Stalking and killing - the feline way

If stalking and killing were an Olympic event, my one cat would win the gold hands down. The striped mangy one a.k.a Zeb is a world champion at this event. Every morning without fail, he is under his favourite bush (which offers just enough cover) watching the parade of feathered avians on the lawn. He sits there - almost expecting them to walk up and jump into his mouth. Yes, I am sure he actually thinks they will. Fast, fresh and feathered is his motto. No bird in the garden is safe from his clutches. Many times we've found the lawn strewn with feathers and part of a bird lying in disarray under a tree.

Blue on the other hand, shows only a passing and half interest in the wildlife in the garden. Doves, thrushes, robins - you name it can walk right past him. All he does is roll over and stretch himself out - a real disgrace to the feline race. He considers the effort of walking to his bowl beyond his abilities, let alone catching a bird!! The only interest he shows is when they come to drink at the bird bath and he happens to be lying close by. Then he makes a half hearted attempt to catch a dove - muttering with disgust when they have the audacity to fly off!

Cats in general though do not have a good record when it comes to birds. In fact in 1900 a lighthouse keeper's cat exterminated the entire known population of the Stephen Island Wren, rendering it extinct within a very short space of time. The lighthouse keeper was the only person to ever see a living speciman.

Cats being the adaptable creatures they are, followed the path of man wherever he went. Used on sailing ships to control the rat populations, they found solid land much more to their liking, and soon made their way onto land. They travelled with the sailing ships of the day, and the famous Captain James Cook who discovered much of the Pacific and Australia kept them on his ships to control the rats. Upon docking, cats, moved jumped ship along with other domestic creatures like pigs and goats and soon decimated the helpless, and often flightless birds who had lost the power of flight due to the lack of predators and the passage of time. Within 150 years the list of extinct birds, and some mammals was extremely long.

Even today with all the awareness we have and appreciation for birds and mammals, cats in particular still wreck untold damage to the avian population. Measures have ranged from keeping cats indoors, to wearing bells around their necks - all to no avail. Cats are hunters and their instinct will never change, even through thousands of years of domestication and co-existence with us.

Remember we don't own a cat - they own us!