Cats Are Our Friends

[protectionist]

I tried the bobble head owl to take care of birds at my mountain cabin that were launching themselves at my large windows. That didn't work either. An air rifle did though.

Then the red squirrels infested my roof, inaccessible by anything larger due to the cathedral ceiling. That cost me over $1000 to have a wildlife expert remove them. Now I use poison blocks in pet-safe boxes- I'm not happy to do that but it's them or me. My neighbor has them too, and they have a habit of chewing the insulation off wires under the hood of his Lexus. Now he has bats too, in his roof, and the same expert quoted him $1600...

Man, those are expensive wildlife experts. How about just doing like I was saying in the OP ? Feed the stray cats. They take up residence around your place, they are agile climbers and great jumpers, and can get up onto roofs. Squirrels are no match for average size cats. Not often, but about once a year, I see a cat walking by with a squirrel in his mouth. No poisons, and the cat food is a lot cheaper than $1000.

Also, don't worry that your cat food will stop the cats from hunting. It won't. I once fed a stray cat we used to call "Teddy". On this day I put out a huge amount of food intended for 5 cats, but only Teddy showed up. Incredibly, he ate the whole thing. 2 minutes later, I looked though my back yard fence at the tall grass neighbor's pasture land, and there was Teddy, hunting and stalking, even with all that food in his belly. Sure, because that's just what it is to be a cat. Hunt and more hunt. It's what they do. (hungry or not)

 

[Bill]

I tried the bobble head owl to take care of birds at my mountain cabin that were launching themselves at my large windows. That didn't work either. An air rifle did though.

Then the red squirrels infested my roof, inaccessible by anything larger due to the cathedral ceiling. That cost me over $1000 to have a wildlife expert remove them. Now I use poison blocks in pet-safe boxes- I'm not happy to do that but it's them or me. My neighbor has them too, and they have a habit of chewing the insulation off wires under the hood of his Lexus. Now he has bats too, in his roof, and the same expert quoted him $1600...

Man, you're under siege.........

A small pet hawk for Christmas?? lol

 

[MAGA MAN]

Man, those are expensive wildlife experts. How about just doing like I was saying in the OP ? Feed the stray cats. They take up residence around your place, they are agile climbers and great jumpers, and can get up onto roofs. Squirrels are no match for average size cats. Not often, but about once a year, I see a cat walking by with a squirrel in his mouth. No poisons, and the cat food is a lot cheaper than $1000.

Also, don't worry that your cat food will stop the cats from hunting. It won't. I once fed a stray cat we used to call "Teddy". On this day I put out a huge amount of food intended for 5 cats, but only Teddy showed up. Incredibly, he ate the whole thing. 2 minutes later, I looked though my back yard fence at the tall grass neighbor's pasture land, and there was Teddy, hunting and stalking, even with all that food in his belly. Sure, because that's just what it is to be a cat. Hunt and more hunt. It's what they do. (hungry or not)

If I had more of a farmer's attitude I would have done this long ago when I the cabin was infested by mice. I tapped/ killed dozens of them before I found their entrance- slightly warped wood exterior doors that I bought new. Had to replace all three with fiberglass.

But this is a weekend home, in the mountains where it gets very cold during the winter, and the thought of freezing hungry cats in my house and on my property isn't pleasant.

Also, we have predators of cats in the area- bears and cougars.

 

[protectionist]

None of them here yet, this is suburban sprawl & I am in the center of it but I can walk less than 10 mins & see cows, wide open spaces w/ views from the coastal mountains to the snows of the Sierra Nevada........

Raccoons are starting to be a big problem though in the area as some ppl feed them & they feed off pet food etc.......

Raccoons a re a constant problem to me when I try to feed the neighborhood cats. I would like them to get fed too, but they are omnivores, and can eat a lot of things around them, wheras the cats are primarily restricted to meat food. Also, the raccoons mess up the water really bad, that I put out for the cats. They stick their front paws in the water and wash their "hands". Since those paws have been walking on the ground, they're dirty, and they turn the cat water from clear to black. They're also very hard to chase away. You chase them, and as soon as you start walking away, the rascals come right back.

 

[Bill]

My deck is 12' off the ground so no deer issues there. I have whiskey barrel sized containers with potting soil and the plants are just barely producing.

