It is has been described as an act of modern day witchcraft. I feel sure that if this had happened in rural Africa they’d agree that witchcraft was afoot.
However, it is nowhere near as macabre or interesting. It is simply two animals who formed a friendship albeit and unusual one. There are many examples of cats forming very close friendships with a wide range of animals. All the relationships look strange and unusual but we have to conclude that their frequency makes then fairly usual.
The sinister aspect of it is entirely in the heads of superstitious humans. And humans are still incredibly superstitious. The black cat phenomenon is alive and well plus the majority of people are still terrified of snakes.
Put them together and you have witchcraft. The cat was rescued from the roadside and he goes out with his owner who I believe is Molly Anne. She says that he does not kill birds and is a good boy. She says that in her household they are strict respecters of nature including her cat! Great. There are millions of cat owners who’d like a cat like that.
I have no idea where it is. The picture does not help me guess. It seems that it is America (yes, see below). My guess too is that the snake is non-venomous.
My research carried out a little later indicates that it is a ribbon snake living in the southeastern United States. This snake is non-venomous. It feeds on small fish and small frogs. They are found in and out of water.
One interesting question is whether the snake deliberately formed the friendhsip. We know cats deliberately make friends but can snakes do it? You have to have a certain level of intelligence to strike up a friendship and get enjoyment and benefit out of it. Are snakes intelligent enough? I’ll leave that to a snake expert but my guess is that they are.
