Bela's inclination to hunt amuses me, exhausts me...and occasionally embarrases me.
The embarrassment is silly; I can't do anything about her natural instinct. But I'm attempting to live with her...in a city....around, like a TON of other living things -- things she would like to make extinct.
Rats. Cats. and Babies.
I'm pretty sure Chicago would be cool with Bela eradicating the rat. (If I let her free, this would likely happen sooner than later, as she has twice caught a rat in her mouth while walking.)
And as a race, we are divided on cats. But there ain't a person around that would be comfortable if they knew...that her ears perking up just now, and that shake in her back legs....: that's for your baby, Yo.
While she enjoys catching rats with her teeth, I can't really stomach the thought of one ending up in her stomach....so I have made her release both of her previous catches. I struggle with 'allowing' her to hunt street cats. The cat is often interested in her and/or taunting her, seeing that she is well-restrained by a leash. And I keep thinking that I can convince her through dialogue that...you know, the cat is like a super cool animal that you could even consider respecting....
Her relationship with felines has me straight up baffled. She hunts them like crazy, both outside and in. But I'm committed to letting her know that if she could play it cool, we'd be invited into more homes. My friends could stop feeling conflicted about liking her, because the threat of her eating their cats would be gone. It would just be really nice.
(*It should be noted that there is a cat that she has actually NUZZLED. Face to face. Lovingly. On multiple occasions. I've been able to make no sense of this, thus far.)
I'll address the baby-hunting, I will. But bear in mind, it's not real...as in, she doesn't know it's a baby when her ears perk up and she tries to paw at the door to get out and get. it. In all honesty, she's probably thinking it's a cat or a rat. It's just that the sound of a baby wailing can be quite sharp. High-pitched. Kind of tortuous. Prompting Bela to think of...well...torture?? So while the baby-tracking requires mentioning, my neighbor's babies are in no way in harm's way.
The rat and cat shit is real, though. And one night, while we were out walking, this hate triangle came to a head like I literally could not believe. We were crossing by a school that had a gated area in front, and Bela kept tugging to get closer. I had no reason to not give her this courtesy, so I moved myself in a little and let her sniff about. Her body went rigid, and I saw a gleam in her eyes, so I thought maybe there was a little something in there. It was hard to perceive the picture; it was dark and so silent that my senses were straining to pick up on anything. Then, I saw it. I gasped, then chuckled aloud. It was like Jesus orchestrated the scenario for my sheer delight. Because Bela was hunting a cat that was hunting a rat.
I know for a fact that Bela did not commit murder that night, but I am not at will to speak for that cat.
No comments:
Post a Comment