I dare say the fur child loves living in the country. Sometimes it seems like she’s perpetually sleeping inside or on the outdoor table, or waiting to be fed. But then she’ll just casually turn up with some prey or other, so she does keep herself busy. We’ve always had a bell on her collar but it doesn’t do much to her hunting. It does, however, tell us when nuttiness is approaching.
Most of the time Nala doesn’t see the need to show us her contributions to the table. She did at first, but I think she catches that many morsels out here now that she probably can’t be bothered with the loud and undesirable ‘Look what I caught!’ spectacle. More often I’ll just about stand on a dead bird on the lawn or almost put my hand on a dead rat in the garden, camouflaged against the mulch. Fun and games.
Occasionally the fur child does see the need to bring us a present though. Not long ago she waltzed through the open door with a dead baby bird and plonked it on the floor. This was followed by our ‘Take it outside’ spectacle. “Nala, take it outside!” “No!” “Pick up your bird.” Pick… up… your jolly bird.” “Pick it up!” “Just… take it out!” At some point during this spectacle Nala will lie down on the floor, looking pleased with herself and refusing to budge. That means one of us has to dispose of the icky present.
The other day I looked out the window to see Nala in an intense stalking pose. She was low to the ground and creeping forward very slowly. Ooh, what has she seen? I wondered. It must be something pretty awesome. Then I spotted it on my blackcurrant planter. I called The Husband over so he could watch this great hunting event. Every time it moved she would pause, then resume the careful stalking. And what was the prey in this great hunt? A butterfly.
Nala’s trophy cabinet at the homestead currently looks like this:
- Birds
- Mice
- Rats
- Skinks
- A rabbit
- Butterflies
What will she come up with next?
Wild Hope Homestead 