January 7, 2013

ALL-U-CAN-EAT Buffet in the Back of Beyond

Ordinarily I hold to a non-interventionist policy when it comes to feeding the wildlife, but recent weeks have seen such snow and unrelenting, bitter cold that I’ve gone against principle and strewn random treats in high-traffic areas. (High animal traffic, that is. I don’t want to lure the critters anywhere near automobiles.) For the vegetarians and omnivores: blueberries, celery, and bits of bread. For the cats: chicken scraps and raw (broken) eggs.

posted by in animals, food, nature | * | 4 comments 

comments

  1. Erica Braverman on January 7th, 2013 at 4:12 pm

    Awww. I worry about strays and how they get food whenever I see one. I once tried to feed a stray cat near my old office some Wendy’s chicken sandwich, but she was too skittish to come near me. Good on you.

    I didn’t know cats were into raw eggs.

  2. Sheila Ryan on January 7th, 2013 at 4:15 pm

    I think the ferals around here probably thought they’d died and gone to pussy heaven when they came upon those eggs.

    Serious protein in a time of scarcity.

  3. Michael Grant Smith on January 7th, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    Two of our “free” cats cost us nearly a grand each in vet bills; one former barn cat for surgery to save his life after he was mauled by predators, and the other, a calico, for eating socks that required surgical removal from her GI tract. So, feral, yes.

  4. Sheila Ryan on January 7th, 2013 at 10:36 pm

    Oh, man, we had a feral cat crisis here a couple of weeks ago. Wore me out. It had a happy ending (I think), but only after hours of dramatic tension.