Batman

So, Sunday night I hear Anya running back and forth in the upstairs hallway. Rather atypical behavior on her part unless, of course, she's chasing something. But the back and forth aspect confused me, if she were chasing a mouse, the mouse would go to ground as quickly as it could, not run up and down the hallway. That's a pretty good way for a mouse to commit suicide-by-cat.

So I head aloft to see what all the fuss is about. When I get upstairs Anya is sitting there looking at me as if to say, "What took you so long?" As I'm looking at her I see movement in my peripheral vision, not on the floor mind you, but in the air. About chest height.

Hhmm, a bird in the house? How the heck did that happen? Then I see the UFO in the air in planform, 'tis not a bird but a mammal.

Yup, classic bat shape. It's also worth noting that the little buggers are like mice in their ability to squeeze through very small openings. So unless The Missus Herself had had the door open (which happens, the storm door is in need of replacement and doesn't close properly, unless one grips it and forces it closed), I figure the little fellow got confused and chased supper into the house. Probably through some wee opening which I couldn't find.

But now I have a bat in the house, a rather panicked bat as he/she had been chased by a cat. Anya the cat, to be precise.

Now Anya was never much of a hunter, that was Sasha's strong suit, but since Sasha's passing Anya has taken an interest in hunting. We saw mouse sign in the house in mid-July, Anya was paying close attention to  the nooks and crannies favored by rodents. Since my return from Sandy Eggo in August, haven't seen any rodent-sign in the domicile. I'm guessing Anya's attentions to that problem have driven the mice back outside.

Anyhoo, Anya wanted to catch the bat, as she can't fly that notion was problematic to say the least. The Missus Herself opened the window and the screen in the room where the flying mammal had last been spotted. Thirty minutes passed with no further bat sightings, until I heard a yell from downstairs.

The bat had flown down there. (Must have been a young, inexperienced bat, his/her sonar obviously hadn't spotted the open window.)

I went to the shed and got the net (which we use in the koi pond, no Virgil, not so we can eat them). By the time I returned The Missus Herself had opened more windows. Also, the bat was no longer downstairs.

So back upstairs I went and sat myself down to continue watching 1864 (it's pretty good IMHO). Moments later I felt the flutter of leathery wings pass close aboard. Freaking bat was in the man cave!

So Anya and I turned to and resumed the hunt with net and flashlight. (Truth be told, Anya was now more interested in the flashlight than the bat, yes, I did indulge her with that.) After some long moments of stalking, interspersed with Anya chasing the flashlight beam, I realized that the bat was nowhere to be found.

I rattled curtains, shone my light into nooks and crannies above ground level. Nada, nichts, nothing. So I went around closing windows, though it was chilly last night, the little bugs were being attracted to the lights in the house. Reasoning that those same little bugs probably attracted the bat's attention as well, I presumed the bat had returned to its natural habitat.

The night wore on, no leathery wings fluttered, no small flying things hovered in the peripheral vision, I assumed that the bat adventure was over. Awakened in the morning, no bat reports from The Missus Herself and Anya had not seen anything during the night worth chasing (or mentioning). So adventure over, no bats in the house.

So I guess...

Anya is, of course, the Batcat. My trusted sidekick. She was never into ground warfare, she's apparently a devotee of anti-air warfare.

Sorry Juvat...

Update!

Seems that the bat did not make his/her get-away on Monday night but spent the entire night and all of Tuesday in the house, catching 40 winks somewhere. When The Missus Herself came home in the evening, the bat decided to awaken and flutter around the downstairs. Doors and windows were flung open and the bat made a dash for freedom. Unfortunately the storm door at the front of the house hadn't been opened yet and he/she flew into the screen.

Stunned, the wee bat lay there for a moment. As I dashed to open the screen door and help him/her outside, the little bugger came to life and began fluttering about once more, sans clue, sans exit strategy. (Kinda like certain generals I know.)

But now the front storm door being open, the bat made his/her escape. We think.

We shall see...