hmmm Maybe all he wanted was a furry friend.

I protect my wild babies with a fearsomeness, surpassed only by protection of my indoor fur babies.

So to the cats stalking the babies, beware. A drenching awaits!

My cats freak when I bring out the ol' spritzer (rarely use it, though)

I can't remember the last time I actually had to squirt Rustling in the trash? Someone get the gun!

That must have been a pretty dramatic scene!

Well, cats *are* hunters

Probably the only thing they do that I don't care for

Love its instincts.

I'm glad the bun got away, but just have to say, you have an awesome, handsome big hunk of a boy kitty on your hands!

She was about three months old and we lived out where she could go into a sizable dooryard and field that was crazy with rabbit warrens. One morning I heard that squealing you spoke of and looked out to find Purrl riding a leaping, twisting, shrieking bunny around like it was the Rabbit Rodeo. She finally got bucked off but not before I nearly died of shock...and awe!

Too bad that scene in the kitchen wasn't caught on tape; it would be fun to watch.

You might want to put a bell on your cat's collar.

It might save a bird's life, (or even another rabbit).

We're city people now and the outdoors is a busy street. But when we had Purrl she could roam a little. She wasn't much of a scourge really, but that one was incredible!

She brought it to the house and promptly released it inside where it flapped around the room in panic. It was bigger than her head, but she had a good grip on it.

This was Nerm. He was chubby and hopped around, and had his tail amputated; allowing him to stealthily network his way into the bunny community. Then he'd steal away with their babies. I saved some, but wasn't able to save 'em all.

[IMG][/IMG]

One of the funniest movies ever made and likely to ever be made.


"And place it here next to the other one only a bit higher so we have a two level effect with a path running down the middle."

"A PATH! A PATH!!"



Silliness abounds.

"Run away, run away!"

(Or as in Finding Nemo, "swim away, swim away!&quot

I just pissed myself laughing.

They're hunters. What was the cat supposed to do, dig up and eat carrots?

not all cats are let out to kill other animals. mine never were. and my friends had house cats too. they were all great cats. not killers.

Do you try to stop bears from fighting each other too? Oh, Mr. Chocolate, no. I think that was Treadwell's last words. Just because we are "civilized" don't drag the cats along with us.

we keep cats as pets are responsible for their behavior in a way that we are not for bears.

it was the most horrific scene in my backyard a few years ago when i found little bunny feet scattered on the walkway and patio, little bunny heads in the grass, little bunny arms and legs scattered all over

i burst into tears
wanted to scream
wanted to throw up

and then i found one tiny bunny, cowering by the fence which i tried to save; the wildlife place told me to put it back in the nest and i refused because of the fucking cat that jumped the fence and wiped out the rest of the nest. we took the baby in, tried our best to help it, but it was dying. a couple days later we turned it over to the wildlife place, hoping they could help. my teenage daughter and i held each other and cried in the parking lot after dropping the baby off. a week later the wildlife place sent me a postcard to tell me it was dead.

for those of us who actually ENJOY wildlife such as bunnies, birds, chipmunks, etc. it is an absolutely devastating thing to come upon such a massacre.

i probably should have gone over to the cat owner's house and asked them to come & clean up the death and destruction they allowed their cat to perform simply by allowing their cat outside.

i have known many people who have cats that remain indoors, or go for walks on a leash. those cats don't seem to have their lives ruined by it. they never seemed depressed or pissed off that they couldn't go out and kill a nest of baby bunnies. they were pampered, loved, and for all appearances they were happy.

i had a couple cats when i was a child. they were wonderful, happy house cats.

when an animal is on the loose the owner has no idea/no concept of all the death it can cause to other creatures and no concept of the emotional trauma it can bring to people who have to see it and clean it up. it's pretty difficult to go around picking up little tiny feet when you're eyes are overflowing with tears and you can barely see.

because of the many predators out there that will take cats out. They are part of the local wildlife.

As someone who lives rurally, I can say that every predator of rodents is welcome. Rodents, including bunnies, are destructive. My cat takes care of whatever rodents manage a break-in. The hawks and owls patrol the rest. The local great-horned owl often hunts from the large evergreen 6 feet from my back porch.

I love wildlife. I have more wild neighbors than human. Some, though, I can do without: flies, mosquitoes, rodents, and noxious weeds are at the top of that list.

The owls and the hawks are always here, as are the coyotes. This spring, a pair of golden eagles hung out frequently, as well. There are bobcats and cougars, too, but they aren't numerous or close in.

The abundance of wild prey means an abundance of predators. It's part of "wildlife."

.to help with your fly & mosquito problem

Get a bat (somehow, without getting bitten)

Bats eat flying insects, especially at night.

And lots of insect eating birds.

Chickens help with the flies, as well, scratching and destroying their breeding spots.

I've heard, anecdotally, that pound-for-pound the housecat is the most effective predator on the planet. Having seen mine snatch sparrows out of the air, I'm inclined to believe. And <3. Yep, I'm cold - sue me.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill

Excerpt:

Actually he chose me. He has an absolute tantrum if I try to keep him in the house. Plus, he doesn't use a litter box but goes outside.

but i think people have a right to complain about cats destroying native wildlife.

And this cat survived all of these living in the woods for several years. He had to hunt to live and ate his prey. Now he brings me offerings.

He keeps whining about how his kitteh Boomer keeps bringing snakes into his house!

Female cats hunt. And when I say hunt, they bring all of their glory and trophies home for their humans to witness.

I don't want to describe the summer of 9 moles on the porch with their innards ripped out - for about 28 days. It was disgusting, ritual, and planned because they were stacked dead and flattened like an offering - every day a new hill of gross things.

It is an offering, and a monument.

I can only imagine how ticked he is with your lack of appreciation in his mighty gift. My advice is to check your shoes carefully for kitty pee before putting them on for the next several days. Cats are vengeful creatures.

Cat brings in a live young bunny. I foolishly pick up the cat to shake it out of her mouth. Bunny runs under the kitchen cabinet--there is like a one-inch space where something can crawl through. Can't get it out! Must we take apart the cabinet to get it out?? We did take out the baseboard but it had crawled too far in and around a corner--couldn't reach it.

I go to the garden center and buy a live trap hoping it will come out somehow. Go to bed with two cats at large in the house. In the morning, no bunny in trap but it had crawled out and settled in the corner of the kitchen closet in a little furry ball, presumeably to wait for its mother to come get him. Used live trap to scoop up bunny and set him free outside. How the two cats missed seeing this bunny is a mystery, but lucky!

Edited to add: that was when we still let our cats go outside. No more. Between hunting and ticks and fleas, not worth it. The house is roomy enough, and there is a screened in porch.

And there was no way I could keep them in all the time. If you have animals with a prey drive then they will catch things. It's unfortunate, I set a lot of the little critters free but that is the way of life.

I had a cat that brought me mice and left them by the backdoor.

They do what they have to do. Dogs get fed regularly but they still will catch squirrels and moles. It's what animals do. I don't like it but being raised in the woods, I accept it.