LOL, my husband said our cats love us, but it's good that we can't fit in their mouths!

After I wrote that I thought the same thing. If they were big enough, WE would be their meal!!! (:
BB in SC

Yes, to avoid this, I only let mine roam outdoors supervised, when I am also outside. Is this a feasible solution for you? Sorry for your troubles. It has been a standing joke in our house that our cat could kill us at any time, despite the size difference. Of course, that goes for dogs and people! A deep subject, but love changes everything. That's why we're here. :-)

I have one cat that is a huntress and another that is a Garfield. The smaller female cat will end life if given the chance. Thankfully for me this is almost always voles, moles, and chipmunks. I've never seen her show any interest in a reptile or amphibian of any kind. My big male cat isn't concerned with much other than laying in the shade......and well....laying in the shade. I love cats for their independence and borderline domestication.

My Jack Russell isn't much better on the killing front. If she can catch it, it is gone. Birds, squirrels (only caught one so far), opossums, cats (other than the 2 mentioned above - she licks them), voles, chipmunks. Just the other day she decided to taste a toad.....big mistake. It released it's toxic poison (which all toads have) and she was foaming at the mouth for 30+ minutes. I had to wash her mouth and teeth with the hose and monitor her for the rest of the night. Apparently run-ins with toads can be fatal for dogs and cats.

My Jack Russell Terrorist devastates my backyard "wildlife." I don't think I've seen an anole yet that wasn't crawling around tail-less.

Unlike a cat though, he completely ignores the bird population.

My cats have brought in both live and dead and (worst of all) injured animals. Voles, birds, grasshoppers, baby bunnies, squirrels, you name it. When I was pregnant she brought me little presents into my room at night. I guess she thought I needed more protein, but I would have preferred not to get them. She HAS helped keep down the vole population and took care of that family of mice that tried to move in. But with people she is very loving even tolerating the small kids crawling all over her without ever scratching them. They are little killers, but I still love them. My son loves stomping on ants and I still love him too;) -Ais.

One of these days, a race of GIANT ALIEN ANTS from a galaxy far, far away is gonna come here and take a look at us, see how we treat ants, and start stompin' us! I just KNOW IT! :)

LOL Jeff. I have a cat and she used to be a really good hunter. She had he front claws removed many years ago and became an indoor cat. We have finally settled somewhere long enough that I have been letting her out. She likes to chase the gecko's. When I saw this post I assumed you ment killing your plants. Mine keeps eating the leaves on stuff. Brugs, Firecracker plant, Hosta, and anything else she can get to. I know the Brugs are toxic just try telling my cat. She has never had a reaction to them and still bits them so she must like them. I would not trade her for anything. She has been my loyal companion for many years.

my cat and i have an understanding.... karma doesnt poop in the mulch and i feed her... i dont have that power with the neighborhood cats so its just chasing and holler. she doesnt chase too many animals here just the occasional bird but i cant remember the last time she actually caught one

I understand everything you are talking about, our neighbor has cats that live outside (in our yard) They are nasty, they poop all in my gardens and kill every bird they can get their paws on. Thanks Anita

I have two cats that are indoor cats, but a couple weeks ago my neighbor's cat was chasing a poor baby bunny through my yard. I ran inside and got a squirt bottle of water (which I use on mine when they misbehave) and I tried to cover the rabbit while squirting the cat so the rabbit could get away. It was confused and kept running around and around in the flower bed, so I chased the cat around the house. I came back and didn't see the bunny so I thought it found it's way out. The next day, we found the bunny dead in our yard :(

This is so true! We used to have a cat..Archie(arched his back at the dogs). We got him to kill the mice...then we moved to Texas. There he killed anything that touched down in the yard...and he had a taste for baby rabbits(which scream might I add...spent several nights trying to save a few). Anyway, long story short, after much thought we gave him to a farm where he could get all the mice he wanted(and he where he was away from busy roads..I always worried about him in our neighborhood). I like cats, but he was my last. I still hear the screams....

The horror... The horror... (doing my best Brando impersonation just before I toss someone's head in your lap :)

I've had an ongoing problem with stray and feral cats coming in my yard and stalking the birds at my feeders and the fish and frogs in my ponds. After borrowing a live trap from the county, which lets you keep it for only a few weeks, I finally plunked out $40 at Home Depot for my own last year.

