When, my friend and her 64 pound dog spent the month of November here, Sheldon (the dog) spectactulaly chased that cat out of the yard and it stayed away for MONTHS. Sheldon had almost caught him at the fence, so it was a memorable and lasting experience. But he finally figured out the dog was gone in March.
Plus, there are chicks and ducklings now.
Lizbeth, my cat, has engaged Rusty (the neighbor's cat) in a few late night fights. He's a biggun' - really a big cat, an Abbyssinian, nearly small bobcat-sized. He is an outside-only cat. Dooley, my younger and larger daschund, makes a security run nightly before we go to bed. Sometimes he barks wildly and I hear crashing through the "gully and meadow" of my property next to theirs. Dooley has to be called back when that occurs - I am afraid he might find a different predator some day, not just a big opportunistic Rusty.
It's the daytime predation which is the problem. These neighbors are good people. Last year, Rusty brought them a live chick, which the husband brought back cupped in his hands. He was very apologetic and asked the next day if it had survived. It had not... His wife was horrified.
Rusty is a cat. It's what cats do. Well, Lizbeth doesn't, but she's pretty special. She does hunt wild birds, but the chickens also chase other birds and squirrels, so she mostly catches ground-bound prey like lizards, mice, small snakes.
Anyway, I am usually alerted to Rusty's incursions by the flock: chicken alert calls, ducks making a ruckus, a gander honking, Sarge gobbling to beat the band, all the poultry all standing and facing the same direction. Rusty will be hunkered down, as low and flat as he can be against the ground. My appearance makes him turn and slink away, stopping to turn and look back. If I yell and run at him, he gets up and goes like a flash.
I think an air horn might give ME a heart attack too, Diva. Hmmm. I'll think on it, though. I may resort to throwing gravel at the cat after all, even though I throw like a wimp.
Plus, there are chicks and ducklings now.
Lizbeth, my cat, has engaged Rusty (the neighbor's cat) in a few late night fights. He's a biggun' - really a big cat, an Abbyssinian, nearly small bobcat-sized. He is an outside-only cat. Dooley, my younger and larger daschund, makes a security run nightly before we go to bed. Sometimes he barks wildly and I hear crashing through the "gully and meadow" of my property next to theirs. Dooley has to be called back when that occurs - I am afraid he might find a different predator some day, not just a big opportunistic Rusty.
It's the daytime predation which is the problem. These neighbors are good people. Last year, Rusty brought them a live chick, which the husband brought back cupped in his hands. He was very apologetic and asked the next day if it had survived. It had not... His wife was horrified.
Rusty is a cat. It's what cats do. Well, Lizbeth doesn't, but she's pretty special. She does hunt wild birds, but the chickens also chase other birds and squirrels, so she mostly catches ground-bound prey like lizards, mice, small snakes.
Anyway, I am usually alerted to Rusty's incursions by the flock: chicken alert calls, ducks making a ruckus, a gander honking, Sarge gobbling to beat the band, all the poultry all standing and facing the same direction. Rusty will be hunkered down, as low and flat as he can be against the ground. My appearance makes him turn and slink away, stopping to turn and look back. If I yell and run at him, he gets up and goes like a flash.
I think an air horn might give ME a heart attack too, Diva. Hmmm. I'll think on it, though. I may resort to throwing gravel at the cat after all, even though I throw like a wimp.
