It's been quite a while, and I'd really dared hope we were past this. There's something not-at-all-vaguely disconcerting about being awakened to the sound of moist crunching and snapping bones three feet from your head. And even though I knew it probably wasn't true I couldn't help thinking, “Geez, I hope Little Bear isn't eating Click.” Even so I couldn't relax and go back to sleep until I felt her jump onto my bed and settle into her place behind my legs.
For late arrivals, Click thinks LB is her baby. She cleans him, she plays with him, she punishes him when he's too rough (and he takes it). Every now and then, in the middle of the night, she feeds him. He's her personal monster.
Being a cat, Click is a nocturnal hunter. There's nothing at all unusual about having to start my day cleaning up mouse and rat offal from the floor before I can walk around. When she brings in smaller prey, the boys never disturb it. But once in a while she goes for a larger kill. Several times she's dragged rabbits in through her (long since broken) cat door. She presents these to her baby Little Bear. He greets them with joy, and he eats every little scrap. LB loves him some rabbit.
LB's a little over two years old now, in the full flower of his strength, and perfectly capable of catching his own rabbits. For all his bulk he's still young and capable of remarkable speed over a short sprint. If he can catch it inside fifty yards or so, Thumper is lunch. Except for the need to worm him regularly I don't really mind this, which is just as well since there's nothing I can do about it anyway.
But the first time I found him eating a large rabbit inside the Lair, when there was no way he could have caught one, I thought he'd stolen Click's kill. It happened again a bit later, and I wondered why she'd go to the trouble of bringing it into the Lair to be swiped by a dog. Then one evening while I was still awake I watched her struggle through her hole dragging a cottontail bigger than she was. I watched further as she calmly and rather tenderly presented it to Little Bear. Who ate it with no ceremony. So I've seen this with my own eyes, it's not conjecture. She's bringing her kill to her baby, and (considering the obvious fact that he's many times her size) knows he needs bigger prey than she normally prefers.
Ain't love grand?
Brr...
2 hours ago
5 comments:
Just be grateful the cat sticks to rabbits and small rodents. I (briefly) had a cat that regularly brought in snakes and other questionable critters - alive! He'd turn them loose in the house (usually the middle of the night) and gleefully watch my two dogs crash around chasing them and knocking things over trying to catch them. Neither one of the dogs cared much to EAT the things, unfortunately, so I was always the clean up detail once they were dead.
Indeed... the pet door was a great idea, but I disabled it as long as the cat was there. I need my sleep!
Ain't no love like a Momma's love. But thats just messed up, a cat feeding a dog.
Most of us cat owners have been left a gift of a bird on the door stoop, I guess thats their way of saying 'Thanks Man!'
Just be careful: if one of those broken bones gets lodged in your dog's guts, he's in for it. He'll start vomiting and having diarrhea, and you'll have a major medical problem on your hands.
Actually, there isn't much to worry about with RAW bones, they're digestible, it's the cooked ones they shouldn't have.
I wish my lazy useless cats would feed the dogs! The selfish little hairballs keep all the game for themselves. And yeah, more than one live snake brought into the house; adrenaline check! :-(
What a considerate cat! Had one once that would regularly bring in little critters, sometimes she would even kill them. Often she'd bring them home to let her current litter learn how to hunt. Much mayhem would ensue, but it was very entertaining.
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