Buddy The Bird Murderer

We know that Genie has caught a few birds out back, once I found one dead right by the table that her basket and food usually sit on, and then the other day Keith saw her with a half dead bird that actually made it back up in the air and over the fence, but I hadn't really expected any of the other cats to be able to catch any of them. We have lots of backyard birds because of the bird feeder and most fly away as soon as a cat rushes towards them. The cats usually just watch and wish, but yesterday afternoon Buddy got one.

He's been a little more of an a$$hole than usual, instead of being satisfied with one outing a day each morning, he has been wanting to go out in the afternoons, too, and really makes a pain out of himself, grabbing at me and hissing and doing his weird I'm mad at you meow. So, yesterday afternoon, tired of listening to him hiss and meow, out I let him and Mimi go.

I happened to look out the back door just in time to see feathers flying in the flower bed right where the bird feeder sits and see Buddy in the midst of the flying feathers, so out I go to see what's going on and here comes Buddy towards the back door with a bird in his jaws, a wing hanging out of each side of his mouth. Look what I've got for you!!

He dropped the bird right outside the door, then started batting the poor thing around. The bird played dead for a little bit and then as soon as it moved, Buddy was on it again. It managed to get itself kind of hidden in the weeds by the door (yes, our backyard is kind of shameful right now) while Mr. Peabrain looked around for it.

I went back inside, figuring I'd go pick up the dead bird after he had forgotten about it, but then later I see him back over by the bird feeder, apparently having found the bird again and carried it back over there to play with it. Ugh.

Later I got Buddy to come in and went looking for the bird but couldn't find it anywhere. I didn't think well fed Buddy had actually eaten it since he is so well fed and probably doesn't realize that he could eat that bird, to him it's just a toy, so I figured I would look around again today and if it's not there, then maybe some other bird or animal found it.

This morning, the cats all went out again as usual, they want to go out the minute they are done eating breakfast, and so out they go. In the mornings I leave the screen door open a bit so that they can come and go for a while and it's a good thing I was on the couch having my coffee, because here comes Pepper headed for the door with the dead bird in her mouth, ready to bring it inside and give me a present. Fastest I've ever gotten to that door to shut it.

I went to get a bag to put the bird in and by the time I got back outside, all the other cats were standing around it having a look, so I scooped it up with the dust pan and into a bag it went.

He doesn't look like a vicious bird killer in that picture, does he?

Pepper was laying on my bed the other day and I wanted to get a picture of her, but of course the minute I bring the camera around, she decides it's time to attempt to clean her bottom. She usually ends up licking her feet, being too fat to reach all the way to her bottom most of the time. She has been a little better at keeping herself cleaner and I haven't had to wash her butt as much lately. Neither of us like that chore all that much.