After a two year hiatus, it's time for me to blog again. MyBloggers is a natural place for me to come, since I've not only blogged here previously but -- 3 cheers -- it looks like many of my old friends still reside here. My goal will be just as before: to make it interesting & entertaining. If I fail at that, cut me some slack... I'm old.
Let's call this opening post A CAT OWNER WITH BIRD FEEDERS...OMG!
I believe that I am a good person, but I have five cats and four bird feeders. Three of those cats regularly catch birds. Because I love birds, each one of these deadly episodes leaves me pondering the morality of it all, not to mention whether or not I am faux criminally liable as an aider and abetter. Usually the birds are too quick for the cats, but at least once a week…. GOTCHA!

The messy eating habits of the birds makes all this possible. I’m not blaming the birds… I’m just saying. The blue jays especially perch upon the feeders and swipe their bills across the seed so that a lot of it falls to the ground beneath the feeder. Other birds then are attracted to the ground where the seed is spread about. I have a low rock wall that runs alongside the outside of the house under the feeders, which hang from pinyon pine trees. The cats crouch down and slither along the wall, somewhat hidden from the distracted, dining birds.

All this unfolds right outside my window where I sit at my computer. I become transfixed, emotional, guilty. I don’t even like to watch MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). I am not purposely luring the birds to their potential demise; I truly enjoy watching birds, and we get some beautiful ones here in southern Utah. But I love cats too!

The cats also catch mice, chipmunks, and the like. Unfortunately, these they often will bring into the house, sometimes still alive, sometimes dead, as if they are contributing to the family larder. The bird catches, fortunately, usually stay outside (but not always).

I have no current plans to alleviate this cat vs. bird situation. I remain stuck in moral neutral. Every trip to Costco I bring home one or two more large bags of seed especially put together for western birds. I feel as if I really have the little creatures’ best interest at heart, yet this desperate Darwinian state of affairs causes me pause. This is why I never liked watching those Animal Planet shows with lions running down wildebeests…