Wildlife visitors

[natsfan1a]

I would probably have the same conundrum if we had pets. I grew up in a household with both dogs and cats and I'm more of a cat person at heart. My hubby also grew up with both as pets, but his were outdoors only while mine were indoors/outdoors. Since beginning to feed the birds, I've become more aware of the issue of predation by cats. Another thing that would give me pause (no pun intended) as far as outdoor cats would be the potential exposure to diseases like feline leukemia, which felled my mother-in-law's wonderful lap-cat, as well as other hazards. But I can understand being conflicted about it. That's one reason that we don't have pets -- our diverging views on indoors/outdoors (that and frequent travels back in the day).

This is one of our conundrums. We love birds - my wife probably spends $100 a month in seed for our myriad feeders. Every once in a while, our cat gets one, which puts my wife in a funk.

I just console myself that the food we are providing does more to help the bird population than our cats hinder it.

[GburgNatsFan]

Well, when the animals we have pass naturally, we're just going to be birdlovers. If you look closely enough at them, you can start to pick out individuals. Then we'll name them and that will be that.

I would probably have the same conundrum if we had pets. I grew up in a household with both dogs and cats and I'm more of a cat person at heart. My hubby also grew up with both as pets, but his were outdoors only while mine were indoors/outdoors. Since beginning to feed the birds, I've become more aware of the issue of predation by cats. Another thing that would give me pause (no pun intended) as far as outdoor cats would be the potential exposure to diseases like feline leukemia, which felled my mother-in-law's wonderful lap-cat, as well as other hazards. But I can understand being conflicted about it. That's one reason that we don't have pets -- our diverging views on indoors/outdoors (that and frequent travels back in the day).

[natsfan1a]

Yes, we've picked out some individuals among our regular feeder visitors. We name our chipmunks, too.

Well, when the animals we have pass naturally, we're just going to be birdlovers. If you look closely enough at them, you can start to pick out individuals. Then we'll name them and that will be that.

[tomterp]

Yes, we've picked out some individuals among our regular feeder visitors. We name our chipmunks, too.

I have a name for my snake!   

[GburgNatsFan]

TMI, Tom.

Oh, you mean you have a reptile...

I have a name for my snake!   

[tomterp]

TMI, Tom.

Oh, you mean you have a reptile...

 

I was referring to Penny, pictured near the top of the thread.  I could explore the double entendre further, but numerous risks would ensue.

[CALSGR8]

im sure once we get into our new house out in seattle, we just might see big foot



were going to be in woods.......

You mean beside's Matt's big feet!  (Sorry, I couldn't resist that one!)

[natsfan1a]

TMI, Tom.

Oh, you mean you have a reptile...

[CALSGR8]

I knew 2 people who had outside and inside cats.  Both were kind of like the Statue of Liberty.

Give me your poor, down trodden....

My grandma had a few outside cats, and she would feed them sweetened condensed milk.  She had 2 inside cats too (Charlie and Nasty).  When I visited, sometimes we would go to Arthur Treachers to eat.  You know before we left we had to bring back at least 2 filets for the cats!

I knew a 1st grade teacher who also had indoor and outside cats.  She had about 10 indoor cats and a dog.  Her Mom had the upstairs of the house, and she and her husband lived downstairs.  Cats seemed to be everywhere.  I had to take a dose of Allergy medicine everytime I visited.  Of course they all loved me!  She would clean out one bedroom and shut the door so there would be 1 cat hair free space in the house for me to stay over.

[saltydad]

If you don't have a dog to protect your cats, they're often lunch. Can't tell you how many times my dog(s) have saved my cats. The usual signal that there is an issue is the dog trying to go through the glass door to get to the fox that my (stupid) cats think they are facing down.

I had a big black Maine Coon as our store cat at the garden center in NY. Shadow tracked down and killed a fox that had come in to the nursery yard and then hid behind some pallets in our storage area. Shadow looked so proud of himself when the screeching was finally over and he came waltzing out!

[kimnat]

You had an unusual Maine Coon.  from what I've read, they're great fishers, but lousy mousers.  Mine is proof in the puddin!  We wound w/ a big mouse problem and he never did squat!  The baits from pest control were slightly more helpful.  Finally, I got those ultrasound mouse repellers and there's been nary a mouse since!

[saltydad]

Shadow was the best varmint killer we ever had at the garden center. When the company closed, I brought him home to live with my other 2 Maine Coons, Abbott and Costello.

