COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL February 10, 2016
Squirrely Situation!
I
t’s evident that Biscuit’s in-
juries have mended and her
energy has returned as demon-
strated in her latest wild adven-
tures!
“While quietly reading the
Cottage Grove Sentinel news-
paper,” said Linda, “I heard Bis-
cuit’s purr-culiar muffl ed meow
(mouth full of something craw-
ly, winged, feathered or furred
that I didn’t want to touch) an-
nouncing, ‘Mom look! I have a
gift for you!’”
Linda jumped up to make
sure Biscuit would not release
any “wiggling somethings” in
her house, but she was too late.
Biscuit “presented” her with an
uninjured squirrel and it went
“nuts”. It took off running! Its
adrenaline was running over-
time as it raced into her living
room.
“Biscuit took chase after my
‘gift’,” said Linda. “The com-
motion caught the attention of
Biscuit’s calico sister, Missy.
Now I had one running squir-
rel, two chasing cats and me fol-
lowing up the rear into the living
room. ‘Funniest Home Videos’
would have had a fi eld day with
our ‘episode’!”
Linda recently had her living
room carpet replaced with lami-
nated fl oors, which has no trac-
tion for speeding pets and wild-
life! It made for a fabulous “Slip
and Slide” with feet fl ying like a
three-legged tap dancer.
“Calamity reigned as I tried
to get the cats,” said Linda, “the
cats tried to get the squirrel, and
the squirrel tried to get away! I
grabbed a towel to catch, hold
and carry the squirrel — but he
had other things in mind.”
The focus of everyone’s at-
tention sped between the cats
and over to the brick fi replace,
which gave the squirrel solid
traction. He scooted up the
fi replace, leapt onto the china
hutch, then dropped behind it to
a “safe” zone — upsetting the
cats’ plans! Their “chase toy”
was now securely behind the
hutch, and it’s written some-
where in stone, “No one and no
cat can reach anything behind
the hutch”!
Without a whis-purr, the cats
telepathically took up guard
posts on both sides of the
hutch.
Fast forward hours: Biscuit
was cat napping when Missy
heard the squirrel climb down
the fi replace bricks. The chase
was on again!
The squirrel saw Missy so he
raced around the corner. Linda
was “... hoping he ran out the
open front door.” But instead,
the squirrel headed upstairs and
ran nose-to-nose with her third
kitty, Kiki, a 14-year-old black
cat, who was sleeping on the
landing.
To avoid a cat-astrophe, the
squirrel dived off the landing,
while a bewildered Kiki tried to
fi gure out if this is an exciting
dream or fur-real. Linda then
saw the end of the squirrel’s tail
between the rails, but before she
could help the poor squirrel, it
ran down the stairs. Linda lost
sight of it and fur-vently hoped
that it ran out the front door.
Instead, the squirrel ran into
her open coat closet. Her excit-
ed cat posse corralled it, taking
up vigilant paw-sitions.
Linda then had a brilliant
idea! She removed the cats
and sprinkled a trail of nuts
and seeds from the closet to the
open front door ... and squir-
rel freedom! Unfortunately, the
only ones that saw the open
door were the mosquitoes, who
joined the crazy household and
landed on Linda’s arms for an
uninvited snack. Linda closed
the door, solving one of her two
“guest” problems. Exhausted,
thankfully, female, felines and
squirrel slept peacefully that
night.
“The next morning,” said
Linda, “while drinking a cup of
coffee, I was wondering what
the day would bring when I
heard our overnight guest chat-
tering. I ran to his rescue and
chased the cats away. Then I
used a broom to carefully check
the closet fl oor for the squir-
rel. Suddenly, I remembered
that squirrels climb trees and it
could just as easily be sitting up
high looking at me. I quickly
backed away, opened the front
door and checked the Oregon
“nutty food” Trail before return-
ing to my coffee.
Shortly thereafter, the squirrel
safely sprinted outside. I closed
the door, wishing our little visi-
tor well, and hoped that was the
last we’d see of him.”
Surely, the squirrel thought
the same about Linda’s ‘crazy
cat house’!
Biscuit, who never led a bor-
ing life, must have missed all
the activity, because the next
morning she carried in two
birds in her mouth at the same
time, and a mouse the following
morning!
Well, that explains how “poor”
little Biscuit is doing — back to
her old kitty self! Paws-ibly her
mysterious earlier injuries were
from a neighborhood mob of
squirrels, mice and birds giving
her some of her own medicine!
As for Linda, she has lived
through enough ‘crazy cat’ ad-
ventures to pen a series of chil-
dren’s books, “Biscuit’s Adven-
tures”!
Selfi e by Linda and Biscuit
Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales readers inquired how “poor” Biscuit,
Linda’s kitty, featured in a “Small Town Springs To Ac-
tion - To Help Injured Pet”, is doing. Don’t let Biscuit’s
innocent face fool you! Readers should have asked,
“How is poor Linda doing?”
They pinpoint and locate what
the feline is hearing. Their ears
appear to twitch as they rotate
listening to noises that are im-
purr-ceptible to human ears.
DOG FACTS:
Randy, author of “From Crap-
py, to Happy” as seen in the
movie, “Eat, Pray, Love” and a
Tips ‘n’ Tales reader in Califor-
nia writes, “It is not safe to give
dogs stuffed toys intended for
children. Children’s toys often
contain fl ame retardants/chemi-
cals to retard bacterial growth
that can be toxic to dogs who
chew or swallow them.”
angelscribe@msn.com
“Follow” Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on
Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/
PetTipsandTales
Adopt Loving Pets
www.PetFinder.com
Humane Society for Neuter/
Spay Assistance Program. (541)
942-2789
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF
4 FOUJOFM
Our Community Newspaper
since 1889
Deadly Dog Toys!
http://www.snopes.com/crit-
ters/crusader/stuffedtoys.asp
TIPS
CAT FACTS:
Each cat ear contains 20 mus-
cles that work similar to radar.
7A
Tell us your crazy pet adven-
ture!
Subscribe
and $AVE
Birch Avenue Dental
Park W. McClung, DDS • Tammy L. McClung, DDS
Where dentistry is our profession but people are our focus
WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS!
Check out our exclusive Birch Avenue Dental Program that provides
all the rewards of dental insurance without the headaches.
For more information please call
541-942-2471
or visit us at
www.birchavenuedental.com
Another dental visit?
Turns out, you have better things
to do with your time.
We know your time is valuable. That's why we've invested in CEREC
technology that allows for a faster experience when you need crowns,
fillings or veneers. With CEREC, there's usually no need for a temporary
and return visit. Everything is done in one visit, in about an hour -
leaving more time for whatever is important to you.
Implants •Teeth Whitening • Extractions • Lumineers (no prep veneers as seen on TV)
Cottage
Grove
Sentinel
+
Cottage Grove Dental
Dr. Brent Bitner, DDS
350 Washington, Cottage Grove
(behind Better Bodies)
942-7934
CEREC® is a registered trademark of Sirona Dental Systems.
"As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it."
— Mahatma Gandhi