Runaway quail saved last minute!

[fredrik]

Some days ago, the door to my quail cage had been left open overnight.  Some member of the family had forgotten to close it...  3 quail gone.  And our neighbourhood is crowded with cats... :(

My son spotted one quail the same evening, and I managed to catch it.  Another one is still missing a week later and will most certainly be forever.  

But what about the third one (which is by the way the only one which we have managed to hatch ourselves, and therefor is very dear to us)?  Guess what: Next night I happened to wake up around 4 a.m., and as I was waiting to fall asleep again, I heard a strange sound outside, right below the open window.  Thieves?  No-I looked out and saw: a cat "playing" with one of the quails!!  I ran out, chased the cat, and believe it or not, the quail was all right, only lost a few feathers!  Boy, has he got some story to tell the others when he got back...

Just had to tell you about this miraculous rescue  

[CharlieHorse]

LOL! Funny how cats will play with critters and not kill them right off the bat. They usually kill them playing with them. Sounds as though everyone involved was lucky. You might get a spot on "Animal Planet".

[IamTomm]

I had a simailar experience when i first got into quail. I went to feed and found the door open and I had about half a dozen bobs running around the the yard.  And one of them up and flew down the road got about 30 or 40 yards away and out of nowhere a hawk picked the quail right out of of the air. Straight to the ground they both went. I ran thier hoping he was alright the hawk took right off and I thought he would have had the quial with him still but their the quail sat. Didn't even move must have just been in shock of what just happened but I picked him up and not a scratch put him right back in the pen and put a better latch on the pen.