Striped Marsh Frog in Cat’s Mouth

Updated 17 August 2014

Cleo, our beautiful cat has since been killed by 2 dogs that dug under our fence while we were out for the day. She had never left our house or surrounding garden. See link below.

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Hello Jude & Gabe,

Cleo the cat has caught two tiny frogs in our garage in the past week.  Granddad  let the first one go in the front garden after Cleo brought it in her mouth to us in the dining room, howling, as she dropped her gift at our feet.

But last night was different.  Perhaps because Cleo decided that this time, we were not going to take her captive away from her.  She usually lies on the end of our bed from about 10.00pm (because she thinks it’s her bed too).  We couldn’t find her anywhere in the house and we thought she must be outside.  We usually don’t let her out after dinner time because of the birds who play in our garden after the heat of the day.

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There we found her running all around the garage, chasing a poor little frog.   She would scoop him into her mouth and then plonk him at our feet, and if he jumped away, would repeat the whole thing.  I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I grabbed the tiny creature, cradling him gently in my hands.  We made a makeshift home for him in an empty ice cream container with a small rock,  some fresh  little insects, and topped with a piece of glass.  I expected that he would be dead in the morning, but at least he would die in peace.  I intended to bury him in the fernery.

However, the next morning, there he was, jumping about in his new home.  Such a little fighter deserves to live.  I found him a fresh baby snail and placed that and some native flax leaves in his safe haven, to hide under.  When you come over to stay on Monday, we will take him over to the creek and release him.  I checked him out on Google, discovering also that he is a male; white belly, striped blotchy top, and un-webbed feet.  Can you reply with a name for him?      Jude thinks we should call him Pointy.

See Ode To Cleo