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Houseguests and Not-So-Scaredy Cats

Last week, we talked about what you can do to make the houseguest visit a little easier for your timid cat. What about the cat who is the opposite? We have one of those. Newton is endlessly fascinated with visitors and wishes we had more of them more often. Especially if they have easily-opened luggage.

With a timid cat, you make sure the cat has a comfort zone while guests are in the house. With a brave cat, your role is more to make sure that your visitors don’t do anything that will accidentally cause a problem with your cat. For instance, does your cat get treats? If not, be sure the houseguests know. Your brave cat may be putting on a fetching enough face that houseguests will fall for it, and kitty can end up eating things that aren’t on his diet.

It’s probably best if houseguests zip or latch their luggage shut when it’s unattended. Some kitties like to steal objects from the luggage of unsuspecting visitors. Or even unzipped purses. Newton has been caught with his head and shoulders stuffed in a visitor’s purse as he explored its contents.

depositphotos/Okssi68

If your houseguests aren’t cat people, be aware of what they might leave out in the bathroom to be sure that none of it is hazardous to your kitty. Human medications are number one on the ASPCA’s list of common hazards to cats, and they are most likely to be left out or dropped in the bathroom. Hair rubber bands are also nearly irresistible to kitties, but can be life-threatening if eaten.

If you keep the lid of the toilet closed to prevent your cat from drinking treated toilet water, be sure your guest knows… or just keep the door shut to the bathroom altogether.

Speaking of closing doors, the one thing that may be a problem with visitor-loving cats that isn’t with timid cats is that they might follow a houseguest right out the door. Houseguests who aren’t used to watching for cats at exterior doors may leave doors ajar without realizing it is a hazard. For safety, consider closing your brave cat in a room at times when houseguests are most likely to leave the door ajar, such as when luggage is being brought in and out the door.

It’s fun to have a cat who enjoys visitors. A few precautions are all it takes to make the visit a rewarding one for your cat and eliminate worry for you.

A Work of Art

Newton: A while back, we supported the crowdfunding for Tiny Timmy’s Dirty Flea Soap, and we have been eagerly waiting for a painting as our incentive for our support. The package from the wonderful artist Sheala Bacon has arrived, and I can’t wait to see my painting!

Newton: Wait a minute! I don’t think this resembles me very much. There must be a mistake.

Ashton: That’s because it isn’t a painting of you. Sometimes it’s not all about you, Newton. It’s a painting of me!

Ashton: I love my painting, Sheala. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to have it up on the wall where everyone can admire it.

Coyotes and Outdoor Cats Don’t Mix

A sign recently appeared in our neighborhood that made us sad. One of our neighbors lost their cat to a coyote and wanted to warn everybody else so that it didn’t happen to them, too.

Lots of people think of coyotes as creatures who live on the prairies, and they remember them as part of wild west tales. Maybe you think of coyotes as desert-dwellers because you remember the coyote who never quite caught the road runner in the cartoons. That used to be true.

Since the 1700s, coyotes have expanded their range first to the west and then eastward until they are found in all of the continental United States from eastern Alaska through New England and all the way south into Mexico and Panama. Coyotes aren’t confined to rural areas any more, either. We live close enough to Walt Disney World to hear the fireworks at night, but we have had coyotes kill cats within a few hundred yards of our house.

Coyotes eat nearly anything. They will hunt rabbits, mice, or livestock. Coyotes are opportunistic hunters, and will kill cats, small dogs, and other pets. They will also eat fruit and berries. This makes them hardy survivors, and difficult to eradicate.

Since coyotes have established themselves in areas through natural range expansion rather than being introduced the way that dumped exotic pet animals are, they aren’t considered non-native introduced species. However, they travel long distances and don’t have any natural predators, which means that they colonize new areas quickly. Coyotes are more aggressive in January during mating season and in late April and early May, when most litters are born.

What can you do to keep your cat safe from coyotes in your area?

Keep your cat indoors from dusk until dawn.
If your cat demands access to the outdoors at night, consider a sturdy, coyote-proof catio.
Feed your cat indoors, or feed outdoors during the day so that food isn’t left out at night. This may be an important consideration for the timing of feedings for TNR colonies.
In treeless or open areas, you can provide “cat posts” which are 4×4 posts at least ten or twelve feet high with a platform on top which a cat can scale but a coyote can’t.
Never feed coyotes, and cut off food sources to make your neighborhood less attractive to them. This includes:
- Securing your trash containers from being tipped over or opened
- Picking up fruit or berries that fall on the ground
- Covering compost
- Hanging bird feeders out of reach of coyotes and not overfilling them to prevent spills

Only you can decide whether visits to the outdoors are worth the risk to your cat, but take the threat of coyotes seriously if they are preying in your area.

Coyote range map and Coyote photo thanks to Wikimedia Commons

Best View in the House

Ashton: I’m going to tell you one of my secrets. Come on over here and sit by me. I’ll make room.

Ashton: I know that some jungle cats have plants to hide behind to watch for prey. Well, I don’t have any plants because Newton eats any plants that come into the house.

Newton: I heard that!

Ashton: Well, you do eat them! Don’t pay any attention to him. This is what I wanted to show you. Check it out. It’s my own jungle cat view of the outdoors. It’s the best view in the house.

Ashton: This window looks out between the townhouses, and anything that wants to go from the front yard to the back goes by here. I get to see all kinds of things: big walking birds, deer, humans, even humans with dogs. And I’m not scared of any of them because I can see them, but they can’t see me. So I sit here all day instead of on the sofa, just watching to see what might happen by.