Cat Tales

Skimble on top of the fridge again


We've just had this note popped through our letter box:

Our newly acquired kittens have taken a keen interest in catching small animals: unfortunately today they bought in a live guinea pig. We have taken the guinea pig to the vets - it is dark brown/black all over. If you are missing a guinea pig please contact us on the number below.


We are trying as much as possible to stop the cats catching animals, but as you probably appreciate there is only so much we can do.

As the note is signed by someone with the same name as NAH, our neighbours have been all a-giggle and agog as soon as we stick our noses out the front door. I've had to remind them our two are no longer kittens.

However, one of ours did bring a bright orange hamster home and left it for me to find at the foot of the stairs a couple of years ago. It bore a striking resemblance to next door's beloved pet, but thankfully Harry was merrily going round in his little wheel when we went round and checked :)

What's the most unusual creature your pet(s) have bought home or encountered?

Comments

  1. Benjamin Vogt29 August 2009 at 19:08

    This is funny--maybe it shouldn't be, I mean, some poor little kid could be balling their eyes out. We used to have an indoor cat who would sneak out, sty the night in the "great suburban outdoors," and in the morning a pile of mice would be by the door. He was a gentle, fat cat so I assume he was bartering with another cat or something.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HappyMouffetard29 August 2009 at 19:43

    Bill brings us mice, which he leaves, alive, in the conservatory. We only discover them when Ted sits and stares at where they're hiding. Bill loses interest once he's brought them in, and Ted is completely useless at catching them. He'll sit and watch them as they run at him. We've had a frog under the sofa, too. And Bill is also obsessed by the red elastic bands left by postmen - he triumphantly brings us what we have christened 'endless worms', meowing excitedly and leaves them for us. Nobody's pets though, thankfully!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown29 August 2009 at 21:28

    I'm by no means a cat person but I do find them hilarious, when they're not trying to scratch my eyes out or eat my hand that is!

    A family friend's cat once walked up the middle of the road, proud as punch, with a neighbours bright orange prize koi carp in its mouth! That was pretty impressive!

    Ryan

    ReplyDelete
  4. 3c29 August 2009 at 21:42

    Our cats bring shrews dead; and lizards live.

    One time an electrician knocked on the door with a canary and asked if it was ours. Said he'd found it walking around on the grass outside our house.

    We took him in and called him Cuthbert Egghead. (This was the canary, not the electrician.) He died when he broke his neck against the bars of his cage by flying too enthusiastically towards me because he thought I was about to bring more seed.

    We buried him under what I think is a Hebe.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Karen - An Artist's Garden30 August 2009 at 00:03

    Magenta, used to catch bats, I have never seen anything like it, she could be sitting on the patio, then leap vertically up and snatch a bat out of the sky. Of course, then she used to run indoors with them and let them go in the house.

    K

    ReplyDelete
  6. CanadianGardenJoy30 August 2009 at 13:47

    Hello there VP .. love seeing Skimble's tail there .. and Jess ? where is that picture ? LOL
    My girls are safely indoor cats so that isn't quite what I am commenting about .. BUT .. we just had the funniest incident with a little mystery dog (Jack Russel we think) thought for sure we were his owners and by surprise I was bending over watering some plants I brought home, with the rain barrel hose when he? she ssuddenlyappeared and was thirsty .. so of course I gave the cutie pie water which lead to the idea we were good people .. he got up on the deck wagging away wanting to come in but instead he got a plastic container with more water and us hiding behind the blinds wishing he would go home and be safe .. some one was looking for him I'm sure .. it took some time .. he/she was stubborn and thought we would give in .. but finally and hopefully he/she went home.
    We didn't want to put the poor little one through the stress of the dog catcher .. we thought he/she would go home eventually or the owner would be calling his/her name while looking .. and it would go home safely and without trtrauma
    It was one of the funniest things that happened to us .. but the girls ? .. they DIDN'T think this creature on the deck was funny AT ALL :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. mrspao30 August 2009 at 22:08

    We've had a gamut of different creatures over the years ranging from frogs to racing pigeons. The best item was a teddy bear's arm which was as big as the cat who brought it in.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Juliet31 August 2009 at 19:10

    Not ours, but we have some local cats which are very enterprising :-D

    I love the picture of Skimble's tail!

    ReplyDelete
  9. easygardener31 August 2009 at 19:54

    I found a baby rabbit sitting in the corner of the kitchen one morning. Perfectly ok but it did give me a bit of a shock. A dead weasel was the most unusual catch - I'd never seen one before.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Constant Gardener31 August 2009 at 22:29

    I caught a Jack Russell terrier once. I was meant to be fishing off a quay, flicked my line professionally-ish over my shoulder with bit of bacon safely attached, only to find when I went to cast that a Jack Russell had become attached to the end. He swallowed before we could get the hook out, too. It was extremely - and I mean extremely - embarrassing.

    So I've caught something odd but the cats haven't. We once found a hamster dead in our garden though. And the allotment cats catch unbelievable numbers of bunnies - but then that's what they're there for, so I suppose I can't call that particularly unusual....!

    ReplyDelete
  11. VP7 September 2009 at 11:25

    Benjamin - I'm with you, it is funny and our neighbours think so too. At least the guinea pig is alive and so can be restored to its owner ASAP.

    HM - another red elastic band lover!!!!!! Skimble adores them and makes more fuss of them than the assorted mice, shrews and frogs he brings in!

    Ryan - I bet the neighbours weren't as impressed as us! Our 2 won't bite or scratch you, they'd love you to death instead!

    3c - shrews are most nervous creatures so I'm not surprised you've had dead ones bought to you. Your canary story's a bittersweet one.

    Karen - Skimble caught a bat once. Luckily I managed to get it off him and let him recover on the patio. It did fly off eventually.

    Joy - that's so funny, though I hope the dog did find its way home. I'm wondering how our 2 will cope with the new puppy next door...

    Mrspao - welcome! :) That sounds like quite some teddy bear!

    Juliet - thanks, I couldn't resist taking a photo - he's usually the other way round!

    EG - I think our 2 have scared the local rabbit population away, or else they're more secretive than they used to be.

    CG - crumbs! I can feel your embarassment telling us all about it!

    ReplyDelete

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