Original Air Date: December 17, 1973
Starring: Ken Curtis, Russell Wiggins, Milburn Stone
Directed by: Bernard McEveety

Synopsis: A mentally challenged young man named Billy (Russell Wiggins) comes to Dodge to visit his friend Festus (Ken Curtis).  Billy is childlike in all aspects but grows violent when he sees any animal being intentionally hurt, which leads to a run-in with the law and Matt Dillon (James Arness.)

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): When Festus leaves Billy for a while, Billy watches some rough cowboys engaged in a bet where one of them is trying to catch coins in a glass balanced on his head.  All of a sudden the most adorable small orange tabby cat comes out of nowhere and starts rubbing itself against the legs of the cowboy doing the challenge.

Kitty Carnage Warning! Things turn ugly when one of the cowboys involved in the bet named Barnett (Charles Dierkop) grabs the cat by the scruff and carries it over to a water trough, threatening to drown it.  Billy begs the man to stop, pointing out that he’s hurting the cat, but the man persists.  Billy then attacks the man, throwing him down onto the trough.  When the scuffle starts, the cat actor goes flying, but is quickly up and races out of the scene.

Final Mewsings: It should be clear which character was truly mentally challenged in this episode.

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