What’s the difference between a chipmunk and a mouse? The chipmunk has a striped back and cheek pouches. We consider both to be pests. Not so, for our cats. Chipmunks are their sources of entertainment as well as a snack.
When we moved here, our house was overrun with mice and rats and snakes. The rodents were in residence and a food source for the snakes. It was disturbing to wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of something gnawing. Poison and traps made only a slight inroad into their population. Anne had the solution: cats. Not inside cats but the almost-feral outdoors ones. Her plan was for the cats to catch the mice and chipmunks before they infested the house, so no more poison was used.
Our first opportunity came when a mother cat showed up with several babies. She was almost starved to death. Anne fed her back to health. Mother cat, in gratitude, moved her kittens closer to our house. When the kittens were old enough, we loaded them up and drove to Knoxville to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered. We have not been without fixed cats since then. Mice and rats and snakes? No sight of them anymore., but chipmunks have been their replacement. They show up every spring.
Fast forward to this morning. Anne fed our two outside cats, London and Tommy, on the porch off the great room. As she opened the door, a chipmunk slipped through into the house with London in close pursuit. Once inside, London merely sat and watched the chipmunk as it ran laps around the room looking for a way out or a place to hide. The chipmunk finally ducked under the business end of our upright vacuum sweeper and into its depths, safe and out of sight.
Anne asked me, “Which way did he go?” “Which way did WHO go?” I responded. “Why the chipmunk, of course”. He had not come my way. Anne quickly returned to the great room. I didn’t ask what a chipmunk was doing in the house.
Where was London? Just sat there watching the action. Anne opened the door and threw out the cat. Now, how does she extract the chipmunk from the vacuum cleaner? She very carefully carried the vacuum outside. She could hear the little creature scurrying around inside trying to find a way out.
Anne turned the vacuum over. There was a bushy tail sticking out. She took a stick, poking around until it exited its sanctuary. Anne thought my suggestion of turning on the vacuum was a no-brainer. Not because of concern for life, but of the thought of having to clean blood and guts from the gears of the vacuum.
The little varmint exited without fanfare and scampered off. What did London do? Why chase after it, of course. Something it hadn’t done in the house. The last Anne saw of the pair was them scampering out the driveway, the chipmunk in the lead and London in hot pursuit.
As you can tell, we are starved for entertainment. The cats supply of chipmunks should last until cold weather. By then, the fall lineup of TV programs will replace the rodent show.