I used to be a green thumb when I lived in upstate NY- grew all my vegetables- but here it is a lot more difficult. I should take a course. A friend of mine has his entire front yard planted in edibles- a small city lot.

We use wine barrels here, usually oak & you need to drill holes in the bottom...... First year I used potting soil & plants never took off (no microbes in that soil) so I added some native soils, native worms etc & planted some Chinese long bean (aka asparagus bean) & that seemed to help a lot.......

I think you have red clay there?? We have black clay, rich, but very dense & hard to work but maybe better than the red clay as it tends to be leeched, not very rich & lacking some essential minerals etc?? The local master gardener or nursery could be very helpful w/ those local issues.......

 

[protectionist]

If I had more of a farmer's attitude I would have done this long ago when I the cabin was infested by mice. I tapped/ killed dozens of them before I found their entrance- slightly warped wood exterior doors that I bought new. Had to replace all three with fiberglass.

But this is a weekend home, in the mountains where it gets very cold during the winter, and the thought of freezing hungry cats in my house and on my property isn't pleasant.

Also, we have predators of cats in the area- bears and cougars.

Yeah, it wouldn't work unless you were there all the time, and with bears and cougars, it couldn't be done.

 

[Bill]

Raccoons a re a constant problem to me when I try to feed the neighborhood cats. I would like them to get fed too, but they are omnivores, and can eat a lot of things around them, wheras the cats are primarily restricted to meat food. Also, the raccoons mess up the water really bad, that I put out for the cats. They stick their front paws in the water and wash their "hands. Since those paws have been walking on the ground, they're dirty, and they turn the cat water from clear to black. They're also very hard to chase away. You chase them, and as soon as you start walking away, the rascals come right back.

LOL, ducks do that as well....... @ my last house, it was on a man-made lake & the damn ducks would crap on my deck.........

I have a friend a few miles away & her area is infested w/ them.. THey travel via the water drains.. I have seen them go in them, but I still can't imagine them traveling long distances in those tiny holes........ They are not afraid of ppl nor dogs......... Her neighbors pit bull got his butt kicked by one....... Cut his face up real bad..

 

[MAGA MAN]

We use wine barrels here, usually oak & you need to drill holes in the bottom...... First year I used potting soil & plants never took off (no microbes in that soil) so I added some native soils, native worms etc & planted some Chinese long bean (aka asparagus bean) & that seemed to help a lot.......

I think you have red clay there?? We have black clay, rich, but very dense & hard to work but maybe better than the red clay as it tends to be leeched, not very rich & lacking some essential minerals etc?? The local master gardener or nursery could be very helpful w/ those local issues.......

As I said before, I need remedial edumacation on growing stuff here. Everything I learned is from my grandfather when I was a kid up north. Maybe when I retire and have more time.

 

[USFREEDOM911]

My cat is 16 and shits all over my garage. You want it?

OK; but will you help me move the garage to my place?

 

[USFREEDOM911]

I'm in the northern Piedmont, NC. I used to have my garden in the back yard, with a simple black nylon fence, but the trees have all grown in and now it's too much shade. Two years ago I started growing in the front yard in an area where I had to take a tree down. The sun is intense there and with the help of drip irrigation my plants did very well. Unfortunately this year the deer have gotten very bold and ate everything, and my HOA does not allow front yard fences. I'm reduced to growing in containers on the deck.

Halloween is coming up and a lot of places have 1/2 sales afterwards.
Get yourself one of those motion activated life size decorations.
The scarier the better.

 

[USFREEDOM911]

LOL, ducks do that as well....... @ my last house, it was on a man-made lake & the damn ducks would crap on my deck.........

I have a friend a few miles away & her area is infested w/ them.. THey travel via the water drains.. I have seen them go in them, but I still can't imagine them traveling long distances in those tiny holes........ They are not afraid of ppl nor dogs......... Her neighbors pit bull got his butt kicked by one....... Cut his face up real bad..

Duck for Thanksgiving.
Duck for Christmas.

And when there's no holiday, duck à l'orange.

 

[MAGA MAN]

OK; but will you help me move the garage to my place?

Can't, sorry. It's in the basement.

 

[Minister of Truth]

THREAD SUCCESS

 

[MAGA MAN]

Halloween is coming up and a lot of places have 1/2 sales afterwards.
Get yourself one of those motion activated life size decorations.
The scarier the better.

LOL The neighbors will love me more bettah. Especially in the winter when all that shit has blown up into their trees.

