No one can build a better mousetrap.

Darla is a feral kitty who used to live here. I believe that she is why no rodents lived here. I never actually saw her do anything to dissuade rodent infestation. Actually, I rarely saw her do anything. She was quite reclusive and disliked almost everyone except Rhody.

Unfortunately, someone else here insisted that fleas were a problem because of Darla. He also insisted that Darla came inside to share her fleas with the carpet and furniture. No one else, including Rhody, ever noticed a flea. Darla never came inside.

While the weather was getting nastier than it had since 1982 last winter, Darla went to live at a home in Santa Clara. After her initial disapproval, she efficiently adapted, and learned to appreciate it. Apparently, she is now happy with her more domestic lifestyle. She is quite elderly, so really deserves safer and more comfortable accommodations.

Rodents are everywhere now! Rats and mice come inside for any scraps of food that the crew leaves out. Ground squirrels have burrowed into much of the exposed soil downstairs. They as well as the rabbits and perhaps tree squirrels eat some of the plant material that is stored in the yard until it goes into the landscapes. The ground squirrels are already digging after the soft buds of the pups my giant bird of Paradise that were heeled in only yesterday! I need to put blood or bone meal out there in an attempt to repel them. I had not considered how horticulturally beneficial a kitty could be.

Of course, with so many rodents here, the fleas have also become a major annoyance, particularly for Rhody!

Now, others at work want me to hire another feral kitty. I do not know how to take care of a kitty, especially a feral kitty!

While the cat is away, the mice and all the other rodents will play.

27 thoughts on “Feline Ecology”

    1. Darla did a splendid job! She is quite mean, but she was very dedicated to her work. As long as she had been here, only a single mouse came into the galley. We did not know at first, but noticed that Darla waited atypically outside, as if wanting in, but would not come in. After someone noticed the mouse, I yelled at Darla for letting it. Of course, she just ignored me. Eventually, someone escorted the mouse outside. (I do not know why he did not just kill it.) When I got into the pickup the following morning, it looked like Darla invited all her friends over for a party on the windshield. Muddy paw prints were all over it! I turned on the windshield washer and wipers to a horrid surprise. The bloodied dead mouse was under the windshield wiper right in front of me! It went back and forth a few times before I turned off the windshield wipers and removed it. It looked like an accident.

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      2. It was pretty awful, but it reminded me to not mess with Darla. Rhody and I miss her now that she is gone. However, during the unusually stormy weather last winter, it was nice to know that she was in a nice warm and dry home in Santa Clara, perhaps in a nice cozy kitty bed near a fireplace.

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  2. My last kitten was a feral kitty who was living in the woods with a homeless teenager when I adopted the cat from him one afternoon. He gave me two cans of Fancy Feast food from his backpack when I accepted the kitten. That was a bit more than 20 years ago, and the kitten grew up into a huge tomcat, who was a sweetheart until he passed away about 18 months ago. Cats mostly need a bit of affection, regular food and clean water to drink. Rhody would likely appreciate a younger sister to lick and look after. The animal shelters are full of beautiful cats needing a home and some love. Why not do run those rodents off with an energetic young kitten to stalk them?

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    1. I do not care how old the kitty is. I would take the most unadoptable kitty available, since the more appealing sort are more likely to find homes. My concern is the busy street nearby. Darla seemed to know to avoid it. I do not know how another kitty would know to do the same. Also, I do not know much about how to take care of a kitty. I did very little for Darla.
      Rhody seemed to miss Darla, and still goes to look for her where she slept. He is one of only a few people who could get near to her, and liked to chew her ears. She would swat at me if I got within range. Someone who came to leave his pickup with the fleet manager across the road yelled at Rhody, . . . once. Darla, who was rarely seen out and about, stared at him menacingly from the gate. When he came to get his pickup after it had been repaired, he found, in the most unpleasant manner possible, that Darla had left her disapproval on his driver’s seat. He put the windows up when he brought it back months later for something else, but found, again in the most unpleasant manner possible, that Darla had left her disapproval on the ground right outside of the driver’s side door.

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      1. What a wonderful story! Darla was very savvy and smart, and protective of her family. I love hearing this story about someone who mistreats animals finding ‘justice’ on his seat. ❤ Once you go to the shelter, you will know which kitty needs to come home with you. They will give you info about what and how much she has been eating, etc. and they send them home with shots, etc. already done. It is a place to call 'home,' and connection that they mainly need.

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      2. Feral kitties are actually delivered by an attendant who helps them adjust to their new home. I do not know how they do it, and it all sounds far fetched to me, but I would be pleased for one or even two to come here if the attendant agrees. It seems to me that a feral kitty would just leave to live in the neighborhood or somewhere far from where it got out of its box.

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      3. What a wonderful program! They don’t do that back here. Knowing cats well, they are always happy to remain where they are fed, as long as they are also treated well. Unless you have a neighbor who starts feeding and interacting with the feral kitties, you will likely have loyal companions, once they settle in.
        I read in a book by British authors about the process of ‘re-wilding’ former pasture land that the flea and other pesticide treatments given to cats and dogs can get into their urine. People who choose to not introduce pesticides may be doing so unknowingly if they have a pet that runs loose. You’ve never mentioned that you are growing all organically, but that is something I would consider before adopting a new cat.

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      4. I am not overly concerned with fleas because I am confident that they will no longer be a problem whenever a kitty evicts the rodents. They had never been a problem before. If they continue to be a problem for Rhody, I will get more blue gum foliage under his bunk. I am hesitant about hiring a new kitty, but I sort of suspect that it will happen regardless.

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      5. I like how you term it ‘hiring a new kitty.’ It sounds so official. Anyone who wants to complain about fleas could be reminded that fleas from rodents were responsible for the plague. All sorts of animals carry fleas and it is hard to assign found fleas to one or another. I”ll watch your site for photos of your new hire.

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  3. If you know anyone with a pet ferret ask for the poop and put it around the buildings and plants. There is quite a smell but it’s usually free and works very well. Even used cat litter works if spread around the areas where rodents are a problem, also usually free. I’ve heard chunks of Irish Spring soap repel rodents but have no experience with it. Peppermint plants (even though invasive) also are supposed to repel rodents. If you do go to a shelter, don’t tell them you are basically releasing the cat. Also, flea collars work well keeping the fleas off dogs and cats.

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    1. Apparently, any poop will repel the ground squirrels and gophers. There is a big pile of horse poop here, so I may put some around the newly heeled in giant bird of Paradise. They would like it anyway, composted or not. Fish emulsion is another potentially repellent fertilizer. Of course, neither do anything for the rats and mice.
      If we get a kitty here, it will be through a service that rehomes feral kitties after spaying or neutering them. I do not know how they do it, but supposedly they do it in a manner that convinces the kitties that they live within a particular location. It is very risky for the kitties, since some of them will be essentially wild, with no option of going to a veterinarian if they need to. Fortunately, Darla was conducive to going to the veterinarian, and actually did not seem to mind.

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    1. Someone else relocated her. I could not get her into her travel box device. She probably could have stayed here for quite a while, but the unusually story weather last winter was unpleasant for her.

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