November 12, 2009

Mouse Patrol

As a consequence to us feeding the squirrels that frequent our yard, it appears we have also attracted mice who take advantage of what the squirrels scatter on the ground. We don't know this for a fact since we've never seen mice in our backyard, but a few members of the feline persuasion have convinced us something is up. They dash to the fence every chance they get and will sit on guard at the same spot under the squirrel trough for hours. I am not too optimistic that any of them would know what to do with a mouse if one actually crossed their path, but it's fun to watch them be cat-like. It's especially comical since last year Neal found a live mouse behind our refrigerator, which meant the little critter probably scurried in the back door while it was opened, undetected by three dogs and a herd of cats. Some protectors they are!

5 comments:

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

I have two cats who are totally opposite when it comes to hunting. Maggie May believes in "look but don't touch". She is interested but has no idea what to do. Mazie Grace is an expert hunter. She catches mice, moles, birds, squirrels, and anything that moves. She not only catches her prey, she always eats what she catches. She would rather eat what she catches than commercial cat food.

basicliving@backtobasicliving.com said...

Elvis and Priscilla sound much like your cats! Two years ago, we hired a pet sitter when we went to my parents' for Christmas. When we returned we found a note that said she had seen a mouse in the house, and Elvis stepped out of its way as the mouse ran by! SVB - many years ago we also had a cat that was an expert hunter. His name was Leo, and he sounds very much like your cat - he ate what he caught and seemed to prefer those meals. Elvis and Priscilla seem to prefer their cat food ;-)

Lilla said...

SVB and Penny...sounds like you each have experienced the spoiled cat syndrome we have around here! A few weeks ago, someone actually killed a small bird and deposited it inside the house, but not a feather was out of place. I think my gang would starve if they had to depend on their hunting skills to survive!

Anonymous said...

i love that picture of the three cats in a line :)
my dogs are opposites like that too - one of them will chase just to chase (he wouldn't know what to do with an animal if he caught it!) but the female? if she catches a bird or a squirrel, they are history... and she used to catch them quite a bit... she is getting on in years now and doesn't even hear or see them these days but she used to be a backyard terror...

Lilla said...

Daune...if I remember correctly, Basenjis are African hunting dogs, so it makes sense that yours would want to show off their ancestral skills!

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