Indestructible

Stray Cats are Indestructible

My South neighbor (the one that feeds and houses stray cats in her garage) finally hired an exterminator to get rid of them

To recap, what began as a one cat found living in her tree with three tiny kittens has evolved into a stray cat nightmare. She tried to catch them and take them to the animal shelter. She would catch the nursing female but none of the kittens which were too small to trigger the trap. She would let the female out in order to maintain the cat family unit.

Of course, that female slut has had two more broods since first taking up house in that tree. Why should she or ANY of her kittens leave? She had housing, fresh water and food. I think there were at least 5 cats living in her garage and pooping in my yard. They are very considerate not to poop in her yard but have no reservations regarding befouling my garden. I was afraid to use my herbs last year. I was afraid to dry them out. I just let them die.

This year, I am terrified for my lettuce. I had been stealing my roomies used coffee grounds for a week before I told them what I was doing. I am creating a cat repellent. I spread the grounds around the lettuce.

After months of dropping hints to my neighbor she is finally hiring a professional to catch the cats and remove them from her garage.

Wednesday the exterminator placed the critter trap near her garage. Good idea. That is where they live after all. ‘Cept, all he caught was a possum.

I saw it on my way to my garage and laughed my tail off. No pun intended.

One of the stray cats was lying in her bird bath (which is in stalking distance of my bird feeder) watching the possum struggle.

Another neighbor on the North side of my house asked the exterminator about family cats that are permitted outside. He informed her that all cats in Toledo require a collar and a license. She, like me, hates the stray cats. They are a huge nuisance to everyone. New neighbors always remark about the large number of strays in the neighborhood. I should mention the stray cats did not begin with the Southside neighbor but a neighbor across the street. The house had been empty for a month and the new owners unceremoniously removed three kittens from the garage. One of those kittens found herself in my neighbor’s tree.

She called four pet stores only to be laughed at four times. No one really sells cat collars and the region does not require a license. She did find a collar and her extremely well-fed cat wears it proudly. I can not imagine how anyone could confuse a pampered stray and a pampered pet. I would describe her cat as dwarf panther.

If you are an animal lover and are finding yourself becoming very uncomfortable reading this blog visit this link and spay or neuter your own pets before they become someone else’s problem.

Thursday the exterminator had placed the trap under the garage door and used old closet doors to block off the space forcing the cats to enter the trap. When I got home from work, I noticed the trap empty but the garage was missing a window. The Northside neighbor and I laughed ourselves silly over a glass of rum and coke on her porch while her house cat lazily watched us.

I would have taken a picture this morning but I think she decided to cut her losses. Two animal traps looked as if they had been thrown into a corner where she keeps her cutting.

I hope she gets is right before I do something drastic.

I also wanted to say "hi" to my Crabby Swap Partner