[Kitty]

I always open my front door each morning and let the kitties sit there and watch the birds and whatever else they find so entertaining outside. The storm door remains closed so they have a safe observation point.

This morning, both of them were pawing at the glass on the storm door, running back and forth and meowing. Finally, I went to see what the rukus was all about. There was a snake!! It wasn't that big....probably a foot long....and I'm pretty sure it was just a harmless garden snake....but it was still a snake! It was just sitting on the front walkway - not really doing anything - but finally it slithered off into the grass.

My next thought was "I wonder where it went and are there others?". It was probably looking for water - poor thing - it's so hot and dry here.

I will be exiting my house through the back door for the next several days!!

[Blessings2You]

Better let the cats look out the back door first, and make sure the coast is clear!

[Kitt]

Boy, isn't that the truth It probably went to the back door

[Kitty]

Thanks, ya'll.....now I'm stuck in this house indefinitely!!!

[mrsD]

Oh, my!

Our youngest cat loves to hunt for snakes.(our other two cats could care less). We have garter snakes up North, on the shore. They come out to sun on the rocks to warm up.

2 summers ago Oreo was hot on a small one..like the size you described, Kitty, and it got frightened and did a "dead" thing.
Flipped over rolled into a spiral and held its breath. She was totally flummoxed. So she backed off it...and waited, and after a time it flipped back and zipped into a rock crevice...she missed it.

We also saw an young newly fledged eagle across the bay (with binos) catch a bigger snake! That was interesting since he didn't know what to do with it --he had trouble holding on to it!

Snakes go down into mouse and chipmunk holes and eat the babies. I wish I had some here...as the chipmunks we have are sooooo destructive!

[Kitty]

I doubt my cats would know what to do with a snake if they caught one. They're strictly indoor cats. Both of them act real brave with the protection of the door between them and whatever they are "attacking". It's just a lot of hissing and yowling. I bet if they came face to face with another critter they'd hightail it back inside!

[Blessings2You]

Where's Rikki Tikki Tavi when you need him?

[Kitty]

A mongoose??? Well, I'd take one of those over a snake!!

[AZjanie]

We used to have lots of garter snakes back in Ohio and they all looked like giant killer boa constrictors to me.

I know there are "good snakes" but if it's a critter in my territory, has more than four legs or less than two and I see it; it's gonna DIE!!

[Kitty]

When I was a child and we'd go to visit my grandmother on her tobacco farm in NC it was a given that we'd see a snake. This was back in the 1960's. There was a big black snake that lived in her garage that she named Fred. She liked him because he killed all the mice. Her garage was detached from the house.....all the way across the yard.

She also had a man who came every day and worked on the farm. Fed the animals and did whatever you do on a tobacco farm. He didn't like snakes and he wasn't aware of Fred.

Apparently he happened upon Fred one day while looking for a tool in the garage. Scared him so bad that he took a hoe and chopped Fred's head off. When Fred's body slithered out the garage door he went and got his rifle and shot Fred's body several times. Needless to say, that was the end of Fred. I remember my grandmother giving him "what for" (as she'd say) for killing her mouse catcher!