Day 19 continued - Furry Mama wants to Put the World to Rights!

In this very unsettled, scary world that we're living in at the moment, Clever bird wonders why humans (who are after all the same animal, whatever their language, physicality or beliefs) can't live and let live, when different species of animals can? Just look on the internet for an abundance of examples. Furry Mama has always been fascinated by Minty Mutt's respect for other species. As a puppy he was always chasing things when we were out; rabbits, squirrels even deer. He still tries now, but his old achy bones don't let him get far. But the first time he caught something he was only a few months old. He chased a baby squirrel. As they all did, it shot straight up the first tree it came to. But it was so little that it promptly fell off and landed right at Mint's paws. The two stared at each other for a few seconds. The tiny little squirrel and the already quite large German Shepherd puppy, whose nose was longer than the body of the squirrel. Mint dropped his head and licked the full length of the squirrel in one big sloppy swoop. The squirrel looked distinctly surprised then spun round and shot back off up the trunk of the huge Oak tree. This time successfully. Mint watched it go. As an adult he did pretty much the same thing with a baby rabbit. No tree involved. Just a warren. Lots of licking.

When Calum decided, five years ago, that Baggy's wedding present would be two rescue kittens, even though at age four-and-a-half Mint had never even seen a cat, Furry Mama knew that this would not be a problem.  The kittens, Hinge and Bracket, were tiny, even though they were thought to be at least twelve weeks old. Bracket was literally skin and bone. You could feel each of her vertebrae. She wasn't even the length of Mint's nose. But when Calum and Baggy went in to their holding pen, Hinge wrapped herself around Baggy's feet purring, as Bracket stuck her little claws in and ran straight up Baggy's leg and into her arms. Hinge had a deformed tail and Bracket looked as though she might not live for more than a day or two. They were the only two left from a litter of eight feral kittens and they'd chosen Baggy as their human. So that was that. All the fit and healthy kittens (of which, sadly there were dozens) were left and Hinge and Bracket came home the next day.

Mint was fascinated by the hissing, spitting little fur balls and wanted to lick them. But after a few scratches on his nose, he decided that he'd better just watch them instead. It took just two days for them to become friends. Now, Minty Mutt guards them as much as he guards Furry Mama. He grooms Hinge on her belly with his teeth. He lets both of them sleep on his bed.

In theory they shouldn't get on, but they love each other. In theory humans should, but so many hate each other.

Not only do the cats and Minty get on, they learn from each other too. Mint now head butts Calum and Baggy's hands to get stroked in the same way that the cats do (to scent mark us, and us them). Bracket has learnt to scratch the window with her paw to get Furry Mama to let her back in, in the same way that Minty scratches the back door. Humans just don't seem to learn.

 

Freda Fretter cannot help worrying about the terrible things that are happening in the world. Clever Bird just cannot begin to comprehend why they are happening. Furry Mama thinks that humans could learn an awful lot from other animals...........