I cried last night....

Luca came in with a little sparrow that she had caught. This was the fist bird that she had caught and she was justifiably proud. I told her how proud I was, gave her a nibble and then managed to grab her away from the bird and put her in another room. Andrew then caught the bird, we put it in a box with a towel and put it in a dark cupbord to allow it to destress.

About 2 hours later, I went to check on it, and it was perfectly fine. Could fly and everything. So I decided to release it. I took it into the garden and opened the box. It flew up and over the walls, straight into the arms of a stray ginger cat that hangs around the complex. The ginger cat then ran away with it.

I was so upset!

But at least Ginger cat got something to eat. It does come into my house and eat the food as well. But I still felt very sad.

Awww... that is heartbreaking, but that's what kitties do.

Awwwwm I'm sorry to hear about the sparrow. Like you said, at least the stray got dinner. My Milo used to catch birds and I had 3 bells on his collar! He's a bit older now and prefers to just watch them but it's always hard when they bring something in, expecting you to be so pleased and proud. I 'rescue' all the little lizards that my cats bring in and put them back outside (out of the cat's reach) so they have a second chance.

Awww after all your effort as well, but don't upset yourself too much.

Susan

Bummer! You tried. Too bad Ginger was lying wait.

Thanks for trying but sometimes nature has to take it's course.

At first I'd be shocked that my kitty has caught something and brought it home to show me, because well.... they haven't done it yet. Haha! But of course I'd praise them. I'd feel bad too about the poor little bird. At least the stray got something to eat. And Luca seems like she has a good Mommy, since she brought you a gift.

I guess that it really was the sparrow's time to go!

Grizzly was a pro at catching birds. He always suffered the luck of having one of us near when he caught one, so he never got to eat it (well, sometimes I'd see feathers in the front yard, meaning he DID eat one or two). One time, there was a robin that he pinned to the ground, but I put him inside and watched that robin gasp it's last breath. It got a nice burial in the area of the house where all the dead birds get buried (I recently renewed the tradition, and buried 2 mice that had died in the garage. Grizz disappeared 2 years ago, so we haven't seen any dead birds). Another time, he caught a blue jay, and the blue jay's flock was spread out throughout all the trees surrounding the jay and Grizzly. They were all screaming up a storm, so mom heard and ran out there and sent Grizz inside. The birds were all screaming still, and eventually the blue jay recovered it's strength and flew up to its flock, and they all hushed down. They waited until the bird was strong enough, and then they all went on their merry way .

Once, a baby mag pie fell between the fence slats. I can't remember if Grizzly did something to it, or if Jake got at it, but it's leg was broken. His momma and pappa stayed close, but up in the trees, watching their baby intently. We got the bird out of the yard, and it eventually recovered (I hope).

But most of the birds that Grizz caught were sent back into the wild. There were probably about 5 birds in 8 years that got buried by the side of the house (the particular area is now covered by Jake's doghouse)