Friday, February 16, 2007

With Two Cats in the Yard



Our house, is a very, very, very fine house.
With two cats in the yard,
Life used to be so hard,
Now everything is easy ‘cause of you.

Our House by Crosby, Stills & Nash

For some reason I’ve had several cat visitors to my yard lately. My neighbors probably think I’m nuts. Well, I happen to love black and white animals and this little kitty was too pretty not to photograph. The fat gray with the sweet meow was content to rest under a bush.


Visitor cats love to leave dusty footprints on freshly washed cars, but that’s about all the harm they do. Plus, another less skittish gray will let me pet it. Nice. No litter box or smelly tins of food to open.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sheila, if you love kitty cats, before cranking up your vehicle if there’s any chance that the engine might be warmer than it is outside on a chilly day, make sure you open the hood first to see if a kitty is in there. You can make a real mess out of one if you crank up and one is in there.

I don’t like cats defecating among my veggies. Maybe it’s a natural fertilizer but I just don’t like the thought of eating out of a cat’s poop place. People should keep their pets on their own property both to protect them from harm and as a courtesy to their neighbors.

Sheila said...

Thanks for the advice about the car. I worry that I might back over one. Since I don't have a cat I don't think about that, but I doubt I'd go so far as to open the hood.

And I don't blame you for being upset about the cats pooping in the vegetable garden. Of course, chicken and cow crap seems more acceptable as fertilizer--must be some chemical or aesthetic reason.

I seriously think enforcing a cat leash law would be more trouble than it's worth. Many people keep their kitties indoors anyway.

Now, feral cats. Those are a little more troubling. AUM (Auburn University Montgomery) has been battling a feral cat population for years now and has even gotten notice from PETA at times.

Tim said...

OMG! Pooks and I saw the picture of the first cat and I nearly fell out of my chair. She / he looks exactly like one of our cats, Flower: http://tnrin.wordpress.com/2007/01/16/queens-of-sagvag/

We get quite the number of cats visiting our yard, as well. However, Flower - being the tomcat that she is - usually beats the daylights out of them and chases them away.

Anonymous said...

Well, if you’re not gonna’ pop the hood, maybe blowing the horn a coupla’ times might chase the critter away, and then you can back over it.

We don’t have leash laws of any sort in Elmore County, although my commissioner promised me that he would work to get one in return for my vote the last time he stood for re-election…….so much for promises from politicians. My next door neighbor has three cats that roam my garden at will until I chase them away. When I asked her to keep them on her property she became angry and won’t even speak to me now. I’ve known of people shooting invasive pets or poisoning them (just leaving some anti-freeze where they can find it will cause a gruesome death) but I won’t go that far because it’s not the animal that is at fault, it’s their owner.

Sheila said...

Tim, I guess the old saying that we all have a twin somewhere in the world applies to cats too. Flower sounds like a great watchcat.

Don, I think I would have been perturbed too if the politician promised he'd work for the law and didn't. But you and I know all about those promises. I'm sorry you are not on friendly terms with the neighbor. Do you have a good junkyard dog or could you borrow one to scare the cats away (and I don't mean to kill them, you cat lovers)?

When I grew up in the country, we had our share of animals, some of which we acquired after they were thrown out by their owners. And I know people in country can resort to their own brand of "animal control," which isn't the kindest I must admit. One time, we found several dogs poisoned under our house. Thinking back, it probably wasn't an accident. And pets would often disappear never to return.

Naomi said...

Love the photos Sheila. I get a lot of feline visitors to my back garden too.

Anonymous said...

LOL, Sheila! I don’t have a dog unless you count the one that belongs to the same neighbor. It soils the rest of our property, but fortunately not the garden because it’s fenced in, but fences don’t stop cats.

Sheila said...

Well, I guess that neighbor's dog is glad to see the cats going to your property. I don't like people who let their dogs use my yard for their bathrooms either.

Marion said...

"With two cats in the yard,"...Our House is still one of my favourite songs, because of that line.

I don't have a cat anymore, but it is the first time in my life without one to share the house.

I think it's great they came to visit...kind of like grandkids, who stay to be cuddled for awhile, and then go home...lol!

Sheila said...

Oh Marion, more cats are coming. A lovely fat Siamese visited yesterday and he looked just like my Siamese from my childhood.