Snow Bishop,

Coincidentally, I have a tuxedo cat named Willie, and she was named after the Red-headed Stranger. She doesn't sing, but she hunts field mice and voles.

We also have an orange tabby named Yellow Cat (actually, Yeller Cat) by the last family he 'stayed' with for a couple of years before he packed up his bags and moved to our place. Yellow Cat was feral for about 10 years before he allowed us to tame him somewhat. We finally have broken him of chasing birds by spraying him with a water hose or squirt gun when we see him after a bird. However, he still hunts rabbits, and occasionally catches one.

I think that for cats with a strong hunting nature, you're probably never really going to change their nature.

We do pay a price for having cats.

Dawn

My price today is that my darling Lady Jane ate my new black elephant ears I bought at the FM last Sat. Oh boy was I mad! Only about the 3rd time since we have lived together for the past 8 years have I been really mad at her. The last time was when she ate my ipod head phones. Darn cat.

imp

After watching a Blue Jay slip into a bird house and take out the babies one at a time for lunch, I really don't get overly worked up when the tables are turned on them. I didn't know Jays were nest robbers.....I've had probably a dozen cats or so over my life time. Out of that bunch only one has been what I call a real "birder". Yardley, the cat mentioned, was basically neglected by the neighbor that had him, so as a kitten he lived pretty much on what he caught to eat. Although birds are still caught each year, he has also caught rabbits, mice, voles etc. The rabbits in particular were driving me nuts until Yardley showed up. So I've learned I have to accept the good with the bad.

Imp,

Well, at least you now know that apparently black elephant ears aren't toxic to cats. What a little stinker! And she ate your Ipod head phones? I've never heard of a cat eating something like that. Our cats regularly nibble catgrass, catnip and catmint, but mostly leave everything else alone. We do have a big old cat named Moe (son or our old mama cat) and, yes, he has brothers named Larry and Curly) who likes to eat frogs. He seems to more or less swallow them whole, so if you spot him with frog legs hanging out of his mouth, you can grab the legs and yank the frog out of Moe's mouth in time to save the frog. Our chickens also like to eat frogs. Fortunately, the frogs have wised up and spend most of their time sitting on the lily pads instead of on the banks of the creeks and ponds.

Mary,

I didn't know blue jays would do that, but I guess I'm not surprised. They are terribly aggressive and like to swoop down and torment cats.

Dawn

Anything in the Aroid family is poisonous to cats. I learned that when one of my cats ate mine and was very sick for a couple of days.

Imp, did your cat eat just the top growth of your black elephant ears, or the tuber as well. They grow from tubers and if the tuber wasn't damaged, it will produce new foliage. Chalk one up for plant survival.

Well fed cats still love to stalk and kill birds and other small animals to maintain their natural hunting skills. They usually don't eat their kill but will bring it to their human-in-charge as a gift. All that's missing is the wrapping paper and a bow!

My George caught a squirrel in the backyard one year and I was watering at the time. I squirted him with a strong stream of water to make him let go of the poor thing. Who knew that squirrels could scream so loud!

Beware of Blue Jays! I was attacked by several when I tried to rescue a fledgling that was just learning to fly and couldn't get back to its nest. I was pecked on the head in a rapid succession of dive bombing Blue Jays and was forced to retreat. The next morning the fledgling was lying on the lawn dead.

Susan

Not about cats, but BlueJays (and why I dislike 'em): Yesterday, I was in yard digging up some volunteer tomatoes from corner of yard where I tossed 'bad' maters last year. Have done this for years, and always have hundreds of 'free maters'. Anyways, as I was walking over there, several Jays were flitting about in the large Locust trees above me. I heard a plop, then another as poop hit ground VERY close to me. I look up and see the Jays hopping about the limbs to get above me again, so I quicken my pace to where I am headed. A moment later, I am squatted down and digging out some maters when I feel a thud on my back which becomes wet-feeling almost immediately. I stand quickly and get a plop upon my head. Two direct hits on me in just a few seconds, and the dang birds start chattering like they were laughing. If I had a BB gun, there would be no living Jays today in this area. Ohhhhh, those Jays have a debt to pay! At least there are a number of (stray?) adult cats that roam this area, so hopefully, the cats will get their share of 'em...And I'll tolerate the cats' little piles of excrement in the tilled soil as a small price to pay for having Jay-hunters in the area!

I am not a cat lover, but I have 4 and occasionally 5. I made the mistake of feeding one cat during an ice storm, and then there were kittens, and then there were more kittens, etc. Cats come and go here, so now what I have is the last batch of kittens. We never touch them and in fact that don't let you touch them, but two of them are always under foot. I know one is going to trip me. Although they don't let me touch them, they will play at my feet and try to rub all over me. If I bend over, they are off in a heartbeat.

In fact, I was trying to sort the tomato plants and one jumped up and hit the try and emptied three out onto the ground. I run them out of the garden anytime I see them start in, but they think they own the yard and we just come to visit.

I have 2 cats left. I buried my favorite this winter. She was around 16 years old. All 3 think they help me garden. The one I buried helped me do everything. In Jan of 09 when I was putting tin on the roof of the utility room she would climb the ladder. Check my work and then stay there till I finished. She got to where so could go back down the ladder. She was a semi wild cat a couple gave me who lived in the country along with his littler mate sister. I'm basically the only one that either will have anything to do with. When someone does my chores when I'm gone neither would eat till they left. She was the best mouser I ever had. But until she got old she thinned the birds out big time. They also killed all snakes. Including one rattler. So well worth their money. The other cat I still have was Noah's "my boy" cat. I will keep her till she goes onto cat heaven. I enjoy all animals. Being raised on ranches I'm used to natures life cycles. I will always have at least one cat around. Jay

I like cats....a lot. They are good companions but are entirely independent unlike dogs. I like dogs, don't get me wrong. But if I have to be away from home, I can leave them plenty of food and water and they are fine. Can't say the same for dogs. If we gave our dogs a lot of food, they would eat it all in one day and ultimately be very sick. Cats don't do that....or mine never have.

I guess they are a reflection of me. I am an independent person, too, and I like that they don't demand attention constantly.

Right now we have Wild Kitty and Lady George, both pregnant, Claude, Black Tom, Valerie (a misnamed male), and Zena (another misnamed male), who are the stray cats in the neighborhood. I really dislike people who move away, leaving their cats behind. But they do, and that's another story entirely. We all take care of them in one way or another. The two females are being fed well right now since they are expecting. Wild Kitty has lost most of her 1 or 2 kitten litters. Lady George is a new stray so we don't know how her delivery will go and whether her kittens will survive or not.

What can you do? I can't see them suffer so I feed them. Last year a pack of 3 dogs came thru the neighborhood and grabbed a cat from across the street, and ran off with it in his mouth. There was nothing I could do. I screamed and yelled, but that did not deter the dog. It was a traumatic experience. We've not seen those dogs since, so don't know if Animal Control got them or not. The main dog was a Pit Bull, of course.

My cats don't go outside; they are strictly indoor cats. I couldn't stand it if something got them so I take responsibility for having them as beloved pets.

We have cats but they're working cats, living outside full time. They do rodent duty, along with a few small snakes. They have short, harsh lives and are mostly wild, except for a very few we tame & feed a bit to stay nearer the house. Before we got cats, we were overrun with rodents of all sorts so we're very happy to have them around. Well, not the big cats...

Diane

For those of you who don't already know, my cat Elizabeth and I have been having wars over who owns the garden. She's convinced my beds are her litter box and I'm convinced she's about to be homeless...or at least I was until today. I think I finally won :) The water hose is a beautiful thing!

Mandy