Saturday, May 18, 2013

Life with cats -- never a dull moment!

Alex did a runner out the door last evening, so I let him hang with me while I did some gardening (he doesn't wander.) Five of the girl-ducks were out, and they soon made his acquaintance. He was completely unfazed. Then the ducks started following him everywhere...



He had his own pack of groupies!



I wonder if they got his pawtograph?

Meanwhile, at 6:30 this morning, Emily didn't show up for breakfast. I started to panic; did she get outside without me noticing and disappear? Was she locked in a closet? After I'd spend five minutes running around outside calling her name, she sauntered into the kitchen and ate her food. I wondered where she'd been, until ten minutes later, I came across this scene...


Oh please don't tell me that's a tail. Oh yes, yes it is a tail. A chipmunk tail! :(((( I love chipmunks. So does Emily, apparently, since she's the one who brought it up from the basement.


When Alex made a move for it, Emily grabbed it...


...and ran back down to the basement to gnaw on it.

I am still trying to figure this out. We are currently dealing with a red squirrel that has gotten into the house via a gap in the foundation under out deck. Mostly it sit on top of the rock foundation in the basement, taunting the cat. We are working on this but need to make sure there isn't a nest of squirrel babies in the wall or attic that will die if we put in a one-way exit. We've had issues with squirrels getting in before. They are incredibly persistent.

But THIS is a chipmunk tail. Either chippy got in the same way the squirrel did, then made the mistake of not noticing Emily, or maybe she nailed it in her outdoor cage, then brought it in last night when we closed the cat door, without us noticing. Poor little thing! And really, could she not have killed the damn squirrel invader instead?!

The tail made a reappearance a few minutes ago, in the jaws of Naomi. Gordon has now retrieved it and disposed of it, although perhaps I should have made Emily a chipmunk-tail cap, à la Daniel Boone!

Never a dull moment with felines!!!

18 comments:

  1. Love these pictures!! Yes, we have done the *hunt the house for the cat that doesn't show up to eat* scene (and ours don't go outside). Eventually they all show up... and we wonder where they were since we checked everywhere (supposedly).

    I love the duck following the cat... probably much to the cat's chagrin. That's priceless.

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    1. Hi Rian, and thanks for following my blog! :)

      Cats have such an amazing ability to hide themselves, don't they?

      I thought it was hilarious that the ducks followed Alex around. I wonder what they thought he was?

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  2. Now you just have to find the disemboweled critter.
    Jane x

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    1. Nothing yet! I am sort of hoping they just ate it all. Julius once ate an entire red squirrel that went into his cage, leaving only the tail. BLurgh!

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  3. One of the greatest joys of having animals is watching them interact. You must have tons of joyful experiences!

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    1. We do! :) And many hilarious ones!

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  4. I'm sincerely hoping the chippie stays "down", if you know what I mean.

    Alex is such a handsome man, no female of any species can resist him!

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    1. SO far, so good...

      And Alex wishes to thank you for recognizing his inherent amazingness! :)

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  5. Oh no, not a tail..
    Love that top pic, your garden looks fabulous. I do so need ducks on the lawn.

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    1. I have to say, I preferred it to the severed mouse head I found in front of my washing machine a while back!

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  6. You should have made the cap!

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  7. Our declawed housecat doesn't have that kind of excitement in his life. But last summer we did had a fox den in the culvert right next to our busy highway. We sat on the porche watching kits and mom fox and the lay in the ditch watching the heavy traffic go by.... Amazing!

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    1. Aren't they just the cutest, cutest things? I love watching them play with each other!

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  8. I'm so glad Rosie is an indoor cat! I can't imagine finding tails around, XOXO

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  9. Oops, I also wonder how this has happened. Little Emily think clearly about squirrels * smile *.
    Hugs

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  10. Oh my! A while back one of our outdoor cats brought me a dead chipmunk. It was the cutest little thing so it made me sad that he killed it! But I know it was just his instinct that led him to do it. Still kind of sad, though!

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  11. Oh no! I suppose it was just as well it was only a tail and not more...

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!