I had to shut the door to keep Ms. Annie in my bathroom. That’s the end of the story. The beginning comes next.
Meda told me she thought something was going on. I went in to check and found Annie pacing around the toilet.
Inspection. Nothing there. No bird on the floor behind. Nothing visible. So then I thought to myself: “Maybe there’s a gecko and it’s crawled up the wall behind the tank.”
So I walked back over, leaned up close to the wall, and looked down into that little space behind the toilet tank. And saw the large rat’s nose, whiskers, one eye staring up at me. It somehow scrambled up and wedged itself in that space. Meanwhile, Annie was tiring of pacing around the toilet without finding her prey. Now she wanted to leave. By this time, though, the rat’s tail was sticking out from behind its hiding place.
I picked up Ms. Annie and put her back there, but she immediately made a break for the door.
That’s the point where I picked her up, stationed myself at the door, dropped her inside, and closed the door. I really am not looking forward to the prospect of showering, or trying to take care of other bodily functions, with a terrified rat inches away.
Annie is the smallest of our nine cats but, it seems, one of the real hunters. Actually, all the good hunters are females, with Kili and Annie at the top of the list.
But why do cats sometimes enjoy the hunt, bring in their prize prey, but fail to follow through?
6 responses so far ↓
1 Andy Parx // May 1, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Any question that starts “Why do cats…” has no answer that anyone but a cat could understand… and maybe not even a cat would.
2 Lora // May 1, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Personally, I would rather cook and enjoy the meal than do the dirty work after the meal…
3 LarryG // May 1, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I just want to know what happens next.
Your cat may be wondering why it is that _you_ don’t follow through. Big guy like you, small rat, how come no action? Ian, you’re not setting a great example for your cat, and the word could get around.
Your reputation in the household is at stake.
4 Cathy Goeggel // May 2, 2008 at 7:15 am
I’ve been the recipient of many rodents and rodent parts –if the animal is not seriously wounded, I catch in a towel and let free. I could not allow the rat to suffer in fright.
5 Ian Lind // May 2, 2008 at 9:17 am
I agree with Cathy. I typically will pick up live rats and deliver them outside, although the larger variants cause problems. This rat, though, was in an inaccessible position when last seen. That’s why Annie gave up.
And today it’s gone missing. Not known if it is still inside or not.
6 LarryG // May 2, 2008 at 10:14 am
“And today it’s gone missing. Not known if it is still inside or not.”
From my own experience in Manoa, this might be reworded ,
“And today she’s gone missing. Not known if she is still inside or not. And she’s probably pregnant.”
I used to trap them and carry them off to the Chinese Cemetary before sunrise. My one cat at the time didn’t even pay attention to the operation, like she didn’t know the rat. I guess it became my rat, my problem.
Did I tell you about returning from a long trip away from Japan and finding two mouse heads neatly arranged on the futon? No?
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