We should have named this cat Orion.

He has always been a kitten who takes his hunting v-e-r-y seriously, from the time he was tiny. He has always been the smaller and shyer of the two, but when he gets his jaws on a feather or toy mouse, Zephyr had better watch out! I had my first inkling of this tendency when they had their first exposure to toy mice. My mother's cat Gabby had never cared for toys much, so I was completely unprepared for their reaction. I gave them each their own mouse, and they spent the next hour batting and chewing on them. I had never seen 10-week-old kittens focus so intently on one thing for so long. Zorro was particularly remarkable. He let out the most ferocious growls, shook the mouse violently, carried it off into the back room, and proceeded to try to pluck the fur off. And this with virtually no training from his mother! The growls and hisses intensified any time Zephyr went over to see what made Zorro's mouse so much better then his own. The growls were somewhat frightening, and I was relieved when he never showed any sign of growling directly at me. Ever since then, whenever he gets a new toy he particularly likes, he tends to growl and hiss at no one while busily chewing on it. He's the only cat I know who growls when he's having fun.

Zorro and the Bee

The next time he showed his prowess was when he caught his first live prey at about 3 months old. A honeybee had gotten in through the open glass door in the kitchen. Of course, they were both quite fascinated by it. The bee was buzzing near the glass at about my shoulder height (I'm 4'11''), and I was contemplating it, wondering what would be the best way to shoo it out. Suddenly, Zorro made a prodigious leap and swatted the bee into stunned helplessness with impressive accuracy. The bee, of course, succumbed to gravity's grasp, where a hungry Zorro was waiting. (All right, maybe not hungry-- I do feed them, after all-- but I guess he just wanted a snack.) I was a bit concerned that one of them would get stung, but hung back, thinking perhaps there were some lessons they had to learn for themselves. On the other hand, I didn't want deal with trying to remove a stinger from an upset kitty's nose. While this thought process was making its way through my brain, Zephyr and Zorro were repeatedly batting the bee into submission, and neither one was showing any signs of being stung. Shoving them both back, I checked the bee and confirmed that its stinger had discharged, I suppose harmlessly into the air. I let them back at it, and Zorro leaped on the bee with a snarl and gulped it down without hesitation. Guess I didn't need to worry about the bee after all. Zephyr looked a bit disappointed, but I think he secretly knew there was no way Zorro was going to let him have that bee. I guess since then, he's developed a taste for insects, because he regularly catches and eats the big "mosquito hawks" that are everywhere in these days of early spring. I can't wait for june bug season, although I wouldn't mind putting off tree roach season.

I've also found toy games are not very much fun with Zorro, because he generally leaps into the air and catches the toy in mid-air with the greatest of ease, and proceeds to carry it off, sometimes with such force that he jerks the string or rod right out of my hand. And he's a little bitty thing! He actually outweighs Zephyr these days, although he still *looks* smaller. Sometimes I'm able to keep him from actually catching it for a few seconds, and when he's whirling in the air trying to grab it, Zephyr knows to stay out of the way.

Copyright © Tess
February 25, 2001