Squirrel Tag

Innocently resting high above the cats

                Have any of you seen a cat catch a squirrel?  As often as my cats try, I think the odds are in their favor of one day getting one.  I also think that if they do, the squirrel will win, given the home field advantage.  A squirrel bite to the nose can’t be a pleasant thing, but I probably wouldn’t feel too sorry for the cat.  I would feel sorry for me having to pay another vet bill.

                The squirrels and cats have a love-hate relationship.  The cats love to chase them up trees.  The squirrels hate the cats but love to sit in the branches high above and cuss at them--following the sound of squirrel cussing is, in fact, the best method of tracking down our cats.  I don’t know for sure, but it seems like the squirrels intentionally shell nuts above the cats so they can pelt them with walnut skins.  This is just a theory—there’s no way to prove squirrel motivation.

                Our house humans, however, (a little alliteration to make my daughter’s day) find squirrels delightful.  We feed them in winter and laugh at their attempts to break into the neighbors’ bird feeder.  I like to talk to them when they peek around tree trunks at my eye level.  Our favorite squirrel watching moments are when the babies come out in early spring and chase each other up and down the ash trees in the front yard.

                The lesson in this is that we all share our little patch of land—hunters, gatherers, and home dwellers—and despite our differences, we can still find joy and companionship in each other—at least until someone gets bit.