When I trap one, if there's any way to identify it as a neighbor's pet, I take it to them. But so far they've all seemed to be wild, except one, which was "semi-wild," and I took to a neighbor who knew it was born wild but had been feeding it and told me if I took it to the shelter, she'd agree to pay to have it fixed and they could return it to her care. I did, she did, they did, and so far I haven't seen it since.

I've not seen any more cats in the fenced back yard lately, which is where my concern is, so the trap's not set at present. I hate it, because I know the wild ones go to the shelter and get euthanized pretty quickly, because they told me if they're not tame enough to pet (and some will downright hiss and charge at you through the cage), they usually keep them the minimum required time and put them down without even trying to adopt them out.

It's not the cats' fault. It's the people who let them roam wild, breed wild, or who abandon them. Unfortunately, our laws don't currently allow euthanizing THEM. And in my county, leash laws apply equally to cats and dogs. People adhere pretty closely to the dog leash laws, but many cat owners seem to still think it's OK to let their cats roam wherever, putting them at risk, along with all kinds of wildlife and other pets. My fence will keep out a loose dog, by the way, but it's yet to meet the cat that can't get over it.

Oh well.

People turn their cats loose at Jordan Lake and places like that, some of them actually survive and breed. They've become a real nuisance. I know there are many cats who do not have the skills to catch enough on their own to live. When we lived in PA I picked up a cat that someone had dumped in a park. I'm surprised she looked as bright as she did, she was absolutely skin and bones. She weighed 5 lbs and her normal weight is about 10 lbs. She was already a year old, too, the vet thought, judging from her teeth. Ten years later she is still with us as a house cat, and a beautiful cat she is. I also had neighbors on each side of us when I was growing up who dumped their female cats who kept getting pregnant, instead of having them spayed. It really makes you wonder about people sometimes. Thank goodness there are no-kill shelters around now. If the cats are not too ill and can be socialized, they will be kept until they are adopted.

Our 2 outdoor cats are adoptees as well. They were left in our neighborhood by an unknown someone who didn't want them anymore. A mother cat with four kittens. We gave the mother and two kittens to someone with a farm who wanted mousers, and kept two of the kittens. They are great companions and catch more rodents than anything else.

Miss Lucy, feline regalis (FR), has me to submit the following rejoinder:

--Humans aren't without fault. They take all the good soil for themselves and then selfishly try to deny FR access. Would you prefer we use your porch???? Grass lawns aren't really satisfactory for my purposes.

--Humans kill bugs. How would you like it if I killed all your toys????????

--Humans plant these nice lovely soft beds of plants and then deny FR access (without lots of yelling and brandishing of tools). I'd much prefer a sofa or easy chair if you would simply put one outside in a few strategically located spots. Terri has finally learned and I now have a nice patch of catmint.

--Humans (Terri) makes we wear a noisy collar. We haven't found a compromise for that humiliation yet, but fortunately now that I'm mature, I'd prefer that nice catmint bed over hunting birds anyway (it really wasn't worth all the pouting and yelling anyway--I'm satisfied with bugs).

--Finally, humans drive cars that endanger my friends and relatives.

Sure, FR has some habits that are incompatible with human pecadillos, but it's a two-way street folks!

Sincerely, LucyBuck, feline regalis

LOL!! Don't get me wrong Terri, I like 'em. There's four lounging around here with me as I type. When they catch mice, they are my heros. When they catch the lizards and other beneficials they are my zeros. I was just trying to emphasize there total lack of emotion and cold bloodedness when it comes to killing.. (:
Bill in SC

Lack of emotion, heck! Some cats are very intense about it, and some have FUN! One of my parents' cats used to play with lizards -- most of the time they'd get away from him, but occasionally he played with them until well, they finally died. Then he looked so disappointed. Of course he wasn't much of hunter, really. One of those cats that likes to lay in the flowers (and how does a 12 plus pound cat lay on flowers and never leave a mark?) and watch the birds and squirrels for hours, never making a move to get one.

I'd have to agree with Alicia. Lucy shows lots of emotion. When she was young we lived in Florida. Her favorite playtoys were lizards/skenks and locust. Ever heard a locust trapped behind a door with a cat batting it around? The minute it would go silent, she'd whop it again. She really loved their sound, and tearing a lizards tail off was almost as much fun. Her outrage when I would take away her toys was quite visible. One time she caught a baby bluejay. I'm not sure which of the three of us was exhibiting more emotion in that encounter. The bluejay was indignant (and not hurt). I'm sure my neighbors got quite a chuckle out of the incident, loud though it may have been since all three of us were screaming. I've grown up a bit since then myself. ;~)

Dieter,
Are you serious?

