The poor thing was terrified, and quite tidily penned in by the collusion of 'closet door' and 'inexplicable old window screen' that lean up against the corner of my dresser. Lilly had herself a field day smacking at it and chittering before I was able to scoop it into a plastic container and dispatch my roommate to put it outdoors.
(I didn't spare the mouse because I have a soft heart. I understand that the whole 'circle of life' gig very much applies to mice stupid enough to enter cat-infested households. That said, Lilly is an indoor-only cat, and I'd really like to restrict her consumption of California's native wildlife to, I don't know, bugs and arachnids. Things that don't have warm blood and are thus less likely to give her interesting diseases. I know, I know, I'm a lousy excuse for a cat owner. I like my cats alive.)
Because Lilly is one of the most good-natured cats I've ever met, she's already completely over the fact that I took her mouse away, and is now devoting the bulk of her attention to loafing atop my open suitcase and giving me suspicious looks. Methinks the young miss has managed to figure out that I've packed a bit more heavily than is entirely essential for an overnight stay at Kate's.
Ah, cats. They remind us of the important things in life. And, when they're cats like Lilly, they remind me why I don't have children.
There is no not paying attention to cat.
October 23 2008, 05:42:25 UTC 8 years ago
Re: There is no not paying attention to cat.
October 23 2008, 05:44:00 UTC 8 years ago
Re: There is no not paying attention to cat.
8 years ago
Re: There is no not paying attention to cat.
8 years ago
Indoor kitty!
October 23 2008, 05:42:50 UTC 8 years ago
So I'll just say that it makes me very happy that the wondrous Lilly is indoors and safe. Have a Dean icon in thanks!
Re: Indoor kitty!
October 23 2008, 05:46:16 UTC 8 years ago
Nyssa likes the outdoors, and will occasionally attempt escapes, although her age means that she no longer goes far (and will usually be found asleep on the porch inside of an hour or two). Lilly is...utterly perplexed by the actuality of outside. 'Kitty cable' is when I open my bedroom window and let her stare through the screen. She'll do that literally for hours before losing interest.
I'm very much anti-letting cats outdoors unless they're spayed/neutered former ferals who can't adjust to an indoor life. (I had one of those cats. Sarah Jane made her choice; she chose a shorter, more exciting, strictly outdoor life, and she was not willing to negotiate on the point. Since she started life in a dumpster, I figure she still got a better deal.)
Re: Indoor kitty!
8 years ago
Re: Indoor kitty!
8 years ago
Re: Indoor kitty!
October 23 2008, 06:41:41 UTC 8 years ago
Re: Indoor kitty!
8 years ago
Re: Indoor kitty!
8 years ago
Re: Indoor kitty!
8 years ago
Re: Indoor kitty!
8 years ago
Re: Indoor kitty!
8 years ago
Re: Indoor kitty!
October 23 2008, 23:55:33 UTC 8 years ago
Our compromise is to let her wander around outside during the day, then try our best to keep her inside from early evening to morning. (By getting her and the dog inside and closing the dog door when it begins to get dark, leaving the dog door in while we're up, and then closing her in her bathroom and opening the dog door when we go to bed.) She is not overly pleased with this arrangement (She pretty much objects generally to being confined or held for long periods.) Still, we think it reduces the likelihood of her being eaten by a coyote, minimizes the dog peeing in the house (because she was locked in and couldn't get out) or running away (because she was locked out and couldn't get in), and generally seems like the best compromize we're going to manage.
Re: Indoor kitty!
8 years ago
October 23 2008, 06:49:53 UTC 8 years ago
His mother was an escape artist, although she mostly stayed indoors and all her children were the same. At that time we lived on a quiet street, and so allowed her and the kittens to escape to the side yard when they could get away with it, calling them in for dinner and lock down.
October 29 2008, 15:23:59 UTC 8 years ago
Cats are awesome.
October 23 2008, 08:07:50 UTC 8 years ago
When we found the mouse, she was mauled to death near the cat's food dishes. It was clear what had happened: mouse was hungry, mouse figured to snack on some cat food, cat disapproved and taught mouse the error of its ways.
October 29 2008, 15:24:23 UTC 8 years ago
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October 23 2008, 11:05:37 UTC 8 years ago Edited: October 23 2008, 11:06:00 UTC
October 29 2008, 15:25:02 UTC 8 years ago
October 23 2008, 11:19:32 UTC 8 years ago
October 29 2008, 15:25:12 UTC 8 years ago
October 23 2008, 11:44:18 UTC 8 years ago
Exactly. Because when kids kill animals, the kids grow up to kill people too.
Have a lovely day! :-)
October 29 2008, 15:25:30 UTC 8 years ago
October 23 2008, 13:58:56 UTC 8 years ago
(If the mouse is still alive when I find it, I will try to save it; I figure it's earned its freedom at that point. However, our cats don't really seem to eat the mice they kill -- or if they are, I'm not finding stray body parts! :) So it seems to be a purely recreational instinct on their part. Now if a *chicken* wandered into the house...)
October 29 2008, 15:25:49 UTC 8 years ago
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October 29 2008, 15:27:02 UTC 8 years ago
That's...
That's both horrible and AWESOME.
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October 23 2008, 18:35:33 UTC 8 years ago
October 29 2008, 15:30:49 UTC 8 years ago
October 24 2008, 01:46:45 UTC 8 years ago
They then release these in the living room.
Also: birds, bats, mice and more lizards than I know what to do with.
To be fair, you can't walk out my front door without stepping on wildlife of some description. However the bigger cat has also tried to bring in a fully grown live male fox and a fully grown kangaroo.
October 29 2008, 15:31:43 UTC 8 years ago
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