Tag Archives: cat

The fledgling, the feline, and the fiend

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A few hours after last week’s post went live, I got my first glimpse of the fledgling owl peeking out of the owl box. I went to bed wondering when it might leave its home for the first time. I didn’t have long to wonder.

I woke up the next morning, said a quick prayer for the fledgling to be safe, and got out of bed to start my day. As soon as I saw the silhouette against the screen, I knew our owlet had left home.

It was still mostly dark outside, but I could see the shape flutter up and down the screen and finally hop along the ground at the base of our house. Shortly afterward, it hopped over into some bushes by our back fence. That’s when the drama began.

A California scrub-jay, aka “the fiend”

A California scrub-jay hovered around the fence, calling in shrill complaint, announcing the presence of the baby owl. Then I saw it: the neighbor’s cat, still as ice on the most frozen winter day, stalking the owlet from atop the fence. It was more than I could stand. I went outside and chased the cat back into its own yard. The jay flew away. Continue reading →

The owl and the cat

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I promised an update on my owl post from a couple of weeks ago. You remember the owl, right?

Houseguest2015_3FT

We had a bit of drama the night of the post. My husband and I were cleaning up the kitchen, sorting through mail, doing the sorts of tasks we normally do at the end of the evening. Our dog, who had been asleep in the living room, all of a sudden went berserk by the window closest to the owl house.

I saw something moving on one of the window panes and flipped on an outside light to see what was happening. I realized it was the owl—clearly a juvenile out of its nest but unable to fly—clinging as if for dear life to one of the thin bars across the window. On the ground below, staring up at it, sat our next-door neighbor’s cat. Continue reading →