Guest Cat Star: The Huntress

By Amy Schultz

Hazel is my long-haired white, black and tan calico cat. She is my sweet, loveable, beautiful and smart-as-a-whip kitty. She is also a Huntress. She can find the mice in the house, patiently stalk them and catch them. Usually, she ends up toying with the poor terrified little creature until I trap it and set the little beast outside.

I learned a very valuable lesson in why I should feed my sweet Hazel when she is hungry. One morning I didn’t fill her bowl on time. Of course I had every intention to, but I hadn’t gotten to it yet. I was “busy.”

Later that morning I was talking on the phone with a friend. I hadn’t realized that Hazel had come into the room with me and was rustling around with something. Finally, I looked over to see what she was busy with and it appeared that she was playing with a mouse. So, I got up from my couch and walked over. Peering down, I saw the tail end of a mouse.

The hind end, two legs and the tail of the mouse was protruding out of her mouth. She had caught a mouse and was proceeding to eat it. I screamed “Hazel, NO!” And lunged down to grab her. But I was not fast enough. That cat must’ve thought that I was trying to steal her breakfast from her because in one gulp that mouse was down her gullet. I was completely disgusted. All I could mutter was, “Ewwwwww…”

My lucky friend on the other end of the phone line got to hear the entire episode. She was laughing, laughing, laughing. “It’s a cat. They’re natural predators,” she said. Yeah. I know that. She didn’t have to see what I saw. But, I was laughing by then, too.

I had never seen a cat eat a mouse. I’d seen a cat play with a mouse. I’d seen a cat carry a mouse in their mouth but not eat it. I’d never actually witnessed a real live mouse being eaten by a predator cat. It was an enlightening experience. I have to hand it to Hazel. She took matters into her own claws and took care of her needs.

My bad. I walked to the kitchen and filled Hazel’s bowl with food. The bowl of kibble sat untouched all day.

Author Bio

Amy not only loves her kitties, Hazel the Huntress and Percy the Big Lump, but works as an independent Conflict Resolution Consultant and Professor at the College of Business at Southern New Hampshire University. When she’s not acting cat crazy she hangs-out with her two busy young adult children, and is passionate about supporting, educating and empowering children and families through scouting and by mentoring mothers.