Zip almost always follows me when I go out in the morning; he invited me to accompany him right after a snowstorm stopped dumping more snow. I think he did want me to come along. We have enough snow, for sure. This morning’s temperature was up 35 points from yesterday, and Bud, always the Barn Cat, wanted to go hunting. It was my turn to go with him.

Cats know there is a lot of movement under the snow in and after snow; moles, chipmunks, and mice crawl under the snow to look for food. Zip can hear them hundreds of yards away. Seeing how Zip managed through the four or five inches of snow was amazing. He went over fences, dug holes under them, hopped on poles from a sitting position, and walked confidently through the snowpack. His intelligence and resourcefulness are impressive, to say the least. I told him I’d happily accompany him on other story travels.

I’ve never heard any creature building tunnels under the snow cover. Zip can. Humans sometimes hear someone speaking but cannot determine what they’re saying from around 1,000 feet. Based on studies and anecdotal reports, cats may be able to hear sounds made from 2,300 feet away or more. Cats’ hearing is generally four to five times better than humans. God help the moles and mice when Zip goes hunting. I can’t wait to go again.

I haven’t had any luck hunting this time. I wonder if they can also hear him. He almost got his prey (below) but just missed it—a mole or a mouse, I bet.

Zip loves the cold and snow. He loves playing in the snow and is fascinated by snow shovels.

When he returned from the fields, he followed Maria’s shovel to the front porch and stared at it, trying to figure out what she was doing.