The Circle of Life, or something like that

[twasadark]

I witnessed a murder today. Horrible, senseless, brutal.

On a hike in the hills, my rottie mix (sweet and gentle with people but not with other critters) spied a defenseless little horny toad and snapped it up, killing it pretty much immediately. Then spitting it out because it apparently didn't taste so great. So far, Ubu has murdered:

• said horny toad
• a kangaroo rat
• two bunnies
• a possum
• innumerable squirrels (initially, I was perplexed by all the dead squirrels in my back yard. I figured they died in the trees and fell on the ground because hey, I don't know what happens to squirrels when they die naturally. Plus I was in denial. Then one day while I was looking out into the back yard I saw the crime take place. Poor little squirrely.)

Plus, there was an attempted murder of our turtle, hapless Ralph who had to be rushed to the vet who filled the shell holes with epoxy. He's fine, but somewhat ragged looking.

Oh, and I stopped up the tub today, pissing hubby off. Hey, I didn't know I should put the carpet cleaner dirty water down the tub!!! I feel horribly guilty because it's his birthday. This made me feel better (cause, you know, it's all about ME):

 
more cat pictures

Comments

[annarydell.livejournal.com]

RIP toad, kangaroo rat, bunnies ( OMG BUNNIES?! ), and all the squirrels :'( woe.

Also, hahaha I am with you on that picture :[

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

I often feel like the kitty in that pic! LOL. I know, poor little bunnies. Recently, she found a dead bunny on a trail and it was quite - ahem, interesting - to get the damn thing away from her. *sobs*

[violetlemon47.livejournal.com]

Oh, poor babies. My previous girl, Talia, was a chow/shep mix and she constantly was trying to kill things. She did get a mole once and one squirrel. My current puppy really wants to get a squirrel, but she's not smart fast enough to catch any.

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

A mole??? Wow! I don't think I've ever seen one of those. Oh, I blanked on the possum that she killed, too (edited the post to rectify that error, lol). People are always scared of Ubu because she's a rottie, but she's great with people; my other dog, Sam , is a tan shepherd who you would THINK would be great with people - NOT. But he leaves little critters alone. Sigh.

LOL about new puppy. :-)

[violetlemon47.livejournal.com]

I manage an animal hospital, and as far as dog bites go, employees are most often bitten by sheps as opposed to other breeds. Mostly though, it's the cats who bite. Thankfully, it doesn't happen often.
My previous dog looked intimidating, but was a big sweetheart.

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow - you manage an animal hospital? Cool job! Although I imagine it's tough sometimes. My shepherd has been a real trial - he's so jumpy and overprotective that I can't have him around people pretty much at all. I've taken him to 2 obedience courses and a dog trainer, which helped a little. I keep hoping he'll calm down as he ages!

I had a friend who got bit by her cat and her hand swelled up HUGE. She had to go on antibiotics for a couple of weeks. Cat bites are scary!

[violetlemon47.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my job is awesome - most of the time! I manage a staff of about 35 and it can get really overwhelming at times. But, I do get to play with a lot of puppies and kittens. :)

The majority of my staff would rather deal with an angry dog than an angry cat - cats are just so damn flexible, it can be really hard to keep them under control.

[edge-of-night.livejournal.com]

Awwww...poor little animals!! Hope Ralph gets better soon! Cute name for a turtle, btw. ;)

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

My daughter named the turtle - I love it - ;-) The other turtle, a female, is "Tilly". Ralph actually got bit more than a year ago and he's doing great. His shell is pretty messed up looking but we recently took him in for a checkup and the vet said he was fine ... thank God for epoxy! lol

[hotfuzz85.livejournal.com]

Oh hell. That first line *hugs*


LOL. That pic. It's how my cats laze around too.

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

Poor little critters! :-(

Glad you like the pic - it made me laugh and laugh!

[inanna-ishtar.livejournal.com]

lol@that cat. That was my motto during my uni years.


I have a cocker spaniel that isn't very good with other animals either. Usually the only things she get her paws on are birds, so she's killed a few of those. There's hedgehog in the backyard she keeps trying to get at. Luckily the hedgehog seems to be smarter than her.

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

I think that is my motto still, lol! Except when it comes to LJ.

A hedgehog?? Wow! I'd love to see one of those. None around here ... cocker spaniels sure are cute!

[avilina.livejournal.com]

I've always owned cats. I have become accustomed to small animals being destroyed. Particularly gophers and lizards.

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

We have a "kitty coop" in the back yard (fenced in area for the cats and turtles) and I found a dead bird in there a couple of weeks ago, so I think that the cats are getting in on the action, too. I'm surrounded by little murderers! :-(

[avilina.livejournal.com]

No, no, the worst could be when you have a Mama cat who will bring in injured animals half alive to teach hunting to little kitties.

[caveat-lect0r.livejournal.com]

Aw, I feel bad about the horned toad. They're everywhere here, and when I was a kid I'd run around and catch them, stroke their bellies, then let them go. They're so hideous they're cute.

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

Very true! I haven't seen many here in CA - there were more in AZ where I grew up...

[sadiane.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid, we had the most brutal Siamese cat that ever lived. Total sweety 80% of the time, but she'd somehow manage to drag in half-dead rabbits bigger than she was. (And bunnies scream!)

Am amused by the epoxied turtle. Attempts to make "shell"ack jokes ruined by my inability to spell that in a sense-making manner *g*

Also, I was in Wisconsin with my wife a few years back, and they sell horney toads at exotic pets stores for $1,500+ The midwest is bizarre.

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

OMG!! I've seen a barn cat grab a baby bunny and run away with the poor thing screaming. Yikes!!

Haha - "shell"ack!! I never thought of that - I'll have to steal it when I tell the story ...LOL

Sheesh - I may have to go round up some horny toads and take them to the Midwest!!

[irnan.livejournal.com]

Shades of Garfield!

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

For sure! :-)

[jaylan121.livejournal.com]

RIP sweeties
*hugs you tight*