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.

[uberbitsch.livejournal.com]

Although the final option is tempting too...

[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.

[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.

[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?

[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."

[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]

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.

[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.

[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...

[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]

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

[sabotabby]

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

Clean your screen for free now.

[sabotabby]

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

[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"

[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.