The neighbor's cat is a frequent visitor to my house.

I love cats, but since my wife is allergic to them we cannot be friendly to this kitty. I named it Mergatroid just because that's the name that popped into my head.

Well, Mergatroid is a sneaky rascal! Often, the little beast warily tries sneaking up on us, but its yellow fur stands out against the green grass of the front yard. If my wife is watering the ivy around the tree or the yucca or other desert plants in the section not covered by the sprinklers, she'll give him a squirt. You ought to see him run! LOL

One Sunday morning a while back, while we were getting the front burglar bars repaired and they were off the house, we were in the front yard. Apparently the house door was ajar and in runs Mergatroid! I saw him, but it was too late! So I run in anyway, and stood quietly. I saw him crawling out from under the bed in a bedroom stalking something, and I snuck up on him....YAOOOOOWL! Got him! And a quick run to the front door before he got angrier and started scratching.

I wonder what he was stalking back in that bedroom?

On other days, mainly when I'm alone, he'll be more obvious. I'll come home, for example, and here comes Mergatroid! Yesterday afternoon before I had gotten out of my car he ran up to me and started rolling around on the cold, concrete sidewalk. Then he ran off! When I was at the front door I saw him run under the car. I figured he got up into the engine compartment, where it would be warm for a while.

I don't blame him at all.

We often find him lounging on the roofs of our cars, rolling around and pawing the air, doing the mysterious things known only to cats. One recent morning, he was on top of a car parked at the neighbor's house, playing with the radio antenna! It was a funny sight. He'd strike the antenna with a paw, the antenna would make some type of noise I guess and vibrate, and this kept him entertained.

So, why the name Mergatroid? I wondered about that myself! So I put "Mergatroid" into the Yahoo! browser and up came up with lots of hits, including the one that gave me a trip down memory lane...Snagglepuss, a pink cartoon mountain lion character from my childhood. He'd say "Heavens to Mergatroyd" at the key part of the plot in each cartoon. (BTW, Snagglepuss (who apeared on the Quick Draw McGraw Show) and the Pink Panther are different characters.

You may find interesting, as I did, is how the creators of Quick Draw and Pink Panther adapted their shows for broadcasting in Spanish-speaking countries. Read down a ways in each entry and see how this was done. (Hint: Look for Tiro Loco McGraw and Pantera Rosa.)