Excellent! Can I borrow her to chase away (and hopefully catch) the rabbits that keep wreaking havoc on my plants and yard?

Aw, she's too small to catch a rabbit. She's a year old and I assume mostly grown at this point, so she's going to remain a small cat. I'm surprised she snagged this thing, as big as it is. It was still barely alive when I caught her slapping it around and mewing to get my attention. A shovel over the head did the rest.

I have drowned the holes in my yard for weeks trying to get that thing.

I'm terribly happy about this, if you can't tell. I made that pic my screensaver and cross-posted it to my favorite blogs. It might not seem such a big deal to some people, but, yee Gods, it's been like chasing Moby Dick.

Good Kitty! And very cute! I hope she got a special treat after that!

You should breed her with another gopher-slaying cat and found a gopher-slaying super breed. Well, actually shelter cats are already fixed, so nevermind...

What a beautiful kitty. Our neighbor has a female kitty about 7 months old and she is always in our yard. She caught 2 critters in 2 days. She wouldn't let me close enough to find out what it was but prob goohers or moles.

I think my husband may have killed the last critter 1.5 weeks ago with a trap because no signs of them.

I love animals but moles/gophers are not welcome in my yard.

doof, she isn't a calico. I've got one just like her and yours and mine are torties. Mine even has half of her face that's orangy like yours does, but the areas on her black coat are more gold.

BTW, when I heard up much Orkin was going up in price I deputized both of my cats Orkin cats and I should have done it before b'c thru the winters I'd wake up to a gift, ahem, here and there from time to time.

In the winter they're both too coddled to go out but as soon as Spring arrives they want out almost all day. Too many wild critters here to let them stay out at night and with few exceptions they both come running when I yell for them.

Carolyn

Is that a rabbit? I thought it was a mole? My dogs get a lot of moles, but they sure make a mess in the process...

What a good kitty, bless her for her diligence. I'm sure she purred with great pride when she presented you with her 'present'. She is very, very pretty and no doubt quite silky. You must adore her.

Our Prinny is also a shelter rescue--she looks similar to your cat but Prinny is grey where your girl is black. This blurred coat makes them fade into the land--it's kitty camo--and this is part of the reason why they are such fabulous hunters, they hide very well and then strike in a heartbeat. Prinny is an excellent mouser and has even brought in small snakes still wrigging in her jaws (Eek--I'm glad we don't live in the upper Catskills anymore, no snakes on LI). Our big tom, a 20+ pound black fuzzball, bagged a rabbit last year. God bless cats, they are just wonderful creatures--especially in the cold winter when they want to sleep under the covers with you and keep you warm ;-)

God bless cats, they are just wonderful creatures--especially in the cold winter when they want to sleep under the covers with you and keep you warm ;-)

****

And often "knead" on delicate parts of a body. LOL

My tortie was the daughter of a feral cat named Toots who, when a litter was about to be dropped, would run in the door of this lady's house and have them behind the couch.

My other cat is a typical black and white tuxedo cat whom I adopted after she came walking down the snow covered pathway about 9 years ago, fur matted, ribs sticking out, a mess.

The tortie is often more affectionate than any dog I've ever had but the tuxedo one in brilliant, that's all I can say for her. She anticipates where I'm going with the walker and doesn't rub around the walker legs whereas MS Tortie thinks I now have SIX legs. LOL

And tuxedo anticipates where I'm going to sit down and Tortie, well, I haven't squished her yet, but there's been some close calls.

Carolyn, who loves both cats and dogs. Sorry for the OT but seldom do I talk about my housemates. ( smile)

They are our best friends. I think you will very much enjoy the link below Carolyn.

Here is a link that might be useful: I Can Has Cheezburger? (LolCats)

I thought I was the only one whose cat hunts moles/gophers. Good kitties!

Mine, Gracie, likes to do her hunting in the early morning. She finds a mound of dirt, and just sits next to it...waiting...waiting...until she sees the dirt move, then she thrusts her paw in the hole & pulls out her prize, then she likes to bring it into the garage (there's a cat door), and leave it in one of my shoes.

I apologize too for being OT, but there isn't a cat forum here.

For Doof and all other cat lovers... (The gentleman at the very end is George Adamson who managed the Born Free Lion reserve, where Christian eventually found his place in the wild.)

The link is probably my favorite YouTube video of all time. I always get an emotional high watching it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Christian, the Lion

Trudi, it IS kitty camo. I used to have a black female (she was a hunter too) and she was much easier to see in dim light than Dora, who I step on frequently because she's just invisible. She melds into any background. Army Rangers would love to have her as a sniper.

The best hunter I ever had was a male orange tabby we named Morris when we lived in San Pedro. He had no home and lived across the street in a small park full of birds. I watched Morris catch a sparrow in mid-flight one time, then catch another right after that. I turned to my wife and said, come here, see this, and before she got to the window, he caught another one. We also had a mouse problem, which he worked on. One day he just went still as an Egyptian statue in front of the sink, apparently hearing it. Many hours later, ometime around 3 am in the morning while we were sleeping, all the lights out, we awakened to the sound of battle in the kitchen. He had caught it!

I was getting desperate about these gophers. Still am -- there must be more. I have thought before about other predator solutions. I went looking for gopher snakes online, thinking maybe I would buy one and just let it loose in the burrow, although the length of some of them are a bit alarming. I wouldn't want the neighbors freaking out over a 5 foot snake poking its head out of a hole in the lawn and giving them the evil eye. There's a dwarf gopher snake from California, though that might be worth a try, about 3 and a half feet long.

Carolyn, Dora brings me cockroaches as gifts, huge black 2 inch Oriental cockroaches we get around the foundation. She makes that weird mama cat sound which I guess means, "Dinner's ready, kids!" and then I find her on my bed with it, swatting it around.

My first Bengal cat i ever adopted "Woody" used to hunt voles (little mole like creatures) at night and stack them like wood in neat little rows in front of my garage door for me to dispose of. For some reason cats don't seem to eat them like they do mice...I seriously need to let one of mine be an outdoor cat again to protect my garden...

Here is a link that might be useful: Kentucky Lake Bengals

Oh, I would love to have one of those. Not that I could ever afford $600 to buy a cat.

They're part Asian wild cat? I bet they really are terrific hunters.

Yes they are part Asian Leopard Cat, prolific hunters and super smart. They make great pets. John

Doof, congratulations to your pretty girl! Hope she got lots of treats!!
We have one of those gray/cream Camo cats, too. She was dumped off here when she was about half-grown - and pregnant. Both of her daughters are calico. They are all fixed and are really good at keeping the mole/vole and mouse populations down. The downside is, they regard any freshly-tilled or newly-mulched areas as their new "toilet". Sigh. Any suggestions?