Living with a carnivore

Mr. Boo Kitty caught and killed a field mouse Saturday. I was amazed, but I shouldn’t have been. Boo has been declawed, but he doesn’t let that stop him. He still keeps his “claws” sharpened but has learned to defend his property from vermin without them. He pounces on the verminous creature and holds it down until his teeth can finish it off.

Of course, he never eats the creatures he kills. He just leaves them on the lawn for me to throw into the garden with my shovel. He’d rather eat cat food. Go figure. Mice are supposed to be the perfect kitty food, except for the icky diseases mice carry. Maybe that’s why he won’t eat them?

He definitely considers our house and yard as “his” property and he defends it. We had a stray appear occasionally for awhile. Stray earned the nickname “Beta Kitty” when Boo proved that he was Alpha Kitty. Boo would run at Beta, hissing and spitting, and Beta would run away. Soon, Beta would flee at the sight of Boo, whether Boo paid him any attention or not.

One day I came outside to find Boo preparing to fight off a German shepherd. This was not a battle I wanted my cat to fight. I got the hose and sprayed the dog until he fled. When dog departed, Boo strutted around, certain that he had defeated that dog all by himself.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe the purring creature sitting on my lap is such a lean, mean killing machine.