DEAR JOAN: I read the article about a lost cat walking hundreds of miles to return home (from Yellowstone National Park) and wondered how the cat traveled this distance. Is it possible it found its way by walking 1,000 miles? Or could someone have found him in Yellowstone and took him home to California?
I have read similar articles in the past where a cat or dog disappears and miraculously returns home, and no one knows how they did it. Fortunately, they also had a microchip.
— Susan Anacker, Orinda
DEAR SUSAN: Rayne Beau, the miracle cat in question, is believed to have made the 900-mile journey from Yellowstone to Roseville, where he was intercepted and rescued on his way back to his home in Salinas. It was reported the cat had lost 6 pounds and that his paws were in bad shape. I’m a believer.
No one can know for certain, but researchers and scientists who study cats and their ways, believe cats have a lot going for them, when it comes to finding their way. Sure, they can’t – or won’t – get out of the tree, but they can travel hundreds of miles without help or Google Maps.
Cats have a fantastic sense of smell, an acute sense of direction, an ability to memorize their surroundings and a strong homing instinct. That certainly helps them find their way in their own neighborhoods, but for very long distances, experts believe cats also use Earth’s magnetic field for direction.
I’ve never felt more inadequate.
DEAR JOAN: When I read the newspaper outside, my free-range chickens come and jump on it, pecking it and eating it. I would expect cats to want attention, but not chickens.
When I’m done with the paper, I put it on the ground, and they rip it apart and eat the strips. They have food. I’ve tried four kinds, which they seem to eat — not the pellets, just scratch or crumble.
Also, any ideas how to keep the other critters away from their food? One squirrel is very persistent and I just saw a rat on my fence.
— Julie Ludwig, Sunnyvale
DEAR JULIE: Your chickens have excellent taste in reading material, if not in food.
There’s some debate on whether eating newsprint will harm them. As long as they aren’t going after the slick paper inserts, they should be fine. As far as I know, our papers use soy-based ink.
As for keeping critters away from the food, I know your chickens are free range, but I assume they have a coop for roosting. You should create a more secure area in there for feeding, making sure the holes in the fencing are too small for rats or squirrels. Keeping the area as tidy as possible is important, too.
You might also use peppermint oil around sensitive areas to discourage the more persistent ones.
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Halloween reminder
As those fabulous decorations for the haunting season go up, please refrain from using webbing and faux cobwebs around your house. Birds and other small creatures can easily get entangled, causing injury and death.
If you are concerned about wild critters eating your carefully carved pumpkins, don’t put them out until Halloween. What you see as wonderful decorations, animals see as a free buffet.
Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.