I've been telling Melissa with about autumn weather and how preditors want to eat more to build up body fat for winter. Therefore, she needs to be very alert and careful while outside hunting, even more so than usual.

This last week on Thursday, I had nonchalantly asked her, "Melissa, have you been practicing your tree climbing?"

MELISSA: (a look of complete surprise on her face) "Not really."

NEDDA: "Well, you might want to keep in mind all the coyote sounds we've been hearing at night. They will be hunting even more intensely now that it's getting colder."

MELISSA: "OK."

The very next day, in the late afternoon, with Melissa outside and Starlight in the house, a young man came to my door and asked, "Do you have a Siamese cat?"

He explained that a man at a house on the next street was concerned because a Siamese cat was up a tree - way ...way ...way up a tree, and with a terrible storm expected that evening, both he and the man were worried about the cat.

I showed him a photo, and he identified Melissa immediately.

So I put on shoes, grabbed coat, car keys, and purse, and followed the young man to the neighbor's house. Along the way, we passed a young woman walking her two dogs, someone I know on sight and who has seen my cats, and the young man credited her with directing him to my house.

When we arrived at the home of the man who had first spotted Melissa, he introduced himself as Collin. Collin told me that he had seen a Siamese cat up a huge pine tree between the back of his house and the house behind him, which is actually on my street. "I just love Siamese cats," Collin explained.

The trees in my neighborhood are very tall - some are 40 feet tall and higher, and Collin tried to show me which tree Melissa had been in. Fortunately, he had left a 10 foot ladder up against the tree, so I could see that this particular pine had large sections with no branches at all 15 feet or more up it's trunk.

Collin explained that he had tried to "help" the cat get down. "But she only came down part-way," Collin explained, pointing to a large, bare branch all by itself way above his ladder - at least twice the distance as the top of the ladder from the ground.

"And then she jumped all the way to the ground - must have been 20-25 feet, and ran away." Collin continued. "I'm sure she's gone straight home," he said to comfort me, believing that the cat had been frightened and that I was probably worried. "She ran right off just fine."

It was all I could do to keep from laughing. I know Melissa. As long as she had landed safely, she wouldn't head for home until it was getting much darker or starting to rain. She also has no fear of heights.

I thanked Collin, the young man, and the lady walking her dogs profusely because I knew they were all upset about the "cat stuck up a tree" scenario.

When I got home a few minutes later, there was no sign of Melissa, but I was confident that she'd show up.

Sure enough. A half-hour later, as it started to drizzle a bit, in she came with full feline attitude.

NEDDA: "So how was your day outside?"

MELISSA: "Fine."

NEDDA: "Did you have a good time?"

MELISSA: "Yup."

NEDDA: "Some of the neighbors saw you were way up a tree. They were worried about you. Were you scared?"

MELISSA: "Nope."

NEDDA: "Did you have any trouble getting down?"
MELISSA: (A look of disdain on her face.) "Nope."

NEDDA: "Well, I'm glad to know you're practicing going up and down trees."

MELISSA: (dirty look - no comment at all).

Now doesn't this sound like a typical teenager?