My cat decides to bring my guests... gifts.

[Ben551]

Allow me to tell you a story...

Firstly, the thing to understand about Bundle (the cat) is that he is an active rodent hunter.  He is doing his part to save and protect the local New Zealand ecosystem by knocking off rats and mice on a grand scale.

Rats and mice are not native to the country and were introduced accidentally by early settlers in the late 1800's, so the eco system is not designed to cope with them.  These little pests are one of the primary reasons that several species of bird, only found in New Zealand, are close to extinction (some are already extinct).  So we all get behind pest control in a big way, with traps... bait... the works.  It's part of the job of being an environmentally responsible resident. 

It was in the news last year (and I'm quoting the headline) that the rats and mice of New Zealand had a better than normal season in the bedroom.  Since then, we've noticed our Bundle bagging himself quite a number of pests, sometimes up to 15 per month.  Our house backs on to about 10 acres of forest, so it's not unusual.  I'd say the mix is mostly mice.

Now, Bundle is a good clean boy, so he likes to wash them in water first (places a dead one in a water bowl, bats them with his paw, then sniffs to decide if clean enough to present to his people).  Then he, much to our delight and pleasure, places them on our outside doormat as a neatly washed little wet parcel of ratty (or mousey) goodness.  Sometimes we get a "meow" to let us know it's there, and he expects a knob of butter or some fish as a reward.

Of course we thank him for these little treats, as he's doing a good job.  Plus, apparently it's psychologically damaging for a cat to be told off after working to feed his family (our vet says it's one of the reasons cats run away).

I'm sure you've worked out where this is going.... 

Yes.  Bundle has decided that guests are also part of the family and they need parcels of ratty goodness too!  Whilst I'm sure he's now working twice as hard to feed both us and the guest cottage, I'm fairly sure (if discovered... hasn't been yet) that guests will take a pretty dim view of Bundle's idea of a dietary supplement.... any day now we're going to have to explain this... to someone. And it's going to be awkward.

~ Ben

[Cathie19]

Start taking photos @Ben551 of Bundle doing many things...

You can create a personal children’s book in the homestay of “Bundle and his bundles... of joy!.. ..”

What brings Bundle joy?

(Do the mice and rats spark joy? If not, thank them and toss them out!)

Lol.. 😜

(laminate your covers and bind it... you can even have it saved as a PDF for sending digitally to guests after they leave.)

[Ben551]

Hahahaha.. this is getting better and better. 

It may interest you to know that he was originaly Bundle-o-Trouble, but he was very naughty as a kitten.... these days, he's a very clever boy and looks after his people.

[Cathie19]

@Ben551, have it translated in languages of your guests via the nearest uni students. 🤔

[Ben551]

@Cathie19I could definitely do that in Chinese, French and German... oh even Japanese, through a friend... lol I should start writing!

[Cathie19]

@Ben551 & @Βασίλης-and-Ann0.

I’d be taking a photo on the double...  of “Bundle of trouble” being lazy on the floor.

Before he’s awake and  goes  for a walk...

.............. before he then hunts, and brings mice to the door! 

When he is lazy he is lazy galore, but when he hunts vermin he is faster than Thor!

[Βασίλης-and-Ann0]

@Ben551

Absolutely terrific story & if you present photos and a kid's story as @Cathie19 has suggested, your more squeamish guests might see the funny side - at least you've given them a warning, in a light -hearted way !  ;-D ;-D

[Ben551]

@Cathie19@Βασίλης-and-Ann0@Susan1028

It occured to me that I ought to give you all a picture of the star of the story!

Profile:

Originally born in Scotland, Bundle traveled 11,352 miles in early 2017 to relocate with his people to New Zealand.  Before that, he had never seen a big ratty or mouse before (or any chasable ground prey for that matter), as the area he lived in was too cold to provide such abundant entertainment.

So imagine his delight and surprise when he emerged from his new house (after his quarantine and settling-in period were over) to see the New Zealand bush for the first time.  There it was, full of trees and adventures. Best of all, it was brimming with four-legged dinners just waiting to be caught!

Since then, Bundle enjoys laying about in the New Zealand sun, catching fresh dinners in his backyard, delivering them to his people (including AirBnb guests) and just generally enjoying the lifestyle.  He especially likes home made aioli, cooked egg yokes, and sardines... but most of all he just loves a good chinny-rub and being told he's a good boy.

[Susan1028]

@Ben0 

He's a ringer for Prince Charming...who was a stray who followed us home from walking our dog...after she chased him up a tree lol!  From city stray to 5 acres by the sea all to himself with all the fish, mice, voles, and other small critters he can handle.  As you can see he resides in the best of goosedown comfort , living up to his name...kissing my hand.  He's quite the gentleman, great conversationalist, and a wonderful provider : - )

[Βασίλης-and-Ann0]

@Ben551      Love that face!

He's got that 'I'll kill anything that moves' scowl I know so well. Of course, when his 'people' are around it's the 'butter wouldn't melt' look, I bet ! 

@Cathie19   Oh ho, Cathie, you've started something with your great rhyme!!

Here's a 'Limerick' from me...

There once was a kitten named Squidge,

found forlorn & bedraggled under a bridge.

She was rescued by four,

Then reared in a drawer,

Now she's happy,  with pussies galore !!

Sorry, couldn't resist...  :]  :}

[Susan1028]

I'm a Bond fan myself lol...

[Sandra126]

Checking out guests recently  complained that ''my cat'' was yowling at the door incessantly. Well, I haven't got a cat! House is self contained and not near where I live, could not have a cat there. No neighbours have a cat either, I think it is a wild cat. Looks like it, I saw it on the last changeover hanging around the compost bin section, prime mouse territory.

So now I have to tell guests to please not feed ''the cat'' as I haven't got one and it will only encourage it to stick around and yowl at people. Though it will get birds and lizards, it will also get rodents so I am secretly not entirely displeased.

[Ben551]

@Sandra126  That’s quite annoying if your guests thought it was yours.

If you can get near it, I recommend printing a paper collar (template : https://www.spca.nz/images/assets/31718/1/spca2018_stray_cat_paper_collar_d3.pdf ) and putting it on the cat. That way if it does have a home, you can establish contact with the owner. If you don’t hear anything for a few days then you can usually call the SPCA to put a trap down and they will come collect it (a trap to catch not kill, obviously). Wild cats can spread disease too, so as helpful as they are to control pests, it’s usually recommended to have them picked up.

Meanwhile, you could put a cute “Wanted” poster up in your AirBnb, like in the old west, with a picture of the kitty on it, saying “Wanted for crimes of howling and rubbish stealing. Unknown origin. Should not be fed or approached. If you see this cat please call xxxxxxx”

[Sandra126]

@Ben551, will not put on collar, I don't want to touch it but will contact whoever deals with stray cats. Hardly anyone has cats in this area, it is very keen on nature conservation and has a cat curfew. Making the call today.

Miaow

[Ben551]

@Sandra126  Right you are, that sounds like a plan.

PS: I’m a believer in cat curfews. Our ones, including Bundle, are shut in well before dark and not let out again until daylight. It’s the ground dwelling, nocturnal birds that we want to protect the most in NZ. That includes the Kiwi bird, but there are many others. If Bundle knocks off rodents during the day, it gives the night bird life a shot, but if we let him our after dark... he’ll get stuck into the wrong things. Plus we find cat fights happen at night, which lead to vet bills.

Like your area, I think most conservation minded people are wise to this. 

[Susan1028]

Please don't send it off to a kill place : (