1/31/13

Natural Born Killer

Good afternoon.  Smitty here.  Today I'm speaking from my natural habitat and my natural hunting stance.


I was perusing the news this morning, and I ran across this interesting story.  Here's a direct quote:
According to the research, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, cats kill between 1.4 billion and 3.7 billion birds and between 6.9 billion and 20.7 billion small mammals, such as meadow voles and chipmunks.
Huh.


And here's what I have to say about that:  This is a problem because . . . ?  

There certainly is no shortage of mice, voles, and other small mammals where I live.  And I have the body count to prove it.


I can't comment for my feline brethren and sistern (I'm looking at you, Gracie) who go in for birds.  They're too dry and feathery for my taste.  Give me a tender cut of mouse any day of the week and leave the poultry for the pussies.


Just for today, I've given up on catnip.  That stuff will rot your brain and make your eyes wild.  Still, getting high is a lot of fun, so this morning I climbed up this tree just to remind myself that a cat can be high on life.


Then, while I was up there, I got a high-flying idea.  Do you know that from this branch you can jump all the way over to...


here?  Whoa!  Cool!


Wow!  You can see a long ways from up here!  Glad I remembered to bring my camera!


Only one problem.  The only way down ...


is through.

Hm.  I might need to rethink my strategy.


28 comments:

Lee said...

Ahhh, love you Smitty, you sure know how to live life! You're a beautiful hunter.

Lynne said...

Hey, Smitty -- you are a clever cat! We keep our fella in at night because of hunting issues but truth be told he's too well fed to hunt!

Quilting Babcia said...

Cats of the World Unite, and Smitty is our SpokesCat! How would those kitty-naysayers like it if all the mousies were under their crawlspace chewing on their phone and internet cables?

Eunique said...

I love this post. When exactly did it become bad for the mouse population to be kept in control. Used to be a good thing...and Smitty is gorgeous.

WoolenSails said...

Gorgeous photos of Smitty, he is a beautiful guy.

Debbie

Debbie said...

lol, this makes me remember the day I saw my Bud's shadow as he walked on the roof. Scared me to death, but he calmly jumped to a small limb and climbed down the tree...with the squirrel in him mouth! Go Smitty!

Cath said...

Oh Smitty.....you are a wonderful cat so photogenic!! great post!

gpc said...

I thought of you when I saw the morning news!

Cassandra said...

Beautiful cat!! He looks like a good hunter.

Mez said...

What a gorgeous photo-story! Smitty is one handsome boy.

Unknown said...

Boy, you are the cat's Meow....

Purrs,
Miss Kitty

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

Such a pretty and resourceful cat is Smitty! Love him...

Junebug613 said...

Smitty for Kitty President!! I saw the same info on the internet in several places. My kitties are all indoors and can only kill pretend mice, although an occasional lizard makes in inside. And they are great at killing cockroaches for me! My Bob used to keep our rodent population in check, and maybe an occasional bird. Please be careful jumping up high like that!

Vickie said...

Smitty you're a COOL CAT!

Diane Wild said...

Since cats love mice so much, why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food? One of those WHY? questions that rolls around in my brain.

Kate said...

Thanks for sharing the view Smitty, I'm glad you had your camera too!

Teresa in Music City said...

".... leave the poultry for the pussies..." Priceless!!!! Still LOL!!!

Lynette said...

Haha!!! Gosh, he is so incredibly beautiful. You got some really great shots of him today, Barbara!

Dana Gaffney said...

Did you have to go up and get him?

JLVerde said...

Last night the NBC nightly news (national news) had a cute rebuttal from a cat (regarding that study). It was a photo of a cat with a note beside him that read "we are not all murderers".

I looked over at my cat, Cringer, and remarked "no, you certainly aren't." (she's never caught/killed anything in her long life and I doubt she ever will).

Smitty is gorgeous.

Judy said...

I sooooo want Smitty.....he is ADORABLE

Jilly said...

What a gorgeous puss cat Smitty is. So clever too.

Angel, Kirby and Max said...

Smitty, we heard that data, too. And how many crops to birds and small mammals destroy!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Natural order of the food chain. Ding dongs totally forgot that part.

KatieQ said...

I can't blame Smitty for climbing up on the roof. The view is breath taking. Of course, it would help if he could find his way down.

Rachel said...

Ahhh, your antics always amuse Smitty! Love your view!

Lucky Duck Dreams said...

Keep up the pest hunting and leave the birds alone!

quiltzyx said...

Smitty, you are ever so photogenic. Thanks for the tour of some of your hunting grounds - and be careful up on the roof, OK?