We’ve got a really, really bad …rodent… problem around here. I’m not talking mice in the house sadly. I’m talking about rodents outside the house, gophers that tunnel along the canal and ditch banks and squirrels that have burrowed and made lots of tunnels underneath our storage sheds. They’re a real pain and they’re also vicious too. Big Mamma alwyas works herself up into a really big tizzy trying to catch ‘em. That’s why they like to run around and pop up out of their tunnel entrances by her.

She catches ‘em sometimes too. They don’t stop though. They like messing with her head. But it’s fun to mess with dogs so I can’t blame ‘em. I just think it’d be better to mess with Shizuku. Big Mama’s kinda crazy. I mean, she likes hunting skunks.

As much as I’d like to catch one, and really teach those punks what’s what, they’re too fast for me. And they’re kind scary too. I had one chase after me once and the Old Man had to throw some rocks to get it to leave me alone. It almost caught my purty tail! Damn rabid nut-eaters!

I pride myself as a huntress, but my biggest catch was a gopher and only a medium sized one at that. Birds, lizards, toads, mice – those are my usual fair. Today though I outdid myself.

Yes, I got me one of them nut-eaters! It was a lot of work too and, unfortunately, I had to have Grandma and Mom help me too. But in the end, I caught him! I had so much fun playing with him too. I batted him around for a bit, but then he got away under teh bushes. I thought I lost him and kinda started to cry. Grandma thought I was hurt and came to see what was wrong. In the end it took her and Mom working together to flush him out to my direction. But as you can see, I got him!

I think I need some sales training though because in the end I didn’t get to keep him. He made funny squeak-chirps for help and got some bigger squirrels interested in what was going on. Big Mama had a field day chasing those guys though. I thought Mom was gonna give the squirrel to Big Mama after all my hard work. She didn’t. Then, since he was squeaking and Shizu really loves to chew on things that squeak, I thought he was gonna get it. I felt I deserved him, he was a lot of hard work after all. I tried to sell Mom on the idea but she wasn’t buying.

I’d make a lousy car salescat.

In the end, Mom’s specimen collection got a new addition. Mom didn’t want to let him go, ’cause they’ve been trying to exterminate those nut-munchers, but she didn’t want me to eat him either. I think she was afraid I’d get hurt after he started growling and tried to eat my face off. I could have totally taken him though! Mom worries too much. I swear, I should have never run to her that time a gopher bit my paw. She treats me like a baby now!

So now I still don’t know what squirrels taste like. Plus Mom won’t let me back outside in case those rabid nut-munchers are still pissy. But! I got Greenies when I got inside and a can of my favorite kitty food all to myself so I can’t get too upset.