Keeping Cats Out of Beds!

[dmforcier]

12 lbs is certainly not the top end of normal. Non-obese Maine Coon males can weigh 25 lbs. I'd say that 11-12 lbs is normal for most domestic females, with big muscle cats easily exceeding that. The big tom wasn't very tall, but he was a beefy boy. By my eye I'd guesstimate 14-15 lbs.

Not that it's all that important to the story.

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by dmforcier

12 lbs is certainly not the top end of normal.

Nor did I say the top end of normal. I said it's "the heavy end of normal if you don't include cats with large breed genes like Maine Coon, etc." Meaning that, for cats that most people would consider of normal size, 12 pounds is on the heavy side.

Sometimes, people who own large cats forget what is normal to most people. I have a 13 pound cat, and people constantly call him big. I had a 16 pound cat that people would routinely exclaim was huge. *shrug*

If it makes you happier, then let's rephrase as "12 pounds is certainly not small for a cat". OK?

[dmforcier]

Well, my big Hoover - not a large breed but a big boy - elicited, "He's up there in bobcat territory!" from my neighbor (who didn't like cats). He wasn't particularly tall but over 18 lbs. Tommy, a tall tuxedo, was not as heavily built but in the same weight range.

None of my cats were/are obese. Cleo, Hoover's sister, was a bit of a chub and about 14 lbs. If she were more a hunter and less of a meat loaf, I'd say about 11 lbs. I have met cats that cleared 30 lbs - big boys that had taken to fat.

[MichelleInWASt]

Originally Posted by brownrexx

I can't believe that anyone would even suggest such a cruel thing for an animal just performing a natural bodily function.

Whether you like cats or not is no excuse for such behavior.

Hear, hear!

[bower]

Originally Posted by imp

One of the best ways I have heard of to keep cats out of a raised bed area, is chicken wire laid down on the bed.

I do this. Great for cats but also keeps mooseys from digging half the bed out with their honkin footprints. Aesthetically tricky.... rustic look. I don't much care. But need to get that off the garlic bed shortly because they are soon going to be tangled in it!

Just the other day saw a product at Dollarama, "keeps cats out of beds" , like a little coil of plastic bed of nails that you roll out. Similar to plastic fork idea. Might blow away here though.
My neighbors' cats are not a big problem for me.. they really come here to hunt not to find a litter box for scratching in.

[Worth1]

You know Smokey has ran around in my beds and sometimes even bending over a plant or two.
The plants always come out of it and she doesn't use the bathroom in the beds.
She eats grass and chases lizards.
No cat I have ever had has ever used the bathroom in my garden.
Worth

[SteveP]

I was watching a cottontail eating clover in the backyard when he suddenly hopped over to the garden and I was making sure he didn't nibble on my plants. He hopped the length of the bed stopping and sniffing around. After he left I walked to where he had been and noticed fresh Bunny Berries along his path. I Top dressed the garden with
Bunny Berries and then covered the bed with landscape mat. I guess he was just adding to the supply. He paid no attention to my tomatoes.

[jtjmartin]

Same here Worth. Our cats like to nap under the concrete reinforcing wire "cold frames." Here, on top of some garlic. Other than scaring me as I remove the sheets, they do little damage.

biddy under cover.JPG