There is an advantage to living on a lake with alligators that sun themselves along the shore. Neighborhood cats have learned our yard is not feline friendly!

I have two cats, but the only cold blooded killers in my yard are two large bullfrogs. Without any remorse whatsoever, they gulp down birds, toads, other frogs, and one even latched onto a squirrel (though the squirrel was much bigger than him and got away). They've been known to attack and kill things that are simply too big for them to eat, leaving them floating in the pond. I'm considering packing them up and sending them on an extended vacation to a nearby swamp. I'm starting to worry for my cats as they love to drink at the pond!!

Killer bullfrogs? I thought you meant bullDOGS at first but I see that you really do mean bullFROGS. I'd like to see a bullfrog attack a squirrel. I've got a funny image of that in my head and, well, I don't really care for squirrels all that much. -Ais.

The bullfrogs in our pond and ditch never get that big; one of our cats is particularly fond of frogs' legs.

Yes, I really do mean bullfrogs! Yesterday one of them got hold of a grackle that came to the pond. The second one jumped up and grabbed the part of the bird sticking out of his mouth and they fought over it. They looked like they were involved in some kind of passionate kiss! You couldn't even see the bird. Eventually they both gave up and left the poor thing dead and floating in the pond. Now, grackles are not a bird I'm fond of, but it was a shame he died for nothing!
I use to have lots of toads every spring; this year none. If they dare to come close - instant frog food! I miss the little guys. Well, I guess when you attract wildlife to your yard you can't pick and choose which wildlife comes....
By the way, the frogs are named Jed and Jethro.

Could you take a picture of Jed and Jethro? I don't know if they let you that close, but I would love to see those big frogs. Maybe you could start training them for frog races ;) -Ais.

Cats also do a great service by reducing the amount of mice and rats. We would be over run by rodents if it weren't for cats. I dearly love my cats but keep them inside.

For those of you who have not been. Check out the (mycathatesyou)dot com. Funny.

I don't have cats but lots of the neighbors do. I'm always finding dead birds in my yard. Oh yea, and they like to use my flower beds as litter boxes. That's always a nice surprise..finding a big, stinky pile of cat doo-doo when you're digging a new planting hole. Lovely. Approximately 2 weeks ago, I was taking my usual morning stroll around our yard, and nearly stepped into a mangled mess that once was a bird. Its intestines were in a heap, covered with flies..feathers all around. The head was about 2 feet away, next to my 'Autumn Joy' Sedum. I've noticed my squirrel population has greatly diminished recently, too. I haven't found any dead squirrels - or squirrel 'parts'. But I've noticed that I don't see them as much as I used to. I think they've moved to safer locations...away from the cats.
Oh well..that's what cats do. They're predators. Even well-fed, domesticated cats will hunt if they're allowed to go outside. It's in their nature, so you can't blame them for doing what comes natural.

Renee

We don't believe in allowing cats to run free... They kill our song birds..

My cats do kill the occasional bird but they kill a lot more rodents, amphibians and reptiles than birds. I think they just find those easier to catch, with all of the cover here.

I don't know why we try to attach human attributes to predatory animals. Cats are no more heartless or coldblooded killers than owls or other birds of prey.
Snakes, fox, raccoons,owls and hawks probably take more birds and bird eggs than all the household cats.
Difference is they eat what they take.
It's the loss of bird eggs that has a much greater impact on the songbird population. Where the incidence of nest predation is high, the songbirds leave for less troublesome areas. Some can lay another clutch.
I have two cats. In the past year I've only seen one of them bother other critters and he went for a lizard and was left with only the squirming tail to show for his efforts.
The yard is filled with all sorts of songbirds and I particularly love the daily sighting of several bluebirds.

I went to a lecture given by the director of the SC Wildlife Federation Sunday, and one thing she mentioned is the same thing I, and many others, keep saying... cats should be STRICTLY INDOOR PETS.

They kill MANY songbirds in America, and usually just for sport, as the ones that are pets are usually well fed, so they don't need the birds for food, and kill them just for "sport."

If you put out bird feeders AND allow your pet cats to roam outside, free to stalk and kill the songbirds, why not simply add the final third to the "equation" and also put out a fresh bowl of antifreeze for all the animals to drink, on occasion, since you're guaranteeing a gruesome death to many of them, anyway.

And of course, any of those "pet cats" that haven't been "fixed" will find stray cats that are also "natural" and contribute to the population of feral cats, which do kill and eat birds for food.

