A few less patient birds hop through the open kitchen door, but Affy the brave ginger hunter, launches her fat, furry form in their general direction. In the last few years she's caught three of them, though the first one was a bit iffy since it sort of plummeted onto the patio having died in mid-air. Unless, of course, it's raining in which case she'd like to picnic indoors with the kitchen door open to give her the illusion of outdoor dining. During this time of year I throw leftover cat food out for hedgehogs and wild birds. Sappho derives great satisfaction from scavenging it, even though her own bowl is full of something that 'even the fussiest cat will love'.
Food simply tastes better when eaten outdoors.
The knowledge that it's been stolen from right under the beak of some impertinent jackdaw adds a certain something to the whole dining experience. I got intrigued enough to chat to some pet behaviourists at a cat show. Luckily said behaviourists know me and understand that they are dealing with a perfectly harmless nutcase whose cats are pretty well-adjusted considering those strange humans who share their living quarters and who, rather unreasonably, take up so much space in bed. During summer, they told me, there is more prey and carrion available outdoors and Sappho's reaction is to move her eating habits outdoors. It took us 3 days to locate the source of the stench and several houseplants had already been condemned as 'guilty' by hubby.