Brief background: Dusty is my 9 yo female who adopted us as a stray that hung out in our backyard. That was about 7 yrs. ago. She was quite the hunter, nailing about a bird a day year round, and doing a very nice job of supplementing her cat food supply. About 4 years ago she began losing weight and losing energy. She was diagnosed with CRF. That was about the time that she went into bird hunting retirement. We were broken-hearted, but resigned to losing her early. Last year she was in really bad shape and we were afraid the end was near. She was losing her fur and still losing weight and the vet even suggested it might be time to let her go.
Well, we weren't ready and neither was she. Formerly a bit of a roamer, she was very content to stay in our backyard. And because she had gotten so thin, and even needed help getting on our lap, we were pretty confident that she could be found at all times in the bushes in the backyard............until a few weeks ago when she somehow got out and didn't come home for about 12 hours and scared us half to death!
So she prefers to spend nights outside, especially when the weather is nice, and she is always - well mostly always except for her escape incident - ready to come in and eat the minute we get up in the morning. So this morning the hubby is up early - like 5 am - and Dusty is already at the door ready for breakfast. She comes in and eats her usual dish of canned food, and goes back outside. Around 5:30 my hubby wakes me up and says Dusty is on the grass and she is crying like something is wrong. I run outside to find her happily chomping away on a bird! There was nothing left except a few feathers! No head, no feet, no guts. Nothing! Now in her weakened state I can't imagine her stalking and killing a bird. So I'm thinking that the bird must have been flying overhead and had a sudden heart attack and fell to the ground right in front of Dusty! What other explanation could there be???
Dusty had just finished her breakfast and ate the whole thing, also devoured the WHOLE BIRD, feathers and all, leaving just a few feathers behind so that I could identify the species of her meal. And what about the crying? Well I think she was so proud of herself that she had to make sure we witnessed her achievement!!!
Here's a pic when she was healthier and heavier.
Well, we weren't ready and neither was she. Formerly a bit of a roamer, she was very content to stay in our backyard. And because she had gotten so thin, and even needed help getting on our lap, we were pretty confident that she could be found at all times in the bushes in the backyard............until a few weeks ago when she somehow got out and didn't come home for about 12 hours and scared us half to death!
So she prefers to spend nights outside, especially when the weather is nice, and she is always - well mostly always except for her escape incident - ready to come in and eat the minute we get up in the morning. So this morning the hubby is up early - like 5 am - and Dusty is already at the door ready for breakfast. She comes in and eats her usual dish of canned food, and goes back outside. Around 5:30 my hubby wakes me up and says Dusty is on the grass and she is crying like something is wrong. I run outside to find her happily chomping away on a bird! There was nothing left except a few feathers! No head, no feet, no guts. Nothing! Now in her weakened state I can't imagine her stalking and killing a bird. So I'm thinking that the bird must have been flying overhead and had a sudden heart attack and fell to the ground right in front of Dusty! What other explanation could there be???
Dusty had just finished her breakfast and ate the whole thing, also devoured the WHOLE BIRD, feathers and all, leaving just a few feathers behind so that I could identify the species of her meal. And what about the crying? Well I think she was so proud of herself that she had to make sure we witnessed her achievement!!!
Here's a pic when she was healthier and heavier.
