I was awakened before dawn by the sound of a cat energetically scraping. And scraping and scraping. I thought somebody must be in the litter box, which is not near my bedroom. Sleepily, I wondered why they were being so enthusiastic but assumed they’d stop in a moment. More scraping, then ripping sounds. Then a muffled crash, followed by more sounds of destruction.
Uh oh. There’s an escapee someplace. My eyes flew open with the thought that perhaps it was found.
Fully awake now, I went to investigate. I found our cat Fuzzer under the bar between the kitchen and dining room, seemingly doing his level best to destroy a couple of local phone books which had been knocked into the corner on the floor. I got Fuzzer out of the way, and gingerly began moving the shredded pages, very much afraid I’d find an injured snake.
I found a snake, sure enough, and she’s miraculously unscathed. But she wasn’t one I even knew was loose. I don’t know how it happened, but it obviously did because there she was. The sweet girl we’ve been calling “Agent Number 9” who was in her bin twelve hours earlier had escaped, climbed down from her bin at eye level and made her way to the other end of the house before being cornered by Fuzzer. Maybe I imagined it, but she seemed relieved to see me.
So now Number 9 is safely back where she belongs. Fuzzer has settled out of hunting mode and is back to catnapping. The escapee I knew about is still on the lam. Dan is vindicated; he kept telling me those phone books could be useful. This isn’t the first time a dog or cat has led me to find a snake, but it may have been the scariest. Dan basically slept through it. I’m so glad I got up. Pay attention to the cat!
Pretty sure you’ve nailed it! And yes, Fuzzer definitely considered himself a mighty hunter. He wasn’t very happy that I interrupted his hunt.
I didn’t think to take a picture of the confetti Fuzzer made with those claws, but it was an impressive debris field. Never thought I’d be so happy that Dan insisted on keeping those phone books around!
He’s probably thinking, “REALLY?! I FOUND IT AND YOU JUST TOOK IT FROM ME!”
I would probably not be surprised at the damage. I have a similar majestic orange floof called Peach who is obsessed with shredding boxes. Never knew they could make such tiny pieces! I’m sure Dan is smug as a bug about the utility of those phonebooks being proven, too.
Thanks. She’s one of Odin and Sunlight’s babies. I love her frosting, and she’s got a wonderful disposition. I expected some defensive attitude when I reached for her after all the chaos, but she was just as pleasant as always. Still astonished that she was safe! Those two phone books had been on a chair under the bar. I don’t exactly know who was where, but the thing that makes the most sense to me is that Agent Number 9 was likely up on that chair when Fuzzer found her. If so, she was knocked to the floor then before being besieged. That would account for the crash I heard. I’m amazed and VERY thankful that she is totally fine!
What a blessing that she wasn’t shredded! I noticed that one of the phone books was opened to a page with the word “Accident” at the top. Could your episode have been an “accident waiting to happen?” Lol! I am glad nobody was hurt! Fuzzer is a fluff ball cutie by the way! Lol!
Yep. My daughter didnt close the lid to our MBK all the way. One of the cats was hyper focused in her room
Thankfully we found the snake before the cat got him. My daughter was scolded and the snake put back in his enclosure securly. We also put a lock om it ( no key, just a pin through it to help my daughter visualize when its closed completely)
Oh gosh, I’m so glad you were able to rescue the little one in time and that she survived her adventure unscathed! I live in near-constant terror that my snakes and/or chinchilla will escape and fall victim to my cats.
You’re not wrong to worry, @jawramik. I lost my first beautiful, beloved Butter to our beloved dogs. It was horrible in every way.
On the other hand, I’ve safely recaptured a few escapees by paying attention to the household pets. My cat Mochi is the only one who’s allowed to hang out with me when I’m working with snakes. She’s actually come yowling and insisted that I follow her to retrieve an escapee before, like a feline Lassie. She’s also just stared in a very focused way at an escaped snake, like an Irish setter with a bird. Mochi has never tried to hurt one of the snakes, but she’s still a cat so I don’t fully trust her.
I’m glad your MBK’s escapee had a happy ending! It’s obvious what Fuzzer had in mind, and it wasn’t sitting on point while I got the snakeling! Thank the Lord Number Nine came through this adventure safe and sound.
A blessing, indeed. I keep saying it, but I am soooo thankful! I’m hoping this was the end of our accidents! Fuzzer appreciates your compliment. He’s actually super friendly, very loving and very sociable - with humans!
I’m so glad to hear that Number 9 made it through unscathed!
