Damn it!
Twice when I’d gone into the kitchen Thor went to the back door and stood there, waiting calmly to be let out. The first time I ignored him but the second time I thought perhaps I should let him have one last trip before I went to bed. Mindful of the raccoons, I flipped the deck light on and peered around. Nothing. I unlocked the door, loudly, and then paused for a few seconds. That should have warned any critters and given them time to flee, right? Wrong. Even with Fenris the beagle doing his usual frantic “There might be something out there!” call as he left the house, Thor still managed to find and kill an animal. I couldn’t see what it was from the door; they were across the yard and in the shadows. It didn’t sound like a raccoon. I thought perhaps it was a possum. At any rate, it took only an instant before it was dead. It was that fast. I had to locate a flashlight and then trek out there (in shoes this time, thankfully, with snow on the ground) to see. Unfortunately, somebody just lost their cat. I’m sick about it. I have always believed cats should not be allowed to roam free. And this is one reason why. The lifespan of an outdoor cat is hugely less than that of an indoor cat. To me, allowing or encouraging cats to roam free is neglect. It’s also rude (I hate finding my neighbor’s cat scat in my garden) and I’m angry every time I find a bird killed in my yard by a cat. (I know it’s not my dogs because it happens outside their fenced back yard.)
So, tomorrow morning before the kids discover it, I’ll have to go remove the cat. If I knew to whom it belonged, I would tell them but it had no collar. This was all senseless and easily avoided if its people had just kept it inside.
I cannot believe that in spite of taking what I thought were reasonable precautions Thor still managed to find and kill something. One of my big fears is that someday a skunk will somehow get into the back yard and Thor will find it….
