What the cat dragged in
OK, I know Malcolm hunts; I've seen him in the back yard with a mouse in his mouth (which explains why he isn't losing weight as fast as the vet would like, even on the expensive diet cat food). Also, he and Kaylee have a tendency to bring small snakes into the house to play with. These they do not eat, they just leave the bodies laying around. Fortunately, they tend to mummify rather than rot. Well, except for that one that managed to crawl into the pocket of my jeans on the floor before dying -- that body ended up flying in the air over a retail counter when I went to pay for purchases the next day, scaring the shit out of the cashier and me, both. But that's another story.
So when both cats were excitedly hunkering over something in the middle of the living room floor this morning, I figured it was another snake. I got up to rescue it, which distracted the cats -- which is when Malcolm's bird got loose and started flying around. My first thought was to dash back to the bedroom to put on some clothes. Since most of our neighbors are Muslim (most of the women wear hijab and a couple of them niqab), I didn't think chasing a bird out of the house while semi-naked would gain me any "Good Neighbor" points. The sculpture of a zombie in my front flowerbed is enough to overcome already.
But when I got back into the living room the bird was nowhere in sight,and the cats were laying around with expressions of "No, Mama, we didn't lose anything. What is this "bird" object you are referring to?" I eventually found the bird and threw a towel over it to capture it. It looked like an adolescent, and didn't have any obvious injuries, so it got a lecture about stupid teen-age behavior and how to recognize and stay away from danger, and was released outside. It promptly flew off into the bushes across the street, but I don't have high hopes for it having a long lifespan. It was appallingly easy for both Malcolm and me to catch. But it did get the day off to an exciting start.
So when both cats were excitedly hunkering over something in the middle of the living room floor this morning, I figured it was another snake. I got up to rescue it, which distracted the cats -- which is when Malcolm's bird got loose and started flying around. My first thought was to dash back to the bedroom to put on some clothes. Since most of our neighbors are Muslim (most of the women wear hijab and a couple of them niqab), I didn't think chasing a bird out of the house while semi-naked would gain me any "Good Neighbor" points. The sculpture of a zombie in my front flowerbed is enough to overcome already.
But when I got back into the living room the bird was nowhere in sight,and the cats were laying around with expressions of "No, Mama, we didn't lose anything. What is this "bird" object you are referring to?" I eventually found the bird and threw a towel over it to capture it. It looked like an adolescent, and didn't have any obvious injuries, so it got a lecture about stupid teen-age behavior and how to recognize and stay away from danger, and was released outside. It promptly flew off into the bushes across the street, but I don't have high hopes for it having a long lifespan. It was appallingly easy for both Malcolm and me to catch. But it did get the day off to an exciting start.