The Wildlife of South Dublin - Continued

Willow is continuing to impress us with his hunting down of unwanted rodents. I'm not sure if it's the same rat that had escaped the last time, or his twin brother/sister, but Willow proudly brought it back to our doorstep yesterday.

And this time, there is no doubt that it's well dead. When his little friends don't move any more, Willow has this habit, like all cats I guess, to throw them in the air to see if they will fly or try to escape. This one did not budge.

I've got very mixed feelings when Willow brings us his prey after the hunt. On the one hand, I'm proud that our cat is a competent hunter - particularly when he is catching rodents. But on the other, I hate the way he literally plays cat and mouse with them until they are exhausted and die. When he catches a bird, we do what we can to distract him so that the bird has a chance to escape, but Willow is very focused when he is in hunt mode.

He also has this horrible habit of chasing butterflies. And he knows we will try to save the butterfly, so, if we come too close, he will actually eat it to stop us from saving it.

He's a cat! That's what they do. If you are squeamish, do not click on the picture to make it bigger. The rat looks like a lovely little cartoon mouse. I would have loved to save it, but it was already well dead when Willow brought it to us, so there was nothing we could do. I'm far too sentimental - it was a rat after all, so I should be happy it's dead!