Frivolous Friday – When the Humans Are Away

Before leaving for our four-day trip to celebrate Dennis’s mother’s 98^th birthday last week, I picked up all of Lily’s animal toys. She scatters them around the house, you see—mostly in the hallway leading to my office and also to my bedroom. Sometimes she’ll drop one in the kitchen for us to stumble over. But I scooped them all up and put them away. When we returned home, not a stuffed owl, otter, or kitty-cat was in sight. They remained tucked away in the toy box.

Within minutes of us being home, however, Lily went to work dragging out a tiny bear, then a baby possum, lion, eagle, lamb and hedgehog and depositing them each at my office door as I caught up on a few things.

This tells me that she does this for me. What I still don’t know is whether she’s showing off her hunting skills, bringing gifts to please me, or maybe she’s marking her territory. There’s some speculation that female cats will carry things around in their mouth because they’re frustrated mothers—never had a chance to become a mother and they have some latent motherly desires. This cat will also put all of her “kittens” in the same general area—gathered together to keep them safe.

But most experts seem to consider this more of a hunting behavior, especially when the cat loudly announces her arrival with her “catch.” However, she’s obviously not hunting for herself. It’s for me–either to teach me or to show off her hunting skills.

This is the first cat I’ve had who did this, so it’s been kind of interesting to watch. Our house certainly has a unique décor with Lily on the job. But I learned over time that if I want the house to stay tidy, all I have to do is leave because Lily’s toys stay in the basket when we’re gone.