10-27-2015, 11:15 AM
Cats and birds:
I believe I have mentioned before that, where I live, has many feral cats. There is a lady who takes care of the colony - feeding, trapping, and desexing them to prevent further reproduction. There are also a lot of outdoor pet cats.
We feed the birds. We're right on the edge of a wilderness area and at any given time have at least 30 birds on our property or right on the edge, often more. It's bird heaven. And subsequently... cat heaven!
We have three regular kitty visitors. A black cat, who wears a bell on his collar. He usually clears the yard and is very excited. Sometimes he would jump on the ledge of the deck and sit under the hummingbird feeder excitedly. Probably a younger cat, he loves watching the birds, but he has no chill.
We also have a fat orange tabby. He's around occasionally. I believe he belongs to the neighbors a few doors down.
We also have a calico. He's been around the most frequently lately. Usually when we see the cats around, we shoo them off - especially the black one since he borders on "harassment". We also created this vulnerable situation for the birds, so we should at least try to keep the space safe. But yesterday, when the calico was here, he was sitting under the bird bath amongst the flowers, with his eyes closed, chilling peacefully... the birds paid him no mind, drinking/bathing directly above him, and the calico didn't flinch. I realized, even by shooing cats almost daily out of our yard, we've never seen evidence that a cat has actually attacked a bird anywhere nearby. (I often go on feather hunts, so I'd definitely notice if a carcass had been taken...) So, now I feel even more bad about shooing the cats. The calico especially just seemed so chill. Part of me is a little worried that the jays are so used to my dog, Butters in the yard with him (he's more like a rabbit) that they are desensitized to the small animals hanging out... but I don't know. Calico was there meditating under the bird bath again this morning, Kile woke up and looked out the window and saw him there, Calico made eye contact with Kile and slinked away, walking past the birds and not disturbing their feeding at all...
I believe I have mentioned before that, where I live, has many feral cats. There is a lady who takes care of the colony - feeding, trapping, and desexing them to prevent further reproduction. There are also a lot of outdoor pet cats.
We feed the birds. We're right on the edge of a wilderness area and at any given time have at least 30 birds on our property or right on the edge, often more. It's bird heaven. And subsequently... cat heaven!
We have three regular kitty visitors. A black cat, who wears a bell on his collar. He usually clears the yard and is very excited. Sometimes he would jump on the ledge of the deck and sit under the hummingbird feeder excitedly. Probably a younger cat, he loves watching the birds, but he has no chill.
We also have a fat orange tabby. He's around occasionally. I believe he belongs to the neighbors a few doors down.
We also have a calico. He's been around the most frequently lately. Usually when we see the cats around, we shoo them off - especially the black one since he borders on "harassment". We also created this vulnerable situation for the birds, so we should at least try to keep the space safe. But yesterday, when the calico was here, he was sitting under the bird bath amongst the flowers, with his eyes closed, chilling peacefully... the birds paid him no mind, drinking/bathing directly above him, and the calico didn't flinch. I realized, even by shooing cats almost daily out of our yard, we've never seen evidence that a cat has actually attacked a bird anywhere nearby. (I often go on feather hunts, so I'd definitely notice if a carcass had been taken...) So, now I feel even more bad about shooing the cats. The calico especially just seemed so chill. Part of me is a little worried that the jays are so used to my dog, Butters in the yard with him (he's more like a rabbit) that they are desensitized to the small animals hanging out... but I don't know. Calico was there meditating under the bird bath again this morning, Kile woke up and looked out the window and saw him there, Calico made eye contact with Kile and slinked away, walking past the birds and not disturbing their feeding at all...
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