Just some thoughts,
Jeff

Well, as previously stated, I keep the cats for their predatory abilities with rodents. I think, subconciously, the reason I started this post was because cats are so deceptive, appearing soft, kind, and loving, although somewhat aloof. In fact, they are soft, kind, and loving in the house, or when they want food, but turn them loose outside, and they become the killing machines that they are. It's good that they get rodents, but they don't discriminate, and I have a soft spot for lizards and birds. Squirrels (another rodent) are pretty destructive, so I don't mind the cats thinning them down.
Bill in SC

Jeff,
Maybe cats should be indoor pets -- but my 2 that are outside were strays that were used to being outside. They really do eat what they catch (except for the headless rabbit I found, but that's another story). Besides, I'm allergic, it's all I can do to tolerate one, and I take anti-histamines every day. Believe me, my particular cats don't make a dent in the local bird population.

This story probably isn't typical, but... my mom has always fed the birds. Her two cats would sit and watch the birds... and that's it. It was really pretty funny. The 12-pounder who never squished the flowers he laid on really enjoyed watching them. Maybe he got his butt kicked by a squirrel one day and decided to leave the feeders alone, I don't know. But he only thing he ever caught were lizards. His brother specialized in baby rabbits.

I agree, people should spay and neuter their cats. In my mil's neighborhood, more than 1 family has pulled up stakes and left their cats behind to fend for themselves, and breed like crazy.

Jeff, I agree with everything you said. Our 4 cats are all "fixed". We do let them out, however, because I truly detest a litter box in the house.. :-(
Bill in SC

I don't believe cats kill for "sport." The ocassional mouse that my cat leaves outside my front door is for me. I'm her family and it's part of her nature to provide for her family. I do tend to agree though, that cats can have quite an impact on the local wildlife population. Some of that is good (mice) and some is not good (birds). Interestingly enough, one of my cats (the stray we adopted; an outside cat) catches only mice and very few of them. She'll lay on the porch and watch as the birds steal food from her bowl! My other cat (indoor-outdoor) doesn't hunt at all!

Cute story (for those of you who like cats) - I was 'camping out' with my brother and my 2 young nieces on their property in Connecticut. We left the tent open a bit so that their two cats could go in and out at will. When we woke up in the morning, we each found, carefully laid out beside our sleeping bag, a shrew. There was one for each of us. The cats had thoughtfully provided us with breakfast in bed!
There's nothing cold and heartless about cats. Only humans kill for sport.

I must admit that IS cute!
:)

Personally, I could use less birds in my yard. Reminicent of an Alfred Hitchcock movie here, especially in early spring. Perhaps I should get a cat??

My cat is 15 now, so she doesn't hunt anymore. She lies around the garden and hopes a vole will pop out of a hole so she can look at it. She used to catch everything. She even used to bring her catches to the dog. The dog would be inside, and we had a cat pet door. She'd share the rabbits with him. The dog only went out when we were out, and we never knew we had beavers out in the creek til he died of old age, and a beaver dam appeared, along with a flood. He used to look out that way and be stalking things out there. Must have been the beavers.

Our new cat lives inside only, but she has an indoor perch. I built a little garden pool outside her window for her to dream about, and I feed the birds out there. She does go on the upstairs deck, but she can't get off the deck. She thinks that is fantastic. She does eat bugs that happen to show up in the house. One night, she came upstairs, looked at me, opened her mouth and let out a b ig roach! It was so funny. She brought it up to play with in my room, and it crawled out of her mouth unharmed. Of course I screamed and smashed it with a book!

SHAME ON YOU, dirt_lover, for SMASHING your cat's new play toy like that!

That's just HILARIOUS! Cat opens mouth and out crawls Palmetto Bug! If ya caught THAT on video, it'd be worth $100,000!

:)
Jeff

Forget the cats! Mine are indoor cats and amuse themselves with the occasional bug that dares to find its way in my house.

It's the DOG that's the killer around here! No, not small animals, not birds, she's killed more plants this year than I can count. She eats the flowers, pulls the beans right off the vines, stomps with her big feet on my coleus, prunes things that aren't supposed to be pruned, and last night after I brought her inside she was sporting a green roma tomato in her mouth! Oh how I do love her, but oh how I really get ticked at her for bringing me this gardening grief this time of the year. If I could train her to just pull broadleaf weeds all her other antics would be forgiven. I seriously think "she" thinks I've labored to plant all these things just for her consumption. Aye yi yi.

