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I walked into my hangar, and my neighbors cat Patches, a 12 year old, bony 5 pound female ran out the door with something in her mouth. My coffee had not yet saturated my brain, and my first thought was “Why is Patches stealing an air hose?” A moment later I got another glance and saw she had a snake in her mouth.
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I chased her across my yard, and under Grace’s Corvair van, pictured above. I was relieved to see it wasn’t a water moccasin, but I had a struggle with a stick trying to get her to drop it. By the time I did, the snake was beyond saving. Later careful inspection showed that it was an Indigo snake 48-50″ long. It’s mouth was clogged with white cat fur. Patches lives outside, but I have never seen her chase lizards nor birds. Evidently, something about this particular snake was personal.
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When I picked up the snake after the battle, I guessed it weighed about half of what Patches does, and it was four times longer, but evidently it wasn’t nearly as tough as an old airport cat from rural Florida.
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Related Stories:
Water moccasins or Beltway traffic? Back in Florida
Environmental factors: Rain, Snakes, and Power Testing
An annual event on our calendar: Snake Season Returns
Snakes common enough to be a trip and fall hazard: Fun with Agkistrodon Piscivorus and Vern’s Aero-Trike
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