OSCAR'S LITTLE CHIPMUNK

From the first day Oscar came to live with us, his favorite place to sleep was on my right shoulder. It was wonderful having that little ball of fur snuggling against my face. When he got to 20 pounds it was a little crowded on my pillow. When he hit 30 pounds it was almost impossible. The only thing that saved the day night was Oscar's heavy fur coat. He would get too hot after 15 minutes and roll off my shoulder and land between my husband and me. Then he would stretch out on his back with his head on his own little pillow and go back to sleep. The good news is we had a queen size bed so we weren't too crowded.

Oscar could get to the 18 hole golf course easily by traveling over a couple of hills. I had many reports of him being seen on the course. When I'd ask what he was doing when they spotted him, the answer was always the same. "He was chasing golf balls." I'm sure the golfers had various names they called him.

I was afraid someone would mistake him for a wild cat because of the big ruff around his neck and his size. He had a menacing look about him and we live in a region where bobcats and mountain lions are seen frequently. The vet was right about one thing. Once a cat has been allowed to go outside, you can't keep them in.

We used to refer to him as Mighty Hunter. I've seen him try to jump on the backs of deer and of course, he loved chasing squirrels. He killed many chipmunks and baby rabbits. Many hours were spent herding lizards out the door. He would bring them in the house and chase them around. I'd have to catch him, shut him in another room, then herd his victims out the door.

One day he brought in a tiny, baby chipmunk. When he put in down it ran under my desk where we couldn't get it. I didn't see the little guy for a couple of weeks and had visions of him dying under my desk and starting to stink up the place.

I was working at the desk one day, when the little chipmunk came out from under it, climbed up on the edge of Oscar's water bowl. Oscar walked up slowly, laid down next to the bowl and watched the chipmunk with so pride. I could hardly believe my eyes. Oscar was raising it and thought it was his baby. Good grief. It was living on the cat food too.

When we had the carpet replaced, I warned the workers not to hurt the chipmunk that was living under my desk, but to make sure he lived outside from then on. When I returned they couldn't stop laughing. They got the little guy outside but he kept trying to get back in whenever they weren't watching. Oscar was distressed because he couldn't find his baby but he never killed another chipmunk.