by Ted Davis and Linda Kay

Original Air Date: January 12, 1965

Starring: Orangey (billed as Rusty)

Directed by: Walter Grauman

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!

Synopsis: Aimee Rennick (Barbara Barrie), lonely spinster, is another in the long line of women who become involved with hirsute hard-luck Dr. Richard Kimble (David Jannsen), who is on the run to escape execution for a murder he did not commit. They plan to leverage a convenient unidentifiable corpse to fool fanatical Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) into believing that Kimble has been killed in a gruesome and fiery truck accident, thereby taking the police hounds off Kimble’s trail. But, as might be expected, there are considerable bumps in the road when the elaborate scheme is implemented.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Aimee has a ginger tabby, the unimaginatively named Rusty, who is first seen in the loaf-of-bread position on a kitchen counter near the door as she enters her apartment to greet the injured Kimble, who is recovering from the truck accident.

Rusty can be seen in the background behind Aimee during her talk with Kimble.

The next day, while Kimble is cooking at the stove, Rusty is in his usual spot and in his usual position.

After their dispiriting conversation, Kimble leaves the kitchen, and Aimee picks up Rusty and holds him for comfort.

Later that evening, a tense cigarette-smoking Aimee paces in the kitchen and gives a couple of quick pats to Rusty, who is still in his favorite spot and position.

A few minutes later, as Kimble and Aimee are planning their next steps, Lt. Gerard rings the doorbell and Kimble slips into the kitchen with Rusty so he won’t be seen. Unfortunately, during Gerard’s session with Aimee, Rusty chooses to become active and hops onto the kitchen table, rummaging among the food and dinner plates and making a nuisance of himself.

Within a matter of several moments, Rusty’s tail (clearly a fake substitute) knocks a vase to the floor, which shatters and alerts Gerard, who rushes toward the kitchen door.

But, before he can reach the door, Rusty pops into the front room and gives a plaintive meow.

Gerard picks up the cat, which is taken by Aimee, who then introduces her naughty pet as “Rusty, my one true love.”

In response, in a rare and brief moment of humanity, Gerard smiles and pets the cat under the chin.

As the questioning continues, Aimee puts Rusty on an end table. After Gerard’s eventual departure, Kimble jokes that the cat has got to go.

Rusty was yet another name for the Orangey team of cats trained by Frank Inn. Orangey appeared as Rusty in the series The Beverly Hillbillies and also on the notable episode of Mission: Impossible entitled The Seal.

Final Mewsings: Maybe Rusty the cat was jealous of Dr. Kimble and knocked over the vase on purpose.

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