Fred the Cat

Fred was a sweet cat we miss dearly. He was indoor/outdoor, and went loco when we didn't let him out, so we did, and he hunted. About the only thing which terrified Fred was the local 'murder' of crows. Those guys made him hide. Although he did have something in common with them: squirrel hunting. Somehow the crows discovered a group of squirrels harvesting pecans near a fairly busy street. The squirrels were minding their own business, when, just as a car came near, several crows would open their wings and shooosh the rodent into the street. Often enough, road kill - Fred found the squirrels and decided to join in the harvest. But stealthy beast that he was, and fearful of the crows, he waited until the crows weren't there, and caught his squirrels. He nabbed one, which my son rescued. Fred was very unhappy. I presume he thought we would make squirrel pie. The squirrel was even unhappier, and bit my son firmly. Fortunately, the Health Department had no reports of rabid squirrels.

Fred went in and out a small pet door. He took to bringing his harvest in the door. Once while my wife was actually watching, Fred began to push through the door, but what a noise! He had a full grown squirrel nearly as large as he was clamped in his jaw. The squirrel was very much alive and chattering angrily away! Fred carefully arranged his catch so that the squirrel neatly folded in half as Fred pushed through the pet door, then sauntered through, squirrel in hand, er, mouth. What next? Of course my wife screamed. Or at least yelled, 'Fred, what are you doing?' Fred loosed the frantic squirrel which promptly jumped for the circling ceiling fan, but missed, to land on a rocking chair, which leaned back to the floor due to the sudeen impact of squirrel, followed by the heavier impact of cat . . . In the end, no insurance claim was filed. Then there's the one about the rabbit Fred stored in the clothes dryer. Guess he brought it in for a spin .. .

Update:

My wife got the squirrel out of the house by grabbing Fred, and carrying him with her as she shooshed the cat toward the back door she had propped open. After this episode, the 'tree rat' started tormenting Fred by climbing the outside of our 'plant window,' where Fred liked to doze in the sun, and chattering at him. Fred would awaken, and run out his cat door, only to find the squirrel high in the tree, still chattering. By the way, the squirrel was drawn to the site by the corn in our bird feeders. The Mockingbird in the Bathtub is another story for another time . . .