SQUEAK.

This picture really says it all, doesn’t it? After being inside for most of the past few days, Xena was happy to see the snow melting off of the deck (and her doghouse) and spent some quality time outside today. I can see where it’d be easy for an 80 pound dog to come down with a bad case of cabin fever, even though she loves her people and her kitty friends.
However, she doesn’t like the other four-legged denizens of our home. Neither do her kitty friends. We’re talking about a sudden convergence of mice on our home. I think someone booked a convention and didn’t tell me. I’ve only seen one, but we’ve been hearing them up in the attic for a couple of weeks now. The one I’ve actually seen in the house has been pretty bold – he got as far as the game room last night before Othello decided to address the traditional role of cats with relation to mice and chased the little bugger right back into his hole behind the washing machine. We’ve left some D-Con treats for our new guests to feast on, so hopefully Othello can rest easy again here in a few days.
Sadly, I can only assume this means that we have a Barn Kitty vacancy. I haven’t seen Gabby Cat in about 9 months, so I assume she moved on or decided to stick closer to home (and come on, as nice as that cat was, she had to have a home of her own – that was somebody’s baby). With this weather, and some of the stormy weather we had when it was warmer this year, I don’t blame her. There was also a mountain lion screech about three weeks ago, which seemed a bit early in the year, but I can see where a small cat, even a feral one, would say “Okay, I can see you’ve got this under control, big guy” and cede the territory.
Apparently that kind of psychology doesn’t do it for mice though. A Barn Kitty could be intercepting mice between our overgrown field and the house, and could probably feed herself and a bunch of Barn Kittens quite handsomely that way. So, if you’re reading this and you’re a Barn Kitty, please, consider me open for applicants.