Walking in the door after a long day at work, I noticed an odd smell, vaguely reminiscent of wet poultry. I turned on the light, closed the dining room window and went to turn on the heater when I discovered the source of the smell. Hamlet had brought home dinner. There on the living room floor was a bird, or what remained of a bird, surrounded by feathers spread all over the carpet. He had neatly plucked it (or not so neatly) and stood by my side gazing at his prize. He looked up at me with a serene expression.

I thanked him and cleaned up the mess. Hopefully he thinks I ate it.

Hamlet with an Alligator Lizard

Great White Hunter is what our groundskeeper calls Hamlet. Hamlet is my 20 month old Siamese. He often stalks the groundskeeper, but when caught in the act will look the other way, as if to say “I just happened to be going in the same direction, I’m not really hunting you.” If he is approached he will then run away. As far as I know, out of doors, I am the only one he will allow to touch him.

Hamlet supports his family well, regularly bringing home a wide assortment of dishes…lizards (including a skink), gophers and mice. Usually these creatures are very much alive and I rescue them when I can.

Hamlet

His recent trophy was a blue bellied lizard which he brought to the lawn and made a great game, holding it with his paw (claws sheathed) then letting it go so he could chase it again. Realizing the lizard would not survive this game for long, I sat down beside him to attempt a rescue. Hamlet is always happy to share his prey with me and I do not want to destroy his trust, so I waited until he was momentarily distracted, then picked up the lizard and set it on my arm. Returning to his game, Hamlet was confused by the lizard’s escape, until he spotted it on my arm and pounced. The lizard quick as a flash, ran around my back and then up on to my head. Hamlet raced around behind me, but thought the lizard had gone under me, rather than over, saving me from a serious scratching. The lizard then jumped back down to my arm again. I stood up to show Hamlet that it was not underneath me, that I simply did not know where it was, and carried the blue belly to the nearest tree. It was difficult to convince it to release the safety of my arm and climb the tree, but eventually it did and is now safe… from the Great White Hunter.