Deputy Barney Reporting for Duty!

Photo from thelastdrivein.com

We've often wondered what goes on around the house at night with the cats after we've gone to bed.  We know that Phantom is very bad and extremely territorial, so he gets locked downstairs every night in the Boy's area which is now his area since the Boy's at school.  Cadence and Ed get free run of the house.  Sometimes in the morning Ed is hiding underneath the couch upstairs and refuses to come down even for breakfast.  He is very old and declawed and isn't much of a match for younger, hyper Cadence, but we usually don't see Cadence acting aggressively toward Ed. 

 He's sneaky that way.

We have been increasingly suspicious of Cadence's behavior toward Ed when we aren't looking and wonder what exactly happens between the two of them that makes Ed take cover under the couch on some mornings.

Last night we got a clue.

The Murph is still getting over the cold I shared with him and now has a terrible hacking cough.  It was so bad last night that he got up from bed and went to sit on the couch so he wouldn't wake me up.  During this time, he noticed Cadence circling the rooms in the house at a fairly fast pace.  It looked like he was a cat on a mission.  The Murph said it looked like he was "patrolling" the house.  He did this for a little while, just circling among the different rooms, until he seemed satisfied and left.  Then he came back an hour later and "patrolled" again.  All he needed was a doughnut and a deputy hat to make the picture complete.

Ed wanted nothing to do with this and ran upstairs and hid.

That's why this morning Cadence's new nickname is Barney Fife, named after the fictional character played by Don Knots on "The Andy Griffith" show, a sitcom from the early 1960's.  Barney was sort of a bumbling idiot who tried to do everything by the book, but constantly screwed up.

Cadence aka Barney Fife Reporting for duty!

Photo from tumblr.com

See the resemblance?