Snake-capades.

Picture it, Granbury, 2011. I wake up at 6:30 after hitting the snooze a dozen times. Wonder why the only cat on the bed is Lemur, go to the bathroom, wonder why no cats followed me in griping about how long it is taking me to feed them this morning. Come back out to see the other 4 cats clustered by the end of the bed with Lemur looking down on them, fascinated by something. All of a sudden, Perky's head pops up flinging a SNAKE into the air with all the others trying to catch it. So, being the good cat momma that I am, I puff out my chest, calling praise loudly and lauding her great catch....NOT!! I start yelling for her to take it outside, NOW! The only response is more snake flinging and Andy coming to sit at my feet, isolating himself from the situation. After all, HE didn't catch it, he knows that you have to present all dead things on a napkin or paper towel so I can dispose of them more easily. :) (That story is below) Then I notice that when the snake hits the ground and the cats pause to watch it, IT MOVES!!! IT IS A LIVE SNAKE---in my bedroom---AND I HAVE NOT HAD MY COFFEE YET!!!! So I take off for the kitchen, grab some tongs, unlock and open all doors to the back yard, and run back into the bedroom to fend off the cats and grab the snake. Then off I run to the back yard, followed by 3 protesting cats (Andy is still looking smug and just sitting in the doorway watching) where I fling the snake as far as I can (I was aiming to get it over the fence, but I throw like a girl, so it hits the fence and slowly slides down until it hits the grass) I slam the door, lock it, and turn around to find three rather irate cats sitting in the doorway of the house glaring at me. Now really, what did they expect? Of course I now realize that I WANT Perky to keep catching and killing any sakes that appear, so I snatch her up and praise her soundly.

Just another wonderful morning in the Rowell household....  :)

Andy learned early in life to present dead or dying things on napkins so I can dispose of them.  Several years ago I was living in a townhome in Dallas.  I wake up one morning hearing this bizarre squeaking sound.  Thinking the bed is awfully noisy, I go downstairs to continue sleeping on the couch.  A while later, I am again awakened to random squeaking--at the end of the couch.  Crawl over to the end to find Andy has caught a mouse and is staring at while periodically pouncing on it, causing it to squeak pathetically.  EWWWWW!  So up I get, muttering at the cat about how he really needs to put the damn mouse on something so I can pick it up and throw t in the bushes outside since I am CERTAINLY not touching it.  Andy stares at me (still occasionally pouncing the mouse) and listens raptly to everything I am saying.  I know this, because the next mouse he catches is done up right.  He is the smartest cat I have ever seen.  A week or so after this incident, I am lounging in the recliner with Lemur when I hear a rustling noise in the kitchen.  I peer around the corner of the chair and see something go flying across the hall.  Something very small, grey and furry.  I lean out a little more and see a dirty paper towel in the middle of the hallway between the bathroom and kitchen.  Curious, I continue to watch.  After a few seconds I see the small furry thing go flying through the air followed by a large grey furry thing that I call Andy.  Seriously, he caught another mouse!  I call his name and he peers around the corner at me.  This is immediately followed by a disappearing cat who trots back into the hallway carrying the mouse which he tosses into the air, catches, and then drops onto the dirty paper towel. He then proceeds to walk proudly into the living room to sit on the edge of the couch and wait for his praises to be sung loudly (which I did).  I admit to being thoroughly stunned.  My cat, who I swear lives to make me nuts, has dragged a paper towel out of the trash so that I can more easily dispose of the dead mouse. He even made sure to drop it onto the towel when he was done.  He actually heard, understood and complied with my previous request.  Smart frigging cat!