Right. It's actually fairly easy to diagnose what's eating your roses. Rodents chew at a 45 degree angle, making their gnawing appear as if you've deliberately pruned the cane. Those include rabbits, squirrels, rats and mice. Deer, horses, cows and other larger animals which eat plants rip the growth off instead of precisely "cutting" it with their teeth because of the way the teeth meet. So, if the damage is a precise, 45 degree angle cut, you have some sort of rodent. If it's higher up in the plant where you'd think a rabbit couldn't reach, suspect squirrels, rats or mice. If it's ripped off and there is potential for deer, that's likely the culprit. Don't expect the prickles to prevent horses, cows, deer, etc., from eating roses. For the most part, they don't care. Prickles are probably less of a "defense" mechanism, than one which assists them in "climbing" into trees to get to the light. Gophers actually eat the roots of the plant. Ground squirrels can, also. Moles and voles mostly damage the plants by loosening the soil around their roots, interrupting their ability to anchor themselves and take up water. Kim

She's right when she says, "don't touch it'! I can't recall the exact name right now, but it's closely related to the hag moth caterpillars. Seems like one quite like this was posted some time ago. Somebody will jump in here with the correct name.

If it were spring, I'd suggest a grouse. During mating and nesting season, the male grouse, during a display, opens and then snaps his wings against his body. The time spacings between beats shortens with each "flap" and lessens in intensity. The first beat is felt more than it is heard. If you had been sleeping, you first sensation is a pressure wave on your chest. Its a wierd feeling. But, at this time of year, maybe it is an owl.

Thank you all for the feedback, it helps a lot. You know, in thinking about it, before this guy it had been a long time since we've been through the vaccine thing on a regular basis. What must have thrown me was that the tech who gave him his first rabies vaccine did a run down on symptoms and them not being normal, even though in the past it seems like we'd been told to possibly expect this sort of thing. When doing research online it seemed a little confusing as to what was okay and what wasn't. He is the kind of cat who won't tolerate attention if he feels a little off (my last two would tolerate it), and he tends to lash out and vocalize if he's unhappy. His reaction and recovery is so quick and predictable, I guessed it probably wasn't out of line. Still, I'll run it by the vet when we see her. My last girl couldn't be vaccinated due to health reasons, at first this was a relief since the girl before her had succumb to a vaccination site sarcoma, but as time went on- and thanks to some stories on this forum- I realize the downside to not being at least rabies current. Fortunately, our current vet seems very good about only vaccinating as appropriate, but with state and county regulations being so tight (our cat has to be county registered with current rabies or waiver on file), it is so much better if he can just get his appropriate shots and be okay too. Thanks so much for answering, I do feel much better now.