This incredible photo shows the moment an owl swooped on a family cat and flew off with it.
It is well known that owls are capable of attacking cats and even small dogs but rarely is the event caught on film.
Owls fly high up into the air, then drop their prey and snack on the corpse.
The fate of this particular pussy is unknown
The practice of bait bombing is also performed by eagles, sometimes with unexpectedly tragic consequences. Ancient Greek playwright, Aeschylus, was killed by a blow to the head from a falling tortoise dropped by a bird that mistook his shiny bald dome for a rock.
Owls and pussycats traditionally have a rather more friendly relationship if we are to believe poet Edward Lear who wrote:
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea,
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note,
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'
In the second verse the owl bludgeons pussycat to death with his guitar and feasts on his entrails.
Only joking.