Cat Kill Log
Monday, 21 June 2021Ah, springtime! A time of awakening, rebirth, burgeoning buds - and avian bloodshed. And a good deal of mammal death, too.
This year we are taking account of the savagery, perhaps to try to atone for the guilt we suffer for allowing Sadie, Cinnamon and Bob to exact such terror on the local wildlife.
Here then is a simple list of slaughtered fauna for 2021.
UPDATE: 2022
I have decided to resume updating this. Best way to do it is to include a new table for 2022. As of 17 July 2022, I’ve missed about two hundred kills this year, but what the hell - no time like the present.
Chris Packham - if you’re reading this, you’re right. Locking the cats out at night does result in a higher kill-rate. Less hassle for us but more hassle for the birds. Lesson learned.
| Date | Super species | Specific species | Kill Type | Killer | Suspect Killer | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 February 2024 | Rodent | Mouse | DOA | NA | NA | This sturdy adult mouse was found lying on its side with significant and fatal upper chest injuries. In exactly the same spot on the utility room floor. |
| 25 February 2024 | Rodent | Shrew | DOA | NA | NA | A baby shrew on its back on the carpet this morning. We'll need to get some more nappy sacks at Morrisons - the kill-rate is increasing. |
| 23 February 2024 | Rodent | Mouse | DOA | NA | NA | Back at the start of a new killing season. There have been a plethora of killings since I last logged them, however the daffodils coming up signals a new age of slaughter. |
| 4 September 2022 | Rodent | Mouse | DOA | Sadie | NA | Two carcasses in the kitchen this morning and another outside on the path. Sadie was in the kitchen when I went in this morning so takes the blame. A murderous night all right. |
| 21 August 2022 | Rodent | Mouse | DOA | Unknown | Unknown | Mouse carcass behind the kitchen door. Decapitated. |
| 4 August 2022 | Bat | Common pipistrelle? | NA | NA | NA | Been a few days since the last kill but we returned home from Lindesfarne to find a tiny bat scrabbling for its life in the utility room sink. We released it on the verge outside the front. It was injured, but hopefully not fatally. Sometimes we hate our cats. |
| 27 July 2022 | Rodent | Shrew? | DOA | Unknown | Unknown | Found on the path and could have been dead for a few days. Ripped in two, the forehalf absent. Meat, back legs and a tail. So sorry my little friend. |
| 22 July 2022 | Rodent | Shrew | DOA | Unknown | Unknown | Dumped outside the backdoor. Supine. |
| 22 July 2022 | Rodent | Shrew | DOA | Unknown | Unknown | Just a dead shrew on the carpet, a few long blades of grass alongside it suggesting it put up a fight. RIP. |
| 19 July 2022 | Bird | Unknown | Missing presumed dead | Unknown | NA | Just a pile of feathers (probably of a young bird) outside the back door. The body would have been brought inside had we not locked the flap last night. |
| 18 July 2022 | Rodent | Shrew | Alive | NA | NA | No remains this morning but a shrew trotted into the living room at about 8am having been carried in by someone's murderous jaws at some point during the night. Eventually we trapped it under a plant pot and released it out the front. Shrews make a lot of noise when stressed! |
| 17 July 2022 | Bird | Sparrow | DOA | Unknown | NA | Mullered corpse lying in bloom of feathers on the utility room floor upon waking this morning. Do most of my hoovering in pyjamas nowadays. |
Current analysis as of 21 June 2021:
After an active period in May, the kill-rate has slowed a bit, but we suspect we're not seeing the victims...
| Date | Super species | Specific species | Kill Type | Killer | Suspect Killer | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 June 2021 | Bird | Sparrow | DOA | Sadie | NA | As I was updating this page, a corpse was found on the vestibule carpet. Into a nappy sack it went. |
| 20 June 2021 | Bird | Sparrow | Survived | Bob | NA | Bob caught a bird but couldn't get into our house to "bring home", so presented to our neighbours having entered the premises via their front window. |
| 1 June 2021 | Bird | Sparrow | Dead | Cinnamon | NA | Cinnamon spotted rolling around and tossing the corpse in the air in the garden. Cadaver still warm on disposal; assailant made off over next door's garage. |
| 28 May 2021 | Bird | Unidentifiable | Total dismemberment and partially digested | Unknown | Sadie or Cinnamon | Head, wing, some feathers. The rest simply piles of reguritate like glamorgan sausage. |
| 27 May 2021 | Bird | Sparrow | DOA | Sadie | NA | Deposited at the next door neighbour's back door. |
| 27 May 2021 | Bird | Sparrow | DOA | Sadie | NA | Deposited at the next door neighbour's back door. Two in one day. |
| 21 May 2021 | Bird | Sparrow | DOA | Sadie | NA | NA |
| 17 May 2021 | Bird | Sparrow | DOA | Sadie | NA | NA |
| 16 May 2021 | Bird | Sparrow | DOA | Cinnamon | NA | NA |
| 30 April 21 | Mole-like | Shrew | DOA | Sadie | NA | NA |
| 19 March 21 | Mole-like | Shrew | DOA | Unknown | Unknown | Dead on utility room floor |
| 23 Feb 21 | Mouse | NA | Alive | NA | All 3 | Mouse suspected in utility room day before and hid. |
| 20 Feb 21 | Bird | Robin | DOA | Unknown | Sadie | NA |
The perpetrators
Sadie
Cinnamon
Bob
This post is tagged with:
cats