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| DUDO’S CATCH. |
Monday morning, while I was shaving, San Geraldo called to me from down the hall, “Mitchell, you’ve got to come and see something really disgusting.”
I thought, ‘Now, why would I want to do that?’
But we’ve been together nearly 31 years, and I know that Jerry knows that if it’s truly disgusting I won’t want to see it and he won’t try and show it to me. So, I wondered what it could be. I also figured it probably wasn’t really all that disgusting. (If it’s anything really awful, San Geraldo gets the dry heaves.)
I walked down the hall to find Jerry standing in his bathroom pointing at the sink where something was lying wet and lifeless. There was an ugly yellow mass squirting from what appeared to be its head and it had one dead-and-staring black eye. It resembled a large, peeled, mushy, partially chewed shrimp. I had no idea where the cats could have found it.
“Ech!” I said. “What is that?”
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| THE PUBLIC MARKET SATURDAY MORNING. NOTICE THE RESEMBLANCE? |
Then I looked again and realized the dead black eye appeared to be made of felt. The yellow brain matter looked more like a wet feather. The white pulp was nothing more than wet cotton batting. It was the new 75-cent mouse I had picked up for the cats last Friday. Within 15 minutes, Dudo had pulled off its tail and ripped open a seam, pulling out most of the stuffing. (I immediately understood why it only cost 75 cents.) I guess Dudo finally decided it was too tough to eat and needed to soak a bit.
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| THE GREAT BLACK-AND-WHITE HUNTER. |
When Dudo saw me standing there, he jumped up on the counter and grabbed the mouse by a loose bit of thread and carried it down to the floor placing it at my feet. He looked up at me proudly — waiting for me to play fetch. I’m so glad he’s an indoor cat.
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| DUDO’S LITTLE PINK MOUSE-SHRIMP WAS MUCH MORE APPETIZING. |
Now imagine stepping on that in the dark with your bare feet. Aren't pets wonderful.
Stew:
Ew! So glad that didn't happen.
I just had breakfast, Mitch…I don't think it's going to stay down…excuse I have to run!
Ron:
Then I guess it's good I didn't post the photo of the pig's head.
You had me to a minute there! A cat's gotta do what a cat gotta do!….I guess.
So Jerry gets the dry heaves?! I thought you were the delicate one? Just sayin'….
'You had me to a minute…' What does THAT mean! Hey, it's early here and it takes me a while to see where I am! Being 64 and all…..
Jim:
No worries. I've been translating Jerry for 30+ years!
As for being the delicate one, we balance each other out. I just like to play up my princely upbringing. And I prefer to not have to scoop the litter box. But, unlike Jerry, I can clean up another person's sick without being sick myself.
He was making you an offering.
"See what I did, Daddy?"
As a boy, we had a house cat that would leave the house the moment guests arrived, only to return about a half hour later and lay a dead bird at their feet.
It was like he was explaining his 'job or something.
Bob:
I have family visiting from England right now. After hearing this story yesterday, they said their old cat, Dino, used to bring them gifts regularly. One morning they woke up to a live vole lying between them on the bed. Dino was down in the kitchen eating store-bought cat food. They spent the next half hour chasing the vole around the room.
At least it was a toy…there is this cat that has adopted us and it is bringing in dead lizards and even a garter snake and the cat places them all lined up at the entrance to our lanai on an almost daily basis.
Laurie feeds it but I don't know if it belongs to somebody…it probably does because there is a collar.
saludos,
raulito
Raulito:
Oh, I would find those dead animals too depressing (and sometimes creepy). Another argument (for me) for indoor cats!
Dudo was bringing you a gift… you're supposed to be appreciative 😉 AND… I looked up "Merluza" in my Spanish dictionery… first definition is "hake"… okay… fish… But the 2nd definition was "to get pissed"… now… in Spain does that mean to get angry or does it mean to get drunk? As you can tell, I LOVE the market photos!!!! No dry heaves here!
The Odd Essay:
That would be "pissed" as in "drunk."