Cats? They're lightweights compared to her! LOL

-Nan

My older cat still brings home the occasional vole but her major outdoor entertainment these days is rolling around in the catmint. She's become a junkie in her senior years. Off to the garden store to purchase another--she's done in the others.

She eats the flowers, pulls the beans right off the vines, stomps with her big feet on my coleus, prunes things that aren't supposed to be pruned, and last night after I brought her inside she was sporting a green roma tomato in her mouth!

Yes, Nan!

Tater Tot (still a puppy @ 9.5 months, at present), seems to think if it ain't for playin' with or eatin' or chewin' WHAT PURPOSE DOES IT SERVE???

I think ALL puppies are like that. I have one medium-sized dogwood tree near my pond in the backyard... would be three more, but we planted FOUR the same year we got out previous dog, a very different breed and personality... but she was just as playful, in different, scrappy ways... as she'd pass those seedling dogwoods and her little shih tzu tail would tangle with a leaf and the plant would bend a bit then spring back at her, she'd turn around and ATTACK IT... she'd killed two before I caught her killing the third and scolded and chased her around the yard about it, which is probably all that saved the fourth, lol.

Dogs -- GOTTA LOVE 'EM -- but they DO often have very DIFFERENT ideas of our gardens than do we.

By the way, Nan, in my experience, dogs LOVE tomatoes, so yours probably actually WAS planning to eat that one... let her have some.

Happy 4th!
Jeff

My cat eats voles. My JR Terrier kills - does not eat - lizards, frogs, skinks, and toads. I am ready to throttle him until my DH points out that Spike is the reason the deer don't frequent the back yard.

Amazing to think how a little dog like a Jack Russell can keep big animals like deer out of your yard... I keep worrying Tater Tot -- who I'm pretty sure is half Jack Russell, with the mom being a Chihuahua, is a comical little fella but wild as a buck.

Ain't much to him, but he sure gives the squirrels a good scare... I'm concerned for my frogs, though, which is why I took an old fake frog dog-toy that belonged to our previous pup and filled it with that stuff you spray on furniture to keep the dogs from chewing on it, then put an alka seltzer in its mouth, so it would foam, and set him loose near it (in the house), this past winter... he seemed mildly perplexed, then just left it alone...

I let it sit there on the fireplace hearth for the next several weeks, and eventually, even with all that residue in there, he ended up chewing on it, so my frogs are wise to stay hidden during the day (which they do, and so far I think they're all still there).

Always SOMETHING, though, lol!

BillinSC,

And aren't humans the worst species on the planet regarding killing of others species not to mention our own?

Cat Deterrents for your Garden:

Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), a deterrent that works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world.� After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'.

* amonia soaked (corncobs, etc)
* aluminum foil
* bamboo skewers
* black pepper
* blood meal fertilizer
* bramble cuttings
* Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp
* catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards)
* cedar compost
* chicken wire (metal or plastic)
* cinnamon
* citrus peels
* citrus spray
* cocoa bean shells
* coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!)
* dogs
* electric fence for animals
* essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils)
* fresh manure(ditto)
* garlic cloves
* gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree
* gutter covers
* hardware cloth
* heavy bark mulch
* holly leaves
* keep the area damp, they like dry soil
* lavender
* liquid manure (good for your garden too)
* motion sensor sprinkler
* pennyroyal
* pinecones
* pipe tobacco
* plastic forks
* predator urine
* red wine vinegar
* river rocks over the exposed soil
* rocks, crushed
* rose bush clippings
* rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only)
* short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart
* six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up)
* Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water
* squirt gun with water
* talk to your neighbors
* tansy
* thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings
* toothpicks
* upside down vinyl carpet
* vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam
* water bottle on "stream"

NOT RECOMMENDED:
*** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me.
*** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way.

Give them their own areas:

(To keep them out of where you don't want them)
(If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters)

+ pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later.

+ give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason)

+ if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too.

+ Barley Grass
+ Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store
+ Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade
+ Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.)
+ Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called nepeta cataria, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to.
+ Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum)
+ Flax
+ Oat Grass
+ Jacob's Ladder
+ Lemon Grass
+ Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch
+ Mints
+ Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out.
+ Sandy area
+ Silver vine (Actinidia polygama)
+ Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive)
+ Sweet grass
+ Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass)
+ Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips)
+ Wheat Grass
+ Wheat Berries
+ Valerian

This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violet_z6@yahoo.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.