Subject: Re: cats and ponds, other visitors?

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 95 10:43:31 EST

I've enjoyed watching cat visits to my small garden pond.  It seems to
be a draw for cats, mine & others.  My cat will run from the back door
to the pond for a drink.  Then they check out the plants near the pond
before taking a tour of their garden and chasing unwanted visitors.
 
Last fall I noticed how frequently the pond was visited by others and
tried to keep it ice free during the winter.  I often found dusty paw
prints on the ice or in the snow and enjoyed the dance of thirsty
squirels trying to break through.
 
My daughter after designing, planting and stocking a large garden pond
wondered why she saw far fewer fish than expected.  I'm sure it was
visited by the neighbor's cat, by racoons but it wasn't until late
Spring of the second year when she watched a young heron fishing that
she understood where all her expensive Koi had gone.  From then her
pond purchases were more directed to plants.  She and my grand daughter
looked forward to the heron's return.
 
The garden pond became a favored place.  Taking an artist on a tour
grand daughter pointed out plants, flowers, turtles and the surviving
fish and there was a story for each.  The artist recreated their pond
on a child's table and chair set.  They moved, leaving the pond but
taking her table, chairs and memories of the pond.  Recently, I listened
as she told her younger brother, who never saw the pond, about the heron
who went fishing in her pond and pointed out where on her table.
 
A 3 year old has a wonderful capacity to learn from and enjoy our garden
and its visitors.
 
Dave Vanderhoof

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From: [email-masked] (JPIFLYFISH)
Date: 10 Mar 1995 21:38:13 -0500

Read about your pond and cat situation.  I have a small garden pond and
waterfall in my backyard and have been "visited" by cats, coons, and
skunks.  I keep goldfish in the pond (wanted to try Koi but I knew that
was an expensive and futile proposition).  Anyway, last summer I rigged up
a motion sensor light that is directed at the pond.  It clicks on when an
intruding cat or other critter get close to the pond...It's helped slow
down the predators, but hasn't eliminated the problem.  
I thought about wiring the pond with a low-voltage fence, but it would be
an expensive and unsightly chore.  So...I'm content to share my goldfish
on occassion with the furry guys.
Regards...John P.