A bounty on Ceiling Cat?

A handful of feral cats live on the grounds of Abu Dhabi Media Company, and some of them slip into the newsroom from time to time looking for food and attention.

The boldest of the group is called Ceiling Cat. He got his nickname because he jumps to the ceiling -- actually, onto the large air ducts that are suspended from the ceiling -- whenever he senses a threat. It seems to be the Tea Boys' job to harass him and chase him out of the building.

Ceiling Cat stays inside more than the others, roaming the air ducts, keeping an eye on things. It's not unusual to be working at your desk at night and suddenly hear a mewing from above. Look up, and there's Ceiling Cat staring down at you.

He is particularly despised by The Management, perhaps because, as legend has it, one night he used the floor under the editor's desk as a litter box. There was even talk of bringing in birds of prey (falconry is big around here) to eliminate the "cat problem."

Things had quieted down, but now we fear there may be a bounty on Ceiling Cat. The Tea Boys have been especially aggressive in trying to capture him lately. One even climbed into an air vent trying to nab him; another chased him across the newsroom with a mop.

But CC is a wily old cat, and he can make the leap from floor to desk to vending machine to ceiling in a split second. That's usually when he's mewing the loudest, perhaps out of indignation at being harassed.

Or maybe he's just talking trash to the Tea Boys.