Murder at Midnight

I was sleeping soundly until a loud thump startled me awake. I sit up, looking for something I cannot see. I lay back and close my eyes as a wet, sloppy sound comes to my ears. I wonder if my son, who works at a restaurant, has given my dog a bone. I sit up and search for the dog through the filtered light. The dog is awake, but eating nothing. I close my eyes and lay back on my pillow.

As I start to relax, the sound, louder than the first time, comes to my ears. I sit up and throw my legs over the side of the bed. I stand and walk slowly toward the door; carefully feeling my way through the dark. A feline shadow leaps across my path and darts from the room. I now know what to expect when I turn on the light; the dead or dying feline midnight snack.

I see the shadow of a bunny near the bed; glad that I didn't step on it when I got up. I check to make sure it's not moving before I head to the garage for a dust pan. I shut the door behind me so the criminal cannot to return to the scene of the crime. I remove the carcass and ban the animals from the room for the night.

I have had enough cats over the years to not be surprised when I find something unpleasant in the house.

I remember specifically birds (I have come home to find them flying around the house),

frogs,

snakes, 

moles,

and chipmunks. 

One chipmunk in particular had quite a scary adventure in our home. One of the cats brought him in while we were at work. Somehow he managed to escape the jaws of death only to be found by Woodstock, our ferret later in the day. Actually, that's a good thing, because we were able to rescue him and send him on his merry way. Woodstock, given the opportunity probably would have killed him. He chased that littlechipmunk into and out of all the places that we couldn't reach. It was quite a chase for all involved. I finally managed to capture Woodstock so we could focus on the chipmunk. TOM and son managed to corner the chipmunk in the corner of a small room and throw a towel over him and carry him out. 

For another dead critter story, click here.