Speaking of cats, today’s daily is largely wasted on a joke hardly worthy of Garfield. We learned yesterday that Banjo Cat is Doc’s adopted friend, whatever that implies. But Cherry’s point is well-taken. Cats do kill more than their share of birds.

Historically speaking, cats were domesticated at least 10,000 years ago, so they’ve had lots of time to sharpen their skills. In fact, recognizing a cat’s instinctive need to hunt, ancient Egyptian nobility brought them along as hunting partners and beaters. Below is a detail from a larger wall fragment that originated from the unlocated tomb of Nebamun, a royal scribe living around 1350 BCE. This fragment was part of many that were literally hacked out of his tomb by a tomb robber in the early 1800s and sold to the British Museum.

Being the long-time vet that he is, you’d think Doc Davis would know enough to keep Banjo inside the cabin if he is going to adopt him as a friend and also accessorize him. Little wonder that Cherry’s once-again repeated visual memory of the harp accident (panel 3) becomes a defining moment of shame as she continues to complain. Man, Cherry is really stuck in the moment.

Anyway, Banjo Cat did not directly knock down Violet’s harp. Poor Cherry is working her way towards a fictionalized version of her and Violet trying to manually move a poorly-mounted harp, but then losing control after getting surprised by Banjo Cat’s actions. Well, proper loading and transporting procedures would clearly have prevented the accident. But then, many adventure stories begin with an act of carelessness, stupidity, or malice.