Two and half years have gone by since we adopted our cat, Lala. He is one intelligent and affectionate cat who has won our hearts over these past few years.
For 2 years, he had always been an indoor cat who had a strong desire to head out the door whenever opportunity presented itself. It was around March this year that he finally was bold enough to share the same doggie door with Maxie, our golden. Once he was able to get outdoors, he started to bring home unwanted guests. We had 3 rats visiting at one point and thought we had a rat problem. It was until we spoke to the animal control that we found out that it was really a cat problem, since there was no evidence of droppings or chewed up items. Apparently, Lala was bringing home love offerings to show his loyalty. Oh, how I wish he could have brought flowers or fruits instead of rats that scared the day light out of me.
After some research, we realized that cats hunt at night. So we figured that if we shut the doggie door at night, Lala would not be able to do much hunting. The plan worked...for a few weeks. No rats, dead or alive. And then... This morning, while I was getting ready for the Lord's day, H cried, "Come quickly, Lala's brought something back!"
I rushed out to find an injured bird laying under our dining table with Lala right next to it still guarding his treasure. From our research, we learned that we were NOT to discard Lala's gift in front of him, and NOT to scold him, but to praise him for his hunting ability and for bringing the tasty treat which we could never have gotten on our own. That's exactly what we did. Hubert quickly picked up the suffering bird in a bag while I blocked Lala's view, patted him and said "Good job, boy" (though inside, I was crying, "Please don't bring anything/anyone home anymore!") So sorry, little bird. I love you, Lala, I really do. If only you understood how much we do not need extra protein...sigh.Those of you who have indoor/outdoor cats, any advice for me?