Who am I? I have a happy little existence with my husband, my large yellow lab & my two kittens. My dog is 100 lbs of bouncy joy. My male cat is addicted to "Greenies", catnip & thinks he's a dog. My female cat looks like a sweet housecat, but is a serial killer.
I took up fencing after I turned 40 & wanted to find a sport that would keep me active and fit into my old age.
I spend my time coaching beginners, training, & working at our vintage autosound business.
Note: Some of my blog entries are only available to my "Blog Buddies". They are either private in nature or about coaching. I make my coaching entries private becuase public entries can be read by the general public. While I never use names, the descriptions of the events can reveal information and I want to respect the privacy of my students. If you would like to be on my list, please PM me and I will add you.
Recent Comments
Snow:
We found mouse guts and fur (regurgitated) on the living room floor this mo...
About once every month or so my female cat doesn't come home. I have been assuming that some predator chases her outside her usual territory and she ends up "lost". When this happens, I take my dog and we walk in the fields where (I presume) she hunts (about 4 houses down). She doesn't come when called (as she does at home) but she seems to pick up the scent of my and/or my dog's footprints and makes it home within the next 10 hours or so.
I'm a little surprised that she doesn't find her way home on her own, as I suspect she must hunt there. While the homes near by may have mice and birds, I doubt they have wild rabbits living on their properties. So she's familiar with the area. If I wait a few days she doesn't make it on her own. The "trigger" for her return always seems to be picking up our scent. Very puzzling...
Perhaps she gets chased off while she's hunting (as predators are doing the same thing). So she gets slightly beyond her usual range and doesn't recognize the area because she's coming from a different direction. Our scent gets her pointed towards home. Who knows... it's just weird she hasn't been able to find her way home on her won considering how often this happens.
Lately, I found evidence that my cats have been doing their job around the yard. My sister (who was visiting) offered to cut my lawn. When she got to the back she said she didn't want to do it until I clean up the "dead animals". What???
My female cat is the most proficient hunter and eats her prey. My male cat's performance hasn't been stellar. He tends to "catch and release"... in my house. Some of these "dead animals" in the yard were good sized rats. Since they weren't eaten I can't help but wonder if my male cat has figured out how to at least kill rodents (rather than just play with them). I am hoping this is the case. Having two killers is exactly what I was hoping for when I brought the little buggers home.
Over the last few years, the neighbours bird feeders have brought rodents of all size and subspecies to our area. Items (such as expensive tarps, hoses for vehicles etc...) have been nibbled on by the buggers. Getting a mouser or two seemed like a good solution (as I love having cats). Our camping gear came out of storage without nibbles taken out or the tell-tale turds. It finally looks like it's paying off.
10-04-2008 06:23 PM 
Some of these "dead animals" in the yard were good sized rats. Since they weren't eaten I can't help but wonder if my male cat has figured out how to at least kill rodents (rather than just play with them). I am hoping this is the case. Having two killers is exactly what I was hoping for when I brought the little buggers home.