Mighty Hunter

[sabotabby]

Last night, I discovered that my stack of 11x17 printer paper had a wee surprise in it. Marinetti had apparently stashed a little present in there for me, all dismembered and icky! What a good cat, except that I'd only used about a third of the paper, so it wasn't really the best place to stick it.

I suppose I should be grateful that the only two mice I have ever found in my apartment had already been dispatched by my brave cat, but I do wish he wouldn't squish them. Ugh. I screamed like a girl and threw the entire stack of paper, mouse and all, into the garbage.

I was later informed that my reaction may have been a bit...extreme.

[Poll #649318]

Comments

[threeliesforone.livejournal.com]

one of my cats killed a mouse once. we've always chalked up the murder to billie, but really, it could've been either of them. especially since after the cat killed it, they both sat back 4 feet from the thing & stared at it in the middle of the kitchen floor until nick & i discovered what they were doing. thank goodness for no surprises. although, i should start shaking out my boots before putting them on, just in case.

[sabotabby]

Marinetti didn't even show me. I think it might have been there for awhile.

You'd think the more...er...zaftig kitties wouldn't be able to catch mice, but Marinetti seems to be decent at it. So it could be either, really.

[frippy.livejournal.com]

Once, while sitting outside my house, I saw a very chubby cat effortlessly catch a bird in a low-hanging branch (which he then, despite my efforts to chase him off, ate in my front yard). I, too, was surprised that he was able to do that in one fell swoop being a zaftig kitty, but then I thought, "Well, maybe his excellent hunting skills are the reason he's a big kitty."

I've never owned a cat so I'm not sure how I'd react if it brought me a dead mouse or other small animal. On one hand, I'd be grossed out and feel sorry for the cute little victim, on the other hand, I'd have to respect that my cat was just trying to contribute to the household. Also, while I hate living in a house with non-pet mice (I had one experience where one ran across my foot in the middle of the night *shudder*), I don't want the mice to die painful deaths. I'd rather they just understand that I would like the house to myself, stop chewing on my wires or tunnelling through a loaf of bread I left (in a bag) on the counter (this really happened) or leaving little mouse droppings everywhere, and quietly leave the premises.

Maybe next time I have mice I should loudly talk about getting a cat so that the mice overhear me and move out. I'll make sure they know I plan on getting a fat cat, too.

[sabotabby]

I used to have pet mice, so I do feel sorry for the little buggers. Fortunately, the very presence of my cat seems to discourage them from coming around, which is part of the reason he's only ever killed two.

[uberbitsch.livejournal.com]

Although the final option is tempting too...

[sabotabby]

Well, he wasn't considerate enough to refrigerate it.

[uberbitsch.livejournal.com]

Too bad. Although I have to say I've lost track of the number of dead offerings of love Tiberius has brought me and Paul since we first let him scamper wide and free. Three mice in one night was his record.

[sabotabby]

I'm going to have to do a poll on how frequently people get dead offerings of love. There are a lot of cat people on my friends list.

[uberbitsch.livejournal.com]

well, yes. cat people are the best kind of people. except for possibly lizard people.

[sabotabby]

The two are not mutually exclusive. My first cat used to love my lizards and went into mourning when they died.

[uberbitsch.livejournal.com]

Awww!

I miss southeast asia. A house wasn't complete without a colony of small geckos living behind picture frames and behind furniture. We had one that lived in the kitchen cupboard and whenever we bought groceries he'd come out to inspect the plastic bags without fail before scuttling back to his hidey hole.

That and the crazy-assed badass lizards that lived in the garden and resembled small monitors.

[sabotabby]

And apparently, they eat cockroaches. So they're useful, too.

[uberbitsch.livejournal.com]

Yes! Roaches, mosquitoes when they're small, and other pesky biting insects. And in a lot of Asian cultures they're considered a sign of luck and good omens and whatnot.

I think I want a big iguana. DAMN THE BOYFRIEND'S REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH MY DESIRE TO TURN OUR HOUSE INTO A MINIATURE ZOO

[sabotabby]

Iguanas are awesome! Tell him that he needs to submit to the awesomeness of iguanas!

[bike4fish.livejournal.com]

When I lived on Guam, we always checked empty soda cans for geckos before throwing them out (I suspect we had some pretty hyper caffiened-up geckos). We were even more diligent about checking half empty cans that had been sitting out for a while before finishing.

[uberbitsch.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Guam. I was once in Guam airport on my way from Indonesia to Canada when I was four. That's my only claim to contact with the place.

[mistersmearcase.livejournal.com]

I should knock on wood I guess. I've never gotten one.
Meanwhile, icon of kitten licking unseen somethingorother=death by cute. Seriously, I'm dead.

[sabotabby]

Have you seen the original? (You need to have your sound turned on for the full effect.)

Clean your screen for free now.

[jaymoh.livejournal.com]

My mom's cat, Runt is a superb hunter. They live just outside of Yosemite, so he has all kinds of critters to chase; mice, rats, gophers(when he catches a gopher there is much rejoicing), bunnies, quail, etc. I've stepped in entrails a few times. Usually on the welcome mat. My Ayida isn't much of a hunter. She gets by on her looks.

It's funny that Marinetti hid the mouse. Why? How? Maybe it was a surprise present! Was he at least there for your reaction?

[sabotabby]

It's quite likely that he did not fully succeed in killing it, and it crawled into the paper to die. But he manages to hide his toys rather well, especially his Bush doll, which I can never find.

He looked quite proud when I found it, though.

[jaymoh.livejournal.com]

Ayida has a stuffed lion that disappears for long periods of time, then we find it in odd places- usually where she likes to sleep if she's feeling hide-y.

