It was a restless night, in-part due to one of the cats yowling in the greenhouse all night. This morning the yowling picked up again. It was Nova, and her incessant calling is a classic indication that she made kill. This sweet little cat loves to “feed” me. Once Upon A Time she used to hunt fruit for me form the orchard. She’d bring apples and apricots into the house, yowling and calling for me, then when she located me she’d present me with the fruit and excuse herself. If she couldn’t find me, she’d leave the fruit in her food dish for me to find later.
So I ventured out onto the front porch and found Nova pacing with a dead mouse in her mouth. She stopped presenting me with live food a few years ago. She would set it down for me, and it would run away, and she would glare at me because I was too stupid to snatch the present she worked so hard to bring me. So I sat down and invited Nova into my lap. She dropped the mouse in front of me and jumped in for a snuggle. I inspected the mouse and praised her thoroughly and thanked her. Then I gave the mouse back and excused myself.
Satisfied that she had made every effort to feed me, and accepting of my polite refusal, Nova set about eating the mouse with her purr-motor on full rumble.
