Wednesday, November 16, 2016

I KNEW IT

I knew that something very strange has been going on here late at night. I'm not talking about the coyotes. Or the cats. Or even the mice.

I'd be snuggled in bed reading, long after midnight (which is my usual habit on these incredibly chilly autumn nights). 
Suddenly....
I'd hear very strange noises coming from various regions of the house. I initially thought it was the cats.

But these noises weren't exactly cat noises. The kitties usually just silently creep and wander. Bosco and Scruffy sometimes race around the room, playing tag....and whatever the heck felines do to entertain themselves at ungodly hours.

These new noises involved clanging, banging, and loud scratching. Most especially in the kitchen. It was as though a phantom chef was preparing dinner.

Sometimes something unnervingly large would scurry past my bed. I kept telling myself it was one of the cats.....
......until I looked and saw that all three of the cats were sound asleep.

I assured (or semi-assured) myself that it was a large mouse.
But it must have been one helluva MEGA mouse - wearing cleats on wooden shoes.
Maybe Mickey??

Also, ALL the cat food was disappearing quickly. I always leave dry food out for the cats to nibble on. Every morning the bowls would be completely empty.

Late last night the mystery of the noises was solved. All three of my cats were congregated in the small room where I keep one of my pianos. They were intently watching something in a corner, behind a chair.

I grabbed a flashlight, which revealed that the something was round, furry, and very much alive.
It didn't take me long to know it was a 'possum.
Or an opossum, for anyone who wants to be correct. 

 Cornered

The first thing I did (after panicking slightly) was to usher all the cats out of the room.
The next thing I did was wonder how I was going to catch him (her?).

A brainstorm sent me out to the garage, where I got one of the large cages that I had put the cats in when I moved from Texas to Tennessee.

I placed the cage in front of the 'possum, cornering him by the wall and a bookcase. Not one to be fooled, he darted away and squeezed under a desk ( in a tight space of about two inches!).

Finally I got a broom and prodded him out from under the desk and back by the cage. He was shrewd and defiant, but also docile and non-aggressive. 

 Finally in the cage, trying to get out the door (that's an old beach towel on the cage)

To make a long story short (yea, I know it's too late) I eventually got him into the cage with the help of the broom. He kept trying to get out the cage door and it was difficult to lock it with my bare hands ('possums are cute - - but they can BITE BIG TIME).

The entire 'possum ordeal took over an hour.

I carried the cage outside and put it on the back porch. Then I took it a good distance away and turned the 'possum loose.
Thankfully there was a full moon so I could see what I was doing.

A happy ending for all.

 Out on the back porch

This isn't the first time a 'possum got into my house. The other one was bigger and much more aggressive. He got in through the vent to the clothes dryer hookup (I fixed that).

This one got in (I think) through a small wall opening behind the refrigerator (which I sealed today).

Note:
against my better judgement, I'm going to allow comments again. I luv all of you people (yes, even the annoying ones) - - but I did enjoy my comment-free mini vacation.

17 comments:

  1. I thought you had a raccoon in the house. They are definitely aggressive, hissing, clawing and biting when they are very small. Two babies fell though my ceiling and I called the police at 2am. Good job in trapping. When a raccoon wants back in, it will eat through siding if necessary even if you walk it away. I take it your cats are not warriors.
    pparsimony

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  2. You must have a nest under your house. Possums can rip up a cat! Believe it or not, here in the middle the city, I have a nest of them under my deck just 15 feet from where I'm typing .

