Ah yes dirty, I forgot I asked that but I do have another question, I'm getting a bird bath, to attract more birds (I don't like the idea of feeding them because of deseases the May pass on to each other and it's not good for them overall) but how often should I clean it, and what should I clean it with?
A birdbath needs regular cleaning. I clean mine ever 3 days.I just use a brush, scrub, rinse and refill. No cleaning agents. Make sure CATS can't get to it. They are very clever and will stalk birds if they can.
But in summer, when it is hot, you have to refresh the water more often, as it might get too warm, and will breed bacteria quicker. Make sure the water is not too deep, you don't want the birds to drown. Or put a stick in the water, so the little birds can climb out by using it.
You are right in thinking not to feed. There is plenty of food out there for them if there are native plants around.
Ok cool, I was worried about using cleaning agents I case it made the birds sick, so you just scrub it with a cleaning brush and nothing else? I'm just paranoid about not cleaning it correctly, I don't want to be the reason birds are getting diseases, I'm going to try get some natives too like some grevillias or wattle brush and native gums
Ahh !! the cat debate again ,lets face it some people are just irresponsible or is it lazy ,I don't really like cats but I have a 15yo tom (he came with the second wife) who has lived inside his whole life ,his only been outside half a dozen times under supervision the last time he was so scared he threw up, yes it means I have to empty his litter tray every morning ,so what ,but some people think its easyer to just open the door and let them out or worse still put them out over night .
It can be hard to pick who the responsible ones will be, there's a big ginger tom that tries to attack my cat through the front window and when he can't get in he sprays all over the window and you can plainly see he's not fixed .
He belongs to a sweet little old lady across the road who says "yes I know dear but what can I do about it" and got all upset when I told her to have him fixed for a start .
Then a few doors down there's a guy his a typical hard country type ,rough around the edges ,a couple of years back he got little white kitten and I thought oh no not another --------- cat ,but he keeps his inside and when it is outside with him in the garden he keeps it on a lead ,when he saw me looking at the leed he said gruffly cats are killers and I don't want him killing any birds!
cats will always be cats its in their nature to kill things ,we put the mesage out there but only the ones doing the right thing already seem to hear it, for the rest its just all to hard !
Sparrow, yes it is difficult getting people to think alike, perhaps in some ways one of our best traits is our worst. I could not remove my old neighbours cat, it was a stray who found her, she kind of needed the cats company for personial reasons, and I think she did more good for nature than the cat did harm. The cat killed but between our discussions and our findings it did not seem common in this case. Oddly enough I quite like cats, the kids and I laugh at cat fails on youtube regularly, they make plenty of mistskes with their inquisitve nature. And a smootching moggy on the couch is nice if you like that type of thing. But the wife is alergic to them so ownership is out. As you mention responsible ownership of a cat, or any pet is fine as long as one does it. How you get people to be complient is something I think we would all like to know.
DNA modification for breeding a single sex seems a very good way to go with controlling feral cats. Or any feral for that matter, foxes, pigs, goats and so on all are not needed in the Australian bush. This unfortunately doesn't stop the lazy owners but help reduce the shear number of breeding animals in the wild. Slowly reducing numbers along with natural attrition. They say feral cats could be almost eliminated in 10 years. I'd vote for that.
Yes that's the other thing that we need to do: have your cat fixed. The RSPCA has enough cats already without people dumping unwanted kittens, so if they can't take then, the people have two choices, to either try and sell them or dump them some where, and that's why we have feral cats, (besides irrisponsible owners letting their cat lose) we don't have a cat just a dog, but we don't let her roam, 1: because it's just plain irrisponsible, 2: god I knows if she'll even come back, 3: she's just a little dog 4: we don't need her getting attacked, run over, picking up a disease,the list goes on, but across the road there is this big white cat, and every time we see it, it's pregnant, no kidding, it could have produced hundends of kittens by now! The owner is irrisponsible, let's the poor thing roam, Hardly even feeds it (even though her tummy is fat with kittens, you cat see her ribs plainly)
Sparrow, that country guy sound sound like a responsible cat owner! Even the toughest have a little soft spot!
I must confess to being somewhat concerned about the term "responsible cat owner". Several cat owners I know claim to be responsible because they feed their cats regularly. Some say they're responsible because they allow their cats lots of freedom & don't confine them. Others are responsible because they confine their cats (or so they say) to their backyards. Or they have their cats desexed & allow them to roam.
In my view, a responsible cat owner is one who keeps the cat in a cat run & when the cat dies doesn't replace it with another cat. Then there are those who say the term "responsible cat owner" is an oxymoron. So perhaps "responsible cat owner" depends on the perspective of the person exercising the so-called responsibility. But be wary of the term, I suggest, because a "responsible cat owner" could easily be one whose cat kills Australian wildlife.
