On Apr 6, 9:00*am, dgk wrote:

I'm curious about the fishing thing. Do they sit at the bank and try
to grab fish when they come too close? There was a small fishing pond
in my yard (like a bathtub) when I bought the house but I had to
remove it since I figured it would just be a sushi bar for the feline
members of the household. Not to mention the birds.

Our neighbor has a moderately large fishpond in their back yard with
something between 40 and 60 large comets in it - averaging about a
foot long. They give away something between 15 and 30 each year (yes,
they are breeding - almost like guppies) to the local pond supply in
trade for food and plants, but they are always managing a crowd. So,
when our cats started fishing in their pond they raised no objections
at all - even find it amusing.

The big Maine Coon sits on a rock a few feet from the edge and dangles
one paw in the water by a few inches - keep in mind his paws are about
the size of a small saucer and webbed (typical of the breed). When a
fish gets close enough, he attempts to gaff it and flip it onto the
shore. The younger cat used the same technique but with both paws in
the water - until he got a fish that outweighed him and was pulled in.
He managed to get the fish to the edge of the pond, but he has not
been back since - maybe he is waiting for warmer weather. Yes, they
share their catch.

Before we moved into this house we had a small pond in our back yard
with much smaller fish in it. The big cat learned there and is
teaching by example.

Neither cat has expressed much interest at all in birds other than as
amusing diversions. They like to watch the feeder but never make any
attempt to catch anything from it. They pretty much prey on fish and
'vermin' - mice/moles/voles/rabbits/squirrels/chipmunks and so forth.

On the whole indoor/outdoor thing - the nature of a cat is such that
if it is confined to the indoors with very, very, vanishingly few
exceptions, it will not be able to express its entire nature. At which
point it is no longer a cat but an appendage to our egos. That is fair
neither to us nor to the cat. Sure, there are some (over)breeds with
only a few firing neurons that adapt fairly well to confinement but
that is the exception, hardly the rule. So, this puts one on the
proverbial horns of a dilemma - there are very real risks to allowing
a cat access to the outside - that is undeniable. As with ourselves -
every time we leave our abode, drive a vehicle, cross a street, fly in
an airplane, whatever - there are very real and undeniable risks
attached. But, watching a cat be a cat with all the expression and
behavior attached to that behavior makes one have to think very, very
hard before denying that absolute joy to the animal. Naturally, city
cats are an entirely different problem. There is no legitimate
possibility for free outdoor access. And that makes the burden on the
owner doubly difficult. Ah, well.

And as to Ms. Cyber-whatever - I will deal with her when the weather
is sufficiently wretched that I have nothing better to do. But I will
start with her advice to an individual what an altered male cat who
suddenly started peeing all over - her advice was to confine it. NOT -
even given all her ranting on taking cats to vets and such - to have
it checked for a urinary or kidney or other medical problem, an
obvious concern for a sudden change in behavior. As I wrote before -
dangerous.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA