Wednesday, February 10, 2010

I Think A Cat Just Gave Birth...

...underneath our house.

Our house is on a slab, with the furnace at the front of the house in the ground outside. There's a cover, but you know farm cats (or maybe you don't) they get resourceful when the weather is freezing (and they're pregnant).

So here's my question for all you cat owners out there;

Do cats moan?

I'm serious. It isn't making "cat noises" like "meow, meow" but it sounds rather like a ghost with a bellyache. More of a "whoooooooo. ohhhhhhh.....oooooooohhhh." Funny, I never thought I'd be sitting at a keyboard typing out the sounds of an unidentified animal's cries being carried through the heating ducts, but here I am. Isn't life funny that way?

I suppose if it isn't a cat then, god only knows what has taken up residence down there. We had a squirrel in the wall earlier this month who was only convinced to vacate through the use of a very loud radio tuned to the local death metal station. Squirrels hate that. FYI. Thank you, Megadeath.

Anyhoo, I'd be ever so grateful if anyone has some insights into what the hell is moaning under our house. I'm not about to go down there, but I'd feel a bit foolish calling out a wildlife warden for a feral cat. Do moles or possums moan and groan? Again, I just marvel at the fact that I'm typing these sentences. I don't know, this sort of thing just never came up in Boston (though heaven knows, there were a million cats roaming the neighbourhood).

Thanks in advance for your help.

6 comments:

Jenn said...

Cats that are in heat make horrible horrible sounds, that may be what's going on beneath your house.

Goody said...

Mr. ETB thinks the cat was being "satisfied."

Does that make this a "cathouse?"

Cheryl said...

My husband, who has attended numerous kitty birthings, says, "All of the cats I have known purred when they gave birth. I never heard one moan."

Goody said...

Well....did he give them epidurals? ;)

I really, really hope it stops soon.Being winter, we kind of need the vents open and the sound is just so creepy...you know, cat-a-tonic.

The poor dog (very elderly poodle) keeps going to the vent and sniffing, then backing away frightened. I think we may be in for a long night.

Raymond said...

Maybe the animal was burned by the furnace? Though I'm not sure of the configuration and whether this is possible. Frankly, I think it's kinda cool to have those noises throughout the house. Well, from here in Cali I like the idea. Maybe this is a good time to watch the movie "The Exorcist" to add frightening context to the sounds?

By the way, I always thought a good name for a lawyer would be "Ferral Katz."

Goody said...

The sound has stopped...but now the house stinks like cat piss through the vents, I am just about at my limit.

I love feral katz! that's fantastic.