Monday, December 16, 2019

Hiatus 6

Tucker!

Here is a photo of our cat, Tucker. He is a sweet if not terribly bright kitty. He's a Ragdoll and isn't supposed to go outside due to the breed's supposed lack of fear/survival instinct, but Tucker sealed his destiny by continually hanging from the inside of the window screen on the second floor and yowling like he was dying. That was three years ago. He's been an inside/outside cat since then.

Tucker's happiness was originally measured by the pieces of house insulation he brought me in lieu of real prey. I'm positive his stalking and pouncing was beyond disrepute as he hunted the big, fluffy yellow bits of insulation from our neighbour's home renovation and left them on my front step. He was quite the sight as he loped across the front lawn dragging a piece of yellow fluff between his paws the same way a lion drags an Impala. He'd place the fluff at my feet and then flop onto the floorboards in a purring post-hunt glow. Looking at his expression in the photo, I'd swear he needed a cigarette.

Now, though, it isn't so cute. Tucker (or Tucker-with-an-F as my husband affectionately calls him) has graduated to bringing rats in through the cat-door. One rat got away away from Tucker and snuck up on me when I watching TV. I freaked out, ran around like my hair was on fire and armed myself with the only things I could think of - oven mitts and a broom - before sprinting to the front door and flinging it open in preparation of flushing the rat out of the house. My son and two of his friends were coming up the steps. They stopped cold when greeted by a middle aged woman with wild hair and wilder eyes, but when I shrieked at them what was happening, my son and one of the boys jumped into action and we flushed the rodent outside after a concerted and extended effort. The other boy hid upstairs the entire time. Can't say I blame him. 

We have since removed the cat-door. Tucker-with-an-F has adapted, as have we after he pooped on the dog's bed when he was left inside too long. Lesson learned. That said, the dog's still trying to sort out what the point of the lesson was in the first place. But I digress...

God speed with your requested fulls. 



23 comments:

Kitty said...

OMG, that's hilarious! Although I wouldn't have been laughing if that had happened to me. Btw, Tucker-with-an-F is a gorgeous cat.

Lisa Bodenheim said...

Holy cow! What a story. Thank you, OP, for the giggles and laughter. Though I wouldn't want the rat situation to happen to me either.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

As I read this all I could think of was Christmas Vacation's "...squirrrrrl."
Too funny. The stuff of movies for sure.

nightsmusic said...

2NN's I'm with you and thought the same thing lol!

What a beautiful face and what a stinker!

While I've had rats as pets, and they make wonderful pets, the domesticated ones are a far different critter than the one in your house. You made me laugh this morning. Thank you!

E.M. Goldsmith said...

Tucker with F - long may he reign. Wow! Cats are such a fabulous characters.

Lennon Faris said...

Ha, this was hilarious.

You made the dog confused and got your people to shriek--good job repping your species, Tucker-with-an-F!

LynnRodz said...

All I can say is I'm glad you have photos of yellow fluff and not one of Tucker's rats. Thanks for the laugh.

Bunny said...

This is the funniest thing I've seen all month. Thanks for sharing!

Lesia Joukova said...

This was such a fun read! May Tucker live a long and happy life, and may you survive his prey!

Megan V said...

This was such a fun story! Happy Hunting Tucker with an F :)

Melanie Sue Bowles said...

Oh, my... what a fun read. Thanks for sharing.

Jennifer R. Donohue said...

Tucker is ADORABLE and clearly needs many mice/rats that are not real in order to sate the Mighty Hunter within!

Sharyn Ekbergh said...

“cat posse two qualities to an extreme degree—dignity and comicality.” T.S. Eliot ( from a story in the New Yorker today about Cats.

I've seen Harper and Ramona escort a three hundred pound black bear out of their yard. Dignity, comicality, and terrifying, (to me) all at once.

Brendan, the most dignified cat I've ever known, fell in our indoor koi pond, pulling a large plant in with him. He emerged looking like the Swamp Monster. We did not laugh but it was hard.

When Ramona catches a mouse in the house we are treated to a blow by blow description of the mighty battle. Usually at 3AM.

They are endlessly entertaining and would probably say the same about us.

Kate Larkindale said...

What a wonderful story! Our cats used to bring us worms as gifts. Nothing like getting up in the middle of the night and standing on a wet, squishy earthworm. Then one day it was a seagull... A very dead seagull. But I think I still prefer that to rats.

nightsmusic said...

Sharyn, I've had mice in the house. Rarely, but it happens. Unfortunately, I think Loaner Cat thinks they're there to ignore completely. Can run right in front of her and she just watches. *sigh*

I catch them in a live trap which then intrigues Loaner Cat no end, but I take them away, at least two miles, and then let them go.

Beth Carpenter said...

LOL, I can just see the boys' faces. My sister's family had a similar situation. She was on the phone, hubby and 2 boys watching TV, when the cat dragged a live snake into the house. Man and boys screamed and jumped onto the couch. She came running, spotted the garter snake, shook her head and tossed it out the door without interrupting her phone call. That convinced them she was the bravest woman ever.

Casual-T said...

Haha!! What a delightful story about Tucker-with-an-F... I'll gladly retell the tale, when I tuck Mrs. Casual in, later tonight.

Kae Ridwyn said...

Three weeks after our wedding, Hubby and I became the proud owners of a ragdoll cat, which Hubby quickly named Rascal. He had a beautiful temperament. And his fur! Luscious doesn't even begin to describe it. Every winter Hubby would suggest we skin him and turn his coast into liner for some fishing gloves. Ha - that never happened.
I never knew that Ragdolls had a reputation for 'lack of fear/survival', and our Rascal was both an inside and outside cat. He was a constant source of amusement: at one stage, he'd lie on the roof edge and 'fish' over the guttering for the sparrows that were nesting under the eaves. He was pretty successful at it too, and that would be his favourite spot throughout the nesting season each year!
One thing less amusing: in his litter tray. He'd carefully dig the hole, carefully defecate next to it, then carefully cover up the hole again. Only cat I ever heard of to do that!
Ah. Memories, huh? Enjoy the time you have with Tucker :)

Craig F said...

I am an accidental cat owner. I accidentally fed one because I was shocked when he walked up and said "Hi, feed me."

A couple of days later he brought his girlfriend over. A couple of weeks later we had kittens. A couple of the kittens decided to walk in one day and I became a cat person.

Mostly they come and go as they please, like all cats want to. They do, quite often gift us with things. Those are mostly birds because the other ferals in the neighborhood eat the mice and rats.

The Troubled kitty, who might show here someday, brought a gift that tops all gifts. He brought us a live pygmy rattlesnake.

Tucker with an F sounds like a basis for a cozy series.

Brenda said...

I’m not a cat person but Tucker is handsome enough to keep around.

Panda in Chief said...

Tucker is a cat among cats! When Mehitabel was in her prime, she was always truing to sneak her victims into the house, which is why I never got a cat door. She did have a fenced in area (with a roof) that she could come and go from at all times of day. Occasionally some contraband slipped through, usually birds, but the occasional mouse. her favorite prey was garter snakes, and I would see her come to the door, looking like she had a writhing mustache.
Needless to say, I did not open the door for her.

It would be nice if he went back to only hunting insulation.

Jen said...

I know I'm late to this party, but omg that was the funniest freaking thing I've read in a long time. THANK YOU. I needed that laugh at the height of holiday stress.

AJ Blythe said...

Having spent the best part of 5 hours baking and assembling a gingerbread Christmas tree I was ready for a laugh. Tucker seems like quite a character.

Janet, there are 5 comments just above mine and Jen's that are all spam.