Liam 1, Bird 0

Today was a great day!! They let me out to patrol the back territory. It was clear why. Every morning one hears the insufferable, high-pitched, annoying, and completely unsolicited chirping of birds. There must be hundreds out there pining away for who knows what. To express this algebrarically the number of birds out there is now in the hundreds minus 1.  

Why you ask ... because I nailed one!! My stealthiness won out over the bird's natural agility. Us cats are at a distinct disadvantage in our efforts to rid the world of birds by the fact that birds can fly. That said, birds don't fly very good when there is a paw full of claws impaling their feather-ridden body (see forensic photograph below).

High-action photo shows the clawful impaling of a bird before he got a chance to fly away.

Here I am viewing this morning's efforts!! Cats don't smile. But if cats did smile, you would see me smiling if you could see the other side of my head.

One good turn deserves another they say (although I'm not sure who they are). I was able to exchange the deceased avian carcass for a load of catnip and my mouse toys.  Reflecting on the day reminds me of the poem The Dead Bird by Christy Call. 

I stopped listening for what wasn’t heard. The silence became the dead bird.

That's what we had around here this morning - the silence of the dead bird! HA!!  That's pretty funny when you think about it. Oh well, poems about birds are dumb (I'm not the only one who thinks so either).

What can I say ... catnip makes me wacky!! 

These little fake birds and mouses are terrific practice to keeping yourself a well-tuned killing machine.

Hunting Wild Game!! Implications for Backyard Eco-systems

I'm a little annoyed; I'll be honest. As can be seen in this first forensic photo I returned to the homestead having bagged a bird. I mean - it wasn't exactly big game, but it sure was fun sneaking up on it and pouncing on its little feathery body and watching its little soul rise to heaven as I crunched his puny little neck!
Naturally, I had to bring it home. Most cats like to fly under their owner's radar, but when it comes to snagging wild game, we are basically show-offs. I'm not being immodest, that's just how us cats roll. We're supposed to use our four big canine teeth for something! It's no big deal.



The problem is that, and I think we all see what the problem is going to be, the current female resident of this house seem rather unappreciative of my efforts. I present the second photo as Exhibit B where it should be obvious that she is restraining me from the trophy lunch I just caught.

I gotta say - this kind of treatment gets old. The backyard has what I would consider to be a total excess of birds. Backyards are important not only to the home owner, and to any guest of the house, and to many wildlife species as well. The backyard provides these species with major habitat requirements: food, cover, space, and water (there's a big swimming pool that serves as a major mouse drowning station). As the only cat in this place, it is my responsibility to manage these species in a way that is sensitive to wildlife needs. Especially MY needs! Clearly these two homeowners need to include my activities in their backyard species management plan. It's the way of the wild!

I admit that birds, such as the one that I murdered, can provide many aesthetic and recreational benefits to the homeowner. Watching me hunt for mice or a little featured creature or even a red-backed salamander hiding under a bush can add beauty and enjoyment to everyone's day. The humans around here need to recognize the ecological services provided by ME and how I benefit the entire backyard ecosystem. For example, worms keep the soil healthy. In a similar way, birds, such as sparrows, as any ecologist will tell you, deserve to be murdered by cats - it's part of the natural order of things. That's the way it is or God wouldn't have made us cats cold-blooded killing machines! When I kill a bird I am evolving into a better cat and I have two owners who need to appreciate that a litle more!

So after all this, I'm pretty bushed and I am going to take a nap in my sleeping berth, that I might add, was hand made from exotic South American and African hardwoods that are quite expensive. I'm going to dream of wild life maagement for sure!