My Kitten, the Huntress

Kitty caught her first mouse today. I actually think it was already dead, as it is about the same size as the cat, who can’t lift it completely off the ground and has to drag it. But at least the damn thing is clear of my kitchen, its former living quarters. I sure am proud of her! Between this mouse and all the bugs she demolishes daily, she’s definitely earning her keep. She’s currently happily disemboweling the rodent under the couch. She’s making her nom nom noises loudly and growling at the dog, who wants in on the action but is now too big to fit under the couch.

I’m making the situation sound a lot more in control than it really is. Initially she wanted to perform the procedure in my room, which is a giant mess of stuff in various stages of unpacking from my trip to Mozambique. But no no, I put an end to that by freaking out, jumping on my bed screaming, and throwing whatever I could at the tiny carnivore. She got the picture and relocated. Since then, I try to touch the ground with my feet a little as possible, jumping from one piece of furniture to another. It’s funny, I’ve been living in Africa over a year now. In my house I’ve met cobras, moths bigger than my head, bats, lizards, massive ants, giant stinging flying insects, cockroaches, spiders the size of dinner plates, wormy things with a gagillion legs, the occasional scorpion. But it’s still the damn mice that get me. So, now it’s under the couch, which is really just a bed in my living room. What am I gonna do with a partially eaten mouse in a hard to reach place? I really don’t want to think about it… I wonder if making the neighborhood kids dispose of a brutally murdered animal with their bare hands is considered child abuse.

Update: Doug has squeezed himself in to (hopefully) act as garbage can, his secondary role to safety and security officer. After numerous attempts on my part to discourage her, Kitty has taken up residence on my lap to purr and clean herself. Gross. Cats aren’t clean. They’re covered in cat spit.

In other animal-related news, Robert got home from Mozambique to learn that a huge fat python-like snake was living in his chimbuzi (outhouse). Everyone in his village was too scared to attempt to kill it, so they burned his chim down.