WHAT THE CAT CAUGHT

WHAT THE CAT CAUGHT - MAY 30, 2012

WHAT THE CAT CAUGHT:

This morning, while pouring my coffee, I let the dog in and the cats out.  Just a few minutes later, I heard a dreadful squeaky-squeal.  I thought perhaps it was a bird that one of the cats had caught—baby birds seem to find their way into my cats’ mouths easily.  Alas, no.  It was definitely not a bird.  As I walked to the garage, I saw the cat toying with a rodent…a rodent too big to be a mouse.  The other cat caught a mouse last week.  I scurried on my way, but decided to look it up when I got to the office.  Here is what I am assuming she had captured:

Prairie Vole:  The mature prairie vole is reddish brown to gray and is larger than a field mouse but smaller than a rat (Figure 1). The ears of a vole are very small. The prairie vole has a torpedo-shaped body about 4 to 5 inches long with small ears and a short tail.

I am quite certain I will not need to find a “rodent control method”—as outlined here in the Missouri Agriculture Extension Department newsletter—the cats are all the pest control we have ever needed. http://ipm.missouri.edu/newsletters/meg/archives/v14n5/v14n5.pdf.

Perhaps I should send a warning message to the family?  Mine, not the vole’s.