What I am NOT however, is a cat-lover. Nope, I don't like them and they don't like me. Cats and I are mutually antagonistic. They make me nervous and I guess I make them aggressive. Generally we stay a respectable distance from one another.
I know that this makes me somewhat suspect to many people. There are a LOT of cat lovers out there. I mean, how can I not like those fluffy little kittycats? They're sooo cute! Well, sorry, I just don'e. I think it's genetic. My mom wasn't crazy about them either.
A few weeks ago I was sitting quietly at my computer one night minding my own business when suddenly the most God-awful screeching and yowling erupted from outside. It sounded as if it was right under the window I was sitting next to. Let me tell you, it scared me out of three year's growth! After my heart rate returned to normal, I realized that there were a couple of cats fighting in front of our house. I guess cats get into fights fairly often.
I've always thought that cat owners who let their cats out at night are really taking a risk. I mean, who knows where they go or what they get into? And then they come back inside bringing whatever back in with them. They don't even wipe their feet! Its dangerous too, cats not only fight with each other, they also have been known to take on racoons, possums, and skunks! I was thinking that I would write a post about the about the dangers of letting your cats out. Then I decided however, that I really didn't want to take on the whole cat community (including my poor, misguided, cat-loving Little Sis!) So I actually showed a little restraint for a change and didn't write a word. I just sat and grumbled.
Now for the past few years, we occasionally are visited by a cat from the neighborhood. From time to time we see her sunning herself on our deck. We have no idea how long she sticks around exactly. It seems like she's out there for a while. She doesn't hurt anything, doesn't drag anything into the yard with her or anything. She just sits or lies down. She looks healthy enough and naturally, we do not feed her or try to make friends. She runs away if we make any noise or open the back door and that's just fine with us. An uninvited visitor but an innocuous one. We won't see her for weeks and then suddenly there she is again. I don't know if she is owned by one of our neighbors or if she is a feral cat and I haven't been interested in finding out.
Until today, that is.
Today she was not alone. She brought someone with her. In fact, she brought FIVE someones with her.
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| I couldn't get outside to take the pictures. Sorry they're so poor!! |
But cute or not, I do NOT want SIX cats living in my backyard!! They need to learn that "....a House Is Not a Home!!" At least, not THIS house! At least, not for THEM!
Our yard is fully fenced, but there's not a cat in the world who is stopped by something as insignificant as a fence! Any suggestions as to getting them to relocate?? There's got to be some nice cat lady with 34 cats living somewhere nearby. Right?
She probably wouldn't even notice five or six new cats!
Oh my! My brother and his wife in Ft. Worth area ran into the same thing. The humane shelter told her that if she caught them, she could bring them in, and even provided a "live trap." She did, problem solved.
ReplyDeleteI am not a cat lover either. My neighbors across the street have 5 cats and they are let out in the morning and called, by name, in at evening. In the meantime, they laze about the neighborhood, do their business in my flower beds and cause our Greyhound to become agitated if he sees one outside. (He is NOT cat friendly!) One thing to be sure of is that the cats learned early on what the "Beware of Dog" signs hanging on my back fence meant. Giles the Wonder Dog chased one furry little friend under my garden shed, where it stayed until I called the dog in, then it took off like a shot.
Maybe you should consider either getting a dog, or at least borrowing one for a week. I can imagine Momma Cat and her offspring would leave, never to return.