The "MISS-adventures" in the House

my daughter’s two cats have spent most of the day staring at a shelving unit that sits in the corner of my dining room (where my laptop also sits).

I’m not a hunter but I don’tt think it takes a tracker to figure out that some four-legged creature was hiding out in the corner. So, after a few hours of hoping it would go away (to where, you ask?? Yah.. good question!), anyway, I tugged and pulled the shelf out far enough for the cat to squeeze in behind. Gizmo (the male, nail-less cat) did and he was getting pretty excited.

But no tiny creature appeared so I thought I’d help things out a bit with a yardstick and I started poking around behind. Well as I was peering in one side the little blur ran out the other side and across my bare toes.. Oh now the war was on!!!! (Phil – I think this is all your wife’s fault!!! )

A couple pokes here and a couple pokes there, with my feet ready to dance, and out came the little guy and he hid in my pile of leather hides. I needed to organize them anyway, so I gingerly picked them up (one corner at a time) and stored them on the table out of the way.

A few more pokes and the little fella peeked around the corner and stared at me with those cute little black eyes… awwwww so cute I thought… but wait—don’t forget that he ran across your toes!! Oh right.. Gizmo—get him. And he did. This apartment cat only took a couple pounces to have him!! Yippee.. .I was impressed.

Now, I’m also experienced enough with cats to know that the games had just begun. There had to be the old toss and catch game. Well, I don’t think Gizmo has had many lessons in this area and before long the mouse was on the loose again.

This time the smart little creature (who by the way seems to be the smartest of us all) ran to the chair on which my “lumberjack” jacket was hanging. Gizmo stood ready on the one side and I jabbed with the broom from the other side. We were definitely winning…. until..

(oh I feel like Dusty now – the suspense!!!) hahaha

until….. all of a sudden he was gone. It was like he was Houdini. In the middle of the room, with a clear vision all around the chair, the mouse instantly disappeared. What just happened? Replay the scenario in slow motion: two steps to the right… a skitter to the left… a small leap and abracadabra….

oh no.. say it isn’t so!!!! A small leap… the hanging sleeve of my jacket… no.. no.. noo… it can’t be!!! With broom in one hand and giving clear directions to the cat to be ready… I shook the sleeve. Nothing. I shook it again. Nothing. Phew.. it’s not there… I hope.

I then picked the jacket up by the collar and gave it a good shake and BAMM there he was… running around the floor again. (I’ll never be able to put that warm cozy jacket on ever again!!!).

And so the mouse was off and running – again. And into the kitchen he went- the room with lots of doors that don’t shut right.. I was doomed. I was going to have to admit defeat. But good ol’ Gizmo saved the day—he started staring at the catfood storage unit that I had built. Hmm.. could he be sitting in the food bowl opening?? No.. couldn’t be that easy.

I peek and sure enough, there is a tiny tail showing, coming out of the corner. There he was all huddled between the wall and the box’s side. Ok.. he has 2 exits; the cat has decided to watch and is laying in the dining room as if he is the king and I am the jester…., and I have two hands, one which is holding the broom.

I decide that if I block the one exit off with the broom, that makes my life easier. So I hold the broom handle down into his hiding place, blocking that exit off. There he sits, in a little 6×6” space. This is getting easier all the time. But now what? I can’t drop the broom, and I’m certainly not reaching in and grabbing him… I look around and I see the new bag of catfood sitting beside the box. Perfect. I’ll just put that in front of the eating area, blocking him off and I can go get a bag or something to catch him in. I slide the catfood bag in front and then peek in to see how worried he was looking….. only to find…...........

sigh….... only to find that he was gone. The catfood bag had been blocking the third exit (which is why he had been trapped in the first place. ) He had won. He had out maneuvered me; out- thought me, out-waited me, out-witted me.

The shame.. the shame.

And now, the cat sits staring underneath the freezer. But I can’t stand to be disgraced twice in one day.

Enjoy your freedom Mousie… Your days ARE numbered!! The hunter of the house will be home later tonight!!

(PS Way to go Gizmo. You are my hero. Sorry I let you down and let the mouse get away.).

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)