Caught By Surprise

I try to keep my eyes in constant motion when I'm walking dogs - I try to see if I can see any possible dangers, objects of interest, or problems in the distance and to either side of the path (or street) I'm walking. Today, while out with the Rs, I saw Cloudy (Alexy's little 6 pound tuxedo cat) across the street from her home, and I realized that she was getting ready to cross the street in front of us. Since the Rs believe that cats are just squirrels without fluffy tails (and they will kill squirrels without compunction), I had them sit and pay attention to me. Cloudy paused about 8 feet away, and I said her name, and told her to go home. The dogs had seen Cloudy before they sat, and were switching their attention between her and me. I don't know if it was because I said her name and she recognized my voice, or if sheer devilment made her do it, but she leaped at the dogs, fluffed her fur, arched her back, and spat like an electrical wire gone wild. She got within 18 inches of the Setters' noses. I was yelling at the dogs, and the dogs were doing their best to attack the cat; somehow I did not get my feet planted well enough on the asphalt of the road, and the dogs started to make headway towards Cloudy. She ran for her house, but kept stopping and presenting her "I'm not afraid of you!" posture to the dogs, who continued to jerk and pull me forward. At the corner of her house, I tripped over a large rock and fell, and somehow lost hold of Remy's leash. He took off after Cloudy, who, thankfully, climbed the big cottonwood. Rosie was dancing all over me, as if I was a part of the ground. All in all, everything ended well. Alexy came out to check on the fuss; Remy came back to me, and I grabbed his leash; and I managed to get back onto my feet. I have a case of road rash - all the skin on my right knee is gone, and I have a lump the size of a grapefruit on my right shin, just below the knee. Cloudy is perfectly fine, and came down out of the tree for a couple of kitty treats. The dogs calmed down and I took them home. When I arrived home, after walking Lucy, I washed off my knee and cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide, then I put an antibiotic cream on it. The lump currently has a package of frozen peas sitting on it. - I was completely caught by surprise, because I had no idea that Cloudy would act as if she were attacking the dogs. Oh, well... live and learn!