..As posh cats revert to type
A YEAR ago I adopted two Rag Doll cats called Zenobia and Sheba and we have lived happily together indoors ever since.
When I received the cats, after being exhaustively interviewed to make sure I was a suitable foster mum by the Rag Doll rescue team in Scotland, I was warned both girls were indoor cats and had none of the usual instincts of outdoor cats.
I was told in no uncertain terms never to let the cats step outside and until recently they've lead quite sedentary lives following the same diet and the same routine ... that is until he-who-should-be-obeyed-but-rarely-is started knocking down walls, doors and windows as part of a renovation.
Far from causing distress and upsetting their quiet disposition, it appears he has unleashed in them a darker side previously unknown and certainly uncharacteristic in the breed.
Any creature happening to attempt to set up home in the house has been pounced upon by Zenobia and Sheba who have revealed all the characteristics of streetwise, alley cats. They have hunted down their prey without mercy and indulged in all the cat-and-mouse antics of Tom & Jerry, but unlike the cartoon its the cats who get the upperhand here.
For a period of nearly two weeks terrifying squeaks would interrupt our sleep and then we'd find tiny little mouse and shrew bodies lying by the bed. We did manage to release a few from the jaws of Sheba.
The cats obviously treat the arrival of live animals as a blood sport and have not shown any desire to eat their prey, preferring instead a bowl of dried turkey food.
The good news is the house is now a mouse-free zone but the bad news is the girls are now targetting birds which fly in through open windows and doors.
Just this morning I managed to wrestle a small Robin out of Sheba's clutches much to her annoyance while Zenobia looked on with an expression of irritation at this unwelcome intervention.
The Robin was lucky enough to survive the feline mauling and seemed none the worse for the experience when I released it outside.
It is quite clear from their manner and expressions that they now want to go beyond the confines of the house to explore the great outdoors, but frankly they're under lock and key. It's bad enough having to keep a fox at bay without unleashing these two on the unsuspecting wildlife in the Borders.
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SURVIVOR: Robin escapes jaws of the miffed
Sheba in the background
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A YEAR ago I adopted two Rag Doll cats called Zenobia and Sheba and we have lived happily together indoors ever since.
When I received the cats, after being exhaustively interviewed to make sure I was a suitable foster mum by the Rag Doll rescue team in Scotland, I was warned both girls were indoor cats and had none of the usual instincts of outdoor cats.
I was told in no uncertain terms never to let the cats step outside and until recently they've lead quite sedentary lives following the same diet and the same routine ... that is until he-who-should-be-obeyed-but-rarely-is started knocking down walls, doors and windows as part of a renovation.
Far from causing distress and upsetting their quiet disposition, it appears he has unleashed in them a darker side previously unknown and certainly uncharacteristic in the breed.
 |
BAD SPORT: Zenobia looks on with
mild irritation at my intervention
|
For a period of nearly two weeks terrifying squeaks would interrupt our sleep and then we'd find tiny little mouse and shrew bodies lying by the bed. We did manage to release a few from the jaws of Sheba.
The cats obviously treat the arrival of live animals as a blood sport and have not shown any desire to eat their prey, preferring instead a bowl of dried turkey food.
The good news is the house is now a mouse-free zone but the bad news is the girls are now targetting birds which fly in through open windows and doors.
Just this morning I managed to wrestle a small Robin out of Sheba's clutches much to her annoyance while Zenobia looked on with an expression of irritation at this unwelcome intervention.
The Robin was lucky enough to survive the feline mauling and seemed none the worse for the experience when I released it outside.
It is quite clear from their manner and expressions that they now want to go beyond the confines of the house to explore the great outdoors, but frankly they're under lock and key. It's bad enough having to keep a fox at bay without unleashing these two on the unsuspecting wildlife in the Borders.
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