Cat and mouse

We had a nice thaw last Friday, but the cold has returned. We woke up to 0 degrees yesterday and today it was 5 degrees at 7:00 a.m. I think this prolonged cold brought on the problem last night (or early this morning since it was 2:30 a.m. when I heard the noise).

Remember in my last entry I wrote that Otis (the cat) had received a mouse look-a-like catnip toy that he chases around upstairs. I've heard him scrambling around during the night and assumed he was playing. That is, until last night when I heard him running around again. I listened for awhile and then noticed that the sounds weren't quite the same - there was a chewing, slurpy sound (sorry if this is too graphic). I found the flashlight and shone it on Otis who was on the carpet at the foot of the bed. To my dismay, he was not playing with the catnip mouse - he was playing, (actually eating) a real, dead mouse. How disgusting!! As I'm standing on the cold floor, flashlight in hand, freezing, I hear a voice from under the warm covers, saying, "pick it up by the tail and flush it down". Thank you very much. Of course, Otis doesn't want me to take the advice from the voice under the warm quilt, so I have to pick him up with one hand, carry the flashlight in my other hand and go to the bathroom to get some toilet paper so I can pick up the mouse by his tail. I accomplish this mission, go back to the bedroom with a squirming, mewing Otis under my arm, pick up the mouse by the tail, and follow the instructions given by the voice under the warm blankets.

I think the cold weather brought the little fellow into the house but maybe all those nights when I thought Otis was playing with his Christmas toy he was really playing with the real thing. I also think Otis doesn't have to sleep so close to me at night. Two nights ago, he curled up on my pillow and started to lick my face. I wonder if he just got done playing with a mouse....