# Gifts your pets left you **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100 "2009-05-02T17:18:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/21 "2009-05-03T06:38:47Z")
> [@Creaky](#): > > Man, I’m jealous! > > The only gifts I get from Buddy Cat are what he leaves me in the litterbox. Not very exciting. > > On the other hand, I can count on at least two every day. At least Buddy leaves them in the litter box! I can count on tootsie rolls from The Black Cat (she has a name, but we don’t use it, for some reason) in front of the box most days. Yes, she has been checked out by the vet. It seems to be a territory thing. Feliway spray doesn’t help, nor does having boxes in two different parts of the basement. We just live with it. ---
**Author:** ![Jenny\_Linsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Jenny\_Linsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenny_Linsky)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/22 "2009-05-03T18:44:43Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I’ve always had indoor kitties, so there’s little opportunity for varmint-related presents (thank goodness). One cat, however, liked to hunt folded-up pairs of socks and stash them behind doors. He would carry them around like he was moving kittens from room to room. Weird. My cat does this too. I’ve seen her pulling socks out through the holes in the laundry basket and carrying them gently downstairs. I hate to stop her. She looks so purposeful. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/23 "2009-05-03T19:25:16Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > … I can count on tootsie rolls from The Black Cat (she has a name, but we don’t use it, for some reason) in front of the box most days… Oh, man. Hahahah!! “Tootsie Rolls”. I am cracking up really hard at that. 😃 Hey, maybe you should call her Tootsie. ---
**Author:** ![Diz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Diz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diz)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/24 "2009-05-03T20:52:26Z")
The still living gifts are more memorable than the dead ones. Besides lots of mice, my cats have provided me with live specimens of a chipmunk, a couple of birds, and a decent sized frog. I have no idea where the frog came from. There are no bodies of water nearby. Not once has any cat I’ve had actually eaten the thing they killed… ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/25 "2009-05-04T11:33:50Z")
I’m seeing quite a lot of cat stories, but very few dog ones. And they say cats are the more civilzed pet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/26 "2009-05-04T14:25:37Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I’m seeing quite a lot of cat stories, but very few dog ones. And they say cats are the more civilzed pet. 🙂 I don’t think dogs bring ‘gifts’ really, my dog finds things and brings them to the house, but I’m pretty sure they’re just for him. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/27 "2009-05-04T14:41:18Z")
My cat brings me pieces of elastic from my sewing room, and cries piteously while she does it. I have no idea why. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/28 "2009-05-04T15:41:33Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > …and once an entire dead raccoon He must’ve thought you were _really_ hungry. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/29 "2009-05-04T17:46:51Z")
My wife now makes sure to zip up or otherwise close her purse when she puts it down, due to the generosity of our fearless (indoor) huntress, Smoke. Reaching into her purse one morning, looking for her phone, she drew pack her hand quickly because she felt a bug on it. As it turns out, Smoke had left her a present of a small, white, perfectly intact moth. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/30 "2009-05-04T19:09:56Z")
A couple months after I got my old dog Bitz the Wondermutt I started finding dead doves and grackles in the back yard. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together for a while and couldn’t understand why the was a dead bird around every week or two. Perfectly intact, but dead as charity. One day I was sitting on the patio reading. Bitz was lying in the sun about 10 feet away. A dove landed about 4 feet in front of her. She collected her feet under her, crept forward, barked and lunged. The bark startled the bird and Bitz caught it in her mouth as she completed the lunge. Then she shook the thing vigorously, trotted over to me all proud and dropped it at my feet, sopping wet but completely unmarked. She got a couple good sized chunks of steak for both putting on such an impressive show and being so generous with her bounty. Gods, I miss that dog. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/31 "2009-05-04T19:32:31Z")
I once owned a cat who brought a rabbit into the house for me. Unfortunately, the rabbit was still alive and proceeded to tear around the house once inside and free of the cat. Then I finally caught the thing and took it to a wildlife shelter but they told me it was unsavable and would have to be destroyed. Thanks, cat! Though I was impressed that he could manhandle a live, full-grown rabbit and drag it up onto the deck and keep it in check while he meowed at me to let him in with it. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/32 "2009-05-04T19:35:14Z")
I used to know a couple who had a smallish orange and white dog. It was an Austrailian something. Not Shepherd because those are black and white. About the same size though. They lived out in the country with a lot of woods around their property. The dog dragged home entire deer corpses on a regular basis. Often enough for them to be pretty sure he was killing them himself, even though they were way bigger than him. The dog would get a hind leg and lots of praise as a reward, and the rest would go into stew. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/33 "2009-05-04T19:59:11Z")
Gifts my pets have left me: dead rabbits live baby rabbits to take away from them dead squirrels dead birds live birds (ohmygod) dead mice moles (and mole asses!) dead possums dead armadillos live raccoon which had to be killed by my husband Best of all is when my cats have left me the “choicest parts” of a big ol’ rat or mouse–the liver, heart, etc, in a glistening pile on the front step or (yuck) the entertainment center. (Oh, and the inevitable poops, pees, hairballs, pukes and such.) ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/34 "2009-05-04T20:01:38Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I’m seeing quite a lot of cat stories, but very few dog ones. And they say cats are the more civilzed pet. 🙂 Everything bigger/meaner than the rabbit in my list above was from my dog(s), who are VERY protective of THEIR property. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/35 "2009-05-04T21:50:14Z")
> [@Jenny\_Linsky](#): > > My cat does this too. I’ve seen her pulling socks out through the holes in the laundry basket and carrying them gently downstairs. I hate to stop her. She looks so purposeful. This cat has taken sock-stealing to new heights:- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/8030168.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/8030168.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/36 "2009-05-04T22:11:30Z")
My dog once brought home a large turtle shell. I have no idea where he found it, but I am pretty sure the turtle was long gone by the time he did. It wasn’t for us though. He loved carrying that thing around, like a shield or something. Oh and I just remembered, when I was a kid, our dog DJ used to steal laundry that people had hanging from clotheslines. My mom would hang them up on the telephpne pole in front of our house, and they were usually reclaimed… ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/37 "2009-05-04T23:54:13Z")
When Bitz and I would go camping I’d let her range at night. One morning I woke up, came out of the tent and next to the tent she had neatly piled three cow vertebrae, four ribs and part of the skull. Apparently she found an interesting pile of bones while on her evening rounds. ---
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/38 "2013-12-23T13:17:36Z")
A bedroom full of feathers and a dead bird on my door. I also use my cats to catch any insects that show up in my bathroom. I live in brazil and I am terrified of bugs. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/39 "2013-12-23T13:30:30Z")
An hour or so before we were to show our house to prospective buyers, I discovered a good-sized garter snake sunning itself under the grow lights in the basement room I used to start seedlings. I had no idea how a snake would have gotten in. A few days later, I found a baby garter snake in the dining room. Hmmm. Maybe the one in the basement was the mommy. A day or two after that, I caught one of my indoor-only cats coming back into the house through a small hole in the screen on the porch with a live snake in her mouth. Mystery solved. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100/40 "2013-12-23T15:22:51Z")
We lived in Africa for three years. I lost count of the number of dead geckos. She never ate them, just killed them and left them outside our bedroom door. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gifts-your-pets-left-you/495100.md?page=3)