Q: We live near the water and four or five pairs of some kind of small heron have built nests in some very large maple trees in the front of our house. The first year they did this there was only one pair and we thought it was kind of cool, but now the mess on our front lawn is unbelievable. Poop and feathers are everywhere and all over our cars if we park them in the driveway. Is there any way we can discourage the birds from living here? Nothing scares them at all; people on our block shoot off fireworks every Fourth of July and it does not faze these birds at all.
A: Herons are very primitive birds and have been around for a long, long time. They have seen it all, so it's understandable that a few firecrackers blown off once a year will not faze them one bit. So there is nothing that you can do to scare them off. However, they do need big trees with strong branches to hold their large, bulky nests built of sticks. Their babies will be gone in a couple of weeks, so after they leave the nest and fly off to live in the marshes I would advise you to have a tree surgeon come to look at the branches that the birds have built the nests on and cut them off, as well as any other branch strong enough in the area around the nest. This will make the trees look a bit unsightly, but hopefully when the birds come back next spring they will see that the property values in the area have gone down and will go looking elsewhere for a new home.
Q: I have had three female sister cats for 10 years. Three weeks ago I smelled cat urine on my couch and wondered about it and then, a day later, I caught one cat in the act of urinating on the couch. I quickly scolded her and thought that was the end of it. Then I saw her doing it the next day and the day after it I saw her sister do it. A friend told me it may be that they have urinary tract infections, but I cannot understand how this can cause them to urinate on a couch and why the scolding when I catch them in the act does not deter them. What can I possibly do to stop them from doing this? I have two litter boxes for them that are changed daily and I have used up two gallons of Nature's Miracle to get rid of the smell on the cushions.
A: Cats urinate in a litter box because in their minds there are no other options. They started doing it when they were kittens and hopefully continue to think that for their entire life. However, if they do urinate someplace other then the litter box through chance or a random event, and that place is cleaner, more comfortable or more convenient than the litter box, then the cat thinks: "Why in the world have I been peeing in that plastic box on the floor when this place is so much nicer? I wonder why I never thought of this before." So that answers the question of why they start to do it. Then, when the second one saw her do it or smelled the residual urine as you did, she realized it was an option as well.
The reason why a cat with a urinary tract infection will sometimes do this is because its private parts are very sensitive and it hurts it to squat in a box full of rough cat litter. However, the diagnosis of this is the job for your vet. If you think this is the case, take the cats to the vet ASAP as curing the infection will most likely stop the issue.
The scolding does not work because the act of urinating is just a biological function to a cat. To scold it for this is like scolding it for breathing. The cat has no idea that the couch has value and why it could possibly be wrong to urinate on a couch.
You can try putting a wee-wee pad in a litterbox and placing this litter box near the couch. You then have to make the couch a not very nice place for the cats to hang out. The best way to do this is to cover the couch with a sheet and then put strips of aluminum foil on top of the sheet. When the cats want to jump on the couch to urinate, they will be all discombobulated by all this and thus jump on the floor and hopefully then choose the litter box with the wee-wee pad as a substitute.
Q: My son's class hatched duck eggs in school and we were bestowed with two of the ducklings. We have an acre of land, so we built a raccoon-proof pen in the backyard with a kiddie pool in it for them to swim in, and we let them wander about our backyard when we can watch them. I was not too happy about all this at first, but these birds are very friendly and we enjoy them very much. Can you give us any advice about caring for them?
A: Ducks are very easy to keep with a diet of prepared duck pellets and lots of green vegetables to eat. The biggest problem is keeping them in the winter when the hoses are shut off and the kiddie pool freezes. What I do for mine in the cold weather is to get a large washtub that I can fill with two 5-gallon buckets, and twice a day I fill the washtub for them and allow them to drink and splash about as best they can. The tub is small enough so that I can just turn it upside down and dump out the resulting ice and dirty water and then refill it. Then, in the spring, we resume the larger pool for them again. I like to keep ducks as pets; they are very friendly and even-tempered and aware of what is going on.
