I was celebrating my vegan anniversary with some broccoli, when all of the sudden my cat, I call him Swag, started jumping about with his toy mouse. He seemed overly excited to be playing with his toy, that he rarely pays attention to. I watched for a minute and then he sat, just lightly batting it. Then it hit me. This was a squeaky toy that failed to squeak. It was also much darker and thinner than his usual toy. It was then I realized he was displaying this for me to see.
About six weeks ago, my landlord's hedgehog gave birth. I'd read stories about the mommy hedgehogs eating their young and when I heard an odd sound, I ran to the living room. I realized Swag had something in his mouth and I immediately feared the worst. I grabbed him and he let go and off scampered, what I initially thought was a baby hedgehog. It quickly dawned on me that the creature had a very long tail and was a mouse. He ran under a table and I assumed he was dead or dying. Hours later he scampered out, ran into another room and I assume, off to safety.
The whole mouse situation yesterday threw me, because it was a mouse, that made me decide, once and for all, that I would stop eating meat. I had saved a field mouse inside my home and the next day, another human bragged and boasted of killing one. I assume the same mouse. The killing of another animal was not the turning point, but the glee. The absolutely giddiness of a 180 pound man bragging to anyone who would listen, about his defeat of a mouse, who wouldn't have weight more than a few ounces. It was then that I realized, it wasn't so much that I felt some weird mouse empathy, but that I simply didn't want to be like this person, in any way, shape or form. I decided to go vegetarian and soon after, vegan.
So the dead mouse lay near my faithful cat and while it upset me, I do realize that it is within his genetic disposition to be a hunter. I've watch as he stalks bugs, shadows and even my toes, so there was some pride in knowing he'd finally caught something other than inanimate objects, but there was a sincere sadness for the needless loss of life. I scooped up the mouse and Swag sat, confused by the confiscating of his prize, but quite possibly proud I'd accepted his gift. Who really knows what goes on in the feline mind. I carried it out to the backyard, over near the flag pole. I dug up some dirt, laid him to rest and gently covered him with the soil. I place a small rock above the soil and plucked a flower from nearby, draping it over the stone. I realize some may think this silly, because in the wild, he would have been left for some scavengers. Some may even think my actions were overly human and not humane. Upsetting the balance of nature. I don't know, but for whatever reason, this mouse was symbolic for me. A year of coveting all that nature has to offer, with a much better perspective. I just felt I needed to honor that and all it represented. I'd like to think the cat understood, because unlike most days, he didn't leave my side for the remainder of the day.
About six weeks ago, my landlord's hedgehog gave birth. I'd read stories about the mommy hedgehogs eating their young and when I heard an odd sound, I ran to the living room. I realized Swag had something in his mouth and I immediately feared the worst. I grabbed him and he let go and off scampered, what I initially thought was a baby hedgehog. It quickly dawned on me that the creature had a very long tail and was a mouse. He ran under a table and I assumed he was dead or dying. Hours later he scampered out, ran into another room and I assume, off to safety.
The whole mouse situation yesterday threw me, because it was a mouse, that made me decide, once and for all, that I would stop eating meat. I had saved a field mouse inside my home and the next day, another human bragged and boasted of killing one. I assume the same mouse. The killing of another animal was not the turning point, but the glee. The absolutely giddiness of a 180 pound man bragging to anyone who would listen, about his defeat of a mouse, who wouldn't have weight more than a few ounces. It was then that I realized, it wasn't so much that I felt some weird mouse empathy, but that I simply didn't want to be like this person, in any way, shape or form. I decided to go vegetarian and soon after, vegan.
So the dead mouse lay near my faithful cat and while it upset me, I do realize that it is within his genetic disposition to be a hunter. I've watch as he stalks bugs, shadows and even my toes, so there was some pride in knowing he'd finally caught something other than inanimate objects, but there was a sincere sadness for the needless loss of life. I scooped up the mouse and Swag sat, confused by the confiscating of his prize, but quite possibly proud I'd accepted his gift. Who really knows what goes on in the feline mind. I carried it out to the backyard, over near the flag pole. I dug up some dirt, laid him to rest and gently covered him with the soil. I place a small rock above the soil and plucked a flower from nearby, draping it over the stone. I realize some may think this silly, because in the wild, he would have been left for some scavengers. Some may even think my actions were overly human and not humane. Upsetting the balance of nature. I don't know, but for whatever reason, this mouse was symbolic for me. A year of coveting all that nature has to offer, with a much better perspective. I just felt I needed to honor that and all it represented. I'd like to think the cat understood, because unlike most days, he didn't leave my side for the remainder of the day.
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