Tag Archives: cats in the garden

Sentinel Kitty: Guarding the Garden

Kung-Fu Fighter, leg at the ready
Guarding the Gourds

There is a terrible rumor going around. You may have heard it. It implies, in unkind terms, that cats do nothing but sleep all day. It’s simply untrue.

I know how these rumors get started. To the untrained eye, there is a kernel of truth. The reality, however is this: they’re on stealth guard. What appears as slumber is a clever ploy. Friends (and foes!!!) tiptoe around them to insure undisturbed sleep. Kitty keeps her eyes tightly closed but ready to pounce at a moment’s notice, all the while keeping a close watch on garden treasures.

The next time you see a slumbering feline, take a close look at what’s nearby. Sentinel Kitty might be guarding the Crown Jewels, or something really important, like Sacred Tulips.

Lindy guards the house plants

Halt! Who goes there?

Slinky Malinki, Stealth Kitty

Crown Jewels aka Tulips

Cats in the Garden: The Holiday Addition

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Our afternoon temps were in the mid-sixties (F) this weekend, with skies bright and clear. What a perfect, late-autumn day. I planted tulips, raked leaves and swept the patio, happy to have the time outdoors One by one the cats joined me in the garden. They vie for my attention, while avoiding each others wrath.

Over the years I’ve had a few cats that got along, but mostly my feline companions merely tolerate each other. The current pecking order is as follows: Lindy is ten, and has lived here the longest. She mostly gets her way. Sadly, she’s been terrorizing Slinky, who backs down every time. I’m convinced that if Slinky “stood up to her” things would improve. Before Slinky, Lindy got along with all cats, including the visitors.

Lindy-Lu, we love you

Lindy spies Slinky behind the trellis

Top Cat

Beijing, once a stray, joined us three years ago. She’s an aging cat with arthritis and kidney troubles, but she behaves like a brute and takes no prisoners. She makes us laugh. Beige is always looking for a lap and will settle into one the moment anyone sits down. She’s in love with my husband, and I think she wonders where he goes all day.

Beijing or ‘Beige’…cause she’s neither white nor orange

Slinky is young, semi-feral and just now spending most of her time indoors. It’s been a long process, with a few setbacks. She enjoyed the late afternoon in the garden as well, hiding from Lindy but keeping her eye on me. By evening she came indoors where she is enjoying her new digs.

Slinky takes a bath

Slinky Keeps Watch

I can’t begin to imagine a world without animals, nor my life without felines. Their (mostly) serene presence soothes the soul.

Lindy in the Garden: Our Big Girl Turns 10

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Lindy-Lu, our beloved black and white kitty, just turned ten. We adopted her seven years ago from our local Humane Society as a birthday gift for my oldest son. She’s been a gift to us all.

Our family looked at every single cat available for adoption that day, but in the end she chose us. She reached between the bars with her paw and patted my son.

Lindy is good-natured and outgoing and unlike most cats, she comes when called. She’s too big for our laps, preferring instead to lay across the back of the couch, nestling near our hair. The moment I head outside, she is by my side, following me from place to place.

Mighty-Mouse, the neighbor’s kitty comes calling and wants to play. She’s receptive on occasion, but for the most part views him as an annoying little brother. At 16 pounds she could take him, but she prefers to give him a warning growl. Sometimes he actually takes the hint.

As I go about my gardening chores, she settles into the grass or between a couple of nearby shrubs. I often think she’s keeping an eye on me, offering her quiet companionship as she tucks in her paws and gives me the blink of acceptance. The garden wouldn’t be the same without her.

Slinky in the Garden

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Slinky’s Domain

Slinky Malinki, our shiny black kitty, arrived a few years back. Her haunting green eyes, spoke of unhappy lives; slight moves put her on the attack.

We fed her each day; she would eat and run away, returning each night for a meal.

Should I venture a reach? She would greet me with teeth, trying to pet her lost all its appeal.

Slinky gradually came ‘round, but remains leery and unbound, affection is given with care.

Now she sleeps near my pillow and head-butts my face, it’s hands she continues to fear. Each passing year, a little less fear, what I wouldn’t give to let her know she’s safe.

Slinky Near the Strawberry Patch

Like a Sunflower, Slinky Rotates with the Sun

Proud Lady

Making Progress

Did you know:

Cats head-butt as a way of showing affection.
Feral cats can be tamed. Here is an informative, compassionate article written by The Lucky Few
We named our Slinky after a wonderful children’s book: Slinky Malinki by New Zealand writer Lynley Dodd

My Beautiful Bronze Pathway

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Garden Walkway

Salvador and Hugo are working their magic again. They finished installing the stone and gravel pathway yesterday and it looks great. It’s functional and beautiful, the marriage of any good design. I love it!

Sal is repairing damaged irrigation pipe and hauling soil today. Hugo is installing bender board and preparing the ground for sod. The invasive roots of our neighboring pine need some taming, but the tree’s majestic beauty makes this exercise worthwhile every few years.

Our three cats are inside keeping an eye on things. They get to explore the changes each afternoon when the noise and activity settle down. Our neighbor’s cat is fearless, however, so he’s been out there exploring at will.

Rain is in the forecast this Saturday, just in time to give everything a good rinse. Is there anything more intoxicating than new grass, damp rocks, fallen pine needles and freshly turned clods of earth?

I'll be under the bed if you need me.

Designer: Bergez & Associates, J.P. Bergez featured in Sunset Magazine

Installation: Natural Bridges Landscaping, David Ross

Cats in the Garden: The Cat Fence-in™ System

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Over the years we’ve lost a number of cats to moving cars, Feline AIDS and wanderlust. Others have endured abscesses from fights and other assorted injuries. My cat Grant set the record for cats trapped in inappropriate places such as neighboring garages, attics and vacated townhouses. I bailed him out of the Humane Society three times. When we tried to convert him to an indoor kitty, he started (and continued) to spray the indoor perimeter of the house. My husband constructed an outdoor cat run with a cat flap allowing him to come and go through a window, but he remained restless and bored.

One-eyed Estare

Then we discovered The Cat Fence-in System, developed by a company in Las Vegas. I spent a weekend pruning vines and shrubs away from the fence line while my husband traveled out of country. When he returned we added lattice to the fence to make it taller and installed the system. Sunday night we let the cats explore the yard so we could test for any flaws. They tried climbing the fence a few times but were thwarted by the netting. They quickly settled into a happier life as indoor/outdoor cats.

The system has been in place for nearly 15 years now, without a single escape. The peace of mind has been such a gift: No fights, no accidents, no communicable diseases. It’s also a good-neighbor system: if someone’s cat is digging up a flower bed or fighting at 2:00 am, I can rest assured it isn’t one of mine.

If you can keep your kitty happy indoors, go for it. But if you love a rabble-rouser like Grant or a roamer like Estare, this CatFence-in System may by the perfect compromise.

Cat’s in the Garden

A Rare Moment of Togetherness

Sharing a Moment

Fluffy Incognito

The Fluffster Outdoors

“A cat improves the garden wall in sunshine, and the hearth in foul weather.”
-Judith Merkle Riley

: Fluffy on the Bridge

Shy and retiring and a little on the wild side, our Fluffy is always at her best in the garden.

At 17 she has lost her desire to climb trees and hunt rats but she still enjoys the sun on her back. She’s a bit of a stealth kitty, quietly hiding under shrubs and between flower beds, especially when rambunctious children are on the scene.

Can you see me now?

Conversely, she can pierce the nighttime solitude with her tortured wail, beseeching you to fill her food dish at 3:00 am or to release her from the cozy-confines of the bathroom where incontinent kitties must now spend the night.