Outdoor Ontario

Wildlife Reports => Toronto Wildlife => Topic started by: surfinbird on February 17, 2011, 10:29:54 AM

Title: Forgotten Homeless
Post by: surfinbird on February 17, 2011, 10:29:54 AM: A couple of cats from the bluffs . I'm not sure how they got there and I wonder how many little birds get eaten over the summer . If they are abandoned then I don't have much faith in humans .

(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/5453104755_7126e74b2b.jpg)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5453103663_b78d3cff88.jpg)
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Post by: BIGFRANK on February 17, 2011, 11:38:34 AM: Ya there is a large colony of feral cats at the Scarborough Bluffs. People do go down and feed them. Its a sad state.
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Post by: egret on February 17, 2011, 04:18:57 PM: tks Frank
they are beautiful!

guess u can not touch them
or get too close

E :D
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Post by: Lloyd on February 17, 2011, 05:28:28 PM: Well, what do you do? I love cats but I love wild birds, too. Those cats were abandoned by some human somewhere and will do whatever's necessary to stay alive....including attacking our natural birdlife. It's a shame, and I do tend to lean toward getting rid of the cats.
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Post by: MEGHAN on February 18, 2011, 05:51:36 PM: The cats have been there for over 15 years now and are very well looked after
It seems now that people are trying to do away with the cats by baiting coyotes into the area the cats are living.
Coyotes have never bothered this cat colony before, but trails of food are being found leading up to the sheltered areas the cats have been calling home after some volunteers built them shelters to help keep them protected from the elements. They are also feed regularily by their loyal humans
The same volunteers are now trying to find home for the large group of cats who they say are quite tame and loving towards people.
There are two articles linked below for all who are interested.

http://www.thestar.com/news/fixer/artic ... feral-cats (http://www.thestar.com/news/fixer/article/935033--the-fixer-coyotes-dining-on-bluffers-feral-cats)
http://www.thestar.com/news/fixer/artic ... feral-cats (http://www.thestar.com/news/fixer/article/938094--the-fixer-coyotes-continue-to-pick-off-bluffers-feral-cats)
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Post by: ravynne40 on February 21, 2011, 11:31:30 AM: The other problem here is the cats breed quickly, on female can have up to 6 more more in a litter...so a lot of them are born wild. I know they have tried to neuter some of them but not sure how effective that was, and it is also costly to do so.
If the cats have been there for over 15 years..and people are feeding them..why not just leave them...finding a home might not be the solution here for them, they say they are tame but how tame? I saw a show on cats and they were saying that they are very hardy animals (they also have this problem on Parliament Hill in Ottawa)

Thanks for the links Meghan!

don't you think we as humans try to play "god" too much with nature? if it isn't how "we think" it should be, we try to change it to "our liking"...hmmm....somehow that doesn't sit right with me

Irene
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Post by: dawnofthewolf on February 23, 2011, 06:59:03 PM: What part of the bluffs were these photos taken?
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Post by: surfinbird on February 24, 2011, 07:59:52 PM: At the bottom of Brimley near the marina .
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Post by: dodo on February 26, 2011, 12:38:07 AM: I love seeing coyotes in the wild parts of Toronto and I wish there were more.Once I saw one bolting away from me through the snow north of the Bloor viaduct.I tried to follow his tracks to get a photo but couldn't catch up.If the hungry coyotes have to eat unnatural food to help them make it through the winter it doesn't bother me.