Visitors in the Night!

Bull Snake - similar in looks to rattle snake

We have had a horrible night, but Grace - our female gray and white cat - it was great!  Sunday someone found a bull snake near their RV and picked it up with a very long stick and carried it to the river - we were not happy about this because where they put it near the river is near us!  I had visions and worries (I worry a lot) that this snake would find it's way into the basement of our RV.  We have read that bull snakes and gopher snakes are from the same family, non-venomous, living on small rodents and birds.  This bull snake looked about 5 feet long and was quite chunky.  Great.  Now I begin to let my mind run crazy.

Sunday night we made it with no visitor inside.  Monday was fine, nothing happened - Grace wasn't alerted to anything but Tuesday - a different story.  Grace started to watch our cabinets under the sink in the kitchen with interest.  She would move from the door to the kitchen, listening and watching.  Oh no.  Last night the visitor came out.  About 1:30am in the morning Dave said - Grace is chasing something in the living room!  Lights went on, we saw she was chasing a small field mouse.  And caught it - only I didn't want her to eat it, so I made her drop it and it ran.  Dave caught it with a couple of paper towels and he opened the door and threw it out.  Phew!  Done.  However, how did it get in?

Our guard dog (cat) Grace

Dave said in the morning he'll look under the belly of the RV and see if there is an opening.  Okay, we settled down, back to sleep and at 3:50am - Grace is chasing another mouse!  Yikes - this time this little bugger didn't want to be caught and round and round and round the living room it went, under chairs, under a box, behind this, behind that.  Grace was loving every minute - a MOUSE!!!!!  I could hear her yelling YIPPEE!.  Dave corned that little bugger and out it went into the night.  We never got back to sleep regardless after that.

This morning Dave got under the RV and there was a slit that he saw, looked like a stone or something had got caught and it ripped about a foot long and 1/2 inch wide.  Well, needless to say - he has buttoned that up with duck tape.  Hope that's the end of our critter stories. And I am glad that it was mice instead of snake!  And we have great faith that Grace will continue as our guard dog.  She is so tired today, sleeping, and I guess that's okay - be on guard tonight just in case, little girl.