Our cat is a ferocious hunter, at least within the confines of our home (we're suburban, no more outdoor kitties for us!).... Which means of course that he is a Ferocius Hunter Of Bugs.
Last night, I spotted a lovely black dragonfly outside on our deck, hovering by the outdoor light. I called my husband to come see, which of course alerted all the animals that something interesting was going on. At the time, the dragonfly was hovering just about an inch above my head, well out of kitty-reach.
However, bugs being bugs, eventually he dipped down to about shoulder height -- and was immediately nabbed by our 10-month-old, 15 pound monster tabby kitten! Felix darted into the house with his booty, while I tearfully implored my darling hubby to save the poor bug before it perished.
J managed to wrest the still-quite-feisty dragonfly from the Jaws of Death, and take him out back to the deck to be set free.
About 20 minutes later, who should come strolling in from the deck but Felix, AGAIN with a live black dragonfly in his mouth! Dragonflies must have rather short memories, IMHO. What was he THINKING???
So again a rescue by Papa, and the dragonfly was set free a second time. Much to my dismay though, I found what looks remarkably like a dragonfly wing on our kitchen floor this morning. :( How does he DO that???
We have found that Felix prefers Japanese Beetles to all else. I can only imagine that it's some combination of the fact that they are crunchy on the outside, with a nice gooey center; and that they really ARE rather amusing to watch as they flounder around on their backs, unable to turn over.
Also lots of fun are moths, although it would seem the nice, young, bright green variety are not ripe yet, judging by the way I find them whole in the house in the mornings. Flies are entertaining, but a bit of a challenge, and always seem to get away before they can be properly ingested.
At first we were fascinated by stink bugs. They make an entertaining sound, and are very clumsy, non-linear fliers, a huge bonus in the entertainment factor of bug-hunting. But after just one bite, we realized these are not bugs of the comestible variety... Quite frankly, they stink!
To whit, there has been a stink bug in the dog's water dish, calmly doing the backstroke (yes, he lives still), that absolutely NO ONE will touch. We just drink around him.
Similarly, the box of Sour Cream and Onion flavored crickets that Papa bought at the beach, sits (mostly) untouched on the shelf above the sink. I think I will leave the bug eating to Felix, and the cast of the Lion King!
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