We had a little mystery recently which I’m about to share with you, and I couldn’t resist naming this blog post in the tradition of Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and the like (all of which I read voraciously as a young ‘un)!
Although our backyard is fully fenced, the husbear had left the gate open for a few days recently – and that was when we noticed the mystery paw prints in the lush grass out the back. What animal had dared to come into our yard, threatening our kitties?!
They seemed quite large and had really indented the grass, so we didn’t think they prints belonged to our mostly outdoor cat, Seth (long story but I’ll try to keep it brief: Seth actually belongs to our son but a) his wife is allergic and b) they live in a unit not really suitable for such a big bruiser of a cat. So, he lives with us. Only problem is – he and Fleur cannot stand each other! You’d think that being the bigger cat, HE would be the bully, but no, it’s the dainty Miss Fleur, she is very territorial and real biatch to him … so we mostly have to keep them separated oi yoy oi … ).
Around the same time we found a doggy doo doo on our front lawn which made us think a large dog had been visiting and terrorising Seth. At night time we put Seth to bed in his “kitty chiller” enclosure, so he is safe – and not annoying the neighbours or getting into catfights – but the paw prints went right up to the catnet. We could only imagine how freaked out he must have been by this mysterious midnight visitor.
We were also very unimpressed that some irresponsible person was letting their dog roam the neighbourhood …
But life being as it is, we promptly forgot about it for a couple of weeks when we noticed early one morning that the mystery paw prints were STILL THERE. In fact, if anything, they were more pronounced than ever!
Who was the Owner of the Mystery Paw Prints?!
We stood there inspecting the trail, and contemplating what sort of dog might have been responsible, while Seth watched on. It was almost like he understood our conversation. Eventually he uncurled himself from his cosy bed, and stretched lazily.
The husbear said to me: “It must have been one huuuge dog!”
As we knelt down at the end of the trail, Seth looked at us curiously and started to walk towards us – it was almost like he was saying: “Hey let me see too!”
And with each step he took, our jaws dropped further. Because while those paw prints looked like they belonged to a much bigger animal, Seth unerringly placed his paw EXACTLY – in EVERY. SINGLE. PRINT.
See for yourself …
Clearly this was his usual path, which had been worn down with regular use.
Mystery solved!
The husbear and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing. So much for the case of the mysterious paw prints!
Were you a fan of Trixie Belden or Nancy Drew? And which one of our cats do you think is cuter – Fleur or Seth?!
