Jiminy In The House

As we were packing up to leave Fort Worth, Hoss spotted a large cricket hiding under the truck. Paisan used to love chasing bugs and butterflies back when we lived in a stick-and-brick house, and I feel bad that she hasn't had much outside play time. So I scooped him up, took him to the cab, and deposited him next to her as she dozed in her bed. She sat up, stared at him for a moment, then gave him a good cuffing. He jumped under my seat and found a hiding place neither of us could find, and there he stayed.

Hoss thought I was crazy for setting a cricket loose in the truck. "He's going to chirp all night," he predicted. I expected the dang thing to be dead by dark, but I was beginning to think Hoss was right. But shortly after dinner, Jiminy flew past my nose and landed on the dinette table - with the cat stalking him from the floor. Hoss put the cricket on the floor for her and Kitty Funtime began.

She must have chased and batted him around for half an hour. It wasn't long before he'd lost the ability to jump, which gave her even more of an advantage. Eventually, they both ended up under a cabinet where we keep her litterbox. She crouched patiently, and from her body language alone I knew he'd found yet another undetectable hiding place. And there he remains.

If he survives, I doubt that he'll be chirping much with a single good leg - or possibly no legs at all.

I hope.