Saviour

I just saved a chipmunk's life from Ichi's evil clutches. OK, Ichi really isn't evil, he's a pretty nice cat. But, just after I busted out of a poker tourney this afternoon, just short of the money, he brought me in a live chipmunk as a consolation prize.

Thanks, Ichi.

He batted it around a bit, before it ran behind the love-seat we have squished into a little nook in our living room. I sort of assumed the chipmunk would stay back there for a while, because it would at least be safe back there. Nope! Ichi lured it out and played around with it some more, until it somehow squeezed halfway under a little rock seating structure in front of the fireplace. Its tail was sticking out, so I put on my motorcycle gloves tried giving it a little tug to see if I could get him outside to safety.

The tip of his tail came off in my hand, which probably isn't a good thing. I don't think chipmunks are one of those sneaky species that lose their tail to avoid capture. They could be, but I don't think so? Can any animal nerds out there help me with this one?

Anyways, I finally get in there with two hands and grab its torso (gently) and pull it out from little gap it was stuck in. It chirped a few times, but didn't really seem to mind the free ride outside. It was probably petrified, but I looked at it and its eyes were squinty--which could mean one of many things:

-pissed off
-you're squeezing too tight
-tired
-you pulled off my tail and now I'm going to die

I'm rooting for "pissed off" or "tired."

I set it down on the plastic table we have setup outside, and it quickly jumped off it onto the porch... where Ichi was of course laying in wait. Here we go again! But not really, Ichi swung and missed a few times, and the chipmunk made it to the edge of the deck and contemplated a swift, painless freefall suicide, or being a feast for Ichi.

I kept Ichi away for a minute, while I tried to get closer to chip-chippity. I made it within grasping distance, when it decided to leap! "Aw crap!" I said to myself. I looked over the rail and didn't see a little chipmunk corpse on the ground, but then I saw it clinging to the side of the porch, on the 2x4 just over the edge from where I thought it jumped.

Sneaky varmit! While I contemplated reaching for it again, Ichi beat me to the punch, and leaned over the edge to inspect, and found the chipmunk just inches away. Ichi batted at it, and it flailed its way down... down... down...

*poof*

Well, it was just 10 feet, if that, so the chipmunk blinked, then ran under the porch. The chipmunk is still alive, it got a free tail-trim, and Ichi is out on the prowl again.

Win, win, win!