Ever since we've moved here in 2005, there's been a resident phoebe that makes a nest underneath our porch roof. And every year I watch her sit on her eggs, feed her hatchlings and say goodbye to her fledglings.
One year I caught a black snake eating her young. I tried prying the snake off the last hatchling, but it was already dead. I wanted to cry. It was early enough in the season that she was able to hatch out another clutch, but evidently she no longer cared for that spot and moved her nest to the front porch.
So for the last three years she's been gracing our front porch with her presence (and her poop....all over the porch). The only problem is that Outside Kitty is still an outside kitty, if even for only part of the day. I figured that she would jump ship and build another nest where there wasn't a huge, sleek, 20-lb. feline with an appetite for small birds, but she has stayed put. Not the smartest move, I thought. Or isn't it?
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| Don't fall out....or you're supper! |
Outside Kitty (aka Manboob Kitty), although still a force to be reckoned with, is much heavier than he once was. In spite of this fact he somehow manages to haul his fatfelineass up the wooden banister from the basement to the back porch (a 10' climb) using his claws and fueled by Meow-Mix, but he cannot make the single leap from porch railing to the roof beam where the phoebe nest is located.
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When not prowling the homestead, Manboob
Kitty makes sure the bed is held down. |
The mother phoebe is also in tune with Outside Kitty's prowling routine, knows where he likes to sit (and stare, longingly up at the potential fledgling snackies) and waits until he is gone from the general area before she feeds her cheeping brood. I suppose it's kind of like building your house next to a dragon's den....as long as YOU know where the dragon is, nobody else is likely to come around to your place looking for trouble.
Our cats finally managed to chase the bluebirds away from the house so I put them two new houses up along the hayfield fence. The cat's don't generally stay out that far very long. The really bad side of all the strays showing up. They are hell on the bird populations.
ReplyDelete"Manboob kitty" I love it!
ReplyDeleteI guess it's all nature in action. So interesting for us human beans(!) to observe . . . so hard not to interfere, too.
ReplyDeleteI like that Outside Kitty takes it upon himself to "hold the bed down." Our granddog, who's here for doggie day care during the day, likes to sleep with one paw hooked around a leg of the wood stove (winter or summer) . . . so it doesn't get away from him we assume.
Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteOutside Kitty is doing pretty good for himself we can see. Obviously there's plenty of small birds to look forward too. He's waiting patiently.
We used to have one on the 2nd floor porch ceiling fan but she hasn't been around for a couple of years. I originally made the mistake of hanging bird feeders on trees out front until I realized it was a kitty buffet. Now aside from the very stupid titmouse birds that land next to them, I put the feeders out on the back deck.
ReplyDeleteROFL, Manboob Kitty!!!! Wow that takes he cake, so to speak :) Cute birds...
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