Cougar makes his first kill-almost.

When I got home from the gym last night my roommate, Tom, ran up to my room in a very excited state. He told me a magical tale...

He was in the kitchen making dinner when he noticed that my cat, Cougar, was transfixed on something outside the large glass door that leads to the patio. This is not a rare occurrence, but he was completely motionless, poised in the attack pose. Tom cautiously moved to the door to see what the object of his attention was. To his surprise, he saw two chipmunks having a conversation under the gas grill.

A wild thought entered his mind...what would Cougar do if his housecat temperament was shed for a few moments in "the wild." Curiosity got the best of him (like a cat) and Tom slowly opened the door. Cougar bolted through the crack and like a streak of lightning and before he realized what had happened, my voracious predator had subdued one of the little critters. Engulfing its entire head with his massive jaws, the limp body dangled below, the tail bushed out in shock. Cougar turned and tried to bring his kill back into the house and Tom quickly shut the door in utter disbelief. A sudden feeling of guilt washed over Tom, like he had just participated in a homicide. This feeling quickly faded however as he instinctively yelled for Jason to get his camera to capture this prime photo opportunity.

Jason came running! But apparently Cougar's mouthful was making it hard to breath because he set down the carcass and turned to look proudly back at Tom over his shoulder. It was in this instant that the chimpmunk flipped back onto it's feet, shook a bit, and then darted away into the bushes, with Cougar none the wiser. When he turned to again seize his prey, it was gone! He was completely confused and instantly a broken man-cat. He searched longingly for it, sniffing the entire backyard in vain. But the chipmunk was gone.

Cougar spent the rest of the evening sulking, depressed and embarrassed at what had happened. Never again will he let pride get between him and his dinner. Let this be a lesson to us all-humbleness breeds success.

sorry Cougar, I still love you.