A Game of Cat and Mouse

What a morning!

The day started off with a cat and a mouse.

It was early morning ... around 6:00 am ... not a creature was stirring ... except for a cat ... and a mouse!

Yes ...

Doug was already at work ... myself, Sugar, Scooter, Cookie, Dooley and of the kittens ... all sound asleep.

There was a mysterious crash from the kitchen.  I woke up long enough to wonder to myself, "What's that cat getting into?".  Then I laid my head back down and went back to sleep.

The next thing I awaken to is the cat ... and her mouse ... which is still alive ... being brought to us so we could see what she had caught and be so proud of her and sing her praises and shower her with petting and cooing and bragging on her mousing skills.

Well ... that is how it should have gone.  Instead ... it went something like this.

Button brings her mouse into the room where we are all sound asleep.  She laid it down and meowed at us to all please look at her prize.  Now this mouse ... still being alive ... makes a break for it.  It ran right under Sugar, the Basset Hound, who is sound asleep.  You can only imagine how startling this must have been.  The next thing I know Sugar is baying as only a hound dog can do ... I sit straight up awakened by the ruckus.  Sugar moves over to escape the mouse and the mouse just runs right under him again.  The cat runs to get her mouse ... which is now under Sugar ... and reaches with her paw like "hey ...excuse me ... my mouse is under there" ... to which Sugar reacts to with growls and a snap.

Now the cat wants her mouse back!  Sugar, who has no real interest in the mouse, is only concerned that he has a mouse under him and now a cat trying to reach under him to get it ... and no matter how politely this is done ... it has awakened him ... startled him ... and now he's just a tad bit angry.

Now Sugar is growling ... the cat is meowing ... the mouse is hiding ... Sugar hates the mouse ... the cat wants the mouse ... Sugar won't let her reach it ... and now the other dogs are trying to check the situation out.  This doesn't help.  Sugar snaps at one of the other dogs ... the cat ... while he is distracted ... tries again to retrieve her mouse ... Sugar growls ... and she slaps him.  Sugar did not appreciate this at all!  Not one single little bit!

Now Sugar and the cat are in a yelling match!  Sugar barking .... Button meowing ... Sugar growling ... Button hissing ... Sugar snapping ... Button slapping ... Sugar barking ... Button meowing ... Mouse still hiding under Sugar ... Sugar growling ... Button hissing ... the mouse hiding under Sugar every time he tries to move and get away from it ... I was afraid it was actually going to turn into a brawl!!!!

I try to intervene ... and while Sugar is distracted by me ... the mouse makes a run for it ... a valiant but futile effort on it's behalf.  The cat ... with lightening speed ... catches it and runs to the kitchen.  I finally get the dogs settled down.  Now Button brings ME the mouse ... lays it at my feet ... and has this whole conversation with me.  She meows ... she purrs ... she touches the mouse with her paw ... looks at me ... I admire it ... tell her she's very brave ... she meows and touches the mouse with her nose ... then looks at me for more.  I tell her what a pretty girl she is and what a big mouse she has caught.  She meows and purrs ... meows some more.  She cranes her neck to look at Sugar ... and meows.  I tell her how awful it was of Sugar to try to take her mouse!  She meows ... and purrs ... tells me all about it.

She took her mouse back into the kitchen and plays with it for a while. The next thing I know ...she brings it to me and lays it at my feet.  It is dead.  She sits down and silently looks at me.  I realize at this point she is giving it to me.  I tell her thank you.  She does a series of meowing.  (It seems as though she is speaking in kitty cat sentences.)  Then she goes back into the kitchen.  I wait the appropriate amount of time ... which on this particular day ... is about 15 minutes.  During that time I haven't seen her at all.  While she isn't looking and is preoccupied in the kitchen, I get a kleenex ... use it to pick up the little mouse by the tail ... and carry it outside ... which is where I left it.

About five minutes later she walk up to where she left the mouse ... sniffs the floor ... looks at me ... meows one single meow ... sits down and looks at me for a minute ... then goes along her merry way.

I think SHE thinks I ate it!

I told her thank you.