When Pets Kill

One of our gerbils was murdered by our cat a few weeks ago.

It's not like we didn't realize it was a possibility; that's why we kept the gerbils' cage in a room with the door locked all the time. However, we were in a hurry to leave the house and left both the cage and the room open. The cat took advantage of his opportunity; the gerbil did not.

It was a disaster. I was hyperventilating with a dead gerbil cupped in my hands, trying to protect his small disfigured corpse from my distressed 7-year-old son; then my husband and I had to inform our 10-year-old son that Kitty had murdered Pikachu. There was a great deal of sobbing.

Details:  https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/11/24/opinion/when-pets-kill/