As I sit at my desk and watch the squirrels cavorting across the lawn and up-and-down the trees, I wonder why the "outdoor" cats (see above) are not doing their job... which is to keep my kingdom (queendom?) varmint-free.
A little background on the outside cat family: over a year ago, a stray cat gave birth to a litter of four underneath my deck. Of course I fed her - she looked quite bedraggled, mostly from nursing her babies. So... I started feeding her and then when the kittens were weaned, I fed them too. The mom eventually left - I have no idea where she went but I hope nothing bad happened to her. And so, today I still feed her family - twice a day. I refuse to let them inside my house - I WILL NOT be the woman who lives with six cats!, so I bought a large doghouse and added a heated bed for them to stay out of the rain and cold temperatures. I wish I could get them to a veterinarian to be spayed/neutered, but they are quite feral, despite allowing me to feed and house them. I haven't been able to pick them up and when my son tried to pick one up it really freaked out. If only there was some animal birth control that I could add to their food...
But back to their lack of good work ethics... their hunting genes are apparently being suppressed by the current buffet on the deck. Perhaps a salad bar instead...