Want to borrow a trap? It can be quite rewarding. Just knowing you are correcting a wrong that few cat owners appear to care about. As mentioned before, just take it to the council or RSPCA and hand it over. I know last time I was put under I felt nothing, its no different I'd imagine. If you keep going you may even get the male who's out and about happily sowing seeds. Once the cat owner looses a few thay may just give up on cat ownership.
lol Woko, you sure do remind me of my old english teacher. Sooo just "cat owner" to be politically correct. Keep the adjective "responsibile" out of it. I'd much rather use those @#%$&* cat owners but I'm sure of upsetting someone. I think most things in this world are subjective, not even the tax office can write rules to be read the same way by all. As long as most get the intended vibe of the sentance, than I think one hasdone well.
Now I'm keen to see how Araminta is dealt with being sexist and saying "his" rather then "they". For there is an assumption that responsible cat ownership are males. When I'd imaging the overwhelming owners are female.
hey as luck would have it I had a good giggle today on the way to work. I have no idea who's cat but there it was, Have you seen our MISSING dealy loved, sadly missed kitty sign stuck on the telegraph pole with a nice pic. I thought I should make a sign up and put it underneath, "well if you really loved it you would know where it is and keep it indoors. But that may be going a bit far, still think it's funny though.
I may be speaking out of turn, but just getting out of the office will tell you haw many cats are around. I think with the app, a grey cat is a gray cat. Is it one cat or was it another. Unless the user is very astute or the cat is easily different in size or colour, the figures are no better then one cat sighted here, and another there.
Out west you can count them eating road kill these days instead of ravens. I was walking up Redcliffe the other day, and spied a cat hiding in the shrubs of the schools fencing. I saw a litter if kittens in the rest stop just before Aratula a week ago. Its not hard, you just need to be paying attention. Still hopefully an app will give scientist the data they need to prove they are everywhere.
I find this discussion about cats & wildlife extremely encourgaging as it indicates further moves towards a cat-free culture in Australia.
For my part, any moggy which ventures within a meow of my property is feral. If it wasn't feral it would be in a cat run.
You asked if I was going to be on here more regularly?
M-L
Ah yes dirty, I forgot I asked that
but I do have another question, I'm getting a bird bath, to attract more birds (I don't like the idea of feeding them because of deseases the May pass on to each other and it's not good for them overall) but how often should I clean it, and what should I clean it with?
Tegan - Melbourne Vic.
Oops ment to say sorry, not dirty!
Tegan - Melbourne Vic.
A birdbath needs regular cleaning. I clean mine ever 3 days.I just use a brush, scrub, rinse and refill. No cleaning agents. Make sure CATS can't get to it. They are very clever and will stalk birds if they can.
But in summer, when it is hot, you have to refresh the water more often, as it might get too warm, and will breed bacteria quicker. Make sure the water is not too deep, you don't want the birds to drown. Or put a stick in the water, so the little birds can climb out by using it.
You are right in thinking not to feed. There is plenty of food out there for them if there are native plants around.
Good luck.
M-L
Ok cool, I was worried about using cleaning agents I case it made the birds sick, so you just scrub it with a cleaning brush and nothing else? I'm just paranoid about not cleaning it correctly, I don't want to be the reason birds are getting diseases, I'm going to try get some natives too like some grevillias or wattle brush and native gums
Tegan - Melbourne Vic.
Ahh !! the cat debate again ,lets face it some people are just irresponsible or is it lazy ,I don't really like cats but I have a 15yo tom (he came with the second wife) who has lived inside his whole life ,his only been outside half a dozen times under supervision the last time he was so scared he threw up, yes it means I have to empty his litter tray every morning ,so what ,but some people think its easyer to just open the door and let them out or worse still put them out over night .
It can be hard to pick who the responsible ones will be, there's a big ginger tom that tries to attack my cat through the front window and when he can't get in he sprays all over the window and you can plainly see he's not fixed .
He belongs to a sweet little old lady across the road who says "yes I know dear but what can I do about it" and got all upset when I told her to have him fixed for a start .
Then a few doors down there's a guy his a typical hard country type ,rough around the edges ,a couple of years back he got little white kitten and I thought oh no not another --------- cat ,but he keeps his inside and when it is outside with him in the garden he keeps it on a lead ,when he saw me looking at the leed he said gruffly cats are killers and I don't want him killing any birds!
cats will always be cats its in their nature to kill things ,we put the mesage out there but only the ones doing the right thing already seem to hear it, for the rest its just all to hard !
