The Scary Green Thing!

Last summer I was out in the front yard when I noticed a commotion in my neighbor’s yard. Mr. Fluffs, our elderly feral street cat, was very interested in some activity. My neighbor’s dogs were barking through the window at the cat so I walked over to see what was going on, just as the householder came out. She was then dive-bombed by a very small titmouse who was screeching at us, the cat, the dogs and anyone else who was preventing her catching her lunch. ‘Lunch’, mortally wounded, fell to the ground under a tree. Neither of us could figure out what it was because it was bright green and looked like a leaf. When I got close, I screeched (along with the angry titmouse) as it was a gigantic moth or butterfly. It looked bigger than the tiny predator. I ran inside and got my camera to evidence the titmouse’s lunch. As I have mentioned in older blogs, I have no fear of lions, tigers or bears but moths will send me screaming off in a panic. As soon as the photograph was taken we all retreated, including Mr. Fluffs and the titmouse finally got it’s prey (a Luna Moth). At this stage, Mr. Fluffs was geriatric and had lived in the street for at least 10 years. This was the most animated I had seen him in years. It was hard to imagine who would let loose a beautiful Himalayan cat but perhaps they lost him? In his retirement one of our other neighbors took over his care, fed him, took him to the veterinarian and brushed him lovingly. He suddenly became ill and like many cats disappeared off to die. We searched all over our area but it is dense brush and forest and impossible to find a cat that wanted his grave to remain secret. Our house backs onto the reserve and I asked the neighbor who looked after him to go up my ladder and shout for him. At the top of the ladder, she let out a scream because she saw a Momma skunk and her two babies just sauntering around ‘over the hedge’. This is what happens when you live in a forest… Below is a lovely photograph I took of Mr. Fluffs basking in the sunshine at the back of our garden.  The reserve, with it’s colony of sexy female cats, skunks, snakes, raccoons and a not very dry creek, is right behind him.

RIP Mr. Fluffs

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