GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - dog-poop?!?!

Billy[_4_] · 03-04-2008, 12:57 AM posted to rec.gardens

In article , Charlie wrote:

On Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:10:56 -0700,
(paghat) wrote:

Billy expounded:

Unnatural perhaps, but house cats do live longer.

snip

The shortened life of indoor cats is partially due to boredom resulting in
lethargy resulting in overweight and thereby susceptibility to all manner
of ailments, including diabetes, heart disease, renal failure, dental
disease, and cancer -- so that they make it past age nine, all the way to
age fourteen (on average), only with constant veterinary care & owner
willingness to let the cats carry on with chronic illness. They'd
otherwise have to be put down about age nine, the same time as natural
death occurs in a physically fit cat that had outdoor privileges.

One predicctive measure of how long a cat MIGHT live is its skill as a
hunter. Cats that delight in the hunt (and yes that usually means killing
birds, though for farm cats it'd be rodents) are living a higher quality
of life by their own standard, and so may continue to hunt into their
'teens. The year a cat stops hunting is the year its health begins to
decline.

Yep. Our cat has the run of the place, indoors and out, as he chooses,
24/7. He is a highly skilled hunter. Up until five years ago, the
neighborhood was overrun with rabbits, and mice and the ocassional rat
from the storm sewer were annual autumn problems. The damned things
played hell with any plantings and the garden. Six years ago we
inherited Stan from younger son. Stan grew up in the country, on a
heavily traveled road and survived there long enough to become really
roadwise.

In the six years since he moved to town, he has nearly eliminated the
neighborhood rabbits and we haven't had any mice in the house since.
He is never sick, only goes to the vet once a year for shots, and I
prophylactically worm him every three months because of his hunting and
the tendency of mice and rabbits to carry various intestinal parasites.

His best night of hunting, was nine young rabbits he brought to us on
the patio over a four hour period. One night he brought two in the
house and let them loose in the bedroom and all hell broke loose when
the Dane caught wind of them in her space.

Any that escape him and become to large for him to get, become
pelletized if they are in our yard.

Yeah, he does get the occasional songbird and that really ****es me off
at him, but that is what cats do. His benefits, on rodent control and
the enjoyment he provides, outweigh that thing.

At any rate, that is the life a cat needs, and gets around here. If he
does become smooshed, that is ok too, as he is having a great life,
best of both worlds for him.

Charlie

So much for having you et lee straight, sheesh. Gettin' kinda lonely out
here. I've got to geet zee leetel gray cells working.
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/