There have been no cats in my life for so long that I had forgotten the one thing about them that is uncontrollable if they roam the outdoors.

They will catch anything smaller than them that moves.

Richie, in the picture, showed his hunting skills just after he was adopted by us by catching a mouse in my kitchen in the early morning hours. And even though he and Fontana came to live with us in the middle of winter, Richie sat at the slider each morning begging to be let free.

Once we felt that he had become accustomed to this area, we started letting him out and he immediately began catching mice and voles. We’d always know when he had something because he would bring it up to the door and meow (with the creature dangling in his jaws) and beg to come in.

Everyone who has outdoor cats know that they do this. They love to show off their prize.

We have numerous large gray squirrels and also many smaller red squirrels in my area and Richie would crouch on the porch watching them steal the birdseed. Occasionally he would make a try for one, but the snow was too deep for him to get close.

The red squirrels are quick and I told my son that he (the cat) would never be able to catch one of those.

This picture proves me wrong and I don’t know how he did it, but he had to show me.

The chipmonks are coming out of hibernation now and he has also caught a few of those. I always feel badly when he kills something, but it’s his instinct and I won’t keep him indoors because he loves being outside.