Wednesday, October 16, 2019 9:30ish pm
I’m watching TV, expecting Inigo to check-in any time now. Usually he does this by appearing in my lap. No huffing, puffing, meowing, or traipsing across the floor noises. He’s a smooth, shadowy, guy.
Chris is not home. She is traveling south on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train and is now near Klamath Falls, Oregon. She can provide some emotional support for what I’m about to go through, but that’s about it.
The text messages that comprise the heart of this story appear below and are unedited except for one naughty word that I censored.
What is Diana’s name doing in there? No idea. With my mumbling and dithering the dictation software did the best it could. I probably meant for the word to be “dictate.”
There’s at least one typo in there, too, but you’re gonna have to deal. Remember this is the tail end of my day and I’m not at my sharpest.
I have reasons to have expected our small prey to be a gopher, but I’m not gonna get into that.
During the big hunt, when Inigo and I are sometimes only a few feet apart, in a corner, say, I’d try to explain to him what I’m doing in a calm, ordinary voice. Calm, normal voice and no quick, noisy movements from me. I didn’t want him freaking out when I was moving furniture right near him. Good boy Inigo.
Note that the action covers about 2 hours Wednesday evening, and the final words are Chris’s on Thursday Morning.
Our little saga begins that fateful Wednesday night when instead of realizing there’s a 9-pound cat in my lap, I hear some thumping nearby. In the dark living room I see the outline of a black cat who’s almost always hard to see anyway with a dark, fist-sized, object in his mouth.
I turn a light on not knowing what else I’m gonna see and by then the mouthful is gone and the chase is on.
Paul to Chris, 9:46 pm
Dear little Inigo brought a gopher into our living room. He was torturing it for a while and then it got away and neither he nor I know where the little critter is now. Yikes!
Chris to Paul, 10:27 pm
Oh no!! Good luck!!
Paul to Chris, 10:31 pm
Yeah, good luck is right. Inigo and I still haven’t found the little [naughty word censored!].
Chris to Paul, 10:34 pm
That sounds horrible. And it’ll be the most inconvenient time. Yuck! I feel very badly for you!
Paul to Chris, 11:21 pm
We got him! And I do mean we. I was just starting to Diana response to you and I heard great commotion from the parlor and Inigo was on his trail again.
Chris to Paul, 11:23 pm
Inigo would realize where he was and I would then gently methodically start removing obstacles to expose him. Finally I had a chance to smack him with them meter stick. I smote him and then I had a chance to put him out of his misery. I didn’t enjoy that at all.
Paul to Chris, 11:24
The living room now looks like this.
Paul to Chris, 11:26 pm
The late gopher looked like this. I think that’s a rat actually.
Paul to Chris, 11:27
Phew!
Chris to Paul, 7:54 am Thursday
Wow! THAT was drama! Sounds like you & Inigo were quite the team! I’m very, very glad you guys won the battle. And the smiting. No, it really doesn’t sound like fun (at least for you). But selfishly I’m glad it’s done before I got home.
But I bet Inigo enjoyed going on the hunt with his dad!
>>>>>End of Gopher story