So THAT'S why they do it... (silly D'Artagnan story)

[badgerpup]

T'other night, D'Artagnan came sailing in through the open window with a dead baby rabbit clenched firmly in his jaws.
Oh, but he was proud of himself! :bounce: I think this was his VERY FIRST RABBIT, and as such, deserved some attention.
"Damn it, D'Artagnan, you KNOW you're not supposed to bring your toys in the house!":nuke:

Still, I wish I had a camera...would have liked a picture of him with the head-up, chest-out happitail walk he had while carrying his prize...

I closed the bedroom doors (don't want him ducking in there with the ex-bunny), scruffed him, told him to quit growling, he could have it back, but OUTSIDE.
He picked up the poor pathetic little carcass and tossed it in the air a few times...but the thrill was gone.

About ten minutes later, I heard the squealing which meant that either D'Artagnan or one of the other cats was after another rabbit. I looked out the (now firmly CLOSED) window, and saw both Riktor and D'Artagnan working together to head the rabbit off. (...sigh...)
Figured I didn't need to see any more and determinedly went back to my book. Went out later that night, and sure enough, the first rabbit had company. The boys hadn't tried to eat them; in fact D'Artagnan had come inside for a few bites of kibble, and then gone back out to continue "playing".

I watched him for a moment...and realized what it was.
He WAS playing. He probably hadn't intended to KILL those rabbits, just to play with them. After a while though, they just wouldn't play with him any more, no matter how enticingly he tossed them into the air...so he'd have to off and find somebody else to "play" with him.

This next bit gets kind of yucky...:puke:
Next morning, there was a THIRD rabbit on the porch...and the next-door-neighbor's dog had very obligingly chewed the head off one of them. Thanks, Frank...:eyes:
This wasn't as bad as it sounds...meant Riktor could have one of his favorite breakfasts- lapin tartare without having to fight with all the fur.

So I've got burial detail today...
wonder where I can plant these poor critters where they won't get dug up, they won't be in the way and they'll do my flowers some good?

I foresee a LOT of such...er...fertilizer this summer...:yoiks:

[MadMaddie]

1. Oh dear.....the cats and the dog teamed up.....

They really are playing...it's just the toys actually move.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Be very careful. Those rabbits can be the source of worms, or worse.

Watch the poops and other health indicators.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1555&aid=363

[badgerpup]

3. Thanks!

:hug:

I do keep an eye out for tapeworms- they get Cestex 4X a year for this very reason.

I'll ask my vet if there's been any word about tularemia in the wild rabbit population...
I didn't realize it could affect my own little 'mighty predators'. :hide:

Last summer they put a SERIOUS dent in the wild rabbit population. When I took them in for their tri-annual rabies shots, the vet commented on their glossy coats and asked me what I'd been feeding them.
Told her that they'd been adding a lot of rabbit to their diet...

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Well..guess we now know that fresh rabbit is good for their coats.

LOL

[Warpy]

5. My very ladylike feline companion of the 70s and 80s

once meowed at the back door in Boston. She had caught a squirrel and was so very, very proud of herself. She had lugged that huge thing up to a second floor deck, probably wanting to share dinner with me, cats are good like that.

I just said "What a good kitty!" and closed the door. She came in some time later and headed for her dish. I gingerly eased the squirrel corpse off the deck and that was it. The neighborhood feral cats disposed of it.

But I do know that proud hunter strut they do. The worst one any of my cats ever did was bring a live mouse inside and stash it in a trash can to play with later. When I finally found the source of the scratching at 3 AM, I was not pleased.

My last 2 cats have been indoor cats, easier on the wildlife and they were very good about convincing rodents to live elsewhere.