On Aug 14, 9:24 am, "BAC" wrote:
"Derek" wrote in message

...







"aquachimp" wrote in message
oups.com...
Last evening whilst we were watching telly, we heard a noice in the
kitchen akin to what the cats make when the pop in for a bit to eat
and there is some dry food out for them, (crunchy-bits, my wife calls
it).
However, on checking which cat had returned home, lest a stray had
sneaked in, ... it turned out to be a hedge hog. The back door been
open....
We were delighted. I'm plagued by snails/slugs that wont eat the dam
stuff I've planted for them (lettuce, nasturtiums, etc) but will go
after my one and only cytisus, a jap maple, some climbing plants,
roses and so on.
So, like I say... delighted to see a hedge hog.
We turned the kitchen light back off and shut the living room door.
We could hear it crunching away. Then silence. Checking moment later,
we saw it was sipping the milk... then gobbled the tinned cat food.
Much later, it was gone.
I've noticed recently that the cat's bowls have been unusually licked
clean.
So; I have 3 questions.

1)
Can / would a hedge hog use a cat-flap

2)
If we allow it to continue on the cat food, will that be bad for it?

3)
If not bad for it, if we put some food out for it (we would like to
keep it and maybe the bribery would help), will it not bother with
slugs and snail anymore?

best source for information is athttp://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/
downloadable hedgepig fact sheets

Very good, but I wouldn't say it was a better source thanhttp://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes far better than that one.

But, still athttp://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/ in stating "It is fine
to supplement the hedgehog's natural diet of snails and slugs...."
seems to propogate the alledged myth (according to http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/diet.htm
that slugs and snails are so natural a diet for them. The graph at the
top of the page clearly shows that slugs and snails only amount to 5%
of their diet and elswhere on that site, that 5% is given as only
when nothing else is available and starvation threatens.

"Traditionally people have had the idea that hedgehogs live almost
totally on slugs and snails

The idea of feeding them almost entirely on slugs and snails is very
wrong information and a hedgehog that is forced to rely on that diet
will very quickly die.")
http://www.thehedgehog.co.uk/diet.htm