OT : Cats ** And Dogs

[Guest guest]

Howdy y'all,

 

Been too busy to post for a long time and likely it is this will not change soon

... but I wanted to comment on this one. I believe that man's attempts to tame

his environment does little but help to destroy it .. natural selection is where

its at and that does not just apply to 4 laig critters.

 

Considering what our ancestors looked like .. if the human race can manage to

survive we need to accept that it will eventually be as different from what we

are today as we are from our ancestors .. but those wild critters that we don't

destroy will probably be closer to those around us now .. unless .. we turn them

into Solent Green. ;-)

 

> " Martin Watt " <aromamedical@> wrote:

>> Your poor cats are doing a jail term with no appeal. Let em out to >> chase

the local squirrels and birds. If a fox manages to grab one, >> then that's

life.

 

>>>exposure to feral cats which can spread disease

 

>>Of course, it's called natural selection and is what keeps a whole >>species

healthy.

>

> LOL Martin, Yes, my cats will never parole the foxes will have to

> catch other food and since both my cats are fixed and robust, I

> won't have to worry about kittens having natural immunity or which

> cat nature will select.

> Fondly,

> Sue

 

We have a feral dawg, Hunter, who does just that all the time. He looks to be a

cross betwixt a Red Fox and a Brittany but he is not cause its not possible ..

different genus they are. We also have two Chocolate Labs (Duke & Lady) .. and

our little mini farm is hang out for 3 other dogs whose families give them too

little attention. One of them (Scout) is a female Yellow Lab over 100 lbs - my

son rides her like a pony. But she is the most gentle of them all.

 

And .. we have a big Black Feral Tom Cat who is an efficient hunter .. Shadow.

Shadow has made all the dogs understand that he is not to be messed with but he

has never used his claws .. and they all get along well .. sleep and eat

together. Lately I will sit out of the patio after working in the garden ..

have a cool one or two .. and all around me are 6 dogs and a cat sleeping.

Looks like the aftermath of a fire fight in the 'Nam. ;-)

 

On wild critters. Last spring, he fellow down the road was feeding dog food to

a Mama Red Fox and her two kits. One day she and her younguns strolled over to

our place and started to eat Hunter's food. Normally, he would attack any

critter .. but he just sat and watched them. Why this went down is still a

mystery because he does chase foxes.

 

Shadow .. he loves to kill and eat birds .. butlately a little sparrow has

started perching on his bowl and eating .. Shadow can be as little as 4-5 feet

away and he just sits and watches and there is no teeth chattering, etc. When

the sparrow is full it flies off and then Shadow checks the bowl to ensure there

is still food in it. But Shadow will come home with a wild bird once of twice

a week.

 

Coyotes .. we have no shortage of .. and they occasionally come into the back

side of our land. They are hunting Shadow (I think) because he has had to run

from them a few times .. but ALL of the dogs will chase these coyotes for an

hour or more when they come around .. and on one occasion Hunter caught one of

two because he came back bloody and his wounds were not such that it could have

been his blood. These coyotes are dumb .. or brazen .. or both .. because one

afternoon after working in the garden I was sitting outside with a cool one and

two came into the yard. I carry a handgun most of the time and this time I

popped off two rounds .. missed them but they did not run off .. they started to

saunter off till the dogs were alerted and then they flew like the bullets that

missed them. ;-)

 

We live as close to the land as possible .. have a large organic garden and

fruit orchard, various berries, etc., and live near Kentucky Lake which has

better than fantastic fishing. I'm also a hunter .. have been all my life but I

have never killed a wild 4 laig critter that we don't eat .. except for coyotes.

Eco systems can be damned if that is one's argument .. but when I see skeeters,

ants, cottonmouths, copperheads and coyotes I put them down! My rationale here

is right back to that survival of the fittest .. they are my enemies so one of

us must go down. I've never seen a dinasaur .. and I've never missed them.

 

Hunter weighs but 32 pounds but he has a 100 pound attitude. He will hunt, kill

and eat most any 4 laig critter .. but he will not kill or eat wild birds .. and

though Shadow will eat wild birds he will not eat raw poultry .. not even wild

turkey scraps.

 

But all of my critters love venison scraps and deer bones. We have far too many

deer here and bag limits are generous .. I took 7 last year and then quit but

could have taken many more. I freeze the bones and scraps and feed them raw.

Lately the weather has been HOT so each afternoon when my son is having a

popsicle we give the dogs and cat a deersicle .. they gnaw it till they can

consume it. ;-)

 

We reluctantly accept that some day Hunter is not gonna return from his daily

(and nightly) hunts in the woods .. and a coyote or eagle (we have many here)

might take Shadow .. but as Martin says, that's life. Meantime, my critters

enjoy having the freedom to roam on our acreage and the lands surrounding us.

As much as I love to eat rabbit I can not see raising meat rabbits because I

would have to cage them.

 

I know how these critters feel. After spending 30 years in the Army and more

than half my adult life overseas .. the last 19+ (which ended in June 2007) in

large cities in Turkey .. I now feel like I have been born again and am living

life as it should be. Here in Henry County, TN .. its not possible to drive 2

or 3 miles without seeing a lot of wildlife .. and a traffic jam is three cars

waiting for a light to change. If a drug dealer wants free room and board all

they gotta do is come here .. Sheriff Monte Belew and his boys will make sure

they are taken care of. Folks around here have a low tolerance for what many

Americans accept as being unavoidable problems.

 

More and more I am becoming tired of dealing with EO sales and more excited

about getting back to my Tennessee ancestor's roots. Lucky I am that my wife

loves our land and our life as much as I do. She is Russian and Russians

generally paid little mind to politics as they felt they could have no impact or

felt that it was wise to keep their mouth shut .. but having seen life in the

USSR and in the Russian Republic .. she can see things we Americans might not

pay a lot of attention to .. and she has become a hard core Conservative. ;-)

 

That's about all of my ramblings for a while .. see y'all sometime in the

future. ;-)

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch .. http://www.AV-AT.com .. who is bragging cause he got a new Cub Cadet 4

WD Utility Vehicle for Fathers Day. ;-)