Arboreal Ferals?
 

Has anyone else experienced their feral colony taking to the trees?

My colony's feeding station is under a thick bramble bush which is
sheltered by a healthy fir tree that extends up 35-40 feet in the air.
It's at the edge of an industrial campus parking dotted with lots of
much smaller (though currently heavily foiliaged) liquid amber trees
which average 12-25 feet tall.

I have arrived recently to find cats inhabiting *seriously* astonishing
high levels of the fir tree, heights from which they seem to descend
fairly well; not as agile as squirrels, but still doing much better than
I would have thought.

I witnessed at least one fight involving three cats in the branches of
one of the nearby liquid amber trees, and I have personally seen cats
coming down out of the liquid amber trees to feed at the station when I
come (usually at or just after dusk).

These ferals are rarely if ever seen by the workers in the daytime. Is
it possible that they are living in the trees? This cannot be a good
thing for birds, if so. Still, what a great hiding place for the cats.
Who looks up into branches to see cats? Jeez, they never cease to amaze
me, these animals.

In article
,
lid wrote:

Has anyone else experienced their feral colony taking to the trees?

My colony's feeding station is under a thick bramble bush which is
sheltered by a healthy fir tree that extends up 35-40 feet in the air.
It's at the edge of an industrial campus parking dotted with lots of
much smaller (though currently heavily foiliaged) liquid amber trees
which average 12-25 feet tall.

I have arrived recently to find cats inhabiting *seriously* astonishing
high levels of the fir tree, heights from which they seem to descend
fairly well; not as agile as squirrels, but still doing much better than
I would have thought.

I witnessed at least one fight involving three cats in the branches of
one of the nearby liquid amber trees, and I have personally seen cats
coming down out of the liquid amber trees to feed at the station when I
come (usually at or just after dusk).

These ferals are rarely if ever seen by the workers in the daytime. Is
it possible that they are living in the trees? This cannot be a good
thing for birds, if so. Still, what a great hiding place for the cats.
Who looks up into branches to see cats? Jeez, they never cease to amaze
me, these animals.

I wonder if it's possible that a non-tree-climbing predator has been
making its presence known in the area lately? Any coyotes around?

Priscilla, who once saw one of her ferals in her pear tree

In article
,
lid wrote:

Has anyone else experienced their feral colony taking to the trees?

My colony's feeding station is under a thick bramble bush which is
sheltered by a healthy fir tree that extends up 35-40 feet in the air.
It's at the edge of an industrial campus parking dotted with lots of
much smaller (though currently heavily foiliaged) liquid amber trees
which average 12-25 feet tall.

I have arrived recently to find cats inhabiting *seriously* astonishing
high levels of the fir tree, heights from which they seem to descend
fairly well; not as agile as squirrels, but still doing much better than
I would have thought.

I witnessed at least one fight involving three cats in the branches of
one of the nearby liquid amber trees, and I have personally seen cats
coming down out of the liquid amber trees to feed at the station when I
come (usually at or just after dusk).

These ferals are rarely if ever seen by the workers in the daytime. Is
it possible that they are living in the trees? This cannot be a good
thing for birds, if so. Still, what a great hiding place for the cats.
Who looks up into branches to see cats? Jeez, they never cease to amaze
me, these animals.

I wonder if it's possible that a non-tree-climbing predator has been
making its presence known in the area lately? Any coyotes around?

Priscilla, who once saw one of her ferals in her pear tree

In article ,
Priscilla Ballou wrote:

I wonder if it's possible that a non-tree-climbing predator has been
making its presence known in the area lately? Any coyotes around

Well, there are coyotes around sometimes (at a library sale, I actually
found and bought a book about coyotes to learn what I could do to
protect the cats from them), but they've been there longer than my
colony. In all the time I've been here, only one cat has been taken by
coyotes that I know about.

I've been caring for this particular colony for ten years give-or-take,
and the coyotes--along with deer, skunk, raccoons, opossums, assorted
rodentia and who knows what-all else--have always been a part of the
system. I've had pretty close encounters with all these critters since I
started caring for the colony. I've even had to chase away *birds* from
the feeding station; some left so reluctantly, I had to laugh. They
didn't even bothering to take wing, just walked away in that funny way
birds walk.

With all of that, this tree-dwelling-cat stuff is completely new and
baffling to me.

I've seen plenty of "fireman-save-my-cat" treed pet cats, but these guys
do not seem at all distressed by their situation. On the contrary, I get
the sense that they feel secure in the trees. It really is the weirdest
thing.

