The Ninja

Jackson is our best hunter. Because of that, I got him a toy that simulates a small animal running in absolute randomness around the house.

I personally love the toy because it’s able to get itself out of trouble. Under a couch? No problem. Afterburners come on and away it goes. Seemingly pinned between the cat tree and the dog bed? It will flop around until it figures out an exit. It’s really cool.

The Toy. Www.teazys.com

It’s the only toy we’ve ever had that Jackson will play with until the battery dies. He loves it. And it really hones his hunting skills.

A couple weeks ago, he brought a young bird into the house and had it for lunch - it was too late to stop him; he already had it half eaten. It must have fallen out of one of the nests on our back deck. Before that, he caught one in the front of the house. 

We stopped letting the cats outside during the day. They couldn’t go out the front door at all, and we closed off the deck until the sun went down and the birdies were safely in their nests for the night. Now that all the swallows have fledged and departed (sad, they are delightful to watch, and they kept the mosquito population really low), the cats are once again allowed on the back deck 24/7.

Yesterday I brought the toy out for Jackson, and he had a ball, playing with it until once again the battery expired.

Last night, he arrived in the house with - a BAT. It was a small bat, probably the size of a mouse, but a bat nonetheless. It was lovely, leathery wings and a plush, furry body. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I’m not sure where this bat came from but it must have been flying low enough around the deck that Jackson was able to grab it.

Bat. Photo by Peter Scott

It was on the kitchen floor, with Jackson watching it closely. It looked dead - the wings appeared crumpled and it was not moving.

Except, it was a smart bat. Or maybe it was so traumatized by being pulled out of the air that it froze up. Whatever caused it to be still saved its life. 

We shagged Jackson out of the kitchen and Glenn put a cover over the bat. It immediately started to move. So he gently put paper between it and the cover and we escorted it out to the front deck, where no cats can go, and set it lovingly down.

A check 20 minutes or so later confirmed that friend bat had come to, gathered its wits about it, and departed, hopefully never to return.

I’m not sure what to do about the toy. It seems every time Jackson has a session with it, some poor creature becomes the object of his ninja skills. It’s like he winds himself up and only catching an innocent bystander will settle him down again. I have two of the toys - maybe a double session would wear him out.

What would you do?