I had a few ideas about what I would write for today’s blog. Then a cat got hit by a car in front of my house during the morning commute. My neighbors have quick reactions. One ran out into the street to rescue the cat while two others stopped traffic in both directions. My dog alerted me to the activity by barking her head off. 
None of us recognized the cat. It wasn’t bleeding but it was unconscious for a couple of minutes. When it came around, it took a wobbly path from the sidewalk into my yard. Another neighbor tried to help me coax the cat into a carrier he has for his own cat. The cat surprised everyone by jumping up onto a high fence and hurtling into my next door neighbor’s yard. It found a safe hiding place in between the wall of the house and a shed. I took a few days off to catch up on novel edits and holiday shopping so I volunteered to stick around and get the cat help. There were logistical hurdles with veterinarians and the animal control folks that surprised my neighbor and me but we worked it all out. The county animal control agents arrived with nets and a carrier. As soon as the cat saw them, it darted out into the backyard. The humans had to take a longer way around. We all reached the yard in time to see the cat vault over the back fence and into another yard. One of the animal control guys smiled and said, “Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with that cat.” So, what does any of this have to do with crime fiction? Maybe nothing. But being an inquisitive writer type, I asked a lot of questions. After all, cats and animal injuries are outside my area of expertise. Throughout the morning, I learned a lot about laws and policies involving animal care. It’s now filed away in my general “book research” folder on my laptop. Who knows if I’ll ever use any of it. I’m just happy the cat’s fine.
