Jun 15 2010
A Hunting She Will Go
There has been a racket in our laundry room over the last several weeks as two birds had decided to build a nest inside our laundry vent. I had assumed that there was some kind of grate between the dryer hose inside and the vent outside. I assumed the nest was outside, but we could hear it inside. This was a wrong assumption. Patches (the fat cat) knew better.
She had been listening and stalking the laundry room for the past week. Over the course of the last several days, the chirping had grown steadily louder and more urgent. It sounded like pleas for food from several baby birds.
There was such a ruckus in there yesterday morning, Zeke was afraid to enter lest a bird jump out and peck him. I do not understand how the birds were surviving the heat coming out of the dryer vent, but assumed they were above or below the direct flow.
Yesterday, I moved the dryer out a ways so Gabe could inspect the situation. He was convinced the birds were in the house, I was convinced they were in the wall. Patches was convinced they would make a good snack.
Moving the dryer back a bit was all the help she needed. She had been stalking for so long without action, we had all grown complacent.
I was at a meeting when Abby called in distress. “Patches knocked the dryer hose off of the wall! The nest was in the hose! We don’t hear anything anymore! We think she ate the baby birds!”
I told her to get Patches out of there and close the door until Dale got home and we could figure out what to do.
Patches spent some time meowing at the laundry room door, then relocated herself to the back sliding glass door. With her tail twitching, she watched the adult birds fly up to the glass and give her a scolding.
When I arrived home, Dale, Gabe, and I went into the laundry room to investigate. Dale pulled the dryer hose off the back of the dryer and carried it outside. He removed a fully constructed nest out from the hose.
Unfortunately, there were no longer any occupants. Gabe found one small feather as evidence against her.
When I asked her if she ate the baby birds, she just gave me a look. She gave the same look to Abby the other day when Abby got a tissue to smash a spider that Patches was watching. After Patches gave Abby the look, Abby backed away. Patches then snatched the spider off the wall and ate it for an afternoon snack.
Patches I am sure looked up with the most innocent face. At least mine always do.