Eating Crow

My feline buddy is so happy that Spring is here!  She loves to be outdoors, even though we keep her in a harness and on a 50′ leash attached to a stake in the middle of the yard.  She has free roam in that circle and can get in the garden, hide under the hostas, can reach the back door and can even lounge on the chaise on the patio when she wants.  She literally begs to get outdoors.  Linda is the soft touch for treats … and I suppose I am the soft touch for going outdoors.

At one point today I checked on her and found her lounging on her side with eyes closed, in the sun, on top of a patch of cat mint.  I returned to my desk and continued working.  At some point I was vaguely aware of the cawing of crows.  It’s not uncommon for a couple of crows to congregate at the top of one of the tall trees in the neighborhood.  The cawing hardly registered until it became very loud and agitated.  I suddenly remembered Noelle was outside and, knowing her proclivity for “going after anything that comes through the yard” thought I might need to go and intervene if the crow was harassing her.  I’ve been involved in interventions before with overly curious squirrels, careless rabbits, stray dogs, feral cats, ground hogs and various other beasts … none of whom intimidated my very bold, territorial, yet tethered and front paw clawless lioness!

Out in the middle of the yard I discovered a hapless crow, who’s tail was just barely clamped between Noelle’s teeth at the tail end and pressed to the ground by one of her front paws.  The crow was screaming for all it was worth with its wings flapping in a desperate effort to escape.

I’ve watched the crows before and know that they like to buzz cats much like Russian fighter jets recently buzzed one of the US warships off the coast of Poland.  They make a lot of noise while doing it and I’m not sure whether it is intended to intimidate or to point out the presence of a potential predator to the rest of the hood.

In any event, I can imagine that was happening when Noelle, who in spite of her age is still very athletic and young at heart, likely leaped at the careless crow when it came just a bit too close … and managed to best it in a wrestling match.

I quickly stepped out on the deck and yelled … I’m not even sure what I said but think it might have been “Hey!”  What a stupid thing to say to a cat and a crow, huh?  At any rate, it distracted Noelle enough that she loosened her grip … the crow flew up into the top of the trees as Noelle made half an effort to chase it.

She then proudly pranced, with bushy tail, back in my direction, flopped on her side at my feet and wanted to be scratched on her belly … while the crow made noises such as a crow with wounded pride might make from the top of the tree.

Had Noelle been able to speak to me, I wonder if her words might have been “I just wanted to eat some crow”

T