It should be worth noting - I am NOT a cat person. I don't mind seeing a cat now and then - from a distance - a great distance. In this case though, I actually thought it was cool. These cats weren't bothering anyone like most catus domesticus, (or, housus catus) - they were out "in the wild". By "bothering" I mean the usual - meow for this, meow to be let in - change of mind - meow to be let out, meow to be fed, always under foot, meow to be petted, scratch your eyes out to let you know you're petting them wrong. In other words - you know, bothering people. These cats were different - they were living out the dream. We identified at least three different cats within close proximity - two tabby-like grey striped ones and one that was brownish striped. I was then reminded that the feral (catus wildus) population in the state of Michigan is so large that they actually have a hunting season for the buggars - no joke.
Back to the story at hand. We were watching these "wild" cats among all the rest of nature, and we were reading and stuff. A little later we heard a loud THUMP! A bird had flown into the window near where I was reading. I watched as this little bird just writhed in agony. I then got to thinking - "Oh, I'm going to have to clean that thing up later or it will be crawling with bugs in a couple of hours, drat!" But, then a miracle - the little birdie seemed to shake it's head as if saying - ow! Then he stood up, started stretching his wings. It looked as if he would be o.k. Yes, the little birdie had a close call- but he was going to be all right! Whew! And then......
One of the wild cats pounced on him, and carried him away in it's mouth. Well, at least I hadn't had to clean it up. And hey, no sorry cat-person was having to cut his hand opening a can of food for that guy tonight.
A little while later me and Beth heard another familiar THUMP! This time it was near the dining room. We didn't even look. I later saw a brownish looking catus wildus sneak off with something in its' mouth toward the trees nearby. Just cleaning up the neighborhood I guess.
Apparently these wild guys new the drill - think of it: THUMP! Dinner's ready! What a life, eh?
By the way - here's my favorite cat picture. Nice huh?