By: Bud Fein
Waterways, canals, lakes and rivers are feeding grounds for all types of wild life as seen on Animal Planet. Not all wildlife are welcome in or near our homes. Rats, mice and even raccoons and possums can a carry disease and are therefore health hazards.
Live near water but you don’t want to bring toxic chemicals into our environment?
Inexpensive humane solution
That cute little independent “kitty cat” who otherwise would be destroyed in today’s society comes into play. It makes sense to have a cat around when you are living near water to keep home-damaging varmints away. They do the job of an expensive exterminator without introducing harmful pesticides into your home and the environment.
Having owned dogs as well as tropical birds and fish, I was never a cat enthusiast. After all, cats eat fish and birds and are usually chased by dogs. The exceptions are the dogs and cats that are raised together in many households.
After having one of these inexpensive natural exterminators around my premises for the past several years, I developed a real understanding and compassion for a beautiful tan Siamese Cat with turquoise eyes. Many neighbors here in the Woodlands were familiar with this little feline as she would lie underneath my vehicle in the daytime while protecting the property from the rats, mice and possums which most of us do not want as house guests.
Long story short
Contrary to her lifestyle, this “spayed” Siamese Cat disappeared from my property about two months ago for 10 days. After this website, The Woodlands Tamarac was nice enough to send out an email notification of her disappearance, I was notified by a neighbor on the same canal that she was found “rotting away” in his bushes. This was a bit hard for me to take as I had seen this scrappy Siamese Cat defend her food against raccoons and hungry possums on more than one occasion.
It was after this that I went online for two full days and researched everything I could about coyotes, their patterns, their chosen habitats and their downline food chain.
As an animal lover who has had many exotic pets including a squirrel monkey, I have come to realize that every animal has its own unique habits, patterns and diets. During my first sixteen years of life I might have innocently welcomed a coyote cub as one of my outdoor exotic pets during my summers spent in the catskill mountains of upstate New York, after all, they looked like medium-sized dogs and definitely were on the unusual list. That would have been a mistake as we had about 20 cats that lived on the property which survived in the wild every winter on their own until we returned the next year.
Coyotes feed on small animals
Coyotes, medium-size doglike animals with wolflike mentality feed on SMALL HOUSE PETS, small dogs and cats, and can easily add a small child to their menu should the occasion arise. In search of food they travel along waterways such as our canals and lakes. They can travel 30 miles a day until they get to an area where food is plentiful. Our Woodlands golf course has provided them their meals, thanks to our house pets, and there is no reason for them to return to their original habitat in the Southwest anytime soon. After all, farmers protect their livestock and farm animals with rifles.
For the coyotes, the 2,400 mile trip was worth it; Better winter climate here, fresh food all year long, and they get to watch a game of golf from under bushes without having to pay a mortgage.
Cute Story? Not if you are a pet owner and you have a pet door in your home so they can come in for a meal and then exit for fresh air as they always have.
