Learning

I just did my post torrent feeding and watering and slug-b-gone-ing of my outdoor plants. I even fed and watered and slug-b-gone-d my volunteer pumpkin vine which I hope doesn't spell its doom - very often once the host discovers it is hosting something, even that much attention kills it.

I also learned, though but later on, in a conversation with a neighbor, that the feral cat I named Sundance, is named JoJo and he's nine years old, and he has been fixed  ( in her utility room!) and he is quite the birder. He will kill a rat but he doesn't like the way they taste so he piles them up on my neighbors front walk. He does like the song birds though, he will eat a song bird. He doesn't leave them as gifts.

I officially don't have to worry about whether he is getting fed when I'm not here, he is by at least two different neighbors and he's a top predator. Kitty is a land shark. I also learned what he does with all that cat food he doesn't like, I know its disappears and now I know : He uses it has bait! He gets a mouth full of it and then he dribbles it out for the birds and then goes and hides in wait and then pounces on the birds when they are drawn in by the kibble. I had no idea! He seems like such a  nice kitty! I'm shocked.

He problem with the cheap cat food isn't that he doesn't like it! He doesn't care, his issue is that the birds don't like it! I don't need to bother with keeping him in cat food, all I really need to do is scatter bird seed around! I could dispense with the cockroach attracting cat food and just salt the yard with seed. Who knew?

My neighbor also shared with me that JoJo was born in her backyard and he used to have a sister who was a cracker jack hunter but one day she just disappeared. My neighbor also told me what happened to Butch. Butch died of she's pretty sure, severe  kidney disease  or as its known in the biz, ESRD (end stage renal disease)  and that she helped him out. I was glad to hear that, I watched him painfully wither away and every-time I saw him I asked How are you still alive? You look like crap. Die all ready! He was really suffering. At the end he made Tex look healthy and Tex had been dead for eight months.

I asked her because she's a retired vet and would know, about the weird 24 hour a day meowing phases JoJo goes though and she saw it as just an attention getting behavior and not a symptom. I think he's losing his mind .