Oh, so it was a full mouse- not just guts and a little tell-tale fur. I don't know which is worse...

[sabotabby]

It was a full mouse. All of the bits were there. Some, however, were not actually attached to the mouse.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

o.k., my usual reaction is "Scream like a girl, go all over queasy, then resolve not to be so darned girly, and sensibly throw out only the paper with the mousy bits on it, gagging and cursing the cat the entire time."

[sabotabby]

I suspect that the majority of people, you included, are far less squeamish than I am. Weird.

[jaymoh.livejournal.com]

That's exactly right. That option wasn't quite there. My husband however would have screamed like a girl, then have ME throw away the paper with the mousy bits.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

You know, I've learned not to flinch when an Israeli soldier points an M-16 at me, but mice... can't abide 'em. In fact, we had a mouse problem in the house in Tuwani, and we all screamed like little girls when it peeked its head out.

[sabotabby]

Hee! I think I'm not just a brave person, having chosen the run-and-hide option in the face of riot cops and neo-Nazis. I'm actually okay with living mice -- even quite good at catching them -- it's the gore that gets me.

That reminds me of Jan Wong's account of the Tiannamen Square massacre; people weren't afraid of bullets, but when it started to rain, they all went for cover.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Heh.

"I don't mind dying for my cause, but I really don't want to get soaked"

[jaymoh.livejournal.com]

Maybe there was lots of wool. That can be really stinky.

[disi.livejournal.com]

i would scream and thow it all out. except that i'm cheap, so when my fit was done, i'd probably go back to see if i could salvage any of it.

the only time i ever had to deal with anything like this is when my dog brough home a squirrel she had killed. in retrospect it was kind of cute. she's such a provider.

[sabotabby]

I'm cheap too, but not cheap enough that I was going to risk OMG touching any part of the dismembered mouse. Also, it's one less thing to move.

[disi.livejournal.com]

that, my dear, is an excellent point.

[pretzelsalt.livejournal.com]

The cat I grew up with would bring me one or two offerings a week in the summertime.

I made the mistake of thanking her the first few times and made a show of my gratitude - which backfired into "YOU LIKE IT - ME GO GET MORE NOW!!!"

I wouldn't feel too sorry for the mouses - they are of the smart.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4593682.stm

[sabotabby]

Haha, serves him right!

[jaymoh.livejournal.com]

OMG icon! See "mini chomp":http://www.cuteoverload.com/

Yeah, that story. I dunno, I'm on the mouse's side on this one.

[pretzelsalt.livejournal.com]

Definitely on the mouse's side! Serves the asshat right!

the article said:

"Though no-one was injured, the house and everything in it was destroyed. "

which is bullshit - as it sounds to me like the mouse got himself a few injuries.

This is one of my favorite icons - VIVA!

[jaymoh.livejournal.com]

"Serves the asshat right!" That's basically what I said at work yesterday and everyone jumped all over my shit. I don't know why, they know I like non-human animals more than the people variety.

All of your icons are very, very awesome.

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

I would probably also throw out any adjacent dented pages (because they are dented), but I would certainly keep the rest of the ream.

[sabotabby]

Some were dented and...well, stained.

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

Yes, those go. Even if I were a ghoul, I wouldn't keep them. What would I use them for? Surely, they wouldn't feed properly into the printer and they would be no good for drawing on.

[y2kesha.livejournal.com]

No "Ticky box" ... What up with that eh?

"Make the cat clean it up?" HaHa, that'll be the day...that's why they have humans!

[sabotabby]

I ran out of options and got lazy.

Have you ever taunted a cat when it gets a bad case of cattitude by putting the can of food in front of it and a can opener and saying, "Make it yourself"?

[y2kesha.livejournal.com]

Cats are above such mundane tasks as opening cans, phht!

"meow!"
(Translation: "Human, open and serve my food...I know where you sleep!")

[jvmatucha.livejournal.com]

When my Empress Pookey kept bringing me dead rats and mice, a friend of mine suggested that Pookey was probably under the impression that I was not getting enough protein in my diet!

[sabotabby]

Perhaps I'm looking anemic these days. I certainly haven't been eating properly.

[bike4fish.livejournal.com]

I always dreaded Salamander catching a mouse - considering how she attacks her toys, I expected little mousie pieces all over the place. However, the one mouse she did catch was left in a place where I was sure to see it, not where I would step on it, and was completely intact.

[sabotabby]

She's considerate as well as pretty.

I wonder what's going to happen in the new place...I think there might be a lot more mice, given what an old building it is.

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

Where's the "congratulate the cat" option?

[sabotabby]

That's a given. He always gets congratulated on his kills. I forgot to give him one of his treats, though.

[ironed_orchid]

The Nina cat brought home a rabbit the other day. She is a very fearsome hunter. Delirium is still at the grasshopper and moth stage.

[sabotabby]

Wow, a rabbit? That's ambitious.

[ironed_orchid]

Perfect icon!

It wasn't a huge rabbit, and she left it behind the computer desk. I think the dog ate it.

It's not possible to link to jetta_the_dog too often, for it is a constant source of amusement to me.

[crosley-bendix.livejournal.com]

There is a cat that lives in our house that is a mighty hunter of the bats that we occasionally get. He is the funniest cat in the world. According to his owner, he was a happy, gregarious cat until his owner went away to get an undergraduate degree and he was thrown into basement and ignored for 5 years. Now everything that comes out of his mouth is a peeved, off-key whine. But he is an awesome hunter. He was walking up the stairs and saw the a bat flying around the living room. He went into the living room, tracked the bat for a few minutes, and then in one leap of about four feet into the air smacked the bat down on the floor.