Does your cat bring you "gifts"?
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
September 17, 2008 7:47am CST
Cats who go outdoors tend to hunt, and they like to bring home their catch as a gift to their human. I often find dead mice all over my porch, steps, and front lawn. These are gifts from my cats. They are quite proud of their catch and think we will be proud as well. I am proud of my hunter kitties, because they are ridding my neighborhood of mice.
However the other day one of my cats brought me a gift that I didn't want. I was sitting here at my computer when the cat came in. I heard my son say the cats name in a stern tone, as if the cat had done something wrong. The cat came right up to my feet. I looked down and realized there was something in his mouth. I didn't think anything of it at the time, because I know cats do this sort of thing, and I was sure it was just a dead mouse that I could clean up quickly.
So the cat begins to drop his gift at my feet. Low and behold, it is not a dead mouse. Instead it is a chipmunk, and it is quite alive!!
OMG I screamed so loud and for so long. We then spent hours tearing the house apart to find this little creature. We had to lock the cats away so they would not finish him off. He had run under the sofa, so we litterally tore the sofa apart trying to find him, but could not. After awhile we gave up and resumed our activities. Shortly there after the little guy came out of his hiding place and darted around the room. Again I screamed! He then ran towards me and went under my desk where I could no longer see him. I asked my son where he was and all he said was it was near me. I was standing on my chair at this point, terrified of a little chipmunk.
He made his way along the wall and out the door I'd left open for him to escape. Finally the whole ordeal was done!
But now I'm beginning to despise having the cat doors!
So what's the best or worst gift your cat has brought you?
4 people like this
14 responses
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
17 Sep 08
The worst gift I remember getting from a pet cat was a headless bird. It managed to bring it up the stairs and leave it bleeding on my bedroom floor. I of course was tired as heck and almost did not turn on the light, so I would have stepped on it had I not decided to turn the light on at the last minute.
2 people like this
@magnolia917 (112)
•
18 Sep 08
My cats are indoor/outdoor. I've had teeny baby mice (which the cat eats, minus the head and tail), adolescent mice, teenagers and, lo and behold, grownup rats! Those are the worst. Believe it or not, if the rodent is still alive, I try to save it. Have you ever heard the screech of a mouse/rat when the cats are torturing it? It's quite sad. One of my cats brought me a hummingbird once. Don't know how, unless the hummingbird was ill, because they are very, very fast. I was sitting on the couch and Elmo came in, dropped "it" on the floor, and I thought it was a mouse. Then I saw something red, and then green, so I got up to find the hummingbird. My big hunk-o-luv Homer (16 lbs., and it's okay w/vet since Homer is a big cat) was on 1.5 lbs. when I got him. His first gift was a dried leaf twice the size of him. It was so cute! When the mice are brought in, I do try to rescue them, however, they sometimes get away in the apartment. I just let it go...sooner or later they'll get out or be caught. Once, though, after a mouse got away in the apartment, I later opened the oven and -- whaddyaknow! -- he was sitting on the cookie sheet with his beady eyes staring at me. And, of course, they have brought me birds. I've saved quite a few birds but catching them in the apartment before they bang up against the windows is pretty hard. They are so proud of their gifts and I always thank them.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
19 Sep 08
Thanks for sharing!
I pray I never see a rat anywhere near my home!! Yes I have heard the screeches of mice, many times. It confused me the first time... but I'll never forget that sound again.
I had a mouse jump out at me when I opened the silverware drawer recently. It scared the life out of me. It continues to return to that drawer, as I see droppings, ewwww!! I wonder how I can have mice in the house with 5 cats!
@1grnthmb (2055)
• United States
18 Sep 08
My Grandmother had a cat that would bring her the gophers that she caught. She would not eat it unless my Grandmother skinned it and then it would get gobbled down. Talk about a spoiled cat. When we lived out in the country we had a dog that would catch snakes and leave them on the back porch for us.
1 person likes this
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
18 Sep 08
I have three cats right now , two of them are kittens and one full grown cat and none of them are allowed to go outdoors as I am so tired to losing my pets when they get hit by a car or something decides to attack them but I used to allow my cats outside and one time I had a cat who loved to bring me gifts as well . This was ok as long as they were mice as I do not care for mice but I was upset when she started to bring me humming birds . How she woud catch them is beyond me as a humming bird is supposed to be quite fast . We bought her a bell to warn the birds off but she still continued to catch them and we never were able to stop her . It ended up birds quit coming to our feeder .
