MY GARDEN IS PROTECTED !

[susieqz]

i'm vicious when it comes to defending my garden. before kitty came, i was shooting one bunny every month, laughing in glee as they died.
i should thank them. between practicing to shoot them n shooting them, i became one heck of a pistol shot.
you know, coyotes are worthless at controlling bunnies.
it's up to me n drifter.

 

[les.b]

if i had deer bothering my garden, i'd want a bigger cat.

susie:

It would be your luck the big cat would adopt the deer!

Best Regards, Les

 

[kthom]

This dry country sure is gettin' wet, ain't it, suzieqz? Here a bit east and a little south of you in West Texas, we are in this particular place bumping right up against an all time record high for summertime rains. As usual, it depends on where the gauge is placed how much it's rained, but I can tell you the skeeters are pretty thick in the late evenings!!!

 

[steelslaver]

Susie think of it this way. The cat probably likes its freedom and has chosen you to be part of her life. She may well value her solitude at times and probably does have a safe get away from it all place. If you chose to let someone else into your life and they then tried to make you change very much you would probably resent it.

I would just keep doing what your doing. Make he welcome and give her the option for more. I think she will gradually spend more and moree time with you. Winter may even help her decide that coming into the warmth of a house is a good idea. If she is young she might not appreciate warm as much but in time she will. This has gone a long ways, don't rush it now. I predict that if you start leaving the door open and going inside when she is around that one day she will follow you inside. Let her check it out and leave a bunch before you ever close the door and if she does decide to move in install a cat door so she still has her precious freedom.

 

[susieqz]

i guess prairie cats don't have much to do with birds.
my hummingbirds were cutting up.
during their aerial dogfight, drifter became aware of them.
but, she didn't understand they were up in the air.
it was pretty funny.
this crazy cat was zipping back n forth, chasing hummingbirds, who she thot were on the ground, while they danced happily 10' over her head.
after a bit, i think she realized they were in the air, because she was thinking of climbing to the top of my arbor.
they left n the fun ended.
i have cat proofed my feeder, i'm fond of my hums.
fond of the cat too.

 

[Roadtrash]

Sounds like you and the kitty are getting along really well now. It may never be a lap cat but it seems to want to be your friend.

 

[susieqz]

i've been reading up about feral cats.
apparently, what people do, is trap them.
stick them in a locked room for a couple days.
then to the vet to get neutered.
they are big on cutting off parts.
then, back to the locked room for a couple of weeks, while the captor tries to make friends while the animal is groggy.
like as not, the cat spends the rest of her life hiding under the bed
or she gets released because she's just not an indoor cat.
it never occurs to these people that the cat might just hate them.

that is not the kinda thing i do.
in fact i don't have to.
drifter is a scheming wench who is already trying sneak inside.
she knows when she gets fed n if i'm 10 minutes late she gets upset.
a few days ago i had gotten my stuff out n i was leaning in, to get her breakfast. she climbed the steps n put both paws on the sill.
surprised me.
but this morn i was late again.
i was pouring food into her bowl n there she was, inside, eating.
she would still be there if i hadn't moved her bowl out to my arbor, where she eats.
doesn't look like she's afraid of the house.
for sure, she's not afraid of me.

 

[les.b]

Susie:

I gave you a like on your last post because of your obvious caring attitude towards drifter. But I think you are coming down a little hard on the folks who are trying to help the feral cats...folks like Jennifer, who has worked with feral cats for years. Let me defend these folks without any disrespect to you. You know how much I admire you for building a relationship with your kitty.

Out where you live, it appears that there are very few cats. But if you could see some of these colonies of feral cats, dozens, maybe hundreds of them breeding and adding to the number in the colony if they are not fixed, it is heartbreaking. There is never enough food for all of them. Many will suffer and die of starvation, or disease because no one cares or has the resources to take care of them. Animal shelters can only deal with a relatively small number.

Spaying and neutering are a way to try to stop the uncontrolled breeding. These folks who do this work are not uncaring, cruel individuals, they are mostly people who love cats, and are trying to improve the lives of cats who would otherwise die very unpleasant, early deaths, and spread dangerous diseases to other cats.

Sorry if I seem sanctimonious, but working in law enforcement, I was in all sorts of environments, and I am also a cat lover, and it is truly heartbreaking to see some of the conditions that these animals have to endure.