In article ,
Priscilla Ballou wrote:

I wonder if it's possible that a non-tree-climbing predator has been
making its presence known in the area lately? Any coyotes around

Well, there are coyotes around sometimes (at a library sale, I actually
found and bought a book about coyotes to learn what I could do to
protect the cats from them), but they've been there longer than my
colony. In all the time I've been here, only one cat has been taken by
coyotes that I know about.

I've been caring for this particular colony for ten years give-or-take,
and the coyotes--along with deer, skunk, raccoons, opossums, assorted
rodentia and who knows what-all else--have always been a part of the
system. I've had pretty close encounters with all these critters since I
started caring for the colony. I've even had to chase away *birds* from
the feeding station; some left so reluctantly, I had to laugh. They
didn't even bothering to take wing, just walked away in that funny way
birds walk.

With all of that, this tree-dwelling-cat stuff is completely new and
baffling to me.

I've seen plenty of "fireman-save-my-cat" treed pet cats, but these guys
do not seem at all distressed by their situation. On the contrary, I get
the sense that they feel secure in the trees. It really is the weirdest
thing.

In article
,
lid wrote:

In article ,
Priscilla Ballou wrote:

I wonder if it's possible that a non-tree-climbing predator has been
making its presence known in the area lately? Any coyotes around

Well, there are coyotes around sometimes (at a library sale, I actually
found and bought a book about coyotes to learn what I could do to
protect the cats from them), but they've been there longer than my
colony. In all the time I've been here, only one cat has been taken by
coyotes that I know about.

I've been caring for this particular colony for ten years give-or-take,
and the coyotes--along with deer, skunk, raccoons, opossums, assorted
rodentia and who knows what-all else--have always been a part of the
system. I've had pretty close encounters with all these critters since I
started caring for the colony. I've even had to chase away *birds* from
the feeding station; some left so reluctantly, I had to laugh. They
didn't even bothering to take wing, just walked away in that funny way
birds walk.

With all of that, this tree-dwelling-cat stuff is completely new and
baffling to me.

I've seen plenty of "fireman-save-my-cat" treed pet cats, but these guys
do not seem at all distressed by their situation. On the contrary, I get
the sense that they feel secure in the trees. It really is the weirdest
thing.

Fascinating. I'm stumped, too!

Priscilla

In article
,
lid wrote:

In article ,
Priscilla Ballou wrote:

I wonder if it's possible that a non-tree-climbing predator has been
making its presence known in the area lately? Any coyotes around

Well, there are coyotes around sometimes (at a library sale, I actually
found and bought a book about coyotes to learn what I could do to
protect the cats from them), but they've been there longer than my
colony. In all the time I've been here, only one cat has been taken by
coyotes that I know about.

I've been caring for this particular colony for ten years give-or-take,
and the coyotes--along with deer, skunk, raccoons, opossums, assorted
rodentia and who knows what-all else--have always been a part of the
system. I've had pretty close encounters with all these critters since I
started caring for the colony. I've even had to chase away *birds* from
the feeding station; some left so reluctantly, I had to laugh. They
didn't even bothering to take wing, just walked away in that funny way
birds walk.

With all of that, this tree-dwelling-cat stuff is completely new and
baffling to me.

I've seen plenty of "fireman-save-my-cat" treed pet cats, but these guys
do not seem at all distressed by their situation. On the contrary, I get
the sense that they feel secure in the trees. It really is the weirdest
thing.

Fascinating. I'm stumped, too!

Priscilla

I have discovered that small kittens are very handy about climbing into
bushes. I rescued one litter by plucking them out of the shrubbery like
so much ripened fruit. Our favorite feral momcat may even have given
birth in her favorite holly tree, though we could never confirm that. I
remember one instance, where we found her hiding in the tree, staring down
at us, and then watched her disappear from sight as we watched, just like
the Cheshire Cat.

I would be willing to bet that coyotes have inspired your colony to take
to the trees. Birds are probably not in great danger, unless they are
nesting in the cats' favorite climbing spots. It's the fledglings that
are mostly taken, and that when they are on the ground.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats

I have discovered that small kittens are very handy about climbing into
bushes. I rescued one litter by plucking them out of the shrubbery like
so much ripened fruit. Our favorite feral momcat may even have given
birth in her favorite holly tree, though we could never confirm that. I
remember one instance, where we found her hiding in the tree, staring down
at us, and then watched her disappear from sight as we watched, just like
the Cheshire Cat.

I would be willing to bet that coyotes have inspired your colony to take
to the trees. Birds are probably not in great danger, unless they are
nesting in the cats' favorite climbing spots. It's the fledglings that
are mostly taken, and that when they are on the ground.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats