I walk in the door after work, still expecting that Max will be there to greet me; but it is not to be anymore.  This day, however, there is a little black and white cat waiting for me; he is meowing and weaving in and out of my legs.  I guess he is happy to see me!  I walk into my bedroom to change my clothes and he keeps meowing very loud and following me, trying so hard to get in and out of my legs.  I stop and reach down to pick him up and he starts jumping around.  He jumps on the bed, grabs my sock and flies off the bed.

At this point, he is yowling and keeps running toward the hallway and then back to the bedroom.  After watching him do this several times, I believe he is saying, “Follow Me!” in kitty language!  So, I follow this little black fur ball down the hall.  He turns into my office, still yowling and looking back to make sure I am following him.  His tail is all fluffed out and his fur is standing on end.

I walk in the room and stop short…..there waiting for me on the floor of my office is a mouse. At first I think it is Emmet’s toy mouse, but no, this is a real mouse, a real dead mouse, lying upside down.  Emmet walks around it with his tail high in the air.  He is so very proud of this dead creature.  He is purring now, weaving in and out of my legs and then walking around the mouse.  The dead mouse.

I had to get rid of this gift, but didn’t want Emmet to feel bad, so I told him what a great hunter he was, got the pliers, picked up the mouse, put him in a box.  Emmet was still purring and weaving in and out of my legs.  Such a proud hunter!  I took the box and put it outside in the garbage can, all the while hoping there were no more of these little fellows hiding in my house!  I felt confident that if there were, Emmet would hunt them down and take care of them.

When I come back inside, he is waiting for me on the couch.  I sit down and he climbs in my lap.  I congratulate him on his catch and tell him that if there are any more of these real mice in the house, he is welcome to take care of them for me!  He looks at me, lies down and falls asleep in my lap.  Hunting is exhausting!!