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| Admittedly, this photo is borrowed from Google. Aren't they pretty? |
Yesterday as I replaced a refilled hummingbird feeder, a little Anna's hen lit on it and stared at me. Instead of eating, she seemed to want to communicate something. I'm convinced it's the little hen we rescued last summer, unafraid and grateful.
This morning, as I looked out our front door (we have a window in it), there was a gray tabby cat at the top of the steps leading onto our deck. More spotted than striped, he is quite a regal looking fellow.
I thought he was begging for food, but later decided he'd been drawn there by the many buzzing hummingbirds. I've seen this cat before. He's one of the strays who sadly lives in the woods. We've caught many of them in our "Have-a-Heart" traps. If they've been sick or injured, we've healed them before moving them to new homes or a shelter. Don't want them catching birds and chipmunks to survive.
He has evaded capture, but this morning he came back for a bowl of canned Friskies mixed grill. He left the Purina cat chow untouched. With a full stomach, maybe he will be less inclined to hunt. If I can win his confidence, perhaps we can catch him and relocate him to a shelter or, better yet, a loving home.
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| Mei-Ling considers Bourkes just other family members. Boring, actually. To avoid being scolded, she will seldom even look at them. |
Interestingly, for the first time in her 8 years of life, my black Mei-Ling hissed. I've never heard her do that before. I lifted her up to look out the window at him as he ate, and she let us both know in no uncertain terms that she did not welcome him.
Other times I've brought stray females or kittens indoors, she never hissed at them.
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| Patches likes to watch the birds sometimes, but she never threatens them. Admonished to keep her distance, this is as close as she ever gets, and then only rarely. |
In fact, our tiny calico is her best friend and she was a stray we decided to keep. That was because the first day I brought Patches home she walked up to our 75 lb. Malamutt (malamute and lab) and rubbed up against him, purring. He likes cats and apparently this is one dog she decided she should befriend immediately.
Our affectionate Patches is funny. This tiny calico will walk right under the dog, or over him, without any hesitation.
When I started this post, I wanted to comment on the hummingbirds. Our cats understand, "NO BIRDS!" It helps that they live with over 20 parakeets ... 31 at present, counting babies for sale. When they leave the house they are admonished with that command. We see them with mice, voles and moles, but not birds, even with all our feeders.
Wild or stray cats are another matter, however. Cats are meant to be domestic lap pets, not wild. People who release them into forests are not doing them or the wildlife any favors. It's sad. Animals deserve our respect and care, not to be mistreated or abandoned. I'd like to know who is responsible for the lonely cats that have, or are, prowling our woods.
Peace & Blessings
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