My brown tabby cat Eddie has always been the mouser of the house. At our last place, there was a vole colony at the back of the property and on more than one occasion Eddie came flying into the house with a high pitched squeal that sounds like a dying motor emitting from his mouth. I knew after the first time it was a vole so this dash often included me running after him yelling "drop it! drop it! drop it!" hoping he would before he got inside. It never worked out that way so instead, I'd spend 15 minutes trying to corner this poor blind animal that looks like an earless, tailless mouse into some Tupperware so I could return him to the great outdoors.
Where we live now I don't let the cats outside anymore. The yard is too big and they leave without saying goodbye, staying out for a couple days at a time. I'm not okay with this so they have become my prisoners. This has not ramped down Eddie's hunting spirit, however.
It started with a grey fur sack with a stuffed mouse head. You put catnip in the sack and the Lottie is blushed out in 10 minutes. Or not. In our house, we know the hunt is afoot because these weird, guttural meows will issue from some unknown location on the house. The first time he did it, I thought he was dying. Scared the crap out of me. After about 10 minutes, however, Eddie will come trotting into the room, his prize clenched neatly in his jaws. He'll jump up on the furniture and drop his "kill" in your lap. We always praise him lavishly for his efforts. Let's face it, if a real mouse gets in the house I want those skills fine tuned! Especially since the other cat has no interest in catching anything except the occasional shoelace.
Recently Eddie has turned his sights to bigger prey. We have a stuffed lamb chop dog toy that is about the size of a kitten or a baby bunny. Just a few minutes ago, without any pre-emptive warning, he brought me "dead" lamb chop. He dropped it in my lap, took his treat and left. I don't know whether to be proud, or concerned that he's moving on to larger prey. He's always hated the dog. Then again, she has a good 50 lbs on him so perhaps she can handle herself.
