Now how did that get there?

After witnessing my 20lb Maine Coon cat give chase it has come to my attention that there's a chipmunk in my apartment.

Any suggestions on how to remove the little beast beyond letting said Cat make a huge berkeleying mess?

Do you care if it lives?

live trap+peanut butter. Critter gets trapped, cat gets a show, everyone lives.

I'd just keep an eye on the cat, let it catch the little bugger, and make an intercept before he/she has a chance to tear it apart.

Or lock up the cat and leave an exterior door open. I'm guessing the chipmunk is a little stressed about the situation too, and would rather go back to frolicking in the trees or singing 3 part harmony to well known but dated pop songs. Or whatever it is chipmunks do in the wild.

DaveEstey wrote: After witnessing my 20lb Maine Coon cat give chase it has come to my attention that there's a chipmunk in my apartment.

If he is any sort of Maine Coon, its dead right now and everything you own is overturned, destroyed and covered in chipmunk blood. .

I have a Have-A-Heart trap and a Chipmunk Relocation Program.

Look for holes in the foundation, floors, walls etc., he's getting in somhow.

Dan

I removed a Chipmunk from my garage recently. I scooped it up in a bucket and relocated it to the woods. It was pretty easy to catch, as it was dead. But at least it had a head, which is more than I can say for the baby bunnies, birds, and squirrels that came before it. OK kitty, I get it. Thanks for the presents, but that's really enough.

The funny part is that I have a bird dog, a pit/lab mix, and a large male cat that couldn't catch a cold. My runt-of-the-litter cat, who is all of 5 pounds full grown, is the hunter killer of the group.\ Maybe its the eyes!

In reply to wearymicrobe:

It worked its way under a door. So everything is as you say beyond the dead chipmunk part.

Can we have an E-cat fight?

I have a 32lb male orange tabby that would probably like to rip off the head of the dog downstairs and cover my neighbor's apartment in dog blood.

Shotgun. Use #8 shot or smaller. 12 GA. Wear ear muffs. Works every time. Seriously.

I have not had good luck with Maine Coons. Especially white ones. They just don't last long. 6 years, 2 years, 8 years. The last outdoor white Main Coon, Isaac, was a big squirrel killer. He'd carry a half a squirrel around like a sandwich. We called them "squirrel sandwiches," and don't even think of trying to take it from him. Our current indoor cats will hunt mice. Jet has killed one. "I played with it until it broke." They usually will corner it and then I come kill it. Shotgun. Or broomstick, whichever I think will require less cleanup.

I have a 16ga with some skeet load, but that seems messy.

I'm going to let the cat out of the bathroom and let nature take its course.

Hess, doesnt that mess up the floors? Or are y'all still livin on dirt down there?

I would not want to start blasting my hardwood floors with #8 shot no matter how much fun it would be.

My old roommate used to shoot mice in our house with his .17HMR. He was sort of nuts.

A girl who lived in the same apartment building as me shot a wasp with a .22. Yeah, it was a damn big wasp and alcohol was a factor.

Naw, the pellets go in the dirt. After the dust settles down, you don't even notice it. And that nice smokeless powder scent beats incense all over.

And JM, everyone knows you're supposed to use a 22 ratshot load on wasps. Duh.

i came back to my college apt from spring break to find a squirrel on my kitchen table once. it seems that someone had repaired a hole in the wall by taping over the hole and then painting the tape rather than doing a proper repair, and the squirrels were living in the space between the first and second floor condos by crawling into the dryer ducts and chewing through the tubing. i walked in and we both stared at each other for a moment thinking "oh E36 M3, what now?" i eventually herded it out through the open front door.

it happened again a couple days later before the mgmt company came and patched the hole in the wall, but this time all i had to do was leave the door open and it remembered the way out as soon as i moved out of the doorway.

93celicaGT2 wrote: Can we have an E-cat fight? I have a 32lb male orange tabby that would probably like to rip off the head of the dog downstairs and cover my neighbor's apartment in dog blood.

I'll never call our "big boned" 11 pound cat fat again!

Cotton wrote: I'll never call our "big boned" 11 pound cat fat again!

Don't - look at the behemoth in my avatar!

He always had agility, stamina and the hunting instinct - even when his target was my lap.

Best I can do is a 25lb-ish half maine coon, half bucket of absolute chicken-E36 M3. He's scared of dust bunnies.

Five gallon bucket half full of water. Sunflower seeds floating on top. A ramp to help it in the bucket. That or let the cat have it.

The only thing worse than finding a squirrel on the kitchen floor is finding half of one. For some reason our last cat like the front half of them, but didn't mind sharing the back half. Usually he would bring it in and drop it at my wife's feet. For some reason she didn't appreciate it.

Cotton wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote: Can we have an E-cat fight? I have a 32lb male orange tabby that would probably like to rip off the head of the dog downstairs and cover my neighbor's apartment in dog blood.

I'll never call our "big boned" 11 pound cat fat again!

Oh, he's not fat. He's just massive, huge, strong, agile, etc etc etc. He seems to have more in common with a wild animal physically than most cats. He has really thick fur, and "loose" skin like a raccoon or something. All 32lbs of him can jump on top of the fridge from the floor.

Check out the front legs on this boy. That section that he's lying on is a good 4 feet across.

pinchvalve wrote: I removed a Chipmunk from my garage recently. I scooped it up in a bucket and relocated it to the woods. It was pretty easy to catch, as it was dead. But at least it had a head, which is more than I can say for the baby bunnies, birds, and squirrels that came before it. OK kitty, I get it. Thanks for the presents, but that's really enough. The funny part is that I have a bird dog, a pit/lab mix, and a large male cat that couldn't catch a cold. My runt-of-the-litter cat, who is all of 5 pounds full grown, is the hunter killer of the group.\ Maybe its the eyes!

Nope. Its the war paint. Local theory says that those tricolor cats are the best hunters, and I would have to agree.

I know what won't work:

Take a styrofoam cooler, throw away the lid, and stand the cooler up on one end. Now put some peanuts in the back of the cooler, and then sit in a lawn chair behind the cooler and try to be as still as possible. Wait for the chipmunk to get up enough guts to go into the cooler after the peanuts. Have your brother sit across the campsite and watch the chipmunk creep up on the peanuts. When the chipmunk reaches the peanuts and starts to eat, your brother will signal and you will flip up the cooler, trapping the chipmunk inside. Naturally, the chipmunk won't be able to jump over the 18 inch sides of the cooler to escape, so you can then look down at the cute little chipmunk you've just caught. At least, that's what my 11 year old brain imagined. What really happens is that your brother screaming "now" freaks out the chipmunk who starts running just as you start to flip up the cooler. When the chipmunk reaches the end of the cooler, the end of the cooler is now about two and a half feet off the ground and accelerating upwards. The chipmunk inside is accelerating upwards too, but the chipmunk keeps running. It ends up flying about 6 feet into the air, over your brothers shoulder and through a bush, never to be seen again. If you try this in your house, I think the chipmunk will end up hiding for a very long time, driving your cat nuts.

Good luck, sorry I can only point out what not to do.

Bob