Friday 22 May 2020

Gale

Gale is almost an understatement for the conditions  outside today.   My poor iris that I have been nurturing for months is laid flat in all its splendour and many of my Acquelegia are also flattened.   But this is life for the gardener - we pick up the pieces, survive and carry on.

I promised my friend W that I would tell the story of her cat today.   This is a cautionary tale for all of you - cat lover or not.   W has had Jack Russell terriers for years but lost her last one a few months ago; deciding she would not replace Sophie with another dog  she decided she would get a cat from Cat Rescue.   Eventually, after a wait, she took on a tabby cat - she christened her Milly.   This wasearly Winter and throughout the season Milly showed absolutely no desire to go outside, being perfectly content to claim any knee that was around, purr loudly and generally take over the household.  'Thank you for giving me this house,' she seemed to be saying, 'I am happy to take it on and own it.'

Then last week came the almost forgotten phenomenon of warm sunshine and one day, when the conservatory door was open Milly decided to investigate the great outdoors.   W didn't miss her for a while but when she did she searched the house and realised Milly must have gone out.   Would she come back?    No worries, a couple of hours later Milly returned, settled down on the sofa and went to sleep.   All was well.   She had really settled in and knew her way around.

How have things gone over the last few days?   The first day Milly brought home a baby rabbit - and when I say home I mean she brought it into the house.   Then the next day she brought W a shrew, a fat mouse (pregnant?) and a baby rabbit.  After getting thanks and praise for her offerings she sets to and eats them - but - and here's the rub - she eats everything but the eyeballs, which she leaves for W to dispose of!   Anyone got a recipe which include mouse eyeballs?

30 comments:

JayCee said...

Well, your post today has certainly helped me with sticking to my diet!
I don't feel the least bit hungry now.

Margie from Toronto said...

Have to say I'm in agreement with JayCee right about now! :-)

GillyK said...

I had a cat that ate everything but the tails and ears!

Derek Faulkner said...

Every reason for not having cats - responsible for so many wildlife deaths each year and fully protected while doing so.
A combination of near gale force winds and hot sunshine are having a both damaging effect on the gardens and a hair dryer effect on the moisture levels.

Marcia LaRue said...

If nothing else, your friend can save on cat food since Milly seems to know where the drive-in fast food places are! LOL
I've had many cats in my lifetime and most have been inside cats, however, none of the outside cats had ever brought home a prize from the hunt! Guess we always kept them fed well enough that they didn't feel the need to hunt!

Sue said...

That's why I've got a dog!

Ellen D. said...

It is just nature, I know, but I couldn't stand to have the little dead animals brought into the house. Ugh!

Anonymous said...

I adopted a cat from friends last year. There was a bit of a rodent issue in the backyard due to having chickens. I was told cat loved being outside most of the day and was a mouser. She showed absolutely no interest in going outside until two weeks ago. By her choice she sunbathes on the deck for maximum 20 minutes, does not hunt and comes in to nap afterward. Meanwhile the cat that was a feral kitten is on a leash in the backyard and ran into the house very rapidly, eyes big as saucers. Apparently the sight of a squirrel or rodent scared him.
Exterminators are taking care of the rodent situation.

Bovey Belle said...

Having so many cats now (and down the years), rodent bodies and giblets are a familiar sight at the front door or kitchen floor. Baby rabbits often in the summer too. You get used to it!

Sue in Suffolk said...

I only get live mice - which then get lost in the house!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Gilly I shall tell Wendy that - it should make her feel a bit better!Hope you got my message about the rainbow.

Heather said...

It doesn't do to be squeamish if your pet brings you presents! We had a labrador who would bring home hedgehogs on summer nights. We had a tiny paddock at the end of the garden and could let him out. He was very gentle and didn't harm them but his muzzle would be speckled with blood where their spines had pierced it. He always looked so pleased with himself!
So sad your lovely iris has been battered by the weather. I can remember having to cut stems and bring them indoors to enjoy for a few days at least. Gardening is so rewarding yet can also be heartbreaking.

