The Scourge of Chipmunk-kind

Live with cats and you will never be bored.  Lately I've been watching thr interaction between Redford and Mr. Kitty.  When Redford first joined our household, Daisy was clearly the alpha cat.   Both boys were very much under her paw, she kept them both in line.

We lost Daisy last fall, and the relationship between the boys has changed.  They interact a lot -- whatever is in the other's food dish is clearly better than what is in one's own, wherever the other has curled up for a nap is clearly the best sleeping place in the entire house.  Mr. Kitty was not afraid to swat at Redford with his paw, and so he has become the dominant cat.  Lately he's taken to chasing Redford around the house and swatting at him.  Yesterday he managed to trap Redford in a corner, but Redford is good at escaping.

It's funny how they react to humans the same way.  It what used to be a rare occurrence but has become more common since my dad was hospitalized, there were no humans in the house when I came home the other day.    But there was Redford on the porch, with an impatient look on his face that said "It's about time you came home!"  You would have thought he'd be happy or relieved. . . I opened the door and found Mr. Kitty in the foyer, wearing the same expression.  Both boys followed me around the house, even into the bathroom, until I made my way into the kitchen and found the cans of catfood . . .

Recently Redford has found himself a new hobby -- hunting chipmunks.  Apparently they don't taste very good, but they make great toys.  That is, until they stop moving.  We found a chipmunk corpse on the front porch, then another on the back deck.  Yesterday Redford came to the back door with one in his mouth, and was so sad because I wouldn't let him bring his new toy into the house.  He dropped it, and it started to move . . .I opened the door, scooped up the cat and brought him inside . . .the poor chipmunk made good his escape.

The other day, I am told, my sister F ran a similar rescue mission.  But that victim wound up running into the house.  It dashed through the kitchen and into the dining room, and my sisters had no idea where it was headed.  My sisters immediately began search and rescue operations.    At first they didn't know where it went . . .then they noticed both cats in the kitchen, sitting in front of the baseboard heater . . . There was definitely someone small and furry under there . . .who is now safely rescued and returned to the wild. 

Though after what happened when Daisy caught the bunny . . .I was almost surprised that they let the chipmunk go . . .

Nope, never boring at my house . . .