A strange present

Or, Betty starts earning her keep.

I watched our crazy kitty streak through the house with one of her toys in her mouth this morning, and thought to myself: "That's strange, I don't remember her having a toy mouse". But this cat is such a weirdo that she has been known to attempt to extract (her favorite toy) a ponytail holder while still in my hair. (Ouch.) So I thought nothing of it.



Until Deb stumbled upon a very dead mouse placed neatly upright on our front entrance-way carpeting. We had never seen evidence of mice in this apartment before. And while Betty was feisty this morning, this is nothing new. We are often awoken by her prowling on the bed, searching for ponytail holders and stepping on our heads as she makes her way to her favorite window perch. And then loudly falling off of the windowsill when she is spooked by a large truck coming down the street. That's how this cat rolls.



But today was different... today Betty did something useful. It's the very first useful thing this cat has done. Although every time the mail is dropped through the slot she dutifully goes down to investigate, we've never been able to convince her to bring the mail back up with her when she's done sniffing around down there. She often pees right outside her litter box. She's broken nearly all of our Ikea glassware by trying to stick her paw or her whole kitty head inside the glass to extract the water from the bottom. She waits for us to fold our dark laundry and then takes a nap on it, carefully ensuring that each piece is covered with white kitty hairs when she gets up. She sleeps all day, usually in the way of a major walking area. Any piece of electronic equipment that we value usually ends up getting dragged along the floor. And did I mention the ponytail holders? Not only does she steal them, but she hides them. Imagine picking up a large area rug only to find ten of my precious hair ties underneath.



Today was different, though. The mouse was dispatched without much fuss (we didn't hear it, anyway) and without much blood. She simply killed it quite neatly and laid it down for us to find. Good kitty! I think we scared her a little with our effusive cooing, but Deb did take her to the dead mouse and give her a kitty treat at "the scene". Although we know her brain is about the size of a walnut, we hope she makes the connection.



After this major scene, Betty had to sleep for at least three hours in the middle of the hallway. It was exhausting work, but our kitty is finally proving herself somewhat useful.



Now if only we could get her to bring that mail upstairs....