Thread: When neighborhood strays become a problem

Mandy, in regard to protection against break-ins, I've read that the police recommend small, yappy dogs which will make thieves look for a quieter house to burgle. I read of one horrible case where burglars broke in and stabbed the two German Shepherds in the house to death.

I once had a large, black stray cat in the yard and I also happened to be outside in a place where he didn't see me. He was focusing so hard on the dogs next door that he didn't see or hear me approach. I picked up a rock to throw near him and accidentally hit him on his side, and I could hear the rock connecting with his body. I don't think he ever came back but to this day I regret the fact that I hurt this animal.

We have three feral cats who are eking out a miserable existence here in the hills where the drought has made mice, roof rats and almost every other prey disappear. We've tried to scare them off because we feed some of the wild bunnies here, but they cannot be deterred. Twice we've found bunny intestines on our doorstep as a "gift", which is a very strange thing for feral cats to do, but there are no domestic cats in the neighborhood that leave their property.