Inspired by a true story…

When I was a boy, the neighbors a couple houses down had a cat named Miko. She was a medium-sized Siamese, if I recall correctly. She was the sweetest cat in the world, but she had a problem.

A small flock of bluebirds had decided to move into the neighborhood. They were very aggressive and unfortunately quite intelligent, and apparently objected to a feline presence in “their” territory. So they took it upon themselves to address this threat to their existence. At every opportunity, one of the flock would attack the poor animal, always approaching from behind in a swooping attack that reminded me of WWII dive bombers. Every time they’d get a good solid peck on Miko’s rump, then immediately fly off to safety, leaving her confused and frightened.

My neighbors tried keeping her indoors for a while, but Miko was an “indoor-outdoor” cat, and she would always sneak back out, invariably to be subjected once again to aerial assault. Everyone on the street knew of the situation, and we collectively dubbed the flock the “Miko Killer.”

Approaching her after a particularly brazen attack, I noted the despair and resignation in her pale blue eyes, this apex predator reduced to a scared and trembling mess by what should have been her prey. Taking pity in her plight, I calmly stroked her soft brown fur and said, “You need some training.”

I enlisted my sister’s help, instructing her to sneak up from behind and deliver a light but firm peck to Miko’s rump. But just before contact, I would yell out, “Turn around!”. I don’t know if she considered this some kind of game or serious training, but she would show up in our yard every day for half an hour or so to “play”. It wasn’t long before she recognized the verbal cue, spinning sharply around before my sister could deliver the blow.

Then one day, Miko was sunning herself in the middle of our backyard. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught one of the blues beginning its strafing run. It happened to be the largest of the flock, the one I took to be its leader. I knew my timing would have to be perfect. Too soon, and the bird would have warning to veer off the attack. Too late, and there’d be not enough time to react.

Blue Leader was dropping down quickly, gathering speed. 20 feet out, it began to fully spread its wings and extend its landing gear-like talons. 15 feet, 10…. It was now too late to abort the attack and attempt a go-around. Miko was still unaware of the imminent danger.

“TURN AROUND!!!” I yelled from the corner of the yard. With lightning reflex, Miko spun around to face her attacker. Their eyes met for just a moment. Without hesitation, she launched herself into the air, with all four claws finding fleshy targets. Then, with adroitness only a cat could achieve, she twisted her body around mid-air, and still clutching the hapless avian, hit the ground neatly on top of it. I don’t know if it was killed in the impact, but it didn’t matter as seconds later it was reduced to a pile of bloody feathers by weeks of fear and frustration.

The rest of the flock could only stare in abject horror at the spectacle, unable to assist, not with a human standing nearby holding a Y-shaped object that in all probability was a sling-shot. Eventually they flew off en masse, and I never saw them again.

I never actually saw Miko again, either. After finishing her victory feast, she just strutted away rather unceremoniously. But as she popped the fence, I noticed a distinct pause as she flicked her tail one last time.

I took this to mean, “Arigato, and Good-bye.”


©2021 Kevin Kina

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kkina,

kkina, this is a fantastic short story, and one well told as well!

Is this your own personal story, or are you sharing a story from elsewhere?

This is my creation, inspired by a true story from my childhood.

Well, that's one dandy of an enjoyable short story.

Do you have others to share? Have your stories ever been published?

I do have a few, and yes, I am thinking of publishing at some point (the above short story is copyrighted).

Here's another, originally submitted a few years ago on this very forum. Death Kick

Excellent.

A mocking bird jhe and they do tempt fate like this. Kitties can be very fast.

The PERFECT video for this thread jhe!

There is no way I am going to tell this story as good as the OP. Many years ago, my mother had two cats one was a black and white male and one a white female. The house she lived in had a retaining wall in the front yard. The house and patio were about two feet higher than the rest of the yard. We were sitting in the living room, you could see the front yard perfectly. The black cat was in the yard and a bird was diving at him and the flying away then circling back and diving at him again. The white cat saw what was going on and slowly crept across the patio. She looked like a lion stalking her prey. It seemed like it took her a long time to cross the patio, but I doubt it was more the a couple of minutes. When she got into position, she waited until the bird dived at the other cat. Then she sprung over the retaining wall and caught the bird in the air. The other cat jumped on the bird also. That was the end of the bird. The female cat was a great hunter. She would come to the door and cry to be let into the house. She would frequently catch birds and field mice, occasionally a squirrel or baby rabbit. She would always try to bring them into the house. I think she was proud of herself. You could tell by the sound of her cry when she had something in her mouth. She lived to be 19 years old and was still hunting shortly before she died. Watching those two cats catch and kill that bird was like watching The Wild Kingdom show on tv.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
This is my creation, inspired by a true story from my childhood.

I'm sad Miko was never seen again.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
This is my creation, inspired by a true story from my childhood.

I'm sad Miko was never seen again.

I'm sure she lived a full live ever after. Interestingly, I've known at least three cats each named Miko.

You should have embellished and said he lived out the rest of his days basking in the sun un molested.

Funny that after a few paragraphs I even care about some cat that I've never seen.

She very well may have. I never heard any bad stories from those neighbors, so I would assume she was OK from then on.

Coincidentally, Mrs DF named our broken kitty Miko.

Great story. I’d love to read more!

Good story!

Minor quibble. As you know, bluebirds are not officially 'raptors' although if you deploy your poetic license they can, of course, be called anything you like.

Well I'll be that guy and this is in no way to criticize or take away from the op's writing skills. It is a well known fact that North America has lost billions of songbirds in the last number of decades. Yes it's due to a myriad of factors but roaming house cats is one of the contributing factors.

Our lake place borders a national forest which is just yards away from the cabin. I noticed from the first year there that you do not see near as many birds as one would expect to see fluttering about the bushes and trees.

My neighbor across the road at the lake has two cats that are outdoors all day but he brings them in at night. While visiting his place for about two hours sitting on the deck having a few beers the cats brought him two nuthatches and a finch. He picks them up off the deck and throws them in the trash. They had no interest in eating them they just enjoyed the hunt and showing off the kills. I get it the circle of life and all that but let the species work it out. No interference should be interjected from us as in training a cat to kill a bird that it's own instincts haven't already taught it. Just my two cents.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
Good story!

Minor quibble. As you know, bluebirds are not officially 'raptors' although if you deploy your poetic license they can, of course, be called anything you like.

I actually wondered about that, but was too lazy to look it up. It will be corrected in the next edit.

Cats really are the most ideal solo predators among mammals. I always find it fascinating that big cats and house cats behave essentially the same. Whether hunting, or lounging, sleeping, or cleaning.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
Well I'll be that guy and this is in no way to criticize or take away from the op's writing skills. It is a well known fact that North America has lost billions of songbirds in the last number of decades. Yes it's due to a myriad of factors but roaming house cats is one of the contributing factors.

Our lake place borders a national forest which is just yards away from the cabin. I noticed from the first year there that you do not see near as many birds as one would expect to see fluttering about the bushes and trees.

My neighbor across the road at the lake has two cats that are outdoors all day but he brings them in at night. While visiting his place for about two hours sitting on the deck having a few beers the cats brought him two nuthatches and a finch. He picks them up off the deck and throws them in the trash. They had no interest in eating them they just enjoyed the hunt and showing off the kills. I get it the circle of life and all that but let the species work it out. No interference should be interjected from us as in training a cat to kill a bird that it's own instincts haven't already taught it. Just my two cents.

I understand your point, but those birds I don't think weren't attacking the cats in the first place? Also, the events which inspired my story happened quite a while ago, would have been the early 70s, some 50 years ago.