Hunting Feline, Happy Human

The recent cold snap means one thing around here- mice.  They've pretty much left my house alone this winter but it seems the last blast of cold may have stirred up a bit of mus musculus mischief.
Not that I've seen any mice per se, but I have seen an uptick of feline kitchen curiosity.

It's never surprising to see Alice, cat number 2,  staring into the unknown in the kitchen.  She has always spent time casting a gaze under the stove from her perch on the counter.  (Not much cat discipline going on around here.)  However, that kind of gazing is mostly for crickets.  Yes, Alice loves to feast on a nice Acheta domesticus.  They must be quite filling though because I often find little legs abandoned on the kitchen floor.

Edgar, cat number 1, prefers to wait for food to be served.  He doesn't waste time staring into the nothingness under the stove. So, when I stumbled in for the first cup of coffee the other morning I was surprised to see 4 very intent cat eyes peering under the refrigerator.  Both cats were in pounce position, they stood still like a heron waiting to pierce its dinner, leaving me quite sure that there's a mouse in the house.

It's nice to know these pets of mine have my back.  Sure, that's not the way they see it.  For them, it's an instinct- an instinct I'm happy exists.