I can’t believe I’m writing a kitty! thread…with no pics, alas.
I get mice in my yard from time to time. Sometimes in the house. Usually it’s those tiny little field mouse.
But the one this week was big. In fact, I had to look twice to decide if it was a large mouse or a small rat. It’s definitely a mouse, and probably not as big as I think it is. Or was.
This lil’ guy was prancing EVERYwhere. I swear, he was showing off. I’d see him on the back lawn while I was out watering. He’d wait until I got within a few feet before slowly going back into the black eyed Susans. The other day I was on the phone, and I saw him as I was looking out the front window. He was dancing on the front walk like he owned the place. A big, black crow even swooped down and landed right next to him. He just casually headed for the house. I went outside and shooed him away from the house.
Over the next few days I’d see him here and there. But the one thing I kept wondering…where was my neighbor’s cat?
Most people in my 'hood don’t water their yards in the summer. They have few plants and just let their lawns go brown to save water. My yard is an emerald jewel in the midst, and my neighbor’s cat LOVES it. It’s not a friendly cat, but he sure is beautiful. He has markings that make him look like a leopard. He loves to walk around when I’m working in the yard, but never, ever comes over to be petted. (Not like that attention whore, Rico; he’s the most beautiful black and tan Siamese I have ever seen.) Once, I surprised the spotted cat (or so he’d like me to think) as I came in the back yard…he was going out. I leaned down and petted him a few strokes before he slowly sauntered off.
But where was he this week? He had a veritable buffet on four paws strutting around the yard and he was missing it!
I came home late this afternoon. It’s been really hot, so I went to the back yard first to set the sprinkler. And there’s the cat. With the mouse in his mouth. We greeted each other. I asked if he was going to give me the mouse as a present for being the caretaker of his private wild life refuge.
But he wasn’t finished with it yet. He set the mouse down. The mouse was still alive. Very much alive. It sat there, stunned, then decided to get the hell out of Dodge. Nope. The cat re-caught it again and moved over by the cherry tree. This exercise was repeated about a half dozen times before I lost my appetite. I don’t know how much longer those two kept it up, but I finally came inside.
I felt bad for the lil’ guy, but, hey…if you play with matches you’re going to get burned.