 

[Bill]

Duck for Thanksgiving.
Duck for Christmas.

And when there's no holiday, duck à l'orange.

They are protected I think in residential areas.... I thought I killed one once.. It kept coming back as soon as I turned my back so I left the sliding back door open & figured I was gonna scare the hell out of it w/ a stick thrown @ it......... I hit it & thought it was dead, moved the bent over neck, no movement. I went back inside & a min later it started moving, got up & waddled back to the lake..........

You think it would have learned a valuable lesson?? She was right back the next day..

The forestry department introduced wild turkey to Calif now they are in neighborhoods, blocking traffic, sitting on parked cars etc.. No fear of ppl & to big for a cat..

Protected, you can't kill them.......

 

[USFREEDOM911]

They are protected I think in residential areas.... I thought I killed one once.. It kept coming back as soon as I turned my back so I left the sliding back door open & figured I was gonna scare the hell out of it w/ a stick thrown @ it......... I hit it & thought it was dead, moved the bent over neck, no movement. I went back inside & a min later it started moving, got up & waddled back to the lake..........

You think it would have learned a valuable lesson?? She was right back the next day..

The forestry department introduced wild turkey to Calif now they are in neighborhoods, blocking traffic, sitting on parked cars etc.. No fear of ppl & to big for a cat..

Protected, you can't kill them.......

But they would never know, if it dropped dead from say..........................a heart attack.

 

[Bill]

But they would never know, if it dropped dead from say..........................a heart attack.

lol......... I go riding on a road bike in some open areas & there are "herds" of them sometimes in the road & they won't move, they look @ you like, go around..

Hitting a 15-20lbs bird going 15 miles an hour can ruin your whole day......

 

[USFREEDOM911]

lol......... I go riding on a road bike in some open areas & there are "herds" of them sometimes in the road & they won't move, they look @ you like, go around..

Hitting a 15-20lbs bird going 15 miles an hour can ruin your whole day......

Not when you substitute it for a car.

 

[Bill]

Not when you substitute it for a car.

You can probably hit one going slow & not do much damage to your car..

We hit one coming from the coast doing 55 almost right in front of George Lucas mansion & it was walking across the road around 5PM & traffic wasn't going to stop..

The lead turkey tried to fly over the truck but hit the windshield(screen for Brits) & fortunately it is angled & he bounced over the top & looking back he seemed to be in one piece but the guy behind was honking so I dunno if he hit him to, we didn't stop, no place to pull over either.....

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Some us (like me) have cats at home. We love our cats. They give us love, affection, and are great pest controllers, keeping our homes free of mice, rats, large bugs. and (here in Florida) of lizards and snakes. What we sometimes forget is that the outside, homeless cats are our friends too. They also provide us with a 24/7 pest control service, and all free of poisonous chemicals, better than any humans could do.

The stray cats of our neighborhoods, like all cats, are relentless hunters. Other than when they're asleep, they never stop hunting prey. As such, when they're around, you can be sure mice and rats won't be. A rat can smell a cat from 100 yards away, and when they do, they won't go there. That's why I've never seen a rat in my apartment complex. We have quite a few stray cats here.

I go out at night and feed the little buddies. I also bring them clean, cold water on these hot Florida nights. This keeps them around, and helping us out. I once lived in an apartment complex where they didn't like cats. They called the Animal Control guys who put out traps for 3 days, and took all the cats away. Within a week, rats started showing up at the dumpsters. The second week, you could see them running down the streets, walking on the lower limbs of trees, and even in the swimming pool. In the 3rd week, they were getting into people's apartments, lured by cooking smells. Needless to say, 3 weeks after they disposed of the cats, they couldn't wait to get them back. They went down to the Humane Society, and adopted 20 cats, and set them free on the property.

In no time, the rats disappeared, as did the carpets of lizards (Cuban anoles), and Palmetto bugs. Order was restored. The residents of that place learned a valuable lesson. Be kind to your neighborhood stray cats. Feed them some cat food (not human scraps) and clean water, and they will repay you nicely.

Also, don't worry about cats walking or sitting on your car. Yes they do that, but they pull in their claws when they do, and only their soft foot pads touch the car. At worst, you might get a few cat footprints, but they tend to be soft dust, that blows away when you drive.

We used a lot of cats in comparative anatomy class and physiology lab.