Not a Good Thing — EDIT — Update

Much as I hate to say this, we’re regretfully going to have to take steps to keep Carl from our deck. This is the third time we’ve woke to find a ‘gift’ on the door mat of the deck. This time, there was "physical remains" and blood all over the entryway. Not good … not good at all. It appears that he’s hunting and bringing his prey back to our deck to feed and then leaving the remains as a ‘gift’ to us. We don’t need this…

Sigh. How do other cat owners deal with situations like this??

Be safe, be well, and know you are loved. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

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I roamed the Internet this morning, looking for an answer to my cat/gift problem, and found a recommendation for spraying the deck with peppermint oil (which worked for Gophers), and DH did that — he scrubbed the deck, disposed of the remains, and then sprayed the whole area with peppermint oil. It didn’t phase Carl. He showed up at the door, walking across the newly sprayed peppermint deck, and called at me through the screen door. I closed the door and he walked around to the side and rolled over onto his back and smiled up at us. I closed the door and said, "No!". He eventually left. I could probably have handled the occasional lizard tail, but his gifts are escalating in size (this one was probably 3 lbs. or better at full weight prior to attack) and frequency. (Mentally, I’m wondering what Martha Stewart would do about a situation such as this!

I called our local pet store and asked for their advice — the owner sounded almost jealous — she said her cat didn’t bring her gifts. I told her "Lucky you!" She recommended I disinfect or remove anything that was associated with him and then to purchase a spray deterrent which will hopefully keep him away.

To be continued… sadly.

Breaks my heart, but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do… and ‘adopting’ him fully is out of the question.