Re: [at-l] Mouse In The House

[ThatSloetoe <sloetoe@yahoo.com>]

--- "W F Thorneloe, MD" <thornel@attglobal.net> wrote:
> It works well, and can have unintended consequences. Feral cats can 
> substantially damage an ecosystem with more than mice caught in their paws.
> > Our pond down the hill attracts many prey for my housecat, and we
struggle 
> to time when the cat can go out to reduce risks to birds (no "walks" 
> between 9PM and 10AM. Even so, we find many birds, chipmunks, squirrels and
> > their parts in our dining room.
> 
### A little consultation with Leopold "A Sand County Almanac" or Allen "Our
Wildlife Legacy" would do wonders here. Or even the local park ranger with
three-per of game management under their belts....
Short story is: your kitty ain't making a dent in the population. The current
population is far below the original carrying capacity of the area, due to
loss of habitat from clearing, uniform horticulture, and development. In the
meantime, loss of habitat AND loss of prey have decimated predator
populations of tree snakes, ground snakes, egg-preying varmints, birds of
prey, and the full range of ground mammal predators, *including* the eastern
cat family. Hunting house cats would not figure on the "limiting
characteristics" of this ecosystem; the other things would have to be
addressed before local kitties would have an effect.

The occasional take by your puss is only leaving more insects, nectar, seed,
nuts/mast, *and* scarce nesting locations, for others desparately looking.
That means less to fall prey to starvation, cold, disease, auto tires...
(well, at least auto tires work swiftly. AND feed the recovered
carion-consuming population...)

"And a Highway Shall Be There"                     (Northland College, y'all)

=====
Sloetoe


   "In order to realize the worth of the anchor,
      we need to feel the stress of the storm."

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com/
* From the AT-L |  Need help? http://www.backcountry.net/faq.html  *

==============================================================================