Cat-astrophic

You may be wondering what Squeak, the very destructive cat, has been up to these last few months. We have (almost) got used to her taste for fur, cashmere and the other finer things in life. Her ability to spot these when they come into the house, and while the unsuspecting guests are otherwise engaged, ferret them out, and drag the items away to either rip them to shreds or eat enormous holes in them, no longer surprises us. We now warn guests either not to wear such luxurious garments, or if they do – hopefully before the gimlet eye of Squeak spots them – we lock them away. READ ON...

Yesterday we experienced another side to Squeak. When I arrived home at lunch after my futile attempt to learn Italian, I was met at the kitchen door by LSH. I thought it a little odd when he said that he was waiting to show me something. What could this be I thought, with several scenarios whizzing through my mind…. a bit early for Valentine’s Day, so hardly flowers. Had he cooked a super lunch? I couldn’t smell cooking. Had he hung the painting that has been on the floor in the sitting room for months? He still hadn’t noticed that job, so unlikely. Had he booked a few days away and had our bags packed and ready to go? How thoughtful and romantic of him! FABULOUS!!!! As I wondered if it was going to be somewhere exotic and warm, and if so, how was I going to find the time to have my legs waxed, I was brought crashing down to earth. As he opened the kitchen door there was a trail of feathers through it and on, into the hall. These looked particularly stunning against the red carpet with Squeak in the middle of it all.

squeakpigeon


Apparently LSH had heard a commotion downstairs, but thought it was Squeak playing with a cork (her fav. game). It was only when he went for a coffee break that he realised that we have now reached yet another phase in Squeak’s life, the “terrible twos”. As he surveyed the damage, he could not find the poor victim, no matter where he looked. As usual Squeak was giving nothing away, if she was a human she would have been whistling or la-la-la-ing and looking in another direction or examining her fingernails... Eventually, when he was in the under stairs toilet, he looked up and there was the poor creature, an enormous wood pigeon, on top of the door, feeling very sorry for itself!!! He quickly assessed the damage, and, bar a bit of a wardrobe malfunction, it seemed none the worse for it’s ordeal. So, he locked Squeak away and released the bird.


Now this cat behaviour may not seem very unusual for a cat to most people – unless you have met Squeak. She is a VERY small cat, and to be brutally honest, not the brightest. She spends most of her days lolling about on sofas, beds and cushions, (who’d have a cat’s life?), and when she does go out, especially in this cold weather, it is only for the briefest of visits. Feathered visitors are usually very sensible, staying high in the trees, and as Squeak looks up, sometimes making short jumps in the air in a pathetic attempt to “catch” them, I can almost hear them sniggering at her stupidity. But yesterday, something must have finally snapped and she landed a huge wood pigeon, dragged it through a small cat flap and on into the house! There is one thing that can be said about Squeak, she punches way beyond her weight!!!

She was still very excited about her work - although she failed to completely murder the poor bird. So I took a couple of short videos of the aftermath...

http://youtu.be/uIK0NQbHenU

http://youtu.be/UpBx6D16lOw