The markets really are amazing. But, as I mentioned to Jim earlier, it's probably good I didn't post the photo of the pig's head.
They have begun selling dog toys without the stuffing here and I am so grateful that I don't need to pick up all that white fluff after Bo rips it apart…….Once an earlier dog of ours knocked over a huge potted plant which had just been watered and then ripped open a toy and scattered white stuffing over the wet black dirt on the living room carpet. All this during the time it took me to walk to the mailbox (ok, it was a long driveway) and return. Yes, Pets Are Wonderful!
I'm thickethouse but am having a great problem signing in that way to comment……I'll keep trying but may have to be anonymous.
Oh, Thickethouse, so glad you identified yourself. Sorry you're having trouble commenting. Wish I could help with that; the problems are so random.
Our cats have three other toy mice. Two have been without tails for a while but, other than that, they're all holding up well. Too bad the pink one didn't last!
Do you suppose your dog knew what he was doing?
He knew he was having fun…….I suppose he thought I'd enjoy it too……
Ha! You would love our Bert. He is an outdoor cat. And he eats mice. And birds. And lizards. He brought a pheasant home once. I've actually watched him devour a mouse. Not for the faint of heart. And he always leaves one organ behind (apparently it doesn't taste good).
Walt the Fourth:
From his pictures, Bert is very cute. But I couldn't handle seeing him eat a mouse! Dudo and Moose would pretty likely be fierce hunters. Our old brother-cats, Dobie and Maynard, used to hide under the bed if there was a moth in the house!
Well, that's a relief the way it turned out! (I had to cover up the picture with my hand to read your blog). And I'd thought that Dudo had brought you a 'gift' in gratitude for your hospitality – as you'd have certainly thought.
Mine bring me half-eaten mice, sometimes still with an ounce of life still in them, though thankfully not very often. I tell them there's really no need but they are just SO insistent!
Raybeard:
I don't know how you manage it!
That is the reason for the common expression, "What the cat dragged in"!
Ms.Sparrow:
Absolutely. I'm not that clever on my own!
Oh my word that had my imagination working overtime. What a gruesome-looking gift…mind you, Sparky leaves headless mice outside the kitchen door but what I really can't stand is the fact that quite often the spine is left sticking out like a lolly-pop stick.
Elaine:
After reading all these comments from cat owners, I'm going to be grateful for soggy stuffed toys that only momentarily seem to be disgusting. Rodent lollypops are not for me.
Ugh..it looked so real! Cats actually leave dead mice. etc., as gifts for their people. I need to teach mine how to shop at Tiffany's ; )
Dudo looks so much like our BW. The B stands for black and the W for white. He has very similar markings.
Enjoy your "gift" !?!
LadyCat:
I love your idea of teaching your cat where to shop… um, steal!
We've been told that Dudo and Moose are "Common Europeans." We thought we were going to class things up when we moved to Europe. We used to have "American Domestics."
He could be the "cat burglar"…
I'm about to puke up my V8 Juice!
m.
Mark:
Well, if I were drinking V8 Juice, I'd probably be doing the same thing… without any external help!
I thought it was a bloody mouse!
John:
It looked disgusting … and still does … to me. I didn't even want to pick it up when I knew what it was. Of course, you're used to this sort of thing!
Dudo loves you so he brought you a gift. My present cat used to bring in live baby rabbits when he was younger. I didn't appreciate those little gifts!
Judith:
Oh, baby rabbits would be tough. My friend's dog brought in a baby rabbit when my friend's daughter was 4. She cried and cried and begged to hold the rabbit. When her mother told her the rabbit was dead, she sobbed, "I KNOOOOOOW! But I can never catch the live ones!"
Yet another good reason for cats to be indoors! 🙂 Don't you just love the wonderful goodies they surprise you with? Dudo's a very cute kitty.
Danielle:
Hi! Yes, indoor cats for me. I don't think I would be happy with seeing what the cat could really drag in. We are so happy with these two cats. Dudo is so lovable and follows me around the house with his pet mice so we can play fetch. They have such different personalities but are both so lovable.