Sparrow, yes it is difficult getting people to think alike, perhaps in some ways one of our best traits is our worst. I could not remove my old neighbours cat, it was a stray who found her, she kind of needed the cats company for personial reasons, and I think she did more good for nature than the cat did harm. The cat killed but between our discussions and our findings it did not seem common in this case. Oddly enough I quite like cats, the kids and I laugh at cat fails on youtube regularly, they make plenty of mistskes with their inquisitve nature. And a smootching moggy on the couch is nice if you like that type of thing. But the wife is alergic to them so ownership is out. As you mention responsible ownership of a cat, or any pet is fine as long as one does it. How you get people to be complient is something I think we would all like to know.
DNA modification for breeding a single sex seems a very good way to go with controlling feral cats. Or any feral for that matter, foxes, pigs, goats and so on all are not needed in the Australian bush. This unfortunately doesn't stop the lazy owners but help reduce the shear number of breeding animals in the wild. Slowly reducing numbers along with natural attrition. They say feral cats could be almost eliminated in 10 years. I'd vote for that.
Ipswich Shire Eastern flanks
Yes that's the other thing that we need to do: have your cat fixed. The RSPCA has enough cats already without people dumping unwanted kittens, so if they can't take then, the people have two choices, to either try and sell them or dump them some where, and that's why we have feral cats, (besides irrisponsible owners letting their cat lose) we don't have a cat just a dog, but we don't let her roam, 1: because it's just plain irrisponsible, 2: god I knows if she'll even come back, 3: she's just a little dog 4: we don't need her getting attacked, run over, picking up a disease,the list goes on, but across the road there is this big white cat, and every time we see it, it's pregnant, no kidding, it could have produced hundends of kittens by now! The owner is irrisponsible, let's the poor thing roam, Hardly even feeds it (even though her tummy is fat with kittens, you cat see her ribs plainly)
Sparrow, that country guy sound sound like a responsible cat owner! Even the toughest have a little soft spot!
Tegan - Melbourne Vic.
I must confess to being somewhat concerned about the term "responsible cat owner". Several cat owners I know claim to be responsible because they feed their cats regularly. Some say they're responsible because they allow their cats lots of freedom & don't confine them. Others are responsible because they confine their cats (or so they say) to their backyards. Or they have their cats desexed & allow them to roam.
In my view, a responsible cat owner is one who keeps the cat in a cat run & when the cat dies doesn't replace it with another cat. Then there are those who say the term "responsible cat owner" is an oxymoron. So perhaps "responsible cat owner" depends on the perspective of the person exercising the so-called responsibility. But be wary of the term, I suggest, because a "responsible cat owner" could easily be one whose cat kills Australian wildlife.
A cat owner who takes his responsibility to make sure they don't inflict harm on native animals and the environment, seriously.
That is the definition of a "responsible cat owner"
M-L
tegan
Want to borrow a trap? It can be quite rewarding. Just knowing you are correcting a wrong that few cat owners appear to care about. As mentioned before, just take it to the council or RSPCA and hand it over. I know last time I was put under I felt nothing, its no different I'd imagine. If you keep going you may even get the male who's out and about happily sowing seeds. Once the cat owner looses a few thay may just give up on cat ownership.
lol Woko, you sure do remind me of my old english teacher. Sooo just "cat owner" to be politically correct. Keep the adjective "responsibile" out of it. I'd much rather use those @#%$&* cat owners but I'm sure of upsetting someone. I think most things in this world are subjective, not even the tax office can write rules to be read the same way by all. As long as most get the intended vibe of the sentance, than I think one hasdone well.
Now I'm keen to see how Araminta is dealt with being sexist and saying "his" rather then "they". For there is an assumption that responsible cat ownership are males. When I'd imaging the overwhelming owners are female.
Ipswich Shire Eastern flanks
hey as luck would have it I had a good giggle today on the way to work. I have no idea who's cat but there it was, Have you seen our MISSING dealy loved, sadly missed kitty sign stuck on the telegraph pole with a nice pic. I thought I should make a sign up and put it underneath, "well if you really loved it you would know where it is and keep it indoors. But that may be going a bit far, still think it's funny though.
Ipswich Shire Eastern flanks
Why haven't I had that idea yet?? I will do it from now on. Thanks Jason.
M-L
That would have been an excellent contribution to Australia's growing anti-cat culture, jason.
http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6cfe22da6ed670c7a15d28b44&id=118cb5db7a&e=1320e0c9e7
Very interesting
Tegan - Melbourne Vic.
I may be speaking out of turn, but just getting out of the office will tell you haw many cats are around. I think with the app, a grey cat is a gray cat. Is it one cat or was it another. Unless the user is very astute or the cat is easily different in size or colour, the figures are no better then one cat sighted here, and another there.
Out west you can count them eating road kill these days instead of ravens. I was walking up Redcliffe the other day, and spied a cat hiding in the shrubs of the schools fencing. I saw a litter if kittens in the rest stop just before Aratula a week ago. Its not hard, you just need to be paying attention. Still hopefully an app will give scientist the data they need to prove they are everywhere.
Ipswich Shire Eastern flanks
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