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
19 Sep 08
That's sad, but it's nature. I used to be very sad over the way nature took it's course, but I've learned to just deal with it. Cats hunt birds and rodents. Normally I think chipmunks are very cute... but I can't stop my cat from hunting them.
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
18 Sep 08
A live baby rabbit, is the best thing our cats gave to us. Mind I really love animals and while I don't feel bad when our cats catch critters (they often eat them, so at least we know none of what they catch goes to waste)..but finding something they caught that's alive is pretty awesome as long as it's not a pest.
Mice don't tend to survive being caught my cats.
But rabbits are bigger and sturdier...and gosh even cuter.
Thing was, at the time, I was asleep and my brother thought it'd be funny to put the little creature on my bed while I snoozed (after the cat brought it in, he had scooped it into a box). I don't think he accounted for the fact that it'd run over my face and then all over the house, though. Took him awhile to catch it too as I was wiping the sleep dust out of my eyes and had to deal with the confusion not knowing what was all going on lol.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
19 Sep 08
Well I'm glad the bunny survived the ordeal. Poor thing was probably terrified.
@smokisses (2)
•
19 Jan 09
this is actuall about a dog - one late night, i was outside calling my cat to come inside to sleep, when my yellow lab jumped up on my 6ft high fence and attacked a furry creature with four paws, pulled it down and ran with it. Me, thinking it was my cat, started screaming at the dog to RELEASE, which it did immediately. there lay a opossom, with deep gashes in it's side. I had to run into my parent's bedroom and get my dad up to finish the opossum off.
But, my new cat, is an outside cat, and he has brought me five mice in the past three days. i praise him, AND I act like I take the mouse inside the house and prepare it and bring it back to him cooked (just regular old wet kitty food, of course!). He loves it and brings me more and more! I have created a monster!!!
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
18 Sep 08
lol... i'm sorry... but i can't help myself and laugh when i read your post... i can imagine how hillarious it can be seeing you standing on top of the chair afraid of the chipmunk... anyway, i am very fortunate not to have an outdoor pet... i used to have a dog... but i keep him inside the house all the times and she only run inside the house... so she couldn't bring me any unwanted gifts... take care and have a nice day...
@yellowhipon (793)
• Philippines
18 Sep 08
She does. Thing is, she rarely enters the house and prefers to stay at our porch. So whenever she enters the house, she runs around and sometimes she'd go out with her "lunch". Its nice and funny coz at least we know she's doing her "job".
@MOMMASAM (1004)
• United States
18 Sep 08
perhaps you did not realize....that i had to sprint to the potty
during the reading of your discussion!I'M HOWLING!!!what a crazy story that chipmunk will tell HIS family tonight!
the jaws of catzilla.
the screams of the fair maiden on the top of the tallest building.
I'M HOWLING!!!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
19 Sep 08
LMAO. Glad my moment of terror could make someone laugh, lol.
@wiseshopping1 (679)
• China
18 Sep 08
great, i never have such a clever cat,when i was young, i had a cat, it's beautiful, tender, and clean. but i hated it very much, because it always stole my food, especiall delicious good that i don't want to eat at once. i hated it and gave it to my relatives. now i don't want to feed cat any more, it not only steal food, at also stool everywhere. 
@k1virus1978 (543)
• Singapore
18 Sep 08
My cat doesn't bring me gifts by she great at finding things for me. LOL
@caudill2883 (60)
• United States
18 Sep 08
oh the worst is when they bring you a garden snake! haha i'm soo scared of snakes and my cat brought one into the house (we have a cat door) and laid it on my bed it scared the crap out of me!
@smokisses (2)
•
19 Jan 09
this is actually about my yellow lab: one late night, i was outside my house calling for my cat t come inside to sleep, when all of a sudden my dog jumped up the fence and attacked and grabbed a furry creature with four paws, pulled it down off the fence, and ran with it. I, thinking it was my cat, started screaming at the dog to RELEASE, which it did immediately. There lay a opossum, with deep gashes in it's side. I ran immediately into my parent's bedroom to get my dad up to finish the opossum off.
But, my new cat is an outside cat, and he has brought me FIVE mice in the past three days. I praise him, AND I act like I take the mouse inside the house and prepare it and bring it back to him cooked (just regular old wet kitty food, of course!). He loves it and brings me more and more! I have created a monster!!!
