Desperately Seeking Reptiles October 20, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Animals, Home & Garden, Humor, Nature.trackback
Fall made a brief appearance this morning.
With temperatures in the 60’s, we turned off the air conditioner and opened the sliding glass doors. Tigger bounced and pounced around, indoors and out, enjoying the brisk fall air and breezes.
His energy level rebounded from its summer set-point of “barely breathing” to the much more energetic setting of “frisky as a kitten.”
With vigor, our happy hunter combed the deck for lizards. He sniffed under chairs, wandered around table legs, checked the umbrella stand, and stood on hind legs (like a meerkat sentry or prairie dog on patrol) to examine the underside of the bar stools.
Nothing.
He looked high.
He looked low.
Nothing.
He scanned left.
He scanned right.
Nothing.
He wandered here.
He wandered there.
Still nothing.
He stuck his neck through the deck railing to check for tell-tale reptilian movement on the rocks below. He scratched his head and examined the tracks of the sliding glass door.
All for naught. No luck. No lizards. Not a single reptile to be found.
Wikipedia ~ Lizard (in Public Domain)
Lizards enjoy the heat of summer more than the cooler temps of fall.
When air temps drop into the 60’s, they make themselves scarce.
They’re smarter than they look.
Perhaps they move inside to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa and a good book.
Alas, poor Tigger!
All coiled to Spring with nothing to Fall.
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Love it – if Tigger were a Tiger he could hunt reptiles to his heart’s content all year in Fleet Street 😉
Shhh . . . Tigger thinks he IS a Tiger. {{roar}} 😉
And the Budgies think they’re Harpie Eagles 😉
Bwahaha! Such grandiose mentality throughout the animal kingdum. 😀
Cute pic of Tigger – poor thing, looking inside AND outside the box and still coming up with nothing. 🙂 I’ve never seen a lizard here, but apparently we have several species…
Lizards here are ubiquitous . . . as long as temps stay in the 70’s. Below they, they tend to make themselves scarce.
Tigger had FUN despite the lack of lizards. Now, he’s put himself to bed for a much needed catnap.
Looks like Tigger is having a tiger of a day! That’s Gr-r-r-eat!
He had a blast. The thrill for him is in the hunt . . . he has a “catch and release” policy (which we enforce when he forgets). 😉
It’s funny how they suddenly get so frisky. Same here with the dogs.
Tigger is rather lethargic in the extreme cold and the extreme heat . . . but in the Spring and Fall, he’s got a real bounce in his step. He’s living LARGE! 😉
That’s what my cat does – search all over the place for lizards or other small animals. And it’s so cute when they sit up like meerkats!
I love to watch him patrol the grounds, inspecting this and that. Animals are such FUN.
hee hee. sounds like he had quite the day. Lizards are awesome creatures – leftover dinosaurs I’m sure. Our cat Sophie has become the terror of the chipmunk community this Fall and insists on carrying one home to show me. She’s pretty much got the catch and release system down, mostly because she is so easy to distract!
Sophie sounds like a great hunter. Glad that she is easily distracted and willing to release her prey.
Tigger is proud of his catches . . . he carries them in his mouth while growling fiercely. Once he sees that we’ve seen his hunting prowess, he lets the lizard go and it scampers away.
So much better than leaving dead lizards littering the deck. 🙂
What that cat needs is a great big British house spider 😀 They lead our moggies a merry dance over here in Autumn. Not much meat on them, though.
Tiggers chases moths, butterflies, bees, and houseflies. I bet he would love rubbing elbows (all eight of them) with a large British house spider. 😉
Your story is so charming, that if I were a furry cat I would be commiserating with Tigger and help him look for lizards. 🙂
Tigger’s search tuckered him out . . . he disappeared to sleep off his disappointment and chase lizards in his dreams. 😉
Animals are amazing to watch, especially when they are so intent on something like hunting for lizards – and I like Tigger’s policy of catch and release.
Sounds like all the excitement of looking and not catching anything plumb tuckered him out!
He knows how to live ~ full speed ahead followed by a full STOP! 😉
I forgot to mention that I love the photo of Tigger playing in the box cats love doing stuff like that, they are so funny and entertaining.
There is something about cats and boxes . . . they seem to have an almost magnetic appeal. 😀
As our weather becomes cooler, Duc is growing a glorious coat of black angora fur. That means he’s always hungry. (Not to mention a cold winter is coming.)
He knows he is not to touch quail! The other day he raced by my office door hardly able to manoeuvre. I peeked out and found him at a distant and unusual dining location. He was devouring an adult quail. He had the audacity to then pound on the office door, march in and gobble the last of the food in his dishes.
Wow! I don’t think that Tigger has ever EATEN anything that he’s caught . . . except for the occasional dragonfly.
Of course, he’s limited in his ramblings. If he goes outside, other than the back deck, he’s on a leash. 😀
He does enjoy chasing squirrels, but with BFF on the other end of the lead, he NEVER catches them.
Glad that Duc is going to have a warm winter coat to protect him from the colder temps.
Love the picture of Tigger in the box. Growing up, I had cat who liked to sit in Kleenex boxes. It was cute as a kitten but just ridiculous as a full-grown cat 🙂
I hope Tigger enjoyed the hunt, even if he showed up empty pawed.
Tigger likes boxes, bowls, and bags. One time, we “lost” him because he curled up in a small wooden bowl and disappeared from view. Now that same bowl looks like a saucer next to him.
He did enjoy the hunt. He’s learned that when we enjoy the “journey” . . . we win! No matter what happens, we win.
That picture of him exemplifies all there is to say about cats. Wonderful.
Thanks, Tilly. Tigger is a delight when he’s in the mood to PLAY.
your Tigger is a most attractive chap
We think so! He’s definitely better looking than the lizards. 😀
What a riot. That shot of him in the box was a hoot! 😆
He is a hoot! Our favorite is when he does a Tigger dance . . . bouncing around from side to side like a boxer warming up for a big match.
{{BOING}}
That first photograph – LOL! What a loopy feline 😀
I should scan some of the photos from when he was a kitten. He positively poised and polished now compared with when we first brought him home. 😉
cute kitty…
Tigger’s a good buddy. 😀
Cute picture of the cat in the hat, I mean box.
I would like Tigger in a box
And I would like him with a fox
He would look tiggerific in a tree
He’s just so CUTE, don’t you agree?
The photos really made me smile! Thank you!
It’s been a bit warmer again. They’re back! 😀