It’s a good job they’re cute…
Cats.
We love ours.
We love the way they come and sit on your knee at night for a sleep.
We love the way they are pleased to see us when we come home after a day out.
We even love the way they wait outside our bedroom door in a morning to say hello.
But one thing we certainly don’t love is the constant stream of mostly-dead animals they insist on bringing in to play with!
It started with just one lizard. “That’s okay”, we thought, “we can cope with that”.
Then one day we returned from a day at the beach to find the living room full of feathers. Yes, they had brought in a starling to play with and stashed it under the settee when they heard us come back home.
Lola then started coming home with what looked very much like pieces of another cat’s tail. Quite how she got those we do not know.
Then came the first mouse. I was on the phone when the cats in the other room suddenly went quiet. Worrying. A quick investigation revealed Charlie tossing the poor creature around the room. I managed to wrestle the mouse from his mouth and fling it over the fence, much to his annoyance. It was only later in the day, when the cats were sniffing around the bottom of the settee, that we realised that the mouse had actually left it’s head behind! Argh!
A series of lizards were next in line for the treatment, inlcuding one live one who really didn’t want to be picked up and rescued!
Then, while I was away in England, I had a call from Lisa. Charlie had brought in the biggest prize yet - a rat! She was shaking. Luckily the rat was dead and she managed to scoop it up with the dust-pan and dump it outside, though Charlie put up a good fight for it. I was impressed with Lisa’s bravery, but not impressed with Charlie’s increasing appetite.
And so it continues. Today saw another dead lizard and a dead mouse join the list of casualties. What are we to do? I know it’s great that they catch rats and mice, but does anyone have a suggestion about how to stop them bringing the corpses into the house? All ideas gratefully received!
I tell you, it’s a good job they’re cute…
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on 19 November 2008 at 8:17 pm :
Hahah! Our Figaro/Jelly Cat is too little for these sort of antics yet…but he shows good promise!
As for what you can do about it….errmmm…no idea. Is there a cat-whispering series on tv?
Best of luck!
Sarah
on 24 November 2008 at 12:44 pm :
Tis the nature of the beast, unfortunately for both you and their victims.
They think they are doing their job and pleasing you.
Lying in bed and hearing the crunch of feline teeth on murine flesh and bones was one of my most memorably distressing experiences.
And I really don’t want to alarm you, but I know somebody whose cat brought home, and dropped on their bed, a live snake.
Perhaps there is room on the market for a cat muzzle?
on 25 November 2008 at 9:02 pm :
Oh dear, I can sympathise, but Sarah and Susie are right, it’s what cats ‘do’ and they consider it a pleasure to bring home their meal to share with you.
I have no idea how to stop them.
Fortunately only two of our seven habitually go hunting and since we have fenced off half the garden the birds wisely stay on the other side.
on 25 November 2008 at 9:26 pm :
Thank you ladies
Since this post, rather strangely the stream of furry offerings has stopped, so maybe the sheer force of my will is stopping them!
or maybe its just too cold and they can’t be bothered.
I suspect the latter
@Sarah…A cat whisperer? Sounds like an interesting idea - I’m sure channel 5 must have something like that somewhere in their schedules!
@Susie…Here’s hoping that if ever our choose a snake that I am at home to recieve it. I think I’d hear Lisa’s scream all the way in England
@Sandy…I think you had the right idea fencing the area off - shame we cant do the same
On a different subject, its funny how all my regular commentors of the female persuasion all begin with “S”…I just need Sylvie here and I have all 4! Thanks for sticking with me during this “quiet” phase…it means a lot to me
on 26 November 2008 at 1:01 pm :
We received a small and very neatly decapitated mouse head last night.
on 26 November 2008 at 1:11 pm :
Oh poor thing
I may have discovered why our 2 are not bringing much in at the moment. I went to get a gaufre out of the basket under our kitchen table yesterday, only to find a Lola-sized hole chewed in the bag, allowing her free access to gobble up as much waffle as she could eat!
It seems midnight feasts are the order of the day now!