A cat learns a lesson the hard way

This an edited copy of a true story I posted several years ago on another fishing site. Responses to it were all over the map. Blasts from cat lovers, guffaws from fellow anglers, and stories from other people...

Last weekend I decided at the last minute to fish the Child Advocacy charity tournament at Barren River.(Was supposed to be working at the tournament, but that's another story) Anyhow, I threw my stuff in the boat and tore out on a 2 mile trip to the state dock. I'd just crossed the 31E bridge clipping along at 55 or 60 when I glanced in my rearview mirror. I had to do a double take to believe my eyes, because my neighbor's cat is perched on the side of the boat getting ready to leap.

Before my foot is even halfway to the brake pedal, the terrified beast jumps out on the highway at full speed. Well, the cat lands on his all fours in true cat fashion with his a-- and tail sticking straight up in the air. Only problem is, he's doing 55 mph when he lands. He never rolled or flipped, just skidded down the highway behind my rig on his splayed out all fours.

After he spins 3 slow and graceful 360's, his velocity has decreased to about 20 mph. At that point his feet start running in the opposite direction he's traveling. His feet are running like Fred Flintstone on a Sunday drive, but he's still sliding down the road in the opposite direction. When he finally got crankin' in the right direction, I've never seen a critter disappear so fast in my life.

I know it is very crude to laugh at his misfortune, but I almost split a gut. It took a whole day before I could keep a straight face long enough to break the news to the neighbor. Good thing I waited, 'cause she didn't think it was near as funny as I did. She talked like she understood, but her eyes were accusing me of a heinous crime. Saw him yesterday on their porch, so he made it home fine, but he'll be tippy-toeing around for a while. Don't think he'll be sleeping under my console again either.