Baby bunnies.

Every day brings another wildlife adventure. This afternoon, our outside cat Gatsby caught a baby bunny. It was just around noon-time, after Gatsby had already eaten his own lunch of tuna, when I saw him walking towards the house with a little furry thing in his mouth. At first, I thought it was a field mouse, and I was happy that he was doing his job as a "barn cat."

When he got closer to the house, I saw that it was a little baby rabbit, not a mouse...... and I ran out there to try and get him to release the bunny. Not a chance. He did what a cat does with a prized catch-- tossed it up in the air, batted at it a few times with his paw, and looked like he was about to make it a second lunch. That's when I came in the house and called my husband to come downstairs.

"He's being a cat. If that were a mouse, you'd be happy he caught it." But it isn't a mouse... it's a cute little baby bunny. It's the cute factor-- breaks your heart every time. During the time my husband and I were discussing what to do, the bunny was no longer there. My husband thought that Gatsby had eaten the bunny. The whole thing? Every last bit of it? There's nothing left out there! My husband told me there was nothing left of the salads we had for lunch, either.

I just couldn't believe that Gatsby had eaten that little bunny. Not in that short a time. Besides, Gatsby had already eaten his own lunch..... he shouldn't have been hungry. He's not a big eater. Usually...

Tonight, as I was sewing puffs and listening to the news, I heard a screaming-squeaking sound coming from the side porch outside the TV room. I put on the overhead lights out there, and the first thing I see is Gatsby walking on the porch with a baby bunny in his mouth. The same little bunny from this afternoon? Who knows....

Gatsby walked towards his crate and put the bunny into the back of the crate, then came outside to guard the door of the crate. Of course, the bunny can't get out, and he's in that crate just screaming and squeaking for all he's worth. No way could I let nature take its course out there.... not when I'm listening to that pitiful screaming from inside that crate.

Out I went.... telling Gatsby what a great little hunter he is....... while shutting the door of the crate and carrying it inside the house. So there's the crate.... in my kitchen...... with the little bunny shaking like a leaf at the back of the crate. I opened the door of the crate, took out the towel that was in there (which I'm sure had Gatsby's smell on it).... and put in a fresh towel for the bunny. (All the while I'm doing that, Gatsby is by the back door, with his nose pressed up against the screen door-- "You stole my bunny! Give it back!")

The little bunny stopped screaming, but he kept looking at me and watched what I was doing. While I had the door of the crate open, I put in a few lettuce leaves, and a very shallow dish of water. The bunny watched me the whole time...... then when I shut the door of the crate, he hid himself behind a fold of the towel, with just his little white tail sticking out.

Now..... what would I do with the cat crate for the night? Can't leave it near Mickey and ShadowBaby-- I think the little bunny has had his fill of cats for one day. And I didn't want to leave it near Gracie... if the bunny is afraid of the cats, then he would surely be afraid of the dog.

Can the bunny squeeze himself out through the wire door of that crate? I don't think so, but I didn't want to take a chance. So I brought the whole crate upstairs..... and put it into the biggest jacuzzi tub in the house..... if the bunny does get through the little wire door of the crate, he surely can't get himself out of that deep tub.

Last I looked, the bunny was still hiding underneath the towel in the crate. He hasn't touched the lettuce leaves..... but I doubt very much he's in the mood for munching. He's probably saying his little bunny-prayers that Gatsby didn't gobble him up. Just the thought makes me cringe.....

I will release the bunny in the morning.... way down by the woods around the pond. At least he'll have a chance there. If I release him near the house, Gatsby will just catch him again. I'm wondering how many bunny-babies there can be around our property. And will Gatsby just keep on hunting till he catches them all?

Gatsby is being a cat. An outside cat, a barn cat. He's doing just what his cat-brain tells him to do. But knowing that doesn't make it any easier for me.