Basement Cats

Tiny kitties……in my crawlspace……makes me feel giggly……makes me want to embrace…..

Well, not my finest lyrics perhaps.  I would like to get closer to the tiny cats who have invaded the underbelly of my house, but they are just too darned shy.  Cute as buttons, and hungry enough to eat stale cat crunchies, but not willing to let me get close.  At 6 a.m. on Sunday (actually 5 a.m. because of DST), after I gave Bella her snack so she would stop meowing, and I heard a whole new voice.  It was making tiny mews.  I was concerned because it sounded like it might be inside my walls.  Off I went stumbling around in the frosty dark, in my jammies, trying to track down the sounds.  Half of the house is on short stilts and has a sort of crawlspace under it, the other half has a basement.  Since I had no intention of snaking through the crawlspace in my pajamas, I decided to try the basement first.  There were two little cats sitting cozily on top of the ductwork in my basement.  Apparently they had found the opening to the crawlspace and were just chatting while they explored.  Since they were directly under my floorboards, it sounded like they were stuck in the walls.  But they weren’t stuck at all—I saw one of them on my back porch after I went inside, so I knew they were just checking the place out.  Hopefully they were attracted by the mice that live under my kitchen cabinets. 

I would put a picture of them here, but I still don’t have a friggin’ camera.  You’ll just have to use your imagination.  About 3 months old, one black and white splotchy, one tan with black stripes.

They played around in the yard and under the porches all day, and were still hanging out in the basement when I did laundry in the evening.  This morning I didn’t hear a peep, so I checked before I went to work.  They were still there, peeking at me from the ducts and the crawlspace.  Still cute as buttons, still not willing to let me get close.  At least they’ve quieted down—hearing them but not seeing them was making Bella a little crazy yesterday.  I haven’t seen her attack her toys that fiercely in ages, so I suspect she was working out her frustration.  I hope they will work together, and between the three of them, rid my kitchen of mousies!