The Dillo War...

...In which the gross-out continues.

So, I'm trying to be smart, here, and I shut all the cats in the house and close the laundry room door. That way, the beast can only get to the laundry room, with no food or water.

Hoo, boy!

This morning, I tiptoe to the door and inch it open. Now, there is a rack on the back of the door, with stuff in it, like garbage bags, cleaning products, bug spray, etc., etc.

Piecing together the evidence, using my skills learned on the crime forums, the perpetrator had pulled over the laundry basket, and from there, leaped for the rack on the door. Its pea brain knows that it got through there before, damn it, and will again. Damn it.

Right. So there's roach powder all over the floor, and trails of more blood in the space between the washer and the dryer, all over the dumped-out laundry and out the cat door. I'm thinking that the mighty leap to the rack reopened the injury from yesterday.

With a deep sigh, I load the washer and turn it on.

Bad idea.

As fast as the water flows into the machine, it pours out the bottom.

So, here I am, standing in a puddle. I pull out the machine, and the drain hose is disconnected. Squeezing between the washer and the dryer, I notice the dryer vent hose is totally trashed.

Further deep sigh. Fortunately, I have an alternative for that. A while back, I bought a gadget that is supposed to vent the dryer within the room, and the fluff goes into a container of water. My dryer vents out through the roof, as the laundry room is not on an exterior wall. So, I rig that up, and ascertain that there is no possible way the beast escaped through that vent. Not only is it bigger than the vent pipe; the pipe is so clogged with lint that it's a wonder my house has not burned down about me. Hopefully, the new vent will improve the efficiency of the dryer and reduce my electric bill.

I'm still working on re-attaching the washer drain. Thought I had it, but got re-puddled.

Plan C should have been Plan A. I finally remembered that the cat entrance in the exterior door can be set to swing both ways, or just one. I am going to set it for "exit only," and make the cats ask to be let in.

Unfortunately, the beast is in the garage, which is a filthy maze of boxes, furniture and other really, really good places to hide, if you happen to be an armadillo. I know it's in the garage because the outside cat door was stuck shut. It has this little lever at the bottom, and the beast probably locked itself in.

I am going to win.

Stay tuned...