Cat and Mouse
February 9, 2007 - Cats
We have indoor cats. We've had them for about a year now, and they're both declawed. We can never let them outdoors, because if the coyotes in the area didn't get them, the giant owls would. I know that being housecats has dulled their instincts, and I've always known that Tonga doesn't quite know how to play, let alone hunt, but I'd never quite realized how defective our cats are.
Last night, I bought a steak on the way home. I grilled it up and it was goood. But apparently, going in and out to the grill let in an unexpected visitor.
Linda and I were sitting down, eating the steak and watching season 2, episode 6 of Farscape, when I happened to glance over and see Tonga walking quickly through the kitchen, pawing at something which seemed to also be moving of its own volition. What the...
It was a mouse. And my retarded cat had been gently pawing at it - so softly that the mouse wasn't even nudged off course as it ran. Behind the refrigerator. We chased it out, through the kitchen, down the hall, into the bathroom. All four of us - two human, two feline. Now it was trapped in the bathroom with no way out. It got past us. We lost it. Haven't seen it since, although we're hallucinating mice around every corner.
I hate mice.
In general, if a cat hasn't learned something by the age of 6-10 weeks, it's not going to learn it--ever.
There are exceptions, but I have found this to be generally true over my 50+ years of cat "ownership."