Well that answered that question.

It was the end of the day on July 4th. I had spent the day at the keyboard, writing. (More about that in another post.) I had done some wash and dishes and a few other things to keep my mind active, but the bulk of the day was spent in the word.

That evening, I logged onto my game and was running around this pretend world with guild members when there came a need for more tea in the mug. I walked to the living room and Pilchard was sitting on one of the rugs in the living room. The way she was sitting, kind of how the cat in this photo is sitting, drew attention to her because she doesn't sit this way.

It was dark. It was after 10. Fireworks were going off around the neighborhood. She wasn't moving. I came close to her and she growled at me. Now this is extremely unusual. That's when I saw the tail. She had a mouse. Pilchard had caught a mouse in the basement and brought it upstairs to play with.

Now, beyond the obvious, "Oh lord, I have mice in my house" is the amusement that she actually caught it. She was not happy with me for wanting to "see" it. I tried my most soothing, "Pilchard, sweetie. Momma is proud of you but I don't want a mouse loose upstairs." She wasn't buying it. She chased it around part of the living room. She growled at me if I attempted to reach for it and she really growled when Mija came out of the bedroom to see what the fuss was about. It wasn't a very big mouse, a mere morsel to her, but that's really not the point. The point is she hunted and caught prey.

Eventually, she knocked it out and I was able to swipe it away from her by covering it with a towel. I tossed it outside. It was gone the next morning. Who knows if it was just stunned or consumed by something else. She still looks for it and will look at me and meow as if to say, "Have you seen my toy mom?"

I guess that answers the question of would they know what to do with prey if it came near them. There is the issue of mice in my house. Rascal would, on very rare occasions, catch one in the winter in the basement. This is a first for one in the summer. I'm not sure where they got in and I haven't seen mouse droppings in anything so I don't know where she found this one. I grew up in a big old Iowa farmhouse. I know what mouse droppings look like.

No. I'm not rushing out to get a trap. Part of me thinks this is an isolated incident. Plus, as long as I catch either of them with the mouse, I can toss it outside. They are much better mousers than any trap I can get.

Beverage: English Breakfast Tea

Deb