Tuesday, April 03, 2012

A-Z Challenge - C is for Cats

I know it doesn't take a lot of imagination to come up with C Is For Cats, but I simply could not pass up the opportunity to write about my cats again. Mostly because they are here. All the time. Right here. Walking all over my desk and keyboard.

Sometimes they will leave me alone and sit to look out the window. Lots of birds feed in the yard out there and nothing attracts a cat like a bird. Or maybe a mouse. A real one or a computer mouse. I like it better when it is the real one.

Harry, wishing he could get a bird
Since we have lost so many cats to rural predators, we have decided to keep our current four cats inside most of the time. Most of the time is the operable phrase, as two of them love to escape. Harry and Daisy really, really want to go explore the great outdoors. Daisy because she has already spend some time outside and knows what adventures lie there, and Harry because he would love to experience just one of those adventures.

Please, oh please let me out.
Daisy came to us by accident. Literally. She had gotten out of our neighbors house one day and would not come back. The neighbor lost track of her and she ended up in my barn one day after being injured. My neighbor was not interested in taking her back, so we have kept her. I couldn't stand the thought of her becoming coyote lunch while she was recovering from her injuries.

Daisy still likes to escape, but we usually can get her back in after a little while. Recently she escaped close to our bedtime, so I spent an extra half-hour trying to find her. I really did not want her out for the whole night. When she finally came running in just as I was letting the dog out, she brought a rabbit in with her. Turned out the rabbit was still alive and when I caught the cat, she dropped the rabbit, who then ran back into my laundry room.

Hubby got up and helped me corral cats and lock them in the sun room, while we tried to find the rabbit. No luck. It had hidden somewhere in the laundry room. By now it was an hour past our bedtime, and I was exhausted, so we decided to leave the back door open - it is in the laundry room - and hope the bunny would just go out during the night. And hopefully nothing would come inside.

That appeared to work. So far. No dead rabbit stinking up my house.

Visit some of the other bloggers participating in the challenge and see if they came up with something more clever for the day. Maybe someone actually wrote about being clever. A full list of the bloggers who have accepted the challenge can be found HERE

13 comments:

Paula Martin said...

Daisy looks just like the cat I had for 18 years! Mine was a bird catcher. She didn't usually kill them, just deposited them on the living room carpet and then ran away because she knew (from experience) that I would get cross with her - again!

Rebecca Alexander said...

We have a net increase in mice and rats since one of our cats stopped killing them. She lets them go in the kids' bedrooms, leaving us to capture and release them!

Maryannwrites said...

Thanks for stopping by, Paula. I do hope we can have Daisy for as long as you had your cat. That depends on her luck with the coyotes and the trucks that come barreling down our road. If she would stop escaping from the house, her chances would be better.

Reb, one of our cats is a great mouser. She grew up outdoors before she came to us, so she learned how to hunt for her dinner. I'm afraid the other indoor cats will not be as good.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Oh God! My cat from childhood brought a live mouse in the house once. Never did find it.

I've always had cats. Just love them.

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Cat is a perfectly delightful word for the letter C. And my "girls", who are both nearby playing supervisors, agree. Thankfully, we've kept them indoors ever since we adopted them as wee kittens, so they haven't brought any critters to me as gifts. 'Cept for the occasional bug. Which they try to eat. Happy A-Zing.

Maryannwrites said...

Thanks for stopping by, Susan. I am so glad your "girls" approve of my blog topic. My two cats that we have so far managed to keep indoors, like to chase bugs, too. Really not fun when they are chasing one all over the bedroom at night. LOL

Jen said...

Hi Maryann! I'm stopping by from the Challenge. Love the post on cats. Mine loves to pretend he's a vicious bird hunter, but he's only allowed to stalk them from the window :D

Nice to meet you! Good luck with the challenge.

Hi from a new follower,
Jen

Maryannwrites said...

Hi, Jen. Thanks for following the blog. Hope you find it worth your time. Hope you make it through the challenge, too.

F. Stone said...

Loved your post about cats. I've got two, plus one sheltie. My youngest cat, Leo, was a rescue. He loves being outside so I allow him out our front door attached to a leash. When the weather is nice I take him and our sheltie for walks. People think that's pretty odd, but the neighborhood kids think its cool. Anything to keep my pets happy.
Feather

Udita Banerjee said...

Daisy seems sooo much fun. I love cats. And may I say Ma'am, what an unusual theme you seem to be on :)

Wendy said...

I really like cats but I became allergic to them after my first child was born. Crazy, huh? I could surely use a good mouser around here to snag those nasty moles and voles tearing up my yard.

Maryannwrites said...

Feather, I knew some folks could get a cat to walk on a leash. I'm guessing that has to start when they are very young. I bet it is fun to take the cat and dog walking and see the reactions from others.

"effervescencia" thanks for the compliment on my theme. I have several more planned for the nature theme, but am having trouble with some of the letters. Plus, I have some guests this month that were planned long before I decided to do the challenge. Have to figure out how to work that into my theme. (smile)

Wendy, I, too, have trouble with moles and voles now that I no longer have the two cats who were the good hunters. Lost them both last fall and that is why we decided to have indoor cats.

Lynn Proctor said...

very sweet post---i have two grandson cats--riley and charlie