Sunday, April 17, 2022

PETTY PROBLEMS -- SURVIVAL LAUGHTER

Bringing this topic up with all the very real problems each of us likely have I probably should feel embarrassed.   These "little aggravations" can be the proverbial back-breaking straw that becomes overwhelmingly exasperating -- especially if the problem does not easily respond to resolution.   This is one I had years ago, may have written about here before.   I thought it had been permanently ended.  As my loving brother would have quipped, "We don't pay you to think!"

I manage to cope with the big issues that come up, but then if a bunch of little matters like this one pile on they can reach a point where even one more can break me down.  I find myself wondering if that's just my weakness or if any others have the same experience?

In the realm of annoyances, after several halcyon years I noticed in a dirt area next to my front entrance the soil has again been recently disturbed with obvious digging much like that made by cats in a litter box.  Sure enough, a cat appeared on my back patio one day.

Another day for several hours, every time I peered out my window that same cat sat by a hedge at my front driveway's edge near my garage door.  I don't know if the cat is new to some neighbor since most have dogs or has been dumped here as has occurred in years past.  

This predominately gray cat with flecks of white I've since seen again, appears to be well cared for so may have a local owner.  People must keep their dogs inside and I wish the same was true of cats.  They discourage birds from my yard, not to mention the hazard the outdoor roamers can present to our declining avian population.

We had a neutered male cat his long entire life so I'm not anti-feline, but I just think owners need to be more responsible, especially given the risks to the kitty's nine lives here at the mountains lower foothills edge.  Selfishly, I don't want a cat creating a personal litter box immediately next to my front door, either.  "Go in our own yard, kitty!"

I went through an unwelcome period of time some years ago when that same dirt area by my door was commandeered by some cat as a personal litter box that began to attract even more felines.  Repellent efforts with some commercial deterrents were unsuccessful but eventually the felines permanently seem to disappear.

Those unfortunate cats may have been the victims of wildlife predators that prowl our community for a tasty morsel.  Those hunters come mostly at night, such as coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions and even bears have been known to appear.  Coyotes, reported to have dens in our city, are the only ones I've ever seen, but I do have a coyote whistle our city distributed to residents to carry when out walking.   Owners of small pets, cats and dogs, are cautioned to take care letting their pet outside, especially after dark.  

When I've looked daily at that front-of-my-house area soil I had smoothed over, there has continued to be obvious digging disturbance.  I may try spreading a common hot spice cooking powder suggested as a possible repellent.  Supposedly, sprinkling the red hot pepper powder over the soil will result in the cat getting some on their paws.  They would then lick their paws when bathing after covering their business and find the smell, taste, or other quality totally unacceptable, even offensive to them, and not return.  Furthermore, all other trespassing felines would avoid the area, too, should any appear.  I wonder if anyone else has had success using such seasoning with this approach?  

You can see after reading this, what one of the most immediate pressing petty issues in the scheme of life is in my current daily existence.  This is that proverbial straw exasperating me when I have more important matters on which I need to focus my attention.  

I'll end this now by digressing to a cartoon that tickled my funny bones "borrowed" ...  okay! ...  stolen from my go-to blog for laughs:  Oddball Observations.

15 comments:

  1. I can relate. There are two stray cats from the neighbourhood that insist on visiting our garden and to steal food and water kept for the cat which has adopted to us. We can often hear them fighting and that is very annoying too.

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    1. Oh that fighting! When my husband was still living we had that and all the cries and hollering that went with it in the middle of many nights outside our bedroom window we liked to leave open. We were awakened in a most unpleasant way. Eventually those cats also disappeared.

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  2. Thank you for putting everything in perspective this morning with this timely and timeless topic and that cartoon and the gift of laughter!

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  3. It may seem like a petty issue, but cats using your garden as a litter tray is unacceptable. A couple of years back we found cat crap in our garden several times, but thankfully it hasn't happened since. Yes, there must be some substance you can put down that would repel cats. Google suggests lemon, white vinegar, citrus fruits, lavender and pine needles among other things.

    That cartoon can be all too true in some cases. Some web pages can be fiendishly complicated.

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    1. I sure wouldn't want cats using any garden area where I would be growing fruit or vegetables for human consumption.

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  4. I will never, ever understand the idea of an Outdoor Pet Cat. That's just a stray with a home base.

    Our neighborhood is afflicted with lots of cats wandering around, and their presence is a huge annoyance to my own Indoor Cats and me, who has an herb garden plot and a few bird feeders and small pond. I was awakened just last week by a vicious and prolonged cat fight. 'Tis the season, unfortunately.

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    1. “Cat with a home base” is a good way to describe the situation with some cats trying to turn other houses into adjunct home bases, too.

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  5. I have a similar problem in one section of my yard. The feral cats use it as a litter box. The feces are awful as it is not covered up.

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    1. Surely is annoying to say the least.

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  6. That last cartoon really hit the spot! Technology can drive me crazy and I HATE our military health care app. Even the doctors don't love it. We have feral (or maybe they actually have owners) cats in our neighborhood that poop on our property too and it drives my mom crazy. She insists cat poop has the worst smell.

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    1. I agree with your Mom about the cats poop smell.

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  7. Tried hot peppr flakes around an apple tree to deter squirrel from stealing the apples. Didn't work.

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  8. Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know of your experience with the pepper flakes, and squirrels stealing apples. Disappointing it didn't work.

      The cat at my house hasn't returned after those few weeks so I've never tried my hot chili pepper powder. I don't know what has happened to the cat and don't want to speculate the worst may have occurred. Come again anytime.

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