Strange Food for #caturday

Those of you who have been keeping watch on my blog lately know that I am currently (and temporarily) caring for two cats that belong to my late-husband's sister. One of them is strictly an indoor cat and one of them prefers being outdoors. Outdoor Cat comes in two or three times each day to eat, get some scritches behind his ears, and then he's ready to go back outside (unless it's raining).

When he first came here, he slept inside at night and only begged to go outside once I awoke each day. He would go in-and-out all day, staying mostly outside until I coaxed him in at night before I went to bed. Then, he began to refuse to come in at night when the warmth of summer arrived — despite my protestations — and he has happily slept in the grass of the back yard recently. He has always been ready to come inside for breakfast soon after I awake and get my day started.

This morning, though, he was in the back yard with his head down as if he were eating something. I didn't think much of it at first because he often nibbles on grass to help his digestive system clear itself of hairballs. But then, I began to notice that he was actually pulling at something rather than merely nibbling. I didn't approach him, but just stood there watching for several minutes. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a small animal under his head. I thought he had caught a mouse or a mole. Then I realized, much to my horror, that he was eating the remnants of a squirrel.

When I say "remnants," I mean "remnants" in the literal sense. The only thing visible were the hind legs of the creature and enough of the haunches to hold them together. I have no clue where the rest of the animal is. To be honest, I never roamed the yard looking for it. I also have no clue whether the squirrel died of natural causes & Outdoor Cat merely found the body and took advantage of it, or whether he actually hunted and caught it. Other than chasing a stray cat from the yard one day, I have never seen him display any aggression, but he is an animal with instincts, after all.

He ate a bit more of it, then wandered off, contentedly, never once approaching the house for his usual breakfast. So, I went out into the yard with my shovel and disposed of the scraps in an adjacent wooded area. I remained a bit horrified over the whole ordeal for a while. I wasn't sure if there was anything I should actually do other than keep an eye on him to be sure he didn't get sick. Periodic checks on him during the day seemed to indicate that he was okay, and he finally came in a few hours later to eat so I guess he is none-the-worse after his Squirrel Tartare repast. 🤢

^{It's safe to scroll down; there is no photo of the remnants here.}

Speaking of squirrels... I was standing outside a few years ago when I heard something hit the ground with a distinct "thud" nearby. I was only two or three steps away from where it landed, which surprised me greatly. I stepped over to it, and saw about a third of a hot dog sandwich on the ground. OMG, it is raining hot dogs! 😱

I walked over to it and nudged it with the toe of my shoe. It was hard as a rock. Apparently (near as I could guess), it was discarded in a trash can behind a neighbor's house and a squirrel got into it, carried it up into a tree, and tried to eat it. When he realized it was no longer tender and edible, he discarded it, too. So, now you've heard of it raining [cats and] hot dogs! 😂