"Beloved cats" that roam outside their home property are, in Oz, effectively feral aliens worthy of some little empathy but almost no sympathy. In their house, I like cats; outside, they're a terror to wildlife that I'd rather see protected.

So, I find Eric's song rather amusing; even more amusing is a couple I don't think he's ever recorded and probably no longer sings. "The Little Ice Queen" is one he wrote self-deprecatorily describing a failed attempt at romance and the other described the trials and tribulations of a folksinger trying to perform when all everyone wants to hear is songs written by Bob Dylan.

There's another Oz song that "celebrates" roadkill, concerning a member of one of the great flocks of galahs that congregate on roads where grain trucks have had some of their load inadequately covered; he ended up as an unwilling "mascot" on the bullbar of a road train. Unfortunately I can't remember further details, but it is rather amusing, despite the notion of fatality involved.

Perhaps the "slipping on the banana skin" shadenfreude effect is operating.

Cheers, Rowan