Woman vs Cat

Once again, I'm sure my neighbor's are ready to send me off to the loony bin.  Wouldn't you if your neighbor came running out of their house screaming bloody murder to chase a cat 500 feet without any shoes on?

Yepp, that's me.  I was cooking dinner, yummy pork chops with onions and apples.  They are so tasty!  Anyway, I had just added the pork to the pan in order to brown them, when I happened to glance out my window towards the bird feeder  (when you're obsessed with birds, this is a common occurrence).

One of the six or so stray/roaming cats in my neighborhood.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear?  But a tabby cat, crouching under the bird feeder.  Now, we have the neighborhood cats trained that if we bang on the windows, they should take off running.  I went to the screen door and banged on the window.  The cat only crouched lower.  As I quickly fumbled with the latch in order to unlock the door to open it up and yell at the cat, he jumped.

Up, way up, to the bird feeder.  Probably a 4 1/2 foot leap.  And he came down with a bird.  A flutter of red feathers flew up, and my mind and my brain sprung into action:  CARDINAL!

That's the male Cardinal on the left and the female on the right.

Don't get me wrong, now.. I would have probably done the next thing if it had been any bird.. but a Northern Cardinal?  One of the most recognized and beloved birds.  Indiana's state bird as a matter of fact... And Illinois.. and Ohio.. and Kentucky.. and North Carolina.. and Virginia.. and West Virginia... Ok, I think you get the point.  This is a beloved bird, probably second only to Bluebirds.  And unlike bluebirds, which sometimes get mistaken for other "blue" birds, Northern Cardinals are VERY recognizable.  The male is a brilliant red with a black face, whereas the female is a tan color with a reddish tinge, especially in the tail.  They share a bright orange rather large beak (the color and the size are distinctive) that they use to crack open seeds, their primary source of food.  Their favorite is safflower, which I feed primarily for them.  They love it!  If you aren't getting cardinals in your backyard and want some, try putting safflower out for a week or so, and I can pretty much guarantee a cardinal will stop by to try it out!  Safflower is the white seed in the picture, similar to sunflower, but smaller.

Alright, back to the action.  As my brain witnessed this horrible act, my body sprung into motion.  I ripped open the screen door and RAN at the cat, full blast, screaming at the top of my lungs.  I honestly think I scared the living daylights out of it (and anyone else around for that matter).  I didn't care.  It was right at dusk and was getting hard to see, but as I approached the scene of the crime, I saw four or five large red feathers (confirming my cardinal guess without a doubt), but no bird.  I heard some very metallic chipping coming from a nearby pine tree and felt a huge surge of relief.  The cat eyed me from the safety of the other side of the fence.  Panting hard and looking at me like I was crazy and just robbed him of his dinner.

See the cat in this picture?  Yeah, ultimate sneaks!

Well I kind of did. But I did NOT feel sorry for it.  There are a bunch of feral and free roaming cats in my neighborhood that I chase off on a fairly regular basis.  Let me tell you, I love cats.  INSIDE cats that are spayed that is.  What I dislike are feral cats and, to a greater extent, indoor cats that a typically ignorant, yet well-meaning pet owner let roam around to "get some fresh air."

I've heard it all before.  "Awwww, come on Lindsay, what harm can one little cat do?"  Tons!  If you have a cat, you know they love to stalk and chase their prey, even if they just ate.  It's their built in nature, that's how God made them.  So even if you feed your cat well, then let him out, he will catch birds outside.  I've heard it all, but if your curious, check out this link.  It answers some common misconceptions about cats and the outdoors.  No one knows exactly how many birds are killed by cats each year, but I've heard anywhere from 100 to 500 million.  PER YEAR... YIKES!!!

Somehow, amazingly, I had gotten there in time for this one lonely bird.  Praise God!  Now, I don't know if the bird was bitten, scratched, and bleeding and died overnight.  I will pray not, but the sad reality is, if the cat broke the skin of the bird, it will most likely be compromised.  I do know that the cat didn't break the cardinals neck (it would be lying their dead) or its wing (it wouldn't have been able to fly off and I would have seen it struggling).  The bird scuffled up higher in the tree when I approached, so I will assume that it was temporarily ok.

At this point, my husband came out wondering what was going on.  After I explained it to him, the adrenaline started to leave my body and I realized I was barefoot in the cold wet grass and decided I should head back in.  As we entered the house, he quipped "well you might have saved the Cardinal, but who's gonna save dinner?"  HA!