Of cats and chipmunks

[altivo]

We have a lot of chipmunks and squirrels. In general, I don't mind that, but at times they are downright destructive. The squirrels want to bury stuff in my container gardens, and the chipmunks want to dig them up. The chippies also tunnel under our wooden walks and decks, and chew up the surface wood even though it is treated with whatever lumber suppliers use now to prevent rot. This spring there have been so many tunnels and entrances that I begin to wonder if the whole house could collapse into one giant sinkhole.

Anyway, we have two barn cats left. Both of them are eager chipmunk hunters, and when the chipmunks get too fat and slow from eating seeds dropped from the bird feeders, they even catch one now and then. This morning when we went out to feed horses, The cats were feasting on a lerge, very much dead chipmunk. I let it go, but apparently Gary took it away a bit later.

I went out an hour later to turn Asher and Archie out after they'd finished their morning food, and heard a strange, cat-like "mrrph, mumph" kind of whining. On inspection, there was Emma, the smaller of the two cats, with another large chipmunk in her mouth. She was carrying it around and calling for her pal Delta, who is much larger and usually the more successful hunter. He was nowhere to be seen. I took a couple of steps toward her, and she dropped the rodent and backed up. Unfortunately for the chipmunk, though, he was seriously broken in some way (probably his back) and he could only twitch and jerk. Emma grabbed him again and ran off. I left it to her to settle her affairs.

Had the critter been able to run away, I'd have let him go. Cats can be cruel, I know, but we do need some reduction in the population this year and that's nature's way of taking care of it I think.

Comments

[ranunculus]

Cats are such vicious creatures. Welcome though in cases like yours and when the mice/rats overwhelm the barn.

[altivo]

We took these in as charity cases when their owner (a friend) passed away leaving 12 cats in her house. There were four here, two have gone. They have indeed kept the mice and rats down in the barns for the most part. I'd rather they let the chipmunks be, but I guess that's part of the package.

[murakozi]

If Emma was a house cat, I'd probably frown, but she's a barn cat and just doing her job.

[altivo]

Emma would adjust to being a housecat, I think. Delta, less likely. For one thing, he's a vigorous scratcher with powerful claws. Sven, the one who most recently passed, just wanted to be a lap kitty. Any time anyone sat down he'd come running to get in their lap and purr like crazy.