Nature, red in tooth and claw

I'm at home taking a quick late-afternoon break. I sit at my computer by the window and watch the birds come to the feeder. A nuthatch is walking down an oak tree. A chickadee lands on a bush, then darts to the feeder. A cardinal comes to the other side. Then there's a flash of black, as a body larger than a squirrel throws itself at the feeder. On the ground resolves the image of Shelley, our outdoor mamma cat, with a cardinal in her mouth.

One shouldn't be surprised or disturbed at seeing the circle of life in action. One should be pleased that God is in his heaven, or that the species is fitted for its needs. Instead I feel guilty (for providing food to lure the birds), angry (at Shelley for eating a cardinal when there is catfood around back and mourning doves under the dogwood tree), glad (that our housecat doesn't go outside and eat birds), and proud that she's a good hunter. Mostly angry.