herpetology

Opie has become a budding herpetologist. For the past several days, out patio has been Lizard Central. I don't know what's attracting them to out house but, its OK by me - they eat bugs. These skittering little critters have become a source of great fascination, for Opie. Yesterday, one got right up against the screen door and Opie went ballistic! He WANTED that lizard! Good thing that its a security mesh - he'd have gone right through it. There is a tiny gap, underneath and woe betide the reptile that ventures into the house. It will, probably, become an Opie snack. If he's anything like other cats, that I've had, I'll find lizard parts, scattered around the kitchen. They, always, seemed to just eat the legs and tails and leave the dismembered corpse, for me. Oh, well, I've cleaned up worse messes.

Mom, Don't you realize that he has left the most tender parts for you? Seriously, I used to find dead mice carefully placed at my bedroom door. That is a gift, to make sure you don't go hungry. Sometimes you're the mom; this time you're the kitten!
p.s. I have a Riddex plugged in each floor, so...no more unwanted gifts!

I always feel sorry for the poor little lizards and I want to bury them.

I had a feral at one time that had a fascination for earth worms! EWWWWWWWW you have never lived till you step barefoot in a pile of earthworm offerings on your floor in the middle of the night! Scatter simply loved those earthworms!

Well, this certainly isn't as gross as earthworms (I have a thing about worms - YUK!!!), but I thought this was funny. Trent found a bug the other night. Just a little gnat type thing. He HAD to have it - went under the lampshade to get it. When he finally caught it, it must have buzzed in his mouth or something because he spit it right out! It landed on his front leg, so he picked it up again and spit it out on the table. He sniffed at it a couple more times, but turned his nose up. Must have been one bad tasting bug! :LOL:

Opie is a BBBH (Big Bad Bug Hunter), too. We don't get many bugs, in the house - the occasional moth, from outside light. When one DOES get in, though - it, quickly becomes an Opie snack! That's what i call environmentally-friendly pest control!

Well, if you could teach Opie to eat only lightning bugs, that would be the ultimate recycling project. Kitty could sit on the end table and glow. Voila! Lower electric bills.

Yeah. Too bad there are no lightning bugs in Southern AZ. Knowing Opie, though, he wouldn't eat them, because I WANTED him to. I have a fantasy book, called "Tailchaser's Song". All of the characters are cats and one of them is an insane cat, named "Eatbugs". Someday, I may name a cat, after this character.

Well, Noah love bugs. It's like he has a built-in radar that detects bugs at all times!! It's so cute to watch him intently stalk a fly, and then catch it, and eat it! He's my house bug-patroler!!!! (I hate bugs, and spiders.)

Georgia love those big things that eat mosquitoes.There was one flying along the wall last nght. She got a running start, launched herself off the end of the couch, and BAM, right into the wall. She didn't even get her bug.

Poor Georgia! But I bet you had to pick yourself up off the floor after she did it. :laughing: :LOL:

Ophelia is our bug-huntress. She would stay with a bug for hours if it was flying too high for her. Of course, it doesn't usually take that long! Trent generally isn't observant enough to find a bug first so he joins in the hunt after he sees she has something cornered.

OMG!! That reminds me of when Pip saw snow for the first time - he was inside looking out through our patio doors - as he saw a flake of snow falling he kept leaping about 6 foot into the air and slamming himself into the doors!! - the heavier it snowed the more he launched himself at the windows!! - in the end he was mewing like crazy in frustration!! :LOL:

My boys are great bug *watchers* but so far none of them has seemed interested in catching them.

Sparky is the only one with an excuse: The first bug he caught was a wasp!

Sparky knows the better part of valor!