[AnAmericanMother]

Wow! You must have a very attractive four star establishment for felines! Probably the Lab patrolling the yard discourages any applicants at our house -- although she would never hurt a cat. She doesn't even hurt birds that she finds in the yard (she once caught one and brought it to me alive and unhurt.) Now, as for squirrels . . . I wouldn't warrant a squirrel's safety at our house. :-D

[Lady Jag]

There are a lot of woods where we live, but we never had an onslaught like that year when four showed up within about 9 or 10 months. You turned on a lightbulb with your mention of dogs; dogs don't populate this neighborhood like they used to, although we do have fox.

We have found homes for strays in the past and we found the owners of a couple of them; one cat who went home to his owner had been missing six months and the other nearly a year, and seeing the reunions made it all worthwhile.

My cats have three birdseed feeders and two suet feeders which they observe through windows and sliding doors that open onto a deck. Squirrels like the cats and vice versa, and they play through the glass.

[Lady Jag]

And the feral tabby is the only hunter. She's a stocky tabby and, though she loves mice, we try to keep them away from her because she makes such a gawd awful mess with them. I'd hate to see her with a squirrel. She is so strong she throws shoes, heavy leather shoes, for fun.