When I entered a client's home on a pet-sitting visit last night, I was surprised to find a rousing game of "cat and mouse" underway. (Except there were two cats and the "mouse" was a chipmunk, but you get the idea.)
When my initial efforts to talk the rather exasperated rodent back outside proved futile, it occurred to me to recruit the assistance of the resident felines to herd him into the bathroom where I could corner him myself. Luckily, the cats were annoyed enough by not having been able to catch him that they were pretty eager participants--even if the big chase ended in a chipmunk liberation rather than dinner.
Cornering this little survival warrior was no easy task, either. I tried talking him into a bucket, scooping him up into a bucket, and picking him and putting him in the bucket--only to learn, time and time again, how chipmunks bent on not being eaten can leap like leopards from just about any enclosure and off just about any surface. I finally succeeded by placing chipmunk in a Fancy Feast box I'd emptied the cans out of and quickly closing the top panels. I carried outside and let the poor thing escape to his safety.
I was happy I didn't leave a chipmunk to his death (or to a chewing and pooing spree in my client's house). The cats were happy that they helped capture their evasive target. And the chipmunk was happy that he didn't get eaten. It was an all-around win.
Only later did I start pondering the significance of this whole episode. According to the tradition of animal medicine, the natural world often speaks to us through animals. Each animal carries its own symbolism, related to its behavior in nature and surrounding lore. Usually, when I have an extraordinary encounter with a particular animal, I can look up its totem meaning and figure out exactly what the message for me was.
But this time, I'm struggling.
What the heck kind of animal medicine is in finding two cats unsuccessful in hunting a chipmunk, tag-teaming with cats to round up said chipmunk, watching said chipmunk's willpower defy gravity, and then completing the mission by rendering a cat food container (of all things) into a chipmunk safe-transport device?!?
I welcome your interpretations. Please. :)
