Author Topic: Allotment cat !!!  (Read 3646 times)

antipodes

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,366
  • W. France, 5m x 20m (900 ft2)
    • My allotment blog
Allotment cat !!!
« on: January 12, 2015, 14:36:33 »
We have a wee cat on our site! He seems to answer to anything but I think he is officially called Charlie. he is 6 months old, a lively little black kitten with orangey yellow eyes. He is a livewire!

However on Saturday I heard one old bag grumbling that he had scratched something or other, she thinks we should not have brought a cat on site. Most people are in love with him!  And he is an excellent mouser, he has left a horde of voles and field mice in his wake, which is exactly what he is there for.

I was thinking of Betty, how did you go about getting people to see that a cat is an excellent predator for pests on an allotment?
(I didn't have my phone with me but next time I will take a picture. He 'helped' me out yesterday, bouncing on the bush clippings as I did some pruning. I was trying to attract his attention to the numerous tunnels on my plot and he did a lot of sniffing around!)
2012 - Snow in February, non-stop rain till July. Blight and rot are rife. Thieving voles cause strife. But first runner beans and lots of greens. Follow an English allotment in urban France: http://roos-and-camembert.blogspot.com

goodlife

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,649
Re: Allotment cat !!!
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2015, 19:36:51 »
Maybe the acceptance will come in time if everybody make lots of noise when they find killed mouse/rat or any other sort of pest. What is odd scratched patch when single mouse can do much worst damage in relatively short period of time...seed in scratched patch can still germinate but they won't have a chance once rodent has had its fill.
Maybe you won't win the 'old bag' to the 'other side'...some people cannot turned no matter how much evidence there is support the cat's side....it all comes down what majority want. You have to start campaign early on to decide what will happen to the cat and its rights to be on allotments..
Personally I think is nice to have pair of eyes following you around..and have that occasional chance for a little chat and maybe get a nudge and purr too :happy7:
Good luck.. :icon_thumleft:

BarriedaleNick

  • Global Moderator
  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,133
  • Cartaxo, Portugal
    • Barriedale Allotments
Re: Allotment cat !!!
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2015, 19:38:29 »
I guess there will always be people that don't like cats much and that's fair enough but they are very handy on a plot esp if they are good mousers and that needs pointing out as often as possible.

We have a couple of local cats that treat our plots as their territory and we have pretty much zero issues with rats or mice.  Mind you I wish they would deal with the pidgeons who have just eaten my PSB (net came off in the wond)..
Moved to Portugal - ain't going back!

sparrow

  • Acre
  • ****
  • Posts: 493
    • mudandgluts
Re: Allotment cat !!!
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2015, 20:22:11 »
We have a couple of cats from the houses on our site. All fluffiness and friendliness is left at the gate and they are focused hunting machines. I don't mind for most of the year, but I do shoo them away around fledgling time.

Flint_sifter

  • Not So New ...
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: Allotment cat !!!
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2015, 13:35:52 »
We have a wee cat on our site! ...

However on Saturday I heard one old bag grumbling that he had scratched something or other, she thinks we should not have brought a cat on site. ...

Must have been a mouse in a previous life!

Simon.

Squash64

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,545
    • Walsall Road Allotments
Re: Allotment cat !!!
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2015, 07:42:37 »
Sorry but I've only just seen this...

Only a few people on the site complain about our cats.  If they complain to my face
I tell them that the cats are Working Cats and are doing a good job keeping the rodents
(almost) under control. 

We have now got EIGHT cats on our site!  All neutered and healthy.  Four of them are
quite shy and keep out of the way of the plot holders but the other four are probably as
tame as many house cats and love to be stroked. 

Maybe we are just lucky that more people don't complain, or maybe the people are scared
of me and are frightened to say anything about the cats!  :tongue3:
Betty
Walsall Road Allotments
Birmingham



allotment website:-
www.growit.btck.co.uk

goodlife

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,649
Re: Allotment cat !!!
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2015, 13:03:30 »
Maybe we are just lucky that more people don't complain, or maybe the people are scared
of me and are frightened to say anything about the cats!  :tongue3:

Nah...you are not (that) scary... just a little lioness who is running the show.. :tongue3:

I think most people have habit to moan about any new 'things' that is introduced..they do before they have even given chance to see what will happen. Most people get used to these 'new things' and I'm sure issues with cats comes to it.
Allotments sites are usually quite big land areas...few cats are not going to make much disturbance....definitely less than say few foxes. And after all, cats do good job with rodents (as do foxes, I don't have issues with them)..they might not eat them but their hunting and playing with the pray will get rid of at least few...every little helps!
« Last Edit: February 15, 2015, 13:05:18 by goodlife »

antipodes

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,366
  • W. France, 5m x 20m (900 ft2)
    • My allotment blog
Re: Allotment cat !!!
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2015, 16:25:34 »
I'm sorry to say that Allotment Cat has disappeared... as the allotment site is in a park area, I wonder if he has wandered off and maybe found a new master?  A shame as he was a good mouser... poor wee thing, hopefully he didn't get run over, there is a busy road not too far away.
2012 - Snow in February, non-stop rain till July. Blight and rot are rife. Thieving voles cause strife. But first runner beans and lots of greens. Follow an English allotment in urban France: http://roos-and-camembert.blogspot.com

 

anything
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal