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Do You Know Where Your Cat Is?

© Marie A. Miczak

Many of us have seen the frequent television commercials late at night asking us, "do you know where your child is?". Many chuckle as they have no children, their kids are grown or they remember they are safely tucked into their beds. What about the family pet then? For many, late at night is when so called outdoor cats, frequently male, scratch and cause a ruckus to go out and roam. When one thinks about it, cats are apparently the only pets with such privileges. Although they may not pose much danger to people, the danger to themselves and other, smaller animals is great. Especially pond inhabitants such as fish, who can not get up and run for their lives.

As a pond owner, their are many things that can be done to try and avoid heartbreak. Some things include not providing objects predators such as cats can use to stand on and balance themselves on while going for your fish. Adding places to hide such as a large pipe or turned over flower pot at the bottom of the pond can also be of great help. Along with having deep enough areas for fish to hide. The latter sometimes is not an option so plenty of cover provided from water plants such as water lilies and floaters (e.g. water lettuce, duckweed, etc.) should be used. Even when ones property is fully fenced in, cats seem to easily be able to find there way in to do serious damage. Frequent stories include fish half eaten or not eaten at all, having died from being clawed out and left on the ground. Something no pond owner wants to see or find. Of course pond fish are not the only targets. Many people enjoy the way their pond attract many species of song birds. According to ABC, cats in a small area can bring back 525 birds in one year alone.

ABC stands for the American Bird Conservancy located in Washington D.C. They have started an important campaign of information called the Cats Indoors!. From their website, http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/ , there is a great deal of information on how domestic and feral cats can pose a significant risk to song birds and other wildlife, such as what is in and around our ponds. There is an equal amount on how cat owners can turn their outdoor cats into indoor cats as well as what can be done in ones town concerning roaming animals. The ABC website also allows you to sign up as a Cats

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