First Jellicle Stories -The Grate Mowsie Hunt

It all began around the first part of August, 1996.
Mommie noticed alot of mice and rats running across
the road near where we live ( in the Country near Houston).
She also knew that everyone around the area was having a
serious problem with rats and mice eating the grain for
the livestock, fouling it with droppings and generally
making life quite unpleasant. But the final straw came
when she went to the chicken coop and found her best
hen dead and the eggs eaten. The hen had been torn wing from
wing buy rats. That was when we decided to act. Britches, Trouble,
and I took it upon ourselves to enlist the help of the cats from RPC
to help with the over-abundance of rodents in the area.
Marmalade, the kitten from next door, wanted to learn to
hunt as well, so we decided to hold the First Annual Mousie
Hunt.

We got alot of flack at first, about humans who did not
like their cats hunting defensless animals, but when we
explained why we were doing this, most everyone aggreed
to help. We got some extra caged mice from Ms Radonna,
who had an over-abundance for her snake, so that the
younger kitties could learn to hunt without having to
worry about the wildness of the mice. The DOC's and VC's
were to watch over the young kitties, teaching them tricks of
the trade.

The Horses from the pasture next door offered to help flush
out the mice and rats from the hiding places in the field. They
promised to be very careful, and not step on any of the cats that
were doing the hunt. They were especially aware of the concerns
of Spike, VC, and promised to treat him with the utmost
consideration.

(a moment of silence to remember Spike)

The first day of the hunt dawned with Hundreds of cats perched on the
fence ready to face the hunt. Jon Tom, Vlad, and Trouble set up the
arena for the young kitties and all went well. The second day was
rainy, and the cats decided to rest a day. It was during this day of
rest and relaxation that we became aware that we had "visitors" whom
we could not see. A shimmer had been noted over the nip juleps and BBQ
tables, and some of the food had disappeared.

On the third day, several of the younger kitties were showing promise
of being great mousers. The Catch and Release system was alos taught.
A problem began to arise later in the day with a delegation of pet
mice, rats, gerbils, and birds who wanted the hunt stopped. The law
office of Christofur was retained to assist in this legal issue. One
of the horses gave rides to the kitties in the yard. Becuase of the
problem with the other pets, the day was spent at the Grand Catseeno
Cat-shada in Louisianna. Part of the winnings of the cats were
turned over to Christofur to defray the legal costs.

Day 5 brought a thunderstorm to the field. However, after it was over,
many of the cats learned how to hunt crawdads, frogs and turtles.
These were added to the mice and rats caught in the field and the
dinner that night was especially scrumptious, thanks to Pierre's
culinary expertise.

Day 6 started with an exhibition of skills learned by the younger
kitties. Ribbons were awarded for skill and agility. Christofur
arranged for a restraining order against the other creatures and the
hunt continued. The population of mice and rats was brought down to an
acceptable level for the area by the end of the day. Day 7 marked the
start of the end of the Great Texas Drought. SOme of the kitties
watched movies featuring great cats in film. Everyone went home, tired
but satisfied.

There will be another Mousie Hunt next year, hopefuly with the
cooperation of the small pets who objected to this year's hunt.

Respectfully submitted:

Patches, Britches, Trouble, and Marmalade

On Nov 4, 7:34 pm, fuzzmonsters wrote:
It all began around the first part of August, 1996.
Mommie noticed alot of mice and rats running across
the road near where we live ( in the Country near Houston).
She also knew that everyone around the area was having a
serious problem with rats and mice eating the grain for
the livestock, fouling it with droppings and generally
making life quite unpleasant. But the final straw came
when she went to the chicken coop and found her best
hen dead and the eggs eaten. The hen had been torn wing from
wing buy rats. That was when we decided to act. Britches, Trouble,
and I took it upon ourselves to enlist the help of the cats from RPC
to help with the over-abundance of rodents in the area.
Marmalade, the kitten from next door, wanted to learn to
hunt as well, so we decided to hold the First Annual Mousie
Hunt.

oh my goodness... MB, thank you for reposting this. That was such a
fun time.
All the kitties at my house (Patches, Britches, Trouble, and
Marmalade) have
gone to the bridge, but I remember this like it was yesterday...

sniffle

Barber