In the middle of spring, our lawn furniture has nearly sprung. Some clever cats have crawled under the protective tarp we use at night and claimed the cushions in various ways. (If those cushions could talk!)
Nate, armed with cleaning concoctions whisked up from the nether regions of the internet, has saved the furniture, but now the cats know where the furniture is, and they like it. They’re brazen. They come out in the middle of the day. They lick their paws and laugh at Nate before slinking off to their favorite lawn furniture spot.
But, we found some special “spiky” mats that keep cats away from furniture. The “spikes” are clear, bumpy material meant to repel animals without harming them. Basically, cats will stick their paws out, feel the bumps, and decide, “Ick. I can’t sit here. What I need is an empty beer or book box.” And then they move on.
At least, that’s what we think is happening. We haven’t seen the cats around, but it’s also true that the cats could be pushing the edges of the mats in, walking around the perimeter, and sitting down anyway.
Cats evolve. They develop resistance to futile human attempts to tame them. Nate and I know this: ultimately, we are at every cat’s mercy in this neighborhood.
But we also planted lots of trees, which means there are birds. Some of them are large vulture-types that eat cats for breakfast.
So, yeah, the mats are the least of their worries—a mere annoyance for a beast with nine lives.
Your Turn: What animals do you get to see where you live?
Fixin' Leaks and Leeks 
Cats are so smart and indeed impossible to tame! 🙂
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They are something! But also, so much fun and very cute.
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Try putting out dry lavender or growing some in a pot near your furniture. Cats hate the smell and will stay away, including from the birds!
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Ooh! I love lavender–sounds like a win all around!
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I see lots of wild rabbits on my walks around the neighborhood. They seem quite tame and well-fed. I’m guessing that vegetable gardens around here require fences!
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Rabbits are fun to spot. I’ve seen a few in our neighborhood, too–and they also look well fed.
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They’re very cute:)
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Hosta-eating deer, shy red foxes, skunks, and lots of wild turkeys.
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You have a zoo! Sounds like there’s lots of fun (and perhaps annoying) wildlife around your neck of the woods.
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There is also the occasional bear sighting in our neighborhood as well. (Not by us, thankfully.)
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I’m now living in Adelaide and the most frequent visitors are birds. The birds like the defecate all over the place. Back in Canberra, it wasn’t uncommon to have kangaroos (Eastern Grey) visiting from the bushland close by.
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Not to mention the possums which had become used to humans and seemed to cleverly defecate all around parked cars so it was difficult not to stand in possum faeces every time.
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Oh my goodness! The words “watch your step” take on new meaning.
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Birds are fun to spot–but yes, it’s a good idea to keep a head covering around.
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Two years in a row I haven’t had any fruit from my quince and feojoas trees. Possums abnd birds take it all before it’s ripe.
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Oh no! The possums and birds are well fed, though 🙂
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I’m backing your cats against your repellants! We have elephants but they haven’t yet tried sitting on the one solitary lounger that we leave outside.
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Cats for the win! I don’t know what I’d do if I saw an elephant–probably admire from a safe distance 🙂
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Whose cats are they?! Although I’d prefer a cat to the skunks and raccoons we have!
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The cats belong to no one and everyone–they just kind of have always been here–wild and free.
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Those damn cats! However, I sense you secretly love them. It’s ok, you can admit that here. 🙂 We had a couple of raccoons last summer. Garbage raiders. They are cute but I had to scare them away so as not to deal with them chewing on my roof.
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I do love cats–just not ready to take any in at the moment. And boo to those raccoons! (Though they are cute, too)
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