Explosion in Chipmunks This Year

[Nyboy]

I can not go outside without seeing a chipmunk darting away. Coyotes have eaten the feral cat population here. I assumed that why so many chipmunks. This week 3 other people remarked to me about all the chipmunks this year, so not because of drop in cats. They are cute but becoming a pain in the neck, they dig up my containers

 

[Carol Dee]

Let's hope the coyotes develop a taste for chipmunks.

 

[catjac1975]

Need a new cat.

 

[bobm]

The rescue groups have an overflow population of woefully treated and abused cats , that they resently rescued , in their shelters for the low low price of $ 150 each. (Oh yea, they will be so grateful for a monthly donation too). Should solve the chipmunk overpopulation and the cat overpopulation for a two for one.

 

[Nyboy]

I had a cat for 19 years, I believe cats are inside pets. Life would be very short between coyotes and city traffic.

 

[bobm]

I had a cat for 19 years, I believe cats are inside pets. Life would be very short between coyotes and city traffic.

Yup. We had purebred Siamese cats for years as indoor cats untill they died of old age. On our ranch , I used to get 10 cats 4 time a year from the County Pound for FREE to hunt mice, rats and ground squirrels, that is untill the rescue groups took over and started to charge $150 per cat. Cats are coyote fare, so that is just too expensive to feed coyotes. So , I go to the State Ag. Dept. and buy warfarin covered grain to take care of the pest issue for $ 35 / year.

 

[Nyboy]

The rescue groups here do have ads for free barn cats. But who knows if any of the homes are approved for adoption.

 

[canesisters]

I'm lucky that my well fed barn cat is a bit lazy and too old to wander far.
He does his share to keep the mice in check.. rabbits too. Has almost zero interest in birds - probably because he'd have to move too fast... Or maybe because he's spent too many years hanging out with the chickens.
Oddly - now that you mention it. I don't think I've ever seen a chipmunk here.. and only one squirrel...

 

[Beekissed]

No chipmunks here either but probably due to the local fox and the black snakes more than anything else. The kittens I got this spring may not last long due to that fox...remains to be seen, but at least they will live a good life as a cat in the outdoors until then. One of them got their first~to my knowledge~wild game yesterday when it killed a large lizard. Today he's out there stalking the chickens....hilarious to watch.

These cats will not be "fixed" as I need them to breed more cats...free cats are hard to find nowadays due to the tyranny of the local "humane" society, so I'll provide my own out here. Those that survive the local predators will live to breed more of the same, thus insuring we have a few cats on hand at all times. Hopefully. The plan is to eradicate the massive squirrel population.

 

[thistlebloom]

I'm cat free for the first time in 38 years. We've had some great cats and some useless ones. One of the great ones disappeared a year or two ago, she was about 6 and the best mouse and gopher catcher ever. She learned that every time she brought a gopher to the back door I gave her a treat, so she would sit out there with her catch and wait for me to see it, then she'd eat it. She left birds alone completely, which gave her a huge plus in my book.

Our oldest cat was 17, or maybe 18? I forget, but she was pretty old. She would hunt a bit, but never really enough to earn her keep. But she lived a good long time for an outside cat, and we've had coyotes visit the yard, checking out my chicken pen.

I'm disinclined to get another. It's so aggravating when they use my gardens for a toilet. The neighbors are populating the area with kittens so I expect they'll start showing up over here. That will aggravate me even more to have a cat that's not even mine pooping in my garden.

But hopefully they'll catch a few gophers on their way to and from the potty area.
which is what this post was intended to be about...how we are now catless and gopher abundant. I'm sure the two are related.