Something in the house...

I suspect that once again we have something living in the house that should not be here as the cats have been going mad behind furniture and taking great interest in the spaces underneath...  Something has clearly spooked Boris and I had suspected it might be one of the un-neutered toms that we have hanging about on the estate but now I am not so sure.  This afternoon Di and I managed to up-tip the heavy sofa bed in the lounge but there was nothing there except dust and tumble-weed so the search continues.

Only the other morning John was Skyping his mum and the cats were going bananas in the lounge - which could only mean one thing - we had a visitor, probably an unwelcome one and possibly still alive as its remains were not strewn under the dining table which is what normally happens when something meets its untimely end thanks to the cats.

That time John had to tip the large sofa up and I had to make sure the cats did not get trapped underneath.  I was expecting to find a lizard but instead there was a live mouse which shot out straight into the welcoming jaws of Charlie - to be fair it was in his mouth but Charlie hadn't pierced its skin with his fangs - he was probably trying to decide what to do with it next, eat it or play with it?

John managed to encourage Charlie to release his grip and had the mouse in his hands when it shot off and disappeared behind the cat bowls!!!  Eventually we managed to get to it and it was still alive - seemingly uninjured but probably having a heart attack.   John picked it up and let it free to live another day and probably return to the house!!  Charlie was bemused and kept running round the house trying to find his new play-thing.

He soon lost interest in his missing mouse and retreated to the warmth and comfort of the conservatory.  He looks like an earless cat in this picture and at one point got so comfortable and was sleeping so deeply that his eyes opened and his eyeballs had rolled back into his eyes - this is freaky as he looks like he has popped his clogs - this makes me think he has a bit of a thyroid problem as my lovely friend Hazel (whose son is coming to visit) used to be able to sleep with her eyes open when she had her thyroid problem - indeed her friend Jackie would get so freaked out she would check Hazel with a mirror to check she was still breathing!