Assessing The Threat Level – Can It Eat Us?
Posted by terrepruitt on August 16, 2011
Our cat is an indoor cat. She does not go outside. I honestly feel that cats should be able to go outside. There are so many fun things for cats to experience; butterflies, grass, fences, frogs, lizards, flowers, etc. They do belong outside, able to roam, but unfortunately there are also many dangers. In addition to believing that cats really should be allowed to go outside, I feel that people must take responsibility for their pet(s) and that can come with a heavy price tag. Neither my heart nor my wallet could afford having to fix my cat if one of those outside dangers were to injure her. In our neighborhood we have raccoons, opossums, dogs, cats, cars, and sometimes the worst danger of all . . . other people. Not everyone is an animal lover or they might not enjoy a kitty fertilizing their garden — understandable. So we keep our cat inside. She, like a lot of indoor animals, LOVES to sit by any open door or window. She can sit there for hours. She stares and sniffs, and sniffs and stares. She will often go from door to door as if patrolling her yard. My hubby and I feed birds and squirrels in our yard in hopes that they will serve as entertainment for the cat. We have learned that we are overly entertained by our yard animals too. As I have posted before, the animals often distract me when I am doing a Nia routine or working out.
My hubby and I also have animal protocol, if there is an animal in the yard and we are on our way out to the yard, we stop and wait for it to settle or be gone. If we are in the yard and one comes in we freeze and let it do what it is there to do then we proceed. We often will stop what we are doing (pause a DVD, pause our conversation, etc.) to watch the various critters that come to visit. They are very entertaining. They eat, they play, they drink, they take baths. It is all very fun to watch. They can be quite silly.
We used to have blue jays come with their babies every year. They must have nested in our neighbor’s yard, because one year he drastically trimmed the trees and the babies that visit now are not nearly as young as the ones we used to have. So I believe the birds are having their babies elsewhere and sometimes they come here to eat or bath, but they are not here over a period of months as they once were. It is interesting and very amusing watching “babies” learn new things.
I believe the video included in this post is a group of “baby” hummingbirds. They are either babies or they are adults new to our yard and they have not seen the “house” that we allow our cat to go outside in. The hummingbirds swarm around the house to see what exactly is the threat of the animal inside. It is quite entertaining. They did this just a few times and have since learned that she is no threat and they act as if she is not there. The squirrels often check her out though. They climb on the table and peer in at her. She just looks back at them, rarely does she rush at them. She knows she can’t get them, but I don’t think they are always so sure.
On this video you can hear the birds making their little chitter noise. I imagine them saying, “What is it doing? What is it? Can it eat us?”
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Angelia Sims said
That is the cutest thing! They are so adorable. It’s so funny how curious they are. And the cat is just enjoying the show. So funny! Love this!
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terrepruitt said
I love when the birds hover as if to say, “What?” Yeah, they are curious. Whether they don’t know WHAT something is or if they are really trying to see if it can get them. They are so fun to watch and listening to. Sometimes the is just non-stop chitter-chatter in the yard.
You should have seen the cat when I had this video playing on my computer. She got up on the desk and started pawing at the screen. Whenever I turn it on she stares at the monitor. When it was done she just sat on my desk and purred REALLY loud. She is a silly cat.
I am glad you love it. I was hoping people would enjoy it. I do. One of SuziCate’s post reminded me that I had shot this.
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suzicate said
I love this! I don’t know who’s more curious the cat or the hummingbirds – I can see the cat turning his head and his ears twitching. I love that you and John have that protocol, such compassionate people and respectful of the animals.
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terrepruitt said
I am amazed you can see the cat. With the shadows and the mesh on the “house” it is almost impossible to see her. She kind of blends in. You have a good eye!
If I did not invite the animals into the yard, I might be different. But I don’t think it is right to put out food and fresh water and then act like a scare crow and scare them off. Sometimes I scare them when I don’t see they are there (then the frantic flapping and/or running away usually scares me too!). Or I scare them when they are running around the yard looking for peanuts and they aren’t finding any so I open the door to go give them some. Most of the time they run. Some don’t run or fly far.
Thanks for coming over to look!
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niachick said
I’ve always had inside/outside cats. My husband and I made a pact that if we were going to let them outside, then we needed to be okay with the fact that there were elements around that could easily cause their early demise. Well, we just put our 20 year old cat down last week; our18 year old cat was put down last year around this same time; and we have a 13 year old and an 8 year old still with me. Still going outside. The 13 year old stays outside in the summer time…his choice. He comes in during the day for a couple of hours to snooze on something soft and then heads back out. Both of them were born outside…I think it’s in their blood. We have bats, raccoons, deer, possums, coyotes, every kind of bird known to this part of the country, and who knows what else. We have a marsh behind us and a lake across the street, so the elements available for running into trouble are many. Our cats (I’m knocking on wood) have street savvy, meaning they can manage in the hood. They know their strengths and weaknesses, they know who to fight and who to back down from. So far so good.
Your video is precious. We have hummingbirds, too, but I’ve never seen any babies.
Love your blogs honey.
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terrepruitt said
I am sorry about MIsha. I am in awe of people that can be so strong and make that decision for a pet they love. If I lived in an area like yours we would probably let our cat out. It is our area that makes it more dangerous. There are too many cars and too many people. And I believe that if the “wild” animals are in the neighborhood they might be a little more desparate than the animals in your area. Plus I really don’t trust people. They can be cruel. Or hungry themselves.
If I lived on your property, we might have cats that go outside.
Thank you for being here. XOXOX
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Michele said
Sweet video, almost like they could have been putting on a show for Spot as much as being curious!
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terrepruitt said
That could be it too!
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Becky said
My dad loved hummingbirds. I’ll see if I can find a picture to share…
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terrepruitt said
Oh, I don’t know many people that don’t, huh? Did your dad have feeders out for them?
Would love to see a picture. 🙂
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John Pruitt said
too bad we didn’t get a video of Spots boyfriend, the squirrel. Now there was a showboat that loved spot.
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terrepruitt said
Ha, ha, ha! His little tail dance.
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