl fly over, swooping kind of low. It was clearly hunting. The evening was dark enough that I could not tell what kind of owl it was, but it was a big one and it cruised over the gravel parking area in front of the barn. I figured it was hunting mice.

Then, surprisingly, the owl swooped around and headed back toward me. It must have seen something, so I looked where it was going, and there, in the dusk, in the middle of the parking area, hunting his own mice, was Bebe Katz. This owl was big, and I know that owls will take cats sometimes, so I began racing over to save my kitty from the big bad owl.

However I underestimated Bebe Katz. He must have heard the owl approaching, for he looked up over his shoulder and spotted the bird. And without a second thought, he made his own attack, leaping straight up almost 4 feet in the air and grabbing for it with his front paws. I don't know who was more surprised, me or the owl. The bird sped off and I grabbed Bebe Katz and took him inside for the night. I still wonder what he would have done if he had caught that owl!