Bonnie said...

I once had a cat that was a great mouser but she didn't like the feet. We would always find a set of four little feet.

Anonymous said...

We had a cat that brought home baby rabbits, sometimes alive. I'd say thank you and take the rabbit, if alive I took it back to the field where the cat did his hunting. Our vet told me to take any wildlife from the cat and not let him eat any of it, it's fine for feral cats to eat their catch but not recommended for a domestic cat. Which is fine as the cat is bringing you a gift and expects you to take it.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks as usual for bring joy to my day

Chris said...

Cats are terrible predators and are a blight to birds. Most cats here are indoor cats.

Joanne Noragon said...

You are funny. No, no recipe here.

Hildred said...

My dear Callie was definitely a house cat, and just by her presence she kept the mouse situation in control. The buds on the white rose that marks her grave are just about ready to open and bloom, and I have put the word out that I would really appreciate a good mouser if any of the family should run into a kitty looking for a good home!

Cro Magnon said...

I'm afraid our late cat, Freddie (also a Tabby), was the same. He would leave whatever part he didn't fancy eating on the doorstep, or indoors. We don't have Rabbits here, but everything else was on the menu.

Alphie Soup said...

Gardening and cats are not for the faint hearted.

Alphie

Frances said...

Some years ago I watched as a blackbird chased one of my cats up the garden and into the house!!

the veg artist said...

I once told my cat that he wasn't doing anything to earn his keep. The next morning, for the first and last time, there was a dead mouse on the doorstep!

Jules said...

I don't receive rabbits, thankfully, but I regularly get gifts of mice and voles at this time of year.

Jean said...

Our cat Daisy will usually eat all of the mouse but occasionally leaves the stomach.
We got her because we were overrun with mice and she's an excellent mouser. Her other trophies include a mole, a stoat, a snake and a few frogs. Fortunately very few birds that we know of, except for a moorhen which she somehow got through the catflap. We've never had a rabbit and the hares in the fields around us are probably too fast for her!

Ursula said...

The thing to remember that cats will bring home their bounty as a token of love for you. So don't shout at them, neither say thank you.

I had to remind myself of this when our two cats (RIP), mother and son, would bring in frogs. Frogs?, you may ask. Well, yes, next door had a pond. It was awful, Weaver, every single time. Not least when the frog was still alive if shrieking. I'd throw a bowl over them to keep them safe, shoo out the cats, curse my luck and think. And wait. When the bowl was starting to hop I knew that where there is life there is a will. It's not easy to move a frog. Mainly a logistical problem. So, after shooing the cats out I'd then lure them back in, shut them in, say, the lounge and take the frog back out to the furthest point of the garden. "Good luck" I said by way of good bye.

U

The Weaver of Grass said...

I have just had a 'virtual' coffee morning with my friends and told the friend with the cat to read all your comments and then get a pan out and get ready to bake a mouse casserold!! Zoom is wonderful at this Lockdown time.


It was great readin all your interesting comments. Thank you all.

Rita said...

That is hilarious! Got my day off to a good start! The good, the bad and the ugly in nature. We are blessed to witness it all.

Sue said...

Ginger has stopped bringing the live rabbits into the house, he knows that either we will take them off him and set them free safely away from the house, or that he will have to share the chase, catch and eat with Mavis, the Jack Russell. So he brings them to the patio doors and eats them with Mavis watching through the glass.

At this time of year when he's mostly catching babies he eats them all up, (he had four and a mouse yesterday) in a few weeks when they are bigger and he's beginning to lose his taste for rabbit flesh he moves on to just eating the heads.

There's something very disturbing about finding headless bodies everywhere!!

Shammickite said...

I had a cat that once brought a rabbit into the basement through a broken window, ate the whole thing except for the ears.

pam nash said...

Milly is doing a good job providing food for her home. I had a cat that would do that also - she'd bring in field mice, put them on the dining room table and await praise.