The Strangest Things Cats Have Dragged In

A few months ago, Catster Managing Editor Vicky Walker wrote about how her cat brought in a series of baby possums (which, thankfully, all survived the ordeal). We then asked Catster Magazine readers to weigh in and share all the weird and wonderful presents their cats have brought them over the years, and some of the responses almost threw us out of our chairs. How, for instance, does a cat manage to bring a rooster home?! Or a six-pack of mice?

Here are some of our favorites from our reader story round-up. For more stories, see the original piece that ran on Catster: “What Did the Cat Drag In? Catster Readers Tell All.”

Reader Aletta says: Up from the basement, proud as can be, came Fluff with the woodpecker, bigger than her, in her mouth. I hollered “Let it go!” and she did. The poor bird didn’t know what to do. Thankfully it flew into a corner bedroom. I opened a window, but it would not fly out and sat on a hanging picture, pecking at the wall. I finally decided to drop the top half of the window while my back was to the bird so he felt safe, and he flew past me out the window.

Reader Carol writes: My husband and I started out life together in a second-floor apartment located in a big old house (family had 12 kids) near downtown in Mandan, ND. Very woodsy area. One night I woke up to strange scritchy noises. I got a bit freaked and woke my husband, Bob, and then got up to turn on a light down the hall from the bedroom.

There on the dresser to hubby’s left was a little brown bat, sitting and stretching his wings. I’m not one of those women who gets all in a dither about bats, or snakes, or spiders, but I really didn’t want a bat flying around. Bob got up to go to the kitchen to retrieve a broom to knock it to the floor so he could capture it, and did.

After a couple such occurrences, we figured out that our cat, Thunder, had found his way onto the roof over the porch at the old house (no window screens, no air conditioning, July) and was catching the bats and releasing them indoors. We in turn released them again, and yelled at the landlord for window screens.

Reader Louise writes: The weirdest thing my dearly departed Petie the Cat (March 24, 2012) brought in was six tiny baby mice. He did the same thing — brought them in through the cat door. He put them in my husband’s shoe for a morning surprise. Sadly, they were not as lucky as your possums.

Care2 readers, what’s the weirdest thing your cat has presented you with? And do read about how one of our readers on Catster once brought in a small rooster.

Read more: Cats, Humor & Inspiration, Pets

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Julie C.

6:23PM PDT on Mar 18, 2013

As a responsible cat 'owner', it really saddens me to hear of people allowing their cats into nature (particularly at night), where they KNOW their cats are likely to kill native and other wildlife (even if they don''t bring them home to show you). My cats have an outdoor run with access to the house, but the entrance is blocked at night so they remain indoors and are safe, as is the wildlife outside (we live in a national park area where it is even more important to oversee feline habits). Cats ARE predators and it is up to their humans to be responsible about curtailing that facet of their natures.

March 18
send a green star

Winn A.

2:01PM PDT on Mar 18, 2013

Thanks

Magdalen B.

2:53AM PDT on Mar 18, 2013

What a lovely illustration, though on second thoughts, it looks as though the rabbits have arrested the kitten.

Sonia M.

10:50AM PDT on Mar 17, 2013

They are mighty hunters.Thanks for sharing

March 17
send a green star

Charles E.

6:39PM PST on Nov 21, 2012

My wife of 32 yr & I started out with 1 little dog she had rescued. We have been at it ever since. For about 12 yr dogs was all we handled-as many as 25 at a time. Then 1 of the neighborhood ferals looked over the situation & demanded equality & almost overnight we had 15-20 cats. Neither of us knew anything about cats but started a very quick learning curve. We learned they like to leave you evidence they are doing their job-dead mice, birds, rabbits 3-4 times their size, & all sorts of little to medium size animals. The one that stuck in my mind was the snake. I have a bit of a phobia about snakes to start with. At the time I worked for an ATM service company. They warned us repeatedly about other areas of the country that when an employee was coming out of his house, there were instances where they were kidnapped, their families held hostage in an effort to gain entrance to their vault facilities. We were to exit our house fully armed & ready. That particular A.M., I stepped out the door with my pistol holstered at my side, 12 ga. shotgun in one hand, cup of coffee in the other. looked down at my foot in midstep & midsip finding a coiled snake right where my foot was going. Tat has been a good no. of years ago & I still do not know where that coffee cup went.Shotgun came around & I was a millisecond from blowing a hole in my porch with my foot in the middle of it. Fortunately for my foot & porch I realized it was dead before a full tri

November 21
send a green star

Kathy P.

3:50PM PDT on Aug 25, 2012

they have some odd catches. little hunters

August 25
send a green star

Dale O.

8:24AM PDT on Jul 31, 2012

Some of the cats who owned me brought home live birds who were released and happily flew away. Another would line up her captured mice in a straight row like sardines.

Susan H. you may want to put a sprinkler near the bird feeder, also cats detest citrus smells so citronella plants underneath the feeder can be a deterrent as well. Perhaps a statue of a large dogl.

Yes, cats are predators. So are little boys be when they do nasty things to frogs and other critters (some do, not all) but we don't keep them indoors. It is sad but true that cats are predators but that is Nature, not the cat. While keeping a cat indoors keeps birds safer (although they are still subject to being preyed upon by other birds, man, foxes, raccoons and other animals, snakes). Keeping your cat indoors depends on you, your location if you live in a heavy traffic area then it is likely better for the cat to be kept indoors.

Man builds high office towers with glass windows killing thousands upon thousands of birds per year but that doesn't stop humans.

All cats should be neutered/spayed!

July 31
send a green star

Yes it is sad about the puppies but what has this got to do with the topic at hand? Cats do not drag in puppies and humans who are cruel to animals. there are a lot of topics outlining this without dropping into a rather cheerful topic about cats and their antics.

My cat dragged home corn cobs to eat from the nieghbour's ample veggie garden and ate these like a raccoon. The Siamese cat can be very creative when it comes to being a gourmand!

Susan U.

3:22PM PDT on Jul 10, 2012

Rabbits babies, and half grown, assorted birds, ground squirrel babies, many mice. MOST SURVIVE, MY CATS ARE SO TENDER WITH THEM, ITS LIKE THEY JUST WANT TO SHOW ME WHAT THEY FIND. Sorry about the caps.