A shuffling in the predawn darkness. Baby's got a mouse.
Close-up of mouse pinned down by Baby's paws. The poor little thing didn't stand a chance.
Our camera's eye captures the prey suspended in air between blows in a horrifying mouse-eye view of tooth and claw.
Update: More animal nature at Steve of Modulator's Friday Ark.
Update II: Baby Cakes hits the big time with his first InstaLanche. Too bad the little mouse wasn't here to see it. It's ten o'clock, Kevin Drum. Do you know where your cats are?
Update III: You scratch my kitty cat's ruff, I'll scratch yours. Friday Ark at Modulator is enjoying a SisuLanche via this post's InstaLanche: "And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female."
Awww... There's that 'circle of life' thing we're always hearing about in Disney movies! How lovely! [evil grin]
Posted by: pam | April 08, 2005 at 09:17 AM
If only the liberals were as smart as they think they are, they could take the kitties' blank slate and program it to be gentle and nourishing toward their fellow creatures instead of using the mouse for nourishment.
Posted by: goomp | April 08, 2005 at 09:30 AM
Nourishment and amusement. :)
Posted by: Sissy Willis | April 08, 2005 at 09:33 AM
OMG...I LOVE Baby's look in the top picture. That head-tucked-in-and-back, ferociously focused, manic and VERY goofy kittystare. God how I miss that.
Posted by: willow | April 08, 2005 at 10:59 AM
There's nothing like a brutal game of cat and mouse to get your day going.
Posted by: TigerHawk | April 08, 2005 at 04:04 PM
Grrrrrr!
Posted by: Sissy Willis | April 08, 2005 at 04:26 PM
Your cat's doing better than mine -- last week she brought a mouse into the house, then let it get under a couch. Had to roust it myself. And no, I didn't give it back to her -- she's gotta learn to be more agressive.
Posted by: Kevin Murphy | April 08, 2005 at 04:31 PM
I've only managed to catch photos of Nardo with lizards... and the occasional toy.
He's caught mice and rats, but they survived and ran off before I could get the camera out.
Posted by: Laurence Simon | April 08, 2005 at 05:03 PM
Great pic, my kittens are SO jealous.
I'll have to find my ferocious sock-mauling pics of them.
Posted by: TallDave | April 08, 2005 at 05:26 PM
Actually, I just remembered I've got a few where Pip caught a baby squirrel. Have to get those up.
He didn't kill it tho, just growled at it a few mins and let it go. I guess the thrill was in the chase...
Posted by: TallDave | April 08, 2005 at 05:27 PM
Can we pop this conversation up a level, perhaps to "HyenaBlogging" or "VulturesFeedingBlogging".
This is way more of those nasty things pictured than we should be expected to tolerate.
Posted by: decatur | April 08, 2005 at 05:34 PM
I like cats but I also like mice. I think it is shameful to take advantage of the misfortunes of other creatures for your own personal gain or ego gratification.
Why don't you have a blog entry where you are nailed to the floor and gnawed on by tigers. It would be great to have pictures but the audio of your agonized screams would get you another instalanch. That's the type of world you live in and are helping to create with your blog.
If you wouldn't like it, why are you so ready to glorify the torture of other creatures?
Posted by: Leo | April 08, 2005 at 06:05 PM
Wow! Too bad that I was on the road all morning and unable to update as usual.
Slowly getting caught up...
Thanks for the SisuLanche!
Posted by: Steve | April 08, 2005 at 06:39 PM
I think Leo's a TAD sensitive. I view these pics as a wonderful nature reel of cats in their environment. They are ninjas, swift and sure, to their prey.
Posted by: andophiroxia | April 08, 2005 at 07:57 PM
I havbe two cats, one Hymalayan, the other "sort of"...both males. both declawed (cru_el me, but I love my furniture also. They are strictly "indoors" cats, and wouldn't know what to do with a mouse if they saw one!
Posted by: Bart Schlichting | April 08, 2005 at 10:10 PM
Great pics. My cat is looking, too, over my shoulders and growling menacingly.
Posted by: Patricia | April 09, 2005 at 11:18 AM
Discourage bringing lizards into the house...they die curling their tenacious little feet into the rug...are very hard to pull off, claw by claw. The cat, of course, is long gone.
Posted by: K Heck | April 09, 2005 at 12:19 PM
Great photos, Sissy. Although our cats are quick to attack furry or feathery toys, and instinctively shake them (to break their nonexistent necks), I'm not sure that they'd know what to do with anything that was alive. As we live one block from a major street, they are indoor only cats... and I fervently hope that they will never have live prey in our house.
Posted by: Kimberly | April 10, 2005 at 07:58 PM