Evening star., 1944-06-14
This and That
BY Charles =. TracetUell.
."BETHEsnA, Nd.

Dear Sir. ~ IN
What can do to protect the birds
from whole neighborhood Of cats? I
like cats, and these around here are good
ordinary specimens, not too intent on
catching birds. But there are 30 many
of them that at all times there Is ut
least one cat in the yard, threatening
them.
81 have tried your plan Of tossing i
glassful of cold water at them and,
while have had some success do not
have the time to spend running In and
out the house. Could you suggest some
other measures which would be humane
and yet deter them?
Sincerely, J. M"
r + ~
This Is a problem which will often be
faced by the friend Of small animals.
Harming them is unthinkable, to such
a person. He or she will respect their
right to live, ard also the instincts
which the Creator put in them In the
beginning.
There is enough killing in the world,
he will think.
He will not believe that the instinct to
catch, on the part Of predatory car
nivorous animal, is too bad He will
realize that no one person can under
stand all life and may feel that the in
stincts Of the stalking animals are right,
for them.
Natures checks and balances work in
just this way, he knows. Interference
in natures ways has led to many states
inlmlcal to man, who does the inter-
fering.
-
One way to keep the bird feeding sta
ton safe from cats Is to surround 1t with
pen of chicken wire.
Wire about 80 inches high is best.
This wire still may be secured, al
though perhaps one will have to search
for it.
If the feeding place Is put in the mid
die and circle OF wire about 10 feet
In diameter is made around it, few cats
will be able to enter.
A leap of 80 inches Is nothing for one
OF these animals, but the wire has a de-
terrtng effect on account of its looseness,
For this reason it is best not to make
too solid construction
The idea Is to have the fence COM
pletely around the feeding place, but
still to have 1t rather limp so that it
wlggles at touch.
1t Is this Wiggle which acts as
commemorative 1t makes the cat feel
mat 1t is not safe to try to jump over.
inns enect may be secured by placing
inside the wire a few stakes, about q to
feet apart.
Put the stakes on the inside. lust "a
braces. If one side Of an aIreadv erected
fence can be used, this will tive larger
feeding space
Care must be taken in this event. to
see to 1t that the fence itself is catnroof
1t may perhaps be necessary to put the
bottom of the chicken wire in the earth
IN oroer TO prevent cats from creeping
under.
AS for the squirrel, this animal must
be accepted as part Of the picture In the
suburban areas.
1t is able to get into any pen con-
sCructed and into every feeding station.
Not Ill Is lost, by any means. because in
searching for the larger seeds the souir-
rel tosses pawfuls of seed onto the
ground, from which it is picked up bv
the birds. Fortunately, most species like
nothing better than to feed from the
ground
The amount of time and energy spent
in trying to construct "souirrelproof"
bird feeding station is mostly wasted.
1t is much better we believe, to look
upon the ordinary gray squirrel as
| monkey rather than a rat Although it
Is classed as rodent, the squirrel is
divided from that pest by an immense
gulf, just as man is divided from mon
keys. A monkey is a divertins animal.
1t we look upon a squirrel as simply a
monk with bushy tail, we will be able
to tolerate It, and get much amusement
| from tts Incompatible antics.
r