Cats have long presented the people in their lives with objects found, caught or quietly borrowed. When Crafty Cat asked readers about the most unusual things their cats had brought home, the answers went far beyond the expected mouse or bird.
Looking through the original Crafty Cat site, I rediscovered this extraordinary assortment of offerings.
Leaves, twigs and one muddy piece of plastic
After Squilly, a near Siamese, received an unenthusiastic response to the birds he brought home, Megan said that he improvised. Following a few trial runs through the garden puddles, he began fishing for leaves in a stream behind the house.
“Even in dry weather he brings home shiny wet leaves. Big or small, green or yellow, all different types, but always wet.”
Sometimes his catch included twigs or a long weed. His finest prize was a shredded, muddy piece of plastic. His family were simply relieved that it was not a bird.
The mysterious iced bun supplier
Jennie’s cat Rosie regularly arrived home carrying iced buns. No one ever discovered where she found them, or which neighbouring household was wondering what had happened to its cakes.
Clooney, a young neutered tomcat, ran an even more ambitious winter catering service. Uta reported deliveries of loaves of bread, bacon, frozen fish and other packaged food. The likely explanation was that unsuspecting neighbours had been leaving groceries on their porches to keep them cold.
The frog that kept coming back
Vicky’s three cats repeatedly brought the same live frog indoors, depositing it on the sofa beside the family. Wherever the frog was released, the cats managed to find it again.
“It is quite disturbing when it suddenly leaps six feet into the air during a crucial scene in EastEnders.”
Abbie, a young cat in New Zealand, specialised in wetas: formidable native insects whose appearance made them a particularly memorable night-time present.
Seafood, sort of
Mineau was a recently rescued stray adjusting to a new home by the ocean. One day he discovered seafood—or at least its lingering scent, and proudly arranged a collection of seashells on the steps. He knew something appealing had once been inside them, even if he could not quite work out how to retrieve it.
Another cat arrived home with a very lively budgie. When its owner could not be found, the bird stayed and became part of the family.
A mouse and the mousetrap
Maxine’s 13 month old kitten left a square piece of wood with something dangling from it on the doormat. Turned over, it revealed not only a mouse but the mousetrap too. Their vet had never heard of a cat carrying home the complete apparatus. Somewhere nearby, its owner was presumably wondering where the trap had gone.
One hundred rabbits and the garage’s missing lunches
One especially industrious cat managed, over the course of a year, to carry more than 100 live rabbits over a six foot fence, through a cat flap and up a flight of stairs. Many were fully grown and almost as large as the cat.
The same cat brought home young birds, three snakes, five lizards, six water rats, hundreds of mud covered earthworms and an old shoe. There were also numerous cheese and pickle sandwiches, still wrapped in plastic bags. The source was never proved, although the garage next door often complained about missing lunches.
The last Rolo
Ann’s cat preferred chocolate: Jaffa Cakes, pieces of chocolate and, most touchingly, the last Rolo from a packet, still wrapped in its silver foil.
Mariam’s cat looked closer to home. When especially pleased, she rummaged through the open laundry basket and selected the stinkiest sock she could find, usually belonging to Mariam’s husband.
“I’m still debating whether my husband’s socks reminded her of dead mice.”
A note from the present day
These stories are shared as a snapshot of cat life and of the conversations people were having about cats in 2001. They are funny and affectionate, but some also describe the impact free roaming cats can have on wildlife.
Today we understand more about that impact and about the ways cats can enjoy stimulating, satisfying lives without hunting. Indoor games, food puzzles, supervised garden time and secure outdoor spaces can all give a cat opportunities to stalk, chase, explore and forage more safely.
The wildlife may be safer, but the instinct to carry prized objects to a trusted person has not disappeared. Perhaps the ideal modern offering is still a leaf, an old sock—or one exceptionally precious last Rolo.