My sadistic furball almost brought a live rat inside! 🤦🏻‍♀️

[PuffandPercy]

As an aside, don't rats have fleas as well?

I thought that would be something worth considering; if your cat is coming into contact with rats, I would be sure to treat regularly for fleas. I was under the impression that cats can also pick up fleas from grass as well?

 

[Caspers Human]

To my knowledge, most, if not all owls eat prey whole, or, at the very least, in very large chunks with the bone.

I guess it depends on the size of the prey vs. the size of the bird.

For great horned owl, a mouse would probably be swallowed whole or mostly whole but a larger animal would be eviscerated, torn to pieces and swallowed in chunks.

I've seen a red tailed hawk do just that. I lived near an airport and they encouraged hawks to nest in the area in order to keep the pigeon population in check.

I just came home from work and walked out of the garage, to the house, when I stumbled on a red tailed hawk eating a pigeon. It had both feet on the pigeon's breast and was pulling it apart with its beak and talons. I stepped back and watched for a minute until the hawk had enough of me. It picked up the pigeon and flew away to finish its lunch in privacy.

It was kinda' cool!

 

[danteshuman]

Jackie is treated for fleas every month ..... honestly I would be more worried about ticks. I bought a tick key just in case.

Once I saw a hawk up on the trellis eat a pigeon. All that was left on the ground were feathers.

 

[Kflowers]

My vet says wherever there are mammals there fleas, this includes squirrels, voles, shrews, mice everything. they are in the dirt, you bring them home on your trouser cuffs.

I can deal with fleas and cats being grumpy and fighting, and scratching me, but dang ticks pretty much make me faint.

 

[danteshuman]

Jackie caught & injured a fledgling dove today. Apparently it is fledgling season; so I need to look for them on the ground..... to make sure Jackie doesn’t get near them! So I called my local raptor center & they picked it up. Hopefully it will survive! I’m going to have to donate $ to them out of guilt over what the little dove will cost them!

Here is a picture of Jackie feeling no shame as he suns himself by the birdbath.

 

[Kflowers]

I remember walking to the end of my driveway and finding a pigeon in a circle of feathers. Snatched him and rushed him to the nearest vet. He did not survive. When I got home there was a large, rather pissed off looking brown and white hawk standing in the center of the circle of feathers. I think I rescued his lunch. It's a tough life being a bird.