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  3. Hi Jon: If comments get you that riled up, I think most of your friendly readers would understand if you never turned them back on, or only did it occasionally as your whim and fancy dictate. Afterall, it's your blog, it's your life, they're your thoughts and we're just voyeurs along for the ride.
    As a rabid Dumbocrat and a very luke warm, practically chilly Hillary supporter, sure I was disappointed when I turned on the TV Wednesday morning to find out that Mr. Dump, err...sorry...typo there.....Donald Trump was the president elect. You might find this hard to believe, but I didn't burn down anything. I made a few congratulatory calls and I adopted this statement: I hope in 4 years we can look back and say "Gee, that wasn't so bad, afterall". And I am sincere in this.
    As for your critter, I would freak out if I found something like that in our house. I had to go on mouse patrol last year. I would wait for the SNAP of the traps, knowing I had another customer. They're in the wall this year. I hear them scratching in the night. Little SOB's. My fault, though. I took out a water pipe in the back garage and neglected to seal over the hole through the concrete block in the top of the garage. Betcha arse I'll be doing that tonight or tomorrow. Maybe setting a few traps as well.
    I hope you enjoy your political moment. It's OK to gloat a bit, but as my old boss used to tell me "Be nice to the people you meet on the way up, Carl, because you'll meet them again on the way down". Boy, no wonder he was the boss.

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  4. I love your blogs. I have had all my shots! I have been reading your blog for a while now. Hello from North Dakota. Keep up the great commentary.

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  5. Yay!!!!!!! I'm first!!!!! You have more balls then me. While I like all animals, possum scare the hell out of me and I know they can be quite nasty. Glad you didn't get bit. You keep getting these wild animals in there. Any chance a man will be next???? Meanwhile did you name the possum? I think she is rather cute. Yep, looks like a girl to me.

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  6. How's THIS for an odd coincidence - - - For two nights I have been awakened at 2am thinking Beau was having a grand mal seizure, maybe kicking at the door where he sleeps close to me. But he was sound asleep and my flashlight caused the sound to stop. When I turned off the light and got comfortable, I heard what sounded like a huge cat digging into the carpet.....except we have hardwood floors.

    It was loud. Whatever did it was nocturnal and large. Coming from Indiana, I was thinking raccoon or possum. Living in Florida, I'm thinking of an overgrown rat.

    If this happens again, keep your flashlight aimed at his eyes. The poor thing (if it's a possum) will go into shock, drool, but won't move. It might make it easier, and I love you for going to the trouble of making sure he lived. (but if it's ever a rat, shoot to kill)

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  7. Wow, I would have freaked out big time! Glad you were able to catch the critter and set it free. Also, I'm very glad you and your cats did not get harmed in any sort of way...

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  8. Brilliant (and humane) eviction, Jon! I'm sure no fan of things that go bump in the night, but this 'city-girl' thinks your possum is adorable. Yup, I'm silly enough to go trolling for rabies shots.

    Glad to see your comments section is live again. Must say, your last few posts were enormously entertaining!

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  9. You could probably find a neighbor who would make a nice stew for you. You are in the hills of Tennessee and all. When I was working in Kentucky, when I was out on a house call one day, a raccoon fell through the ceiling of the office next to mine, there was feces to clean up and I don't think it all came from the raccoon.

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  10. Am going to try to comment hope it works this time. Just think what would happen it the possum mated with your cat. You would get catsom or a poscat!cuz

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  11. Not something I would want to run up on. Hope it's happy in it's new home and doesn't come back to yours. Take care, Sheila

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  12. I've never seen a possum. Not sure we have them around here. I would imagine it does have razor sharp teeth ... good catch and release without injury to either of you.

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  13. Congrats on a successful possum relocation, Jon. They can be dangerous when frightened. I'm catching up on blogposts --just returned from hospital where I was ambulanced late Wed. night-- and yours, of course, is the 1st site I checked. Happy to see you're accepting comments again.

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  14. You will have to set up doing possum removals!

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  15. As soon as I started reading this, I figured you had either a possum or a raccoon. I'm glad you captured and released him with no problems. (Did you sing "Born Free"?)

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  16. Wow! Discovering a possum was scared to bejuses out of me. I remember my late friend who also lived in the country by himself and log cabin said there was a strange cat coming up eating all his cat food outside toys outside cat. Not sure what they look like his voice got BDI's the new hero its tail. I said that must be a mangy cat. Anyway I was there one time when we heard the screen outside and I looked out that's what it was it was a possum meet the cat food that you left out for his outside cat. He didn't know what a possum was. I'm glad you called it and it was very nice of you to handle it friendly and let it go in the wild. Nice story Job! Your blogs always interesting

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I love comments. Go ahead and leave one - I won't bite. But make sure you have a rabies shot just in case.