"Jo Ann" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 22, 4:38 pm, Newbie wrote:
To make a long story short, I am worrying about whether wood mulch
(Cedar Nuggets from Home Depot to be precise) is safe for cats to run
on or jump onto? Or small metal bird baths placed on that mulch?

Nothing bad has happened to our knowledge. But a neighbor's cat
returned with a serious limp in one of the front leg. She'll heal, but
this got him and me talking that while there isn't much we can do about
the outside world, we should cat proofing our yards more consciously.

Exhibit 1: My wife has created about a 60 feet long strip of wooden
mulch along the fence because grass doesn't grow easily here. Cats love
to walk on the mulch, even jump on it from the fence. (As mentioned, it
is Cedar Nuggets from Home Depot.)

Now, I tried walking barefoot on it for a few feet and realized it
wasn't like normal ground. You have thousands of wood chips, some with
sharp edges, all at random angle. I felt a lot of sharp points and
edges. Walking gently is one thing, but if a cat ran or, worse, jumped
from a fence, she could land on a sharp chip the wrong way and get
hurt?

Exhibit 2: We have an 18" heavy iron bird bath. It looks pretty but my
fear is it easy to trip. Especially when it is sitting on an uneven
ground like the mulch or even grass. Cats are naturally curious, this
is just the roght height for them to try playing or climbing, and
having it fall on them.

Would appreciate any experience you have guys may have here about
saftey of cats running/jumping on wood chips, and playing near bird
baths.

This has GOT to be a troll. No one that worried about cats' safety
would be letting them out to travel the neighborhood.

Jo Ann

If a cat is "fixed: it will seldom travel off of your property....We live on
a dead end street, and one of our cats came from a neighbor (when they got a
dog) she still goes back there to visit once in a while, and takes her buddy
B-K with her, but other than that, all of our cats spend all of their time
on the property. So, other than using the ground for a cat box, they are
really inside cats.....