Last summer (for new posters)  Kitty went missing and I eventually found her
injured in a neighbour's garden.  It was never established quite what
happened, but TED put her right.  (Hey, just take my month's salary, why
don't you?) but it was worth it to get this grumpy girl back.
She hardly ventured out of the house after that, maybe afraid and soon the
winter came.
As she has got older, she hates the cold weather and she spent almost all of
the winter asleep in front of the fire with very occasional trips outside
for toilet duties, and then straight back in.  I reminded her that she was
required for rat patrol.  Well, I won't say exactly what she said, but the
upshot was that she thought Boyfriend should do it and that she should
remain right next to the fire.  Which she did.
*However* now the weather is warming up a bit she has caught two young rats
in the last week and tonight she asked for the out and came in 5 minutes
later with a mouse which she has eaten.
BF can't keep up with her, only one young rat last week.
I have to admire the old lady, the vet estimates she's 18.

She brought the mouse in with a call "I've got something in my mouth"  It
was not yet dead and Boyfriend came in to try and claim it as his own when
Kitty put it down on the rug.  On the one hand, I could see that she didn't
want him to have it, but on the other hand she seemed like she wanted to
teach him.
When she dropped it, she began to bat it around in front of Boyfriend, still
alive, just like she was tempting him to get it.  He didn't get the clue.
This is the first time I have seen Kitty with a mouse that she didn't give
the killing bite to immediately and it was squeaking. I didn't like that and
told her that if she didn't kill and eat it immediately I would take it off
her and kill it myself.
To be defiant - like she is! - she carried on for another two minutes and at
the point I was about to take it off her, she crunched for the definite kill
and ate it.
She is a bad kitty ;-)  Her own girl.

Tweed