Something happened several days ago which made me glad and sad at the same time. It was a big day for Sweetie the Manx kitten and a very bad day for one little bird.
For some time now I have been luring the birds to my back yard by keeping a feeding station for them outside my dining room window. It has been entertaining and informative to observe the variety of birds that come by to partake of suet, thistle seeds, dried fruit, and nuts.
At the same time I have been trying to acclimate a stray kitten to the civilized, outside world during one of the coldest winters we have ever had here in north Georgia. At first she had to be taken to the vet to be wormed, then after a bit, she was taken back for shots to protect her (and ultimately all of us) then there was a waiting time for her to gain weight before she could be spayed. But we were not there yet. The Vet said she needed to be of a certain stage of development before being spayed. Then finally that day came and she had the operation. All of this time she has been living in my sun room. J.W. my neighbor who was behind this cat project, has been faithful to take her to the vet, pay the bills, and come and change the litter box. I have been faithful to feed the kitten and try to provide some human contact, even though I do not like to have animals inside my home.
Bear in mind that even inside of the sun room it can be really cold for a little kitten; so I put a space heater out there to try and keep the air temperature bearable at night. She also has had the use of a little house with a heated pad for added warmth. But being confined for several months with no other feline company can eventually make a placid cat go psycho!!
I began to open the roll out window during the day so Sweetie could come and go as she pleased. It was a gradual reintroduction to the outdoors. She seemed to enjoy the transition and could be seen honing stalking skills. One day I noticed she was being more active than usual in the sun room but did not go to investigate. when I saw her take a huge leap into the air and onto the deacon's bench I did go to see what brought that on. To my dismay I saw a tiny bird in her clutch. Sweetie looked up at me briefly and went on playing with the bird. The poor bird tried to fly away by going up to the window ledge but eventually flying down again as he tried to figure out how to get out of his predicament.
What was I to do? Cats learn to hunt prey, even when it is something desirable like this little bird. It was a predicament. I did not see how it all began so I was not sure how the bird got into the sun room. Did it accidentally fly in through the window or did Sweetie bring it inside? However it happened, what should I do? Think about it, what would you have done?
I can tell you that it was painful for me to not intervene but I let nature take it's course. Over a period of about an hour Sweetie and the bird battled it out. I could not watch it all so I went about my indoor chores and when I checked back it was apparent that the bird had gone on to bird heaven. I did not want a deceased bird to stay in my sun room; so I gently scooted the little feathered friend out the door and onto the brick stoop outside the door. That was the last I saw of it.
At this point my sun room was a mess with little feathers all over the floor and a general messiness all about. Scattered bits of litter, cat toys and stains on the tile all told me I needed to give the room a good cleaning. I began with Lysol wipes and cleaned dark stains which could only be bird blood. Not wanting to use my vacuum cleaner in where there could be really bad germs lurking about I used a brush and broom to ready things for more cleaning. During all of this cleaning the cat was banned to the outside. I did not let her back in her "digs" until dusk was approaching. No heat for her tonight however. If she could catch an innocent little bird she could tough it out in that room with no space heater warming the air. It was not retribution on my part. Rather part of my plan to soon get her outdoors for the life best suited for her.
Sweetie had reached a milestone but it was no pleasure for me. I had wanted her to grow into the hunter that she was intended to be, but I had not expected to see it all play out in full view and inside of my house. I had planned for her to hunt down voles, moles and rats. In life we make compromises at times and I did that on this occasion. It was a bitter sweet day for me, but no doubt a day of triumph for Sweetie.
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