Best Regards, Les

 

[susieqz]

city people are divorced from reality.
they forget all the good feral cats do.
i consider them valuable livestock.
in fact. i know of no rancher that wouldn't like half a dozen barn cats.
they feed any cat they see.
ranchers buy feed by the ton. this draws rats.
nobody likes rats. even mice spread disease here, the hunta virus is prevalent.
what we need is a cheap way to ship city cats to where they are needed.
no, i'm not criticizing jen.
one does what one has to. .

 

[susieqz]

guys, i was talking about people who try to make animals into something they are not. by using force.
i was not talking about managing a colony, tho i do question tnr.
i don't believe drifter would respond well to the tactics i mentioned.
if you want love, gentleness is key.

 

[Bekeart]

city people are divorced from reality.
they forget all the good feral cats do.
i consider them valuable livestock.
in fact. i know of no rancher that wouldn't like half a dozen barn cats.
they feed any cat they see.
ranchers buy feed by the ton. this draws rats.
nobody likes rats. even mice spread disease here, the hunta virus is prevalent.
what we need is a cheap way to ship city cats to where they are needed.
no, i'm not criticizing jen.
one does what one has to. .
__________________
susie

Just like long ago - cats guarding the Egyptian granaries.

Bekeart

 

[susieqz]

someday, rat poison won't be available.
then, farmers with lots of cats will thrive,
the chemically dependent guys will die off.
i don't trust our modern supply train as much as most.
it may last for my lifetime, but not forever.

anyway, i just feel good about not using poison anymore.

 

[ACORN]

Keep us updated please. I enjoy reading how You and Drifter are making out but have to confess that I am a little nervous opening your posts fearing that something less than good(read Yote) has happened. Keep up the good work. I know there are a lot of people here pulling for you both.

 

[Warren Sear]

I just discovered this thread last night. Although I am not much of a "cat guy", I do love all animals, and I really enjoyed reading it. I am among those pulling for you and the kitty, Suzieqz.

My beloved dog died in April. Long story short, I ended up recently with a "used" dog (about 4 years old) from the animal shelter. She had a traumatic life. She is perfect in every way. As I was reading Suzieqz's saga of making friends with the cat, it reminded me of my current relationship with my new dog. Like all of my other dogs, and in her own way, she is the best dog ever. I call her Mini...

 

[susieqz]

drifter is close to being promoted to barn cat, first class.
all she needs to do to qualify is to allow me to pick her up.
i'm close to that.
her usual after supper routine is to exchange touches, then walk away to lie down n stretch, groom, scratch.then come back to me.
since this is our relaxing time, it seemed silly for her to go away to lie down.
so, as she walked by, i reached out n pulled her to me.
she resisted but wasn't afraid.
i got her to lie down, cuddling n lying close.
of course, i immediately let her go.
she knew she could leave so she didn't fight.
she decided this was nice n stayed for 10 minutes or so.

then, after a walk about, she returned to the same place.
this was something she wanted to do, but didn't know she wanted.
she now believes that i'm not gonna hurt, even if i do something weird like shoving her off her feet.

 

[susieqz]

warren, i'm sure glad you rescued mini.
older dogs tend to get euthanized pretty quick.
the dog makes you happy, you make the dog happy; everybody wins.
i love dogs n i love cats.
i just love criters.

 

[Roadtrash]

Except rabbits, right?

 

[susieqz]

only my bullets caress evil bunnies.
i'm surprised that i didn't realize that
i had a new predator in the neighborhood.
i average shooting one evil bunny/month.
i see them out the window, grab the gun n shoot.
only 2 this year tells me my little hunter has been around for a while.
super smart kitty because i just read cats can make 30mph, but coyotes, 46mph.

 

[susieqz]

it turns out, that feral cats play, just like normal kitties.
she has fun with locusts.
when she spots one, she pounces. then. she lets it go so she can catch it again.
if the bug stops moving, she gently shoves it around with her paw til it jumps.
she doesn't eat it until the bug is too broken to play.
this is lots of fun to watch.
things are progressing. when drifter gets tired of interacting with me, she no longer leaves the garden or even goes to the other end.
instead, she goes n sits on the steps, or maybe the roof of the arbor, or she chases bugs.
i leave her alone til she comes up to me.
this works for us.
oh! we have come to terms about my sunday shoot.
i feed her n say hello.
when she's done eating, i go to te front of the house n fire a couple of warning shot.
this gives her time to leave without panicking,
then i come out n do my normal shooting.
she comes back by supper.

 

[Bekeart]

susie,

She has trained you well.

Bekeart