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Is That A Bird in My House?

Our cat Luna loves to give us “presents” all summer long. It’s like Christmas in July…only these are not really presents that I want.

Is That a Bird in My House?

I do appreciate the thought that goes into these gifts, but I’d actually prefer just a little snuggle from them now and then. I still have less than fond memories of the the time last year that I was leaving town on an early flight so I had to get up at 5:30 am. At 4:30 am, Miss Luna jumped on the bed and off the bed, on the bed and off the bed. Now this is not normal for her…usually she walks by your head and purrs loudly and kneads the blankets. I knew something was up. Sure enough, she had left me a dead mouse on the floor at the end of the bed. Who needs an alarm clock when your cat wakes you up early to give you a goodbye gift?

Another time she brought me a dead chipmunk, but she brought that gift up while I wasn’t home, and had it waiting for me on the floor next to the bed for bedtime. How considerate. A bedtime treat! You can only imagine my reaction to that.

Her daytime gift offerings are usually alive. I think perhaps she would like her own pet, because twice last summer she brought birds in and simply let them go. Let me tell you how much fun it is to catch birds in the house. Not very! There was one day that we were working outside last summer, and my husband noticed one of our 4 cats swatting at the basement window. He went over to take a closer look and discovered that there was a bird trying to get out. I had to grab the cat while he opened the window and let the bird out. That one was fairly easy. The bird escaped, and hopefully flew far, far away.

The next one was in our living room / dining room area. We thought the bird was wounded because there was a mess of what we thought was blood on the wood floor in the living room. The bird was flying around bumping into walls, and Luna was quite enjoying the show. Actually a couple of our cats were watching all of this. Is this like television for cats? A way to amuse themselves and friends? The poor bird flew into the wall, and fell on the ground behind some picture frames that needed to be hung. We started pulling out the frames to rescue the bird and in addition to the bird we found a mouse cowering there. Who does this happen to?! Let me just say that we got these cats because few winters ago we had a mouse problem. Then we went for a really long time without any evidence of mice (we caught a couple in traps) and the cats caught a few too. But honestly when I saw this mouse cowering next to the stunned bird, I began to wonder if they weren’t bringing these little friends in. I don’t think I have ever screamed so loud in my life. My poor husband caught the mouse and the bird, and released them outside, hopefully never to be seen again. What we thought was blood? The bird must have been eating berries. He had pooped all over our wood floor. He wasn’t harmed in any way.

We also had a chipmunk visitor. I’d love to know how that thing got in, but given Luna’s track record, I’m guessing it was her. I doubt the thing followed the dogs in through the electronic dog door. The cats, however, have a cat door in from the garage, and then another one in from the basement. Again, this must have been quite the entertainment for our pets as I chased the poor thing (screaming) into a bathroom and shut the door, and waited for my husband to come home and deal with it. He put up a piece of wood leading to the window, another down the other side of the window, and took the screen off. I am sure the chipmunk was thrilled to head back to the great outdoors after spending time locked in our bathroom.

Shhhh…please don’t tell Luna I have a birthday coming up! I am hoping for a gift-free summer this year!

Does your cat give YOU presents?

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Daina Makinson

Wednesday 3rd of July 2013

I have four cats and a long list of "presents" they have brought me! I always know something is up when they all disappear together. They will invariably have a mouse cornered somewhere that I end up saving and letting outside. My husband says they are just going to come back in and I say "at their own peril'! Then there are the struggling, eyes wide open chipmunks I insist they drop so they can scamper away. Poor things. But I have a funny feeling memories are short in their little pea heads and they come back for more! Michelle if you ever need cat sitter, Luna would love it here!

Michelle Nahom

Saturday 6th of July 2013

I don't get why mice would ever come into this house at this point! Really, there are 4 cats and 3 dogs...it is NOT a save haven at this point!! But we still get one every once in a while. Thank goodness we've been relatively mouse free for a while!

Kristen Daukas

Thursday 27th of June 2013

Let's see... in no particular order here are the gifts that I've been brought by my cat(s) (note.. I have one cat who used to have a brother.. sadly the brother passed last year. I miss Max).. Multiples of: Chipmunks, squirrels, birds of all varieties, mice and snakes. Some of these were alive, most were dead and on a few occasions, all that remained were the bushy tails - especially squirrel tails. I get most peeved when they bring them to me and just leave them there. Seriously.. once you bring it to me, can you please remove it and do whatever it is that you do with them??

Michelle Nahom

Saturday 6th of July 2013

I'm with you...once you share it, please remove it!!! And I would just be in a complete panic if they ever brought me a snake!!!

Elaine A.

Thursday 27th of June 2013

aw, such a sweet kitty to bring you "gifts". I would NOT be okay with that. ha! Hope she just lets you pet her for your gift this year! ;)

Michelle Nahom

Thursday 27th of June 2013

I could do without the gifts too! But she seems quite proud of herself!! If she could just leave them outside, I'd be perfectly happy...just sayin'

Bev

Thursday 27th of June 2013

My cat, Leo, is an indoor cat, so thankfully he can't bring us any wild presents from the great outdoors, but about a month ago he was terrorizing a mouse that had made its way into my bedroom. I was really afraid I was going to wake up to a dead mouse on my rug the next morning, but thankfully I think it escaped. Cats can be so mean to little animals!

Michelle Nahom

Thursday 27th of June 2013

Cats are funny. Sometimes I think they just want to play -- I don't know how else to explain the ones that they bring me live! Other times they are just brutal. But I do love them - just wish they'd leave the wildlife outside!

another jennifer

Wednesday 26th of June 2013

OK, this post illustrates exactly why I have 3 dogs and no cats. The only present they give me is de-stuffed dog toys!

Michelle Nahom

Thursday 27th of June 2013

But it's all about showing love and affection for them! I just wish they'd leave them on the porch! No such luck!