Medley the Mighty.
Medley's proved that she's worth her weight in gold. Mind you, if that were really true, I'd had taken all twelve pounds of her to the jeweler, got the cash, and picked up another, albeit lazier cat from a shelter. Unless she was laying golden eggs. I'm cold-hearted, but not stupid.
As it is, Medley actually demonstrated her worth to me back in July, on the first morning in the new apartment. Stepping out of the shower, she had set down a big cockroach offering on the floor in front of me. Nice. I imagined that had it been a mouse, Medley would have killed it quickly. But with all that cockroach body armor, of course the thing was still alive, and each time she'd put it down it would try to scurry away, and she'd pounce on it again. Finally, I got the Raid and something with which to grab it, executed the thing, and flushed it away.
Thankfully, I haven't had many pests since. That is, until last night. It was about 1:30 AM and I was on the computer when I heard a BANG! over in the corner of the apartment. Medley was hammering away at the baseboard heater. I figured she was just playing extra-violently with one of her toys, and ignored it. A few seconds later, BANG! again!, and I got up thinking this is getting a little to violent to be just a toy. She was way to serious now. And I was right. She trotted over with a mouthful of prey and I though Man, not another roach. But I was wrong. She dropped it in front of me.
I know of a few other people that have had mice in New York, like her, him, and her. The process usually involves seeing a mouse or evidence of, running out to get a trap, trapping said mouse at one point over the next couple of days, and thus ridding said mouse from apartment, usually with terrible guilt involved over contributing to the death of another mammal. I guess as human-mammals, we filled our quota long ago with killing, and now I feel kinda bad if I have to kill other types of animals -- mammals particularly. However, in the natural scheme of things, cat killing mouse somehow seems okay with me, and adding this third party (cat) to the equation to rid me of any potential guilt is a pretty good solution. And so it was that Medley dropped in front of me a still-twitching mouse, barely still in one piece. The only thing I could think was: Ick, why can't you just eat it, like cats are supposed to?
Oh well. I did appreciate the fact that I didn't have to fret over having a rodent in my apartment. I cleaned the mouse blood and mouse innards off the floor, put the dead vermin in a plastic bag, and threw it outside in the garbage. When I came inside, I fed Medley, brushed her a bit, and went to bed. Medley sleeps on the left side, by the way.
As it is, Medley actually demonstrated her worth to me back in July, on the first morning in the new apartment. Stepping out of the shower, she had set down a big cockroach offering on the floor in front of me. Nice. I imagined that had it been a mouse, Medley would have killed it quickly. But with all that cockroach body armor, of course the thing was still alive, and each time she'd put it down it would try to scurry away, and she'd pounce on it again. Finally, I got the Raid and something with which to grab it, executed the thing, and flushed it away.
Thankfully, I haven't had many pests since. That is, until last night. It was about 1:30 AM and I was on the computer when I heard a BANG! over in the corner of the apartment. Medley was hammering away at the baseboard heater. I figured she was just playing extra-violently with one of her toys, and ignored it. A few seconds later, BANG! again!, and I got up thinking this is getting a little to violent to be just a toy. She was way to serious now. And I was right. She trotted over with a mouthful of prey and I though Man, not another roach. But I was wrong. She dropped it in front of me.
I know of a few other people that have had mice in New York, like her, him, and her. The process usually involves seeing a mouse or evidence of, running out to get a trap, trapping said mouse at one point over the next couple of days, and thus ridding said mouse from apartment, usually with terrible guilt involved over contributing to the death of another mammal. I guess as human-mammals, we filled our quota long ago with killing, and now I feel kinda bad if I have to kill other types of animals -- mammals particularly. However, in the natural scheme of things, cat killing mouse somehow seems okay with me, and adding this third party (cat) to the equation to rid me of any potential guilt is a pretty good solution. And so it was that Medley dropped in front of me a still-twitching mouse, barely still in one piece. The only thing I could think was: Ick, why can't you just eat it, like cats are supposed to?
Oh well. I did appreciate the fact that I didn't have to fret over having a rodent in my apartment. I cleaned the mouse blood and mouse innards off the floor, put the dead vermin in a plastic bag, and threw it outside in the garbage. When I came inside, I fed Medley, brushed her a bit, and went to bed. Medley sleeps on the left side, by the way.
Labels: Medley
posted by Skylight at 9:10 PM
8 Comments:
Hey can I borrow Medley for a couple of nights?? I was terrorized in my apartment by this "water bug" the size of my palm the other day....you know the bugs scurrying the city streets that you when you see you think to yourself, "gee, I may have roaches but at least I don't have those things..."
Medley rocks.
I agree: Medley rocks, but still...I'd have a hard time keeping it together if my roommate's cat produced a dead rodent, or even a dead cockroach. I'm grateful that cats like to eat those critters, but I don't wanna see the leftovers. Skylight, your stomach's a lot stronger than mine.
Liz, you might be on to something there. Medley might not be made of gold, but there might be money in renting her out. And last time I checked, she wasn't above prostitution (she's cool, but of low moral fibre).
Then again, not sure if I like the idea of her diet being limited to stricly vermin.
And I'm still not clear on the difference between these so-called "waterbugs" and roaches.
Sister, Medley also agrees that she does, in fact, rock.
Chicago, I definitely do not have a strong stomach. These things definitely gross me out.
One thing though - you've lived in NYC for how long and haven't had a cockroach? That's gotta be unheard of!
Oh, no; I've had a cockroach. A huge guy, and I almost had a heart attack. This was in my tiny, dank studio on the UES, from which I escaped after 7 months -- I hated it there. Anyway, I kid you not, the bug was at least three inches long. HUGE. I screamed bloody murder, grabbed the Raid and sprayed it to death, all the while shouting, "Die, die, die!!"
Die he did. The landlady came running, and she said, "It's not a cock-a-roach [that's how she pronounced it]; it's a malpetto. It's just a waterbug."
She meant palmetto, and it's not "just" a waterbug -- it's a close cousin to the cockroach. And it was hideous.
In the new apartment, which is on the 17th floor, I've seen only one baby roach, which I killed with my shoe. Oh, and there was a dead one in the cabinet. If I see a rodent, I surely will have a heart attack, and probably run screaming back to Chicago. Or Brooklyn, although I'm sure they're common there as well.
Doesn't your building exterminate? I thought all LLs were supposed to do it at least once a month. If not, I've heard that roach motels are pretty effective. As for the mice, I dunno -- traps? But that would leave you with essentially the same "product" as what Medley brought you. Eeww.
Yep, my building exterminates once a month, and I also use roach traps, but this is NYC, and they're everywhere. It's gross, but tolerable if I get a bug once a month or so, and I consider that doing pretty well, especially since I live just on the second floor.
But on that note, my ex-roommate used to use the waterbug thing as a way out as well. He did not keep a clean house, and when he would come home and I'd say I found another cockroach, his first question was: "Oh, was it a cockroach or a waterbug?" It's a nasty pest that likely was attracted to the dirty dishes in the sink! Cripes, Get with the program!
"As for the mice," you wrote. What mice? I had one mouse, like many people do from time to time, and Medley took care of it. Yay, Medley! Not going to over-react and start putting traps everywhere. Medley is my trap.
Didn't mean to put you on the defensive there. I'm just not used to critters of any sort. Chicago's pretty free of 'em, so it's been a huge adjustment encountering just a few.
Wasn't on the defensive, sorry if it came across tht way. Just tellin' it like it is. Medley's doing an awesome job!
I'm moving to Chicago, though, apparently the Land of No Pests!
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