Banjo, the dissection expert

I think it must be Banjo who returns with what he has captured during the night and eats it on the steps at the sitting room. Today I saw a whole mouse which must have been surplus to his requirements. During the past week it was only viscera which were left behind. One day it appeared to be the entire viscera of a mouse. The following day the alimentary canal of a larger animal with a prominent caecum like a string of oval red beads was there for our inspection. I wondered if it might be a rabbit, or one of the young squirrels which have been foraging on the grass for the past ten days.

The squirrel children come down from the trees a few times a day to feed on dry, white-gilled toadstools. No parent accompanies them, so it looks unlikely that they are being taught to distinguish between edible fungi and those that could be fatal if eaten (if there are fungi that poison squirrels). At first it appeared as if the little animals took life very seriously, at least while on the ground. Then, as I was watching one of them he suddenly jumped into the air. A moment later he jumped again, but this time he introduced a variation. Before landing he rotated his body as a diver might do while plunging into a pool.

I am as certain as it's possible to be that Banjo's meal did not consist of squirrel.

Newsflash

Today I’m interrupting my Sunday blog on cats with a news flash. A few days ago I saw five earthworms, all of the same species, all 3-4cm long. They were epigeal worms, dark red in colour with an orange that suggested brandling (or tiger) worms. I found them lying on the surface of soil under one of two blue plastic washing-up basins formerly favoured by New Zealand flatworms, but they quickly retreated into burrows when they were disturbed. They are still in the same place today.

I want to reassure you that I am not dreaming, although if you have read my posts on earthworms, flatworms and alien invasive species (which I wrote before turning to cats), you will realise that seeing earthworms of any species in a garden in the north of Ireland is little short of a miracle. This spring, although often tempted, I refrained from buying locally grown bedding plants. I have a strong suspicion that flatworms lurk in the peat in which they germinated. In 2010 I have seen, and destroyed, only one flatworm. There may be other reasons why the platyhelminths appear to be less plentiful. As a result of work we had carried out by builders earlier this year, there is less damp moss in the places where they previouly congregated. Add to this the unusually small amount of rain that has fallen so far this year. Perhaps life has been less simple for travelling flatworms.

Rosemary's Cattery

When she came to dinner on Thursday evening, Rosemary told us about the cattery on the farm where she, her husband and family live in Melbourne. With a liking for dogs but a special affinity for cats, Rosemary visited several other catteries before designing her own.

Each cat is housed in a two storied compartment with a carpeted ramp, on which claws can be sharpened, connecting the two. The upper compartment has a window, the lower is darker but from it a cat flap leads to an outside enclosure. Cats usually take a day to settle in. After that they appear very content.

Rosemary restricts the number of residents she accepts, making sure her charges are eating the food their owners recommend. Two cats were left with her for two-and-a-half years while their owners were in Japan. Four was the largest number left by one person. Melbourne has very strict cat control laws and to keep four cats a permit is needed.

Before you rush out to build your own cattery, let me warn you of what can happen to raise your adrenalin to pathological levels. Cats are not usually regarded as burrowing animals and I was amazed when Rosemary told us that two cats had succeeded in burrowing out of their enclosure. Several times she and her son, Lorcan, vainly searched the farm and checked the family's garden, but it was only when the returned owner was furiously berating Rosemary that the wily creatures, miaouing innocently, betrayed their presence.

I don't know which is worse, one of your charges disappearing or having it die. While in her care two cats died. The owners of one of the deceased were in new Zealand at the time and, not wishing to spoil their holiday, Rosemary consulted their solicitor. He wisely recommended a postmortem which revealed the cause of the sudden death as a brain tumour.

Failings

A few years ago a couple who live nearby produced a circular and dropped a copy through our letter box. There was a photograph of a handsome marmalade cat and an appeal that, if anyone knew his whereabouts, to please inform them. They and their child were feeling bereft.

The following Sunday afternoon the lady called. Oscar had still not turned up and she suspected foul play. Cats do, for reasons known only to themselves, sometimes decide to move home. Sometimes they are killed accidentally; but the level of antipathy towards felines that this couple experienced before his disappearance made them fear the worst.

Many people in the area where we live dislike cats in a way few other animals are disliked. It seems to me that it was not always like this. If there was antagonism towards cats in my youth, I was not aware of it. Now, when you say cats share your home, people often respond by telling you how dirty they are and it is impossible to invite them to your house. The failings of dogs are overlooked even though a few of them have killed children. Humans, of course, don't have failings.