Witnessed a neighbor's cat in full predation [View all]

[UTUSN]

Am basically a dog type, never have possessed or been possessed by a cat, but I can appreciate most living beings - tolerating the wasp that stung me, spiders, reptiles, insects so long as they stay away.

So the neighbors have both dogs and cats, the latter of which patrol our whole corner of the neighborhood. My little dog puts on a show of chasing them out of our yard but is skeered of them and keeps the distance even to the point of running back to the door.

These are a couple of exceedingly tame cats who seem to prefer lounging over here under the bushes and staring down my dog, sometimes waving their tail if he gets too close.

***But to the point. This cat in my front yard today - lithe as can be - had its nose and paws down to the ground, pin/pawing something, shifting to better grasping positions. It was a bit concerning because there are jumping/leaping spiders out there, and the nose was in potential harm's way (my imagining).

But in less than a minute the whole safari was over and the cat - totally matter-of-factly - had the target in its mouth and turned around and headed home with whatever-it-was dangling its small lower half in the mouth. Possibly a small lizard. Amazing for the cat to have found the thing in the first place and then so cleanly and pinpointedly carried off the whole thing.

Graceful, lithe, gone. Then about half an hour later the cat crossed back across the yard to the gate, with a leisurely gait, nonchalantly like another-day's-work, on to the next yard across the street.