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A strange thing happened at Casa Pratt last week – more unusual than the daily strangeness. This occurrence involved two of our cats, Ori and Psycho Kitty, in major roles.

Both had been pursuing their hunting/stalking skills in the master bathroom for a couple of days. Ori, who has the ability to open cabinet doors and drawers, could be found checking them all out.

Kiki, aka Psycho Kitty, sniffed under the cabinets, behind the clothes hamper, and around the small trash can.

I assumed they had caught sight or scent of a mouse. Out here the country mice come visit quite often. The cats enjoy the chase, the catch, and the play with the furry little outsiders.

To my knowledge, my cats have never eaten a mouse; they simply bat it around and worry it to death. Then they leave their “gift” for me in the middle of the floor. They are very generous that way. Gotta love ’em.

One night last week, I had to get up in the middle of the night (that happens a lot when one reaches a certain age). I stumbled to the bathroom with only a night light to guide me. There, lying about 2 feet apart and facing each other, were my two mousers. Between them was a dark mass. It was black and gray and resembled a piece of cord rolled into a figure eight.

At first, I thought one of the cats had had an accident on the floor, although I had never known that to happen before. Besides, both cats seemed intent on the blob, which I figured was not what they would do if it was, in fact, kitty-doo.

Kiki kept batting at the object, which was another indicator. And Ori’s ears twitched every time Kiki touched the thing – another oddity.

In my 3 a.m. daze, I wondered if the “cord” could be a snake. I turned on the light for a better look. I realized, if it was a snake, it wasn’t a very large one, but even as I bent to get a better perspective, with my limited eyesight, it was still not clear.

Kiki kept batting and the thing didn’t move, which gave me a bit of courage to make a plan. Leaving the thing there wasn’t an option, as I knew I’d worry the rest of the night about it.

I entertained the notion of waking my husband to handle the problem. Immediately, I dismissed that idea. If it turned out the object was, in fact, a shoelace or a piece of cord, he’d never let me live it down. And, if it actually turned out to be a snake, he would try to convince me of the positive attributes of the slithery things.

Let me say right here, I have a genuine dislike of snakes, my motto being the only good snake is a dead snake. This position is one with which my husband heartily disagrees.

Working up a bit of courage, I took a few deep breaths, got the broom and dustpan, and swept the thing up. Imagine my surprise when it immediately began to stretch out and attempt to slither off the dustpan!

I rushed to the back door and heaved the foot-long creature far out into the yard like a shot-putter at the Olympics.

The cats were upset. My husband, when I relayed the story to him the next morning, thanked me for “saving” the small snake.

I still use caution when I enter the bathroom, wondering where the snake came from and how it got into the house. Like mice, if you see one, there’s probably more. My cats never go outside, so I know they didn’t haul the thing indoors.

To be on the safe side, I have enlisted their help to watch out for any more intruders. They are standing vigil.

Today I saw God in His creatures, great and small.

Where did you see God today?

Pat Pratt is the author of three books starring senior citizen sleuths. Find her on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Or she can be contacted at triciajunison@yahoo.com. 

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