Traumatised - cat killed a squirrel in plain view

[AProperFlatWhite]

Not my cat thank god. A big black semi feral that hangs about our block of flats & neighbourhood. I was standing near my window when I saw him (? guessing) pounce on it it and drag it across the driveway. It was fighting back pretty hard and cat dropped it so squirrel ran back towards a tree near the fenceline but it must have been badly wounded as it didn't run up the tree. Cat then managed to find it in the undergrowth & pounce on it again.

I stopped watching at that point but housemate saw it dragged back across the driveway and out of sight, still fighting for a bit until it stopped. We both assume squirrel became catfood.

I can't believe I saw it! I just couldn't imagine a cat could catch a squirrel given how fast they move. And it was a massive squirrel. Though am I just a softie townie and this is normal? Not a mad fan of the greys but still feeling a bit 😱😰

My ex's cat caught a rabbit.

As a dc my small sortie dcat dragged a bloody seagull in via the cat flap...

Yes rats, squirrels, rabbits, voles, snakes….they’re predators.

Usually squirrels are too fast for cats so it was probably on it's way out anyway

I've seen a neighbours cat stealthily climb up a tree and snatch a singing bird! They are quick and sleek hunters

predator kills a prey animal.

never watched a nature documentary?

‘in plain view’? How very dare he 🙄

I've had family cats catch rabbits & birds before (though never a bloody seagull @Pumpkinpatchlookinggood!) One was a regular rabbit killer.

Not sure why a squirrel felt more shocking but it did. Maybe because it was fighting so hard. Most of the time in the past all I had to contend with was the dead bodies , not seeing the murder in the act.

@greenacrylicpaint I tend NOT to watch many such documentaries as to squeamish - yep a softie townie now.

Also I'm from New Zealand, so no squirrels, snakes or voles and rabbits & rats etc are all introduced species and so not seen as a bad thing to kill (native birds on the other hand, that's horrible to see).

It was most likely a poorly or elderly squirrel my old cat had many fights with squirrels and never won one, squirrels are viscious little buggers.

But yes normal for cats especially semi feral/feral cats to attack other animals.

Found a dead mole on our conservatory roof once - can only assume that was due to a cat.

The cat I used to have brought a live one into the house and let it go... 😬

There was nothing old, ill or infirm about it, I can assure you. It was very very pissed off. So pissed off in fact that after I managed to get it to go outside by herding it with a big towel and hoping it didnt go for my throat, it kept trying to get back in the windows while hissing and showing its teeth. It was terrifying.

My moms friends cat used to regularly drag in rabbits from the fields, big ones too...
Ours always got shrews which isn't nice but not quite as shocking

OMG @GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut brave you with the towel, that sounds terrifying, trying to get back in. Attack of the killer squirrel! A friend in NZ had a possum come into the house, it too was very very pissed off and made a real mess finding a way back out. They can bite and are very nasty tempered. She (and the 3 cats) were genuinely scared.

@KentuckyDerbyandJoan 'in plain view', yes I think I've been reading too many murder mysteries. Though the cat could have at least done it in the dark so I wouldn't have squirrel related PTSD.

'Semi feral' ie has to kill to eat and survive.

Next time instead of watching in shock, just go out and chase away the cat. I've stopped mine from attacking or trying to eat other small animals plenty of times. But if this one is feral he probably doesn't have the luxury of being fed. The poor squirrel though, must have felt so terrified.

@Hoplesscynic Oh I would have chased it off if I could but I'm in a flat on the 3rd floor and we were in a bedroom looking out over the back of the property. We'd have had to race out the flat, along the corridor, down the stairs, out the front door, run round the corner and half way down the driveway. It was all over in such a flash, short of jumping out the window, we couldn't have made it in time.

A few of the residents were feeding some of the regulars but word got round the local cat network and it got a bit OTT how many were turning up, not all feral either. So that's sort of dwindled now.

Wait till you hear about butchers shops.

That is really too far OP, I assumed you were just in your house a few meters away or similar. There's no guarantee you would have been able to save the squirrel anyway, but that kind of thing is really hard to watch. I know I would be traumatized too as I love animals and would hate seeing them hurt, caged, abused or killed.