permaculture

[Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>]

We originally fed the birds when we moved to the country, but our 2 city
cats would lurk by the feeders. We stopped feeding birds and their mortality
dropped to almost nothing (the proud cats always brought carcasses in to
show off). The cats focused on the voles in the garden and packrats in the
barn, which was invaluable pest control for us: During a catless period the
garden looked like Swiss cheese from countless vole burrows. Eventually the
city-born cats were killed by bobcats and coyotes. Over the years we adopted
other strays, and all the town cats were killed by predators, so we stopped
"rescuing" them. Only the barn-born ones were savvy enough to stay alive. I
learned a lot from watching their incredible caution and alertness. Our barn
cats have now mastered urban life, too. I couldn't bear to lock them
indoors, as it makes them miserable, but then, I've seen indoor cats who
won't go out an open door. I recognize being outdoors may shorten their
lifespan, but the way that they scratch at a closed door tells me they
believe that it's better to die on your feet (paws?) than live on your
knees. 


Toby
www.patternliteracy.com


On 6/25/06 12:35 PM, "CHINAGRVE@aol.com" <CHINAGRVE@aol.com> wrote:

> I live on 40 acres in high desert and have 10 cats that spend most of their
> time outdoors.   We have hawks, owls, coyotes and I've had no problem in 
> the 4
> yrs I have lived here.    Half my neighbors keep their cats in and the other
> half let them out.    My cats are all a bit "wild" from being out so much.
> 
> Marilyn Conway
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