Homeless in Vancouver: Closely watched birds

Earlier yesterday in Kitsilano I came across two little birds, and no, I don’t know what kind of birds they were—the flying kind, I guess.

When I first saw them, they were both enjoying an impromptu puddle in a particularly shabby bit of laneway parking behind an old apartment building.

The appearance of my camera ruffled the feathers of one of the birds, which immediately took wing. The remaining bird obliged me with one good pose and then flew off to join its friend.

I was working anyway.

I checked the container bin on the puddle side of the alley and then crossed to check a bin set beside a utility pole on the other side of the alley.

And nearly stepped on a house cat crouched out of sight beside the pole. The cat was still so utterly fixated on the puddle where the two birds had been that it didn’t pay me any mind until I was nearly on top of it.

My blundering steps woke it from whatever hunting daydream it was having and it backed out of my way.

It gave me a bit of a look as I snapped its picture and then it placidly proceeded to explore the boundaries of the puddle.

It’s just as well for all concerned that “Sylvester” here missed its chance. In my limited experience with domesticated cats, they have a powerful desire to catch birds but almost no idea of what to do with the little tweeters if they get them.

I’ve never seen a domesticated cat actually try to eat a bird. I’m not sure it even occurred to them. They just sort of played with them.

The way they just aimlessly toyed with their captured birds was frankly an embarrassment to cats everywhere, and unfortunately, it didn’t do the birds a bit of good.