Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
puncture bites. The only cat-injured bird I've ever restored to health required antibiotics
for three full weeks.
In my lifetime I've taken in five stray cats. They all adapted well to indoor life. It's
harder to confine a cat that has spent its whole life going in and out but it's not impos-
sible.Ifyoufeelyoumustallowyourcattogooutdoors,youcanatleasttrytoreducethe
harm to birds by letting it out only at night.
Q I was thrilled when chickadees laid eggs in our nest box, but a predator got them
before they hatched. How do I keep raccoons, cats, snakes, and other predators out
of my birdhouses?
A
Awidevarietyofcommercialbafflesandpredatorguardsareavailableatbirdspecialty
stores or on the Internet, or you can fashion your own. Some are designed to keep critters
from climbing up the pole or tree, others to keep them from entering or reaching into
the entrance hole. Unfortunately, some predator guards cause more problems than they
solve, so be careful that your birds don't have trouble getting in or feeding their young
withtheseguardsinplace.Becausepredatorsvarylocally,seekadvicewheneverpossible
from others in your community who have birdhouses and who may know about solutions
that work in your area.
SOLVING THE FERAL CAT PROBLEM ONE CAT AT A TIME
My daughter Katie
and her college roommate Stacey had a problem: a feral cat was
eating birds in their Ohio backyard. The cat was young, beautiful, and hungry, but so
were the birds she was eating.
When I visited, I witnessed the cat killing a beautiful Carolina Wren — an adult male
who was helping his mate feed nestlings at the time. Without his help, the female wren
would have to work much harder to raise their young successfully. The last straw was
when I watched the cat stalking the mother wren.
But what to do? I headed to the grocery store and bought a can of cat food, using it to
entice her into my car. I took an experimental drive around the block with the cat eating
in the back seat. When we got back and I opened the car door, I expected her to make a
run for it, but she continued washing her paws in satiated contentment in the back seat.
So I drove 800 miles back to Minnesota with her.
“Kasey” was apparently so hungry for regular meals and a home to call her own that
she was perfectly happy and well behaved in my car. She was infested with worms and
lice, but after a few relatively small vet bills she became a healthy, happy indoor cat and
my treasured companion.