But I'm a fervent believer in pet cats as indoor only. While it took a while to get Shadow acclimated to staying inside, it was worth it. The statistics are that you can add around 5 years of life to your cat by keeping them inside.

[kimnat]

You know what's insane.  Bentley, my cooncat, was always so sickly (URIs) until he started escaping.  He's been healthier in the past 5 years than he was in the previous 6!  I don't know what the deal is, but he hasn't had an upper resp. inf. since he started going outside.  I thought it would do just what you said.  He also has the thickening heart walls, but is almost 12 yo and doing better than those first few years.  Go figure!

[natsfan1a]

A friend and my sister-in-law both had Maine Coon cats that were not effective mousers. Both cats were very sweet, though. Shadow sounds like one fearless feline!

You had an unusual Maine Coon.  from what I've read, they're great fishers, but lousy mousers.  Mine is proof in the puddin!  We wound w/ a big mouse problem and he never did squat!  The baits from pest control were slightly more helpful.  Finally, I got those ultrasound mouse repellers and there's been nary a mouse since!

[GburgNatsFan]

That was one badass cat.

I had a big black Maine Coon as our store cat at the garden center in NY. Shadow tracked down and killed a fox that had come in to the nursery yard and then hid behind some pallets in our storage area. Shadow looked so proud of himself when the screeching was finally over and he came waltzing out!

[saltydad]

That was one badass cat.

The funny thing was he was totally intimidated by my 2 other cats, because he was new in their territory. He was twice their size, yet would slink away from them. That lasted almost a year, then nature reasserted herself and he was once more king of the roost!

[CALSGR8]

When my brother and I were kids, we had to have small creatures you could keep in a cage.  Primary pet was hamsters.  Mom would only accept hamsters because they got short stubby tails.  Anything with a long tail reminded her of a rat.  NO RATS.

We had one that was named Ralph (after the mouse in the Beverly Cleary book THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE).  Ralph was a hyper hamster.  He would climb up the bars of his cage to the top.  Hang from the top by one paw and then drop to the bottom of the cage.  One would think "That will teach you to do that again!"  NOPE!  He shook himself off thinking "Lets do that trick again, that was fun!"

Once I get my house fixed up, I may get another hamster. 

[natsfan1a]

We had guinea pigs (and dogs and cats and goldfish and turtles). We started out with a male and a female guinea pig but soon had more. I think that they must be about like rabbits!

[tomterp]

We had a few hamsters, but before we knew hit, we were buying cages upon cages, it got out of control real fast with the exponential growth. 

[natsfan1a]

On a somewhat related not, there was a very striking graphic in the Post Home section recently regarding the reproduction rate of mice. 

[GburgNatsFan]

We now have two cats (a primary one, Ewok, and a backup auxiliary cat, Emil), one dog named Lambert (after Jack, but he's adopted), and a bearded dragon named Flare.

We had a few hamsters, but before we knew hit, we were buying cages upon cages, it got out of control real fast with the exponential growth. 

[CALSGR8]

We had a few hamsters, but before we knew hit, we were buying cages upon cages, it got out of control real fast with the exponential growth. 

See, that's why you get separate hamsters in separte cages.  One for each kid!

By the way, after we got our hamsters home, we had to take them to Mrs. Smeltzer's house to tame them so they could be held.   She would hold them in a towel (enought they could move but not escape).  They'd wiggle and fight and get hyper and then calm down.  From that point forward we could hold them in our hands with no biting and without running so fast we couldn't keep up with them.

That's why a ways back I kept asking Kim and NatsAddict about the name Smeltzer (I thought it was another relation).  She lived in Bannockburn development.  She also baby sat us at times.

[natsfan1a]

When I was a kid our neighbor's hamster decided to deliver a litter in the toaster. If I recall correctly, it did not end well...

[tomterp]

See, that's why you get separate hamsters in separte cages.  One for each kid!

That's like buying one female guppy and expecting to stay at 1.  They are perpetually pregnant.  My brother Tim got home from school and dumped his hamster out to play, and a bunch of little babies tumbled out.  She had obviously been impregnated before purchase.

[CALSGR8]

That's like buying one female guppy and expecting to stay at 1.  They are perpetually pregnant.  My brother Tim got home from school and dumped his hamster out to play, and a bunch of little babies tumbled out.  She had obviously been impregnated before purchase.

I think we avoided that by NOT buying female hamsters!  Unless one of them is like that Arnold movie where the guy gets pregnant!