[MorganGrayson]

We recently lost, Randy, the "grand damme" of our cats, at the age of eighteen. She had a good long run, considering how sick she was as a tiny kitten when we took her in. She even did the "drop dead mice and birds" on the front mat as bribes to get into the family. (Actually, "cat experts" say cats do that to teach humans to hunt so that they won't starve, but who knows.)

But I digress.

I mentioned the "dead presents" to show that at one time in her life, Randy did hunt.

However, once she became an indoor house pet, she totally changed. She used to sleep on top of the guinea pig cage. I always thought it was for the company. Every once in a while, she'd reach down a very gentle paw and touch the guinea pig to make it move around. Sort of like "cat television."

One day, a much younger child of mine was playing with her hamster, and in a fit of irresponsibility, forgot to put the thing back in the cage. Therefore, I know the hamster was out for 14 hours. We finally found it, on the floor of the spare room in front of the couch, doing its morning ablutions, calmly washing it's tiny face. Stretched out on the couch above it, looking for all the world like an indulgent parent, was Randy, supervising the washing.

Jaws dropped among the humans...and one young girl got a very stern talking to.

Our other cat at the time, my beloved Sneakers, looked upon the rodents with nothing but disgust. You could almost see the big "yuck!" thought bubble over her head. Food came out of a bag or a can, certainly *not* a live little furry thing.

I've seen too many things on Animal Planet to question anything that happens in this world. It's as impossible to say "all animals will do this" as it is to say "all humans will do that."

I saw a film of a cat and his best buddy...a crow. The two would actually wrestle in the back yard, then eat out of the same dish.