Oliver and Company (Or Lessons Learned From The Animal Kingdom)

A while back I told you about Oliver, our cat. I complained about how it seemed like forever for the Hubs to go and get him fixed.

He's been fixed and recovered and is wilder now than ever (I really thought it was supposed to settle him down).

We made a decision to let him be an indoor/outdoor cat now that he is fixed and has had his rabies shots. The first morning that I put him outside, he looked bewildered and a bit dejected. When he finally decided to leave the porch, the bell on his collar and his rabies tag jingling with each step, I thought, Wow, I have really hindered his ability to hunt with his tags and bell, he will never be able to catch anything.


Oh, how wrong I am about so many things. Since he has been outside for the last week, he has brought home two birds, a mouse, a squirrel, a mole and a snake.

The snake scared me the most as he left it on the bottom step of the deck. Stepping down with an arm full of things trying to get myself out of the door to go to work, I caught a glimpse of it from the corner of my eye. I leaped then, from the second step to my car door, scurried to get the door shut and the car turned on before I realized that it was very much dead. I snapped a picture from the safety of my car, just in case.

You may be feeling sorry for the myriad of animals that I have pretended that I did not see so that my husband would have to dispose of them. Do not feel sorry for them, besides the fact that they are so blatantly stupid. If a bird (or mouse, mole or squirrel) can not hear that tinkling bell and the clanging of his rabies tag and know that they need to get out of the way, then they kind of deserved whatever they got.

I mean, a bird has an incredible advantage over a cat. It can fly to higher ground, it can move very rapidly. And yet, it chooses to ignore the alarm system being emitted from the hunter in the interest of finding another bug or grub.
The takeaway? Ignoring your problems will not make them go away, it will only get yourself killed and mutilated on my doorstep.

The mouse and mole are much smaller than the cat and could get into spaces much smaller than he can.
The takeaway? Unfortunately for them, hiding from your problems will not make them go away, they will only get you killed and mutilated on my doorstep.

A squirrel can run up a tree! I have never seen a cat run up a tree like a squirrel.
The takeaway? Running from your problems, while it may seem like a good idea, will only insure that you will get killed and mutilated on my doorstep.

As for the snake, well snakes just deserve to die.