Reverence for life vs law of the wild

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Reverence for life vs law of the wild
5
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 9:46am

I've been having a hard time with this moral/ethics issue this week, besides being sick with the flu.  I have two retired racing greyhounds, a male and a female, both 7 years old.  The male has a very "high prey drive" which makes him unsafe around small and not-so-small furry things.  Out of the goodness of her heart, my neighbor feeds stray and feral cats.  These cats like to come in my yard, and Jester has killed two of them this week. 


I hate that he does this, but he was trained to run as fast as he can (which I assure is darn fast!) and catch the lure.  He does this with deadly precision.  This morning, the cat was a large male, about 10 pounds and fought back hard, bitting him in the jaw, so we will be heading to the vet for shots in a little while.  Feral cats are notorious for spreading infection. 


I asked my neighbor to stop feeding them, but she doesn't want to.  She said the group is about to have a couple litters of kittens (oh, joy) and she will try to catch them and find homes for them.  Meanwhile, there are about 8, well 6 now, fertile feral cats in the woods between our yards.  They often parade along the concrete retaining wall where they think they are safe.  My greyhounds don't jump, but they are perfectly capable of it if they had enough incentive. 


So herein lies the clash.  She sees the cat pack as a beautiful sign of life and survival.  I see them as potential targets for my greyhound.  I can't stop him from killing them if they continue to come in my fenced yard.  It may be the law of the wild, but it's forced on the cats and me.  We are within city limits, not out in the territories somewhere!  The City has no policy on feral cats and will do nothing.  Ever heard of using fox urine pellets to drive cats away?


Bink


 


Not really into Siggees...
 
Not all who wander are lost.
(J.R.R. Tolkien)


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-09-2001
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 2:39pm

It's hard to be confronted with Nature, natural animal behaviors, when it's not about appreciating magnificent trees, wildflowers, snow capped mountains, etc. Nature is not for our "enjoyment" or "entertainment." Nature is deadly serious. It's about survival. It's about the ebb and flow of life through the seasons. Nature is not under our control. Some may presume our species is entitled to seek to be in control rather than understanding we do not stand outside of, or above, Nature. We are a part of the lifecycle of the planet. We enjoy the status of being at the top of the food chain, but Nature has her own agenda.

We have a few feral cats in our back woodpile. Occasionally we have visiting raccoons and opposums, too. We do not feed the cats. Others have and may still, in surrounding homes or the apt. building next door. We do not put out food. The trouble with humans worshipping nature through gardening, is that animals still see our gardens as their habitat. That's why many die on freeways and streets, hit by cars. We plant all these trees and shrubs as sound walls, to counteract pollution from our cars, to give visual privacy to our homes. What humans often forget is that along with all this, comes animal life, too, whether we want it or not.

I feel sad for the dead cats, but that is nature. Your dogs and the cats are part of nature, instinct, and life and death cycles. I think your neighbor is being stupid feeding these cats instead of trapping and spaying/neutering them, and for putting out food on an ongoing basis. The feral cats might stay more in the woods, catching their own food (our feral cats keep mice away and eat them) instead of being tempted out of the woods for easy food. She is not doing these cats any favors, IMO. Her creating an attraction with free food is also signing their death warrant if they go into your yard, knowing about your dogs (who are doing nothing wrong), and tempting them out of the relative safety of the woods, as well as crippling them from catching their own food.

We disturb the natural cycle, remove it by removing natural predators, natural food sources, and we wonder why. We don't meet our lifetime commitments to our pets, who have no clue how to survive on their own, and dump them in the woods or by the side of the road, or just desert them. Co-existance with the wild is muddled, messed up. So imbalances like feral cats in your yard are going to happen.

I don't know if there are any solutions. :(( Mainly because we are a destructive species, covering the earth with our buildings, roads, etc. And we never give a thought to the animals we displace.

I do accept death is a part of life. Birth and death are connected. Death is something we humans fear and shudder about. Perhaps we should learn something from our animal teachers about accepting what nature truly is, her cycles and laws.

Sorry about this meandering long post. :D I have many thoughts and have often meditated on this topic. As humans, I fear we do not truly respect that we are part of nature, and when we disturb the balance of nature without a thought of more than our own needs and wants, we not only harm the plant, all other lifeforms, but we harm ourselves as well.

Gypsy
)O(



Blessings,

Gypsy

)O(



iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 4:30pm

Thanks, Gypsy.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-09-2001
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 5:29pm

Does this woman put food out in the woods, or on her property? Maybe if in woods, you could take it up & throw it away so they aren't getting free food? I'd never heard of fox urine. I know cats were pissing under our front bushes and stinking it up by our front door. I dumped a whole bunch of cayenne pepper in the area they were using. They moved on.

Is there anyone you can get suggestions from? Like the local vets? As to getting them to stay out of your yard? I don't blame you, when your animals are harmed in their own yard. Have a lawyer talk to this woman? Suing is so costly, but the way I see it she's encouraging them to stay, so is at least partly responsible for the harm and vet expense of your dogs. Not really a practical solution, I realize. I'm just brainstorming. Complain to the city and county?

I'm sorry I'm not much help. :((

Hugs,
Gypsy



Blessings,

Gypsy

)O(



iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 7:37pm

She feeds them off


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 04-18-2007 - 8:43pm
Gypsey's letter was beautiful, maybe you could show it to your neighbor. Hope the 2 of you can remain friends with these differences. Love, Leila