Tragedy on a very small scale...

Twenty minutes ago, I was on the phone with my mom when I noticed a tiny bird on my balcony. He was so small and fuzzy that I knew he was a baby out for one of his first flights -- maybe even his very first flight. He was precariously perched on the railing, hopping around, flapping his tiny wings, giving them a try. And then suddenly he flew to the table on my balcony. There was only some glass and a few feet between us as I watched him figure out what to do next.

I was giving my mom a blow-by-blow of his movements and she said "oh go get a camera... you'll want to show M." (He loves birds...)

But as I was grabbing my camera, I heard a thud. I turned around and there was one my cats with the baby bird IN HER MOUTH. I've never seen my cats chase anything bigger than a fly and now she was killing a tiny little bird right in front of me.

I yelled at her to drop the bird, then grabbed her and forced her to drop him. I scooped him up and ran back out to the balcony, away from the cat. He was panting with his mouth open and his little feet were curled up next to his body.

I gently laid him down and ran to get a towel. I put him on his homemade nest and covered him with a chair so air-born predators couldn't swoop down on him.

But just a few minutes ago, I went out to give him some water and found that he'd died.

I love my kitty, but right now I don't like her very much.