Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Springtime in December, 1 by YangMetalRat

YangMetalRat wrote:
I had to raise my birdfeeders another 5 feet off the ground to keep the birds out of harm's way - harm being my cat Ciccolino. Last summer, two days in a row, he brought two very lively young starlings inside the house, which I had to capture with a tea towel after locking the cat in the bathroom. They pooped EVERYWHERE - all over the blinds and windows... And then there was the hawk that I startled in the walnut tree and he dropped a freshly killed pigeon on my head, which Ciccolino grabbed and ran into the house. And then there was the noisy baby blue jay that fell out of a nest that was way up in an oak tree so high that I couldn't return him. I don't remember how many times I rescued that bird from cats while his parents fed him on the ground - that went on for weeks - and he eventually learned to fly. But if I hadn't seen it I would never have believed that Ciccolino could creep up, leap up, and snatch a lovely goldfinch out of the air as it landed on the birdfeeder. I felt so awful that I took the feeders down until we could figure out a way to elevate them. The doves and juncos are still at risk, being groundfeeders, but so far no victims. I keep Ciccolino's front claws clipped, and this seems to make a difference (it helps preserve my sweaters, too!). I tried putting a bell around his neck - the first day he showed up with 2 birds and then he tore off the collar, which is now a toy. So that didn't work. As for squirrels, they are so feisty I don't think Ciccolino quite knows what to make of them. If they run, he chases them, but if they turn on him, he sits down and pretends to be bored. Then they fuss for hours. My mother thinks Ciccolino will eventually outgrow his birdlust, since her neighbor's terrible cat lost interest about 2 years out of kittenhood. I have my fingers crossed that she is right.

Here's Ciccolino (chick-oh-lee-no), 6 months old and 2 hours after I adopted him from the pound in December 2005. I have more garden-oriented pictures of him, but they're on my other computer.