We’ve been fortunate so far with only two escapees; one who we now think may have actually been eaten by one of our bigger snakes and that bigger snake who will be out of her enclosure in under an hour if it’s even a little open. My SIL was put in charge of them while I rushed to Florida to say goodbye to my grandpa, and unfortunately she didn’t fully shut my big escapee’s enclosure. She got out and we found her behind my missing 7 months baby, smooshed up against the heat tape. She’s now in a hard to open tub in my racks so she hasn’t escaped since.
Our cat has been helpful in the past with rodent escapees though! She does that fixed stare thing and it has made it much more helpful than not, and one night she (unfortunately) brought my wife a half dead weanling rat to the bed. The best hunter she proved to be was whenever we had 8 ASFs escape into the house. WHAT A NIGHTMARE. Buttercup, our mighty hunter, found all of them within 3 days and even helped us corner them to catch.
You’ve certainly had some odysseys. It’s funny, their individual tendencies show up in escapes, too. I’ve got a couple who will find and exploit any chance, as you describe one of your bigger ones. Thankfully, they’re not all that way as some have occasionally had chances they’ve not taken. Your SIL must be very thankful that your escapee was found. And I’m sorry for the loss of your grandpa.
Buttercup is a very good girl. Despite her dubious gift to your wife. We live on the Gulf Coast, so palmetto bugs are a thing. I can still hear my daughter’s horrified shrieks from that summer night when Fuzzer leaped into her bed with one in his mouth which he proceeded to crunch against her bare leg.
This…
gives me a bit of hope that we’ll possibly still safely find the still missing one. Thanks. I swear, I am not casually letting snake roam. It has been years since I’ve had an escape, but this has been a rough year.
Yeah, when I was a kid, I lost one of my much-loved pet rats to an attack by my much-loved dog, so I know how awful it is when one pet kills another. The dog got into my bedroom while nobody was home and knocked over the rat cage. Initially we thought she’d killed both my rats. We found one mortally wounded, and she passed away about an hour later (while we were frantically calling every vet in town to find someone who could see her), but the other rat was nowhere to be found, so we assumed the dog had eaten him (especially because my room was COVERED in blood, it seemed like way too much blood to have come from one rat)…until he turned up completely unscathed a few days later. He’d just been hiding in my room behind and underneath furniture. He didn’t have a scratch on him, and went on to live for two more years (he was nearly 4 when he finally passed of natural causes, which is insanely old for a rat). So at least the story kinda had a happy ending, but it was still awful.
It’s always horrible to lose a pet, but having one pet you adore kill another pet you adore is a special kind of horrible. I always try to be extra-cautious to ensure all my caged animals are safe from my cats. They’re all in secure enclosures that won’t pop open if the cats mess with them, or even if they get knocked over, and I shut the cats in another room before taking anyone out for handling. Still, it’s an ever-present worry in the back of my mind.
It truly is. I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. “Tragic” is a word we sometimes use loosely, but that was honestly tragic. I’m glad that you and one of your rats had two more years together.
In my case, our dogs stayed in the kitchen at night. Doree, my beautiful butter girl, was in a viv in our bedroom. Apparently a single clip wasn’t tightly fastened and she forced herself between the lid and the side, which couldn’t have been easy or comfortable. For whatever reason, she trekked all the way through the house and into the kitchen. My dearly loved corgi didn’t bark when she was doing what she regarded as her business, and I guess she thought of this that way. At any rate, the whole family somehow slept through it all. When I got up the next morning and went to the kitchen, it was all over. Doree was one of my first group whom I’d bought as hatchlings from Kathy Love. They had finally grown up, and her first pairing was only weeks away.
Ah, I understand. I’m sorry. But I’ll take courage from your acquaintance whose snake turned up after 9 months. Maybe I’ll yet find my lost one, or it’ll find me.
We have a dog, but it’s actually kind of funny; she’s interested in animals, but one they’re close to her she gets scared So not a need to worry there.
She’s one of Odin and Sunlight’s babies. I love her frosting, and she’s got a wonderful disposition. I expected some defensive attitude when I reached for her after all the chaos, but she was just as pleasant as always. Still astonished that she was safe! Those two phone books had been on a chair under the bar. I don’t exactly know who was where, but the thing that makes the most sense to me is that Agent Number 9 was likely up on that chair when Fuzzer found her. If so, she was knocked to the floor then before being besieged. That would account for the crash I heard. I’m amazed and VERY thankful that she is totally fine!
but I do know a guy who lost his for 9 months and showed up outside the house in the crawl space before fall.
But I’ll take courage from your acquaintance whose snake turned up after 9 months. Maybe I’ll yet find my lost one, or it’ll find me.
So not a need to worry there.