They’re cats. It’s in their nature to hunt and eat insects and spiders. They do it all of the time. Not Charlotte — yes I named her Charlotte. What makes this spider so different? I cannot say.
I had noticed this spider for a while before I noticed how the boys reacted to her. It is light brown in color. It has long legs like a daddy long legs and a thin, two segmented body. It is neither brown recluse nor wolf spider which are the only two poisonous spiders we have to worry about here. It has taken up residence beneath the corner of the bathroom cabinets. It doesn’t bother anybody and never seems to venture far from home.
Loki’s story
The first cat I watched interact with this spider was Loki. He came into the bathroom with me. He dropped down to his belly and scooched across the floor beneath a free standing towel rack we keep there. He lay there, watching the spider do whatever she was doing, and he started to purr. Not just a mild purr. It was a loud, vibrating the tiles on the bathroom floor kind of purring. He stayed there, purring and watching, the entire time I was in the bathroom.
Odin’s story
A few days after the incident with Loki, Odin was the one to follow me into the bathroom. Charlotte was out from under the cabinets. Odin dove beneath the towel rack and raised his paw. I thought for sure that Charlotte was a goner, and Loki was going to be sad. Odin gently set his paw down beside the spider. He then began purring while he lay their watching her do whatever it was that she was doing.
Loki and Odin’s story
The night before last, I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed. This really big, ugly, black spider appeared in Charlotte’s corner. I hadn’t even had the chance to leap onto the counter before the boys had pounced on this invader. They picked it up and spat it out. They batted it around and tortured it like cats do. They removed it from Charlotte’s corner.
My cats have taken a pet
My boys protect me from spiders. Especially Odin. I decided there is just something about Charlotte. Something that makes her special. I told my family they aren’t to kill her. She’s not bothering anybody, and the boys have decided she is worthy of protecting like they protect their mama. Now, my cats have their very own Charlotte.
ShldBWriting 