Friday, September 17, 2010

What? Squirrel Head For Dinner Again?

My cat is an animal. As in RAERN! Our cat, Wylie, was an animal too. She disappeared. Methinks foul play. We do have coyotes, bobcats, raccoons and on extremely rare occasions cougars. Most likely it was an owl or peregrine falcon that got her. Ah...having a nice stroll
when ¡¡¡Joink!!! Stars***then______________________∞

My friend Rick from Minnesota said a couple of his friends were walking in the snow in the woods at night, and one of the guys had on a fur hat. An owl mistook it for an animal and swooped down for the kill. It got the guy on the back of the neck and paralyzed him. I don't know for how long.

This morning my other (and last remaining) cat, Murray was having his repast on The Door Mat of Death. He was eating a squirrel. Head first. This is a weird post. Murray ate everything except the tail and some apparently nasty tasting organ that looked like a bota bag. Do your pets ever freak you out?

"Speak softly and carry a big stick."~Teddy Roosevelt

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

My cats would eat the midsection of rats completely through leaving on one side the decapitated head an the other side the area of the tail.

Wusel's... said...

That's natural selection...

But MY squirrel that lives in the tree in front of my kitchen window is stronger and faster than all neighbour cats!!!
:-)

Elaine Asaidali said...

Ahhhh, yes. Pets. Pets that freak you out? Yep. Had one of those—Izzy, the cat. She had a “Doormat of Death” like Murray. But Izzy preferred to spare our guests the sight of dismembered body parts and deposited her “presents” (mouse tails and heads) on the BACK doormat of death. She also hid coiled up snakes under herself in the hallway, batted around a three legged lizard in the kitchen—hmmm, wander how he lost his leg—and tossed a dead squirrel or two around the house. Said tells me squirrel tails are rock hard. For Izzy’s carnivorous career highlight, she deposited a bat—thankfully dead and not dismembered—in front of my son’s bedroom door. Did you know cats can fly? Now, about that missing cat. Wylie could return. One never knows about cats. I’d given Izzy up for dead many a time. She’d leave for days—sometimes even weeks—only to return home with a smug look on her face as if nothing had happened. Once she left for 9 months. Nine months!! I even called my daughter at college and told her that THIS time her cat was really gone, forever. Then one day, I’m driving home and what do I see? Izzy—all sprawled out on the neighbor’s deck lounging in the sun like a princess! Nearly drove my car into the rockery bed. Come to find out she’d been living with the neighbors all along! Traitor. If I were you, I’d send Murray over to the neighbor’s house to check into things.

Kate Higgins said...

My cat Schooner was the perfect hunter. He was named because his aft mast was higher than his fore mast...extra long tail. Schooner's kills ended up on his 'doormat of death' but he never ate them, he just lined them up. Norway rats, voles, mice, birds, snakes, feathers without bodies. I think his reluctance to eat his prey came from a traumatic incident in kittenhood when he tried to eat a large slug. It made him very sick and from then on he was very careful of what he ate. Alas, Schooner went out one evening and never came back. Afterward I saw a coyote sitting at front gate for weeks, apparently waiting for more cat snacks to come walking his way. I now have two Maine Coon cats who are strictly indoor cats. They hunt only flies and moths...big game for them. They eat the bodies and leave the wings in a neat little pile. Yuck.

stargazer said...

My beautiful pink cat Shadow was a lovely alpha female. My guess is she could've caught things - she was quick, agile and pretty clever. But she never did. All she ever brought in the house were red hibiscous flowers! Now, I can tell you, you feel really happy to see hibiscous flowers scattered on the living room floor!

steven said...

richard i remember a really excellent fight between my cat and the neighbour's cat over a mouse - they each had half in their faces and so at first i thought i was witnessing some feline tonsil hockey but then a bit of mouse emerged and there it was. the horrible squirming truth! great post. steven

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Anonymous, cats do seem to be total pragmatists. Eat the good stuff.

Joe, natural selection combined with discriminating taste. Yeah, some squirrels are almost as big as cats. These red squirrels are small but feisty.

Elaine, you've made me lol! Sounds like Izzy was a loose cannon. I love the image of her hiding snakes under her in the house! Ahhh! And how in the world do they cats bats? I'm glad you told me about the nine month cat sabbatical. No way, that gives me hope. I guess Izzy like the neighbor's hors d'oeuvres better.

Oh, Kate, that is so gross. Gives me the willies. No wonder your cat only wanted pre-packaged meat thereafter.

Stargazer, what a beautiful story of reality sprinkled with fantasy. If only I could train my cat to sprinkle hibiscus flowers all around. That would make a great little picture book for kids.

Hi Steven, sounds like the African Savannah. It is unsettling when our pets go at it with other animals. I have had to break up a lot of fights with cats, but especially dogs. That's always fun. One time my German Shepard got in a fight with a Great Dane. Hoo boy.

Faith Pray said...

Dad! I thought you told us kids that Wylie went to a happy Farm! She's very happy there. Enough with the falcon, cougar talk.

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Hi Faith. Why yes, um, all our pets end up at Happy Farm. They certainly do. Very happy. And at that farm they eat Falcon Kiev for dinner and raw salmon for lunch and cougar burgers for breakfast.

Martha Brockenbrough said...

I have so many pet stories that would be SO INAPPROPRIATE to share. :-)

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Note to self: 1. Find a secure location.2. Ask Martha about her inappropriate animal stories.