Say Hi to Turnip! He is Zorro's full brother but Turnip was the first born of the litter. Why Turnip? Because Amy always wanted a cat named Turnip, so now we do!He looks so sweet and he is. He has a cute way of turning his head nearly upside down when he wants attention. He sleeps in the crook of my arm all night long. He is shy and reticent and doesn't make new human friends easily.
But Turnip is a killer. He's the indoor killer in the family.
I was getting ready for weekend guests one day and I needed to prepare the spare room. It was summer so I was barefoot. I walked into the room with an armful of pillows and fresh sheets. I stepped on something wet. I groaned. We all deal with cat yak, right? I was sure this was some more for me to clean up. Putting the sheets down, I looked at what I had stepped in. It wasn't cat yak. It was long, red, and wet. I couldn't figure it out. I found a cleaning rag and poked it a bit trying to comprehend what this was. Oh my God! It was a skinned snake! Turnip had not only killed a snake (he finds them in the cellar) but had skinned it! There was a bit of snake skin on its head. But no where else. And I had stepped on it!
Turnip was on the bed, awakened by the noises I had made. I looked at him in shock. "You did this!" I gasped. "How could you?" He smiled at me with pride, stretched and went back to sleep.
It took a long, long time until I felt I had sterilized my foot enough. I rested then, devising a plan to dispose of this snake and not vomit myself. I double-bagged two plastic grocery bags and got my kitchen tongs. Wearing a pair of Amy's surgical gloves, I walked as close to the snake as possible without looking, reached with the tongs, grabbed the snake (cringing at the squishy feel of it) and dropped it, tongs and all, into the bags. I tied up the bags securely and ran into the garage and dumped it into a trash barrel. I then disposed of the surgical gloves just like a surgeon would. Then I took a long, long time to disinfect my hands and took a shower.
Beware of a sweet faced cat. There is a cruel killer behind those pretty eyes!
Zorro and Turnip_/\_/\_
Ewww -- I know somewhat how you felt, disposing of that skinned snake, because when I had my indoor/outdoor kitty, Chester, he brought me "gifts", mostly mice in various forms (some decapitated, some not). I have the feeling that Turnip thought he was bringing you something you would enjoy as much as he did! LOL! Great story and pictures!
ReplyDeletehehehe! You gotta watch out for the shy, quiet ones... Great story, I love how Turnip stretches with pride after you scolded him lol.... I hope you don't step into anything else! Happy Tuesday from Nermal and I :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha ! I really lived that story with you ! and then it sounded so exotic to me because you stepped on a snake in your HOUSE !!! I never see snakes except if I go to the zoo, lol ! but the same thing happened to me in the basement when (also loaded with laundry to put in the dryer) I stepped on something soft and disgusting and it was a mouse half eaten up ! brrr. Yes you are so right, they look so innocent and cute and then behave like sadist killers !
ReplyDeleteWow Turnip, you are quite the hunter! You do have a very sweet face. :) I'm very impressed that you caught and skinned a snake! Your human doesn't sound too pleased that she stepped in it and had to clean it up though!
ReplyDeleteHey at least he skinned the snake for you...all you had to do was cook it! Imagine...casserole, soup? Now that sounds nice. What about roasted, then you could have it hot with gravy or cold in a salad sandwich.
ReplyDeleteAnd you threw it out...shame on you Meeyauw...lol!
Zorro & Turnip are so well matched! Fabulous & charming.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's the angels with the dark shadows, always be wary!
My cats are limited to bugs - ick! Found a gecko once, but it's been a long while! D :)
IIIIgitt ...I can´t imagine they are looking so cute. Yes Turnip is a great hunter.
ReplyDeleteOur cats are killing mice and they sgive it to me, but i don´t like it.
Luna had never killed a mouse but many spiders and flies
Lovely predators, that's what they are, our cute little pets. I'm happy they catch mice and snakes, and insects. But, I've learned to watch my step.
ReplyDelete;))
Ewwww! I really don't do snakes. I would have been thrilled that the cat caught it, mortified that it was in the house in the first place and trying to figure out how to keep them out of there. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteSorry I am so late today.
Lucky for us we have no snakes on Maui or else my sweet cat might turn into a killer too!
ReplyDeleteYears ago one of our little kitty angels shredded a garter snake on the carpet in the den. I thought it was a damp Agapanthus leaf and just bent over and picked it up bare-handed. Yuck. I had frogs, toad, rats, and all kinds of rewards brought to me. It's a good thing I was a tomboy. The only things that really bothered me were the half-dead critters, the ones my poor husband had to "dispose" of because they were mortally wounded, included doves.
ReplyDeleteOh my .. I could actually feel the squish your foot must have made. Yuks. But kind of comforting to have a killer cat about. Kind of makes one feel safe. :-)
ReplyDeleteaww.. the poor lil snake. We don't have snakes here in Ireland. My cats have to do with the field mice and rabbits.
ReplyDeleteYour cats are beautiful!
Tee heee... I see you have The Cat Came Back on your blog too. It's one of my fave animations of all time.
While passing through your profile page, I happened to notice you like Harold and Maude. Wow, I have that film on my top 10 list, so cool!