Cats: Love ‘em or hate ‘em they are with us and have been for as far back as we have credible history. Like dogs they have insinuated themselves into our lives. We are told the ancient Egyptians worshiped them (probably), and some cats are aloof enough to seem godlike.
Most of my life I have had dogs, sometimes with an additional cat or 4. Some cats were indoor cats that could be seen sunning in my front window, or the garden window I built for them or my cat-nasium that let them run outdoors 8 feet above my pool deck. Hobbes and Calvin became spoiled indoor cats that enjoyed shredding furniture and missing the cat box, when they even tried. We had to tear out the dining room floor. Both were foundlings. When I moved, they were allowed to visit the neighbors. Hobbes lost part of his tail, probably caught in some moving part of a car. Cats like to sleep on a warm engine. He ran away to a neighboring family. Calvin was accused of being a dog in disguise. He would follow me to a neighbor’s house and wait for hours for me to come out. He was an indoor-outdoor cat whose age was a mystery. He seemed to prefer outdoors though. Calvin protected our house from stray dogs; even big dogs would cross the street to keep clear.
One day my wife called — our daughter had found a kitten and they wanted me to meet them at the vet. The kitten was tiny and the vet could only estimate his weight as 4 ounces was the smallest unit on his scale. The kitten fit entirely on my hand. His full length was 7 inches, mostly tail.
The vet recommended to put him down as he had another kitten we could have. The females overruled the men and $500 later BohBoh became an indoor-outdoor pet. He enjoyed both. He loved warm showers and camping trips. We had a problem once with roof rats, but Boh drove them away. Cats are very good at that. Any other method would have led to stinky dead rats in the attic. Our son got a white rat and Boh would visit the pet rat and sit by his cage quietly. Boh slept on the porch with a raccoon and occasional skunk. He even stopped my wife from accidentally upsetting the skunk.
BohBoh had been found crying in the new ductwork of a house remodel; later the smell led to his dead mother and siblings. Little BohBoh learned from “Bullcat” Calvin that cats boss dogs and no dog ever intimidated him. We kept Boh for 24 years, through six moves, and 8 weeks on a motorhome trip. He survived a 6-week abduction. In Hawaii he was content to be outdoors but we brought him in some times to control large insects.
Ships, barns and foundries keep cats. Any place with a vermin risk learns that cats are the most reliable control.
In Hawaii, we have fed and neutered 8 additional feral cats, all lived mostly outdoors, and most were reluctant to be petted. They have kept our home free of mongooses, rats, bats and ely-phants too.
One feral cat, Molly, brought my wife a dead-rat present every morning for a year. We had to make a ceremony of discarding the carcass. One small female, Brindle, chases birds — and large moths — off the lanai, but so far as we knew never caught either one.
In 13 years, we have found evidence of three injured birds and several dozen dead rats on our property. That ratio makes me think the cats are only good at catching dying birds, just as wolves prefer large prey that is already dying, natures balance.
The recent PETA column about cats revealed a shocking ignorance of cat behavior or prejudice against predators in general. Indoor cats need a lot of maintenance. They are not animatronic plush toys put here for your amusement. They are living, intelligent, sentient creatures with free will and an important place in the balance of nature. Without cats we would be inundated with mice, rats, lizards, roaches and mongooses — their foods overlap.
If only they would master coqui frogs.
Ken Obenski is a forensic engineer, now safety and freedom advocate in South Kona. He writes a biweekly column for West Hawaii Today. Send feedback to obenskik@gmail.com.