I've been feeding Bernard Scott for weeks. Then I realized he hadn't come to the patio door in awhile and asked around and no one had seen him. Yet the food was disappearing every night. Hmmm. Couldn't possibly be the digging raccoon, could it? So I had some raw peanuts in the freezer and put some out with the cat food. Gone the next morning. I don't think cats eat raw peanuts, but what do I know? After all, B&R eat dryer lint and tape. One night I went out with food and there was rustling in the bushes where I leave the food. I must have been late that night. I didn't shriek, although I felt like it.
I don't think I'm supposed to be feeding a raccoon, but now I don't think I can stop. He must count on it. I'll be traipsing through the snow next winter, no doubt. Tonight I left him a peach. OMG. I'm out of control. I hope I'm feeding Reggie and not a rat. Or rats. In that case, the entire neighborhood will be awakened by the sounds of my shrieking. Or maybe it's Barbara Louise. Do rabbits eat peanuts and cat food? I don't think so. I hope it's Reggie. Or someone else that I'm not terrified of.
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You're not doing him any favors making him dependent on handouts. He'll hang around and harass other humans instead of being strong and able to care for himself. This actually puts him at higher risk of being harmed by someone else.
ReplyDeleteI know you have a soft heart, but the humane thing is to stop feeding him. He'll be better off for it.
I really doubt Reggie will ever be dependent on my handouts. There is, after all, a bird feeder behind the apartment next to me and a squirrel-feeding station on the deck of the building next to me, and, of course, I live in a rural area. A few steps down the road, and he'll be immersed in a corn field, and on two other two sides of me there are wooded areas with a water source. I wonder if feeding birds and squirrels is also inhumane. So, inhumane or not, I'll probably continue to give him the leftover cat food rather than throw it out, away from the apartments in a wooded area, taking care for him not to see where it comes from.
ReplyDeleteAs far as what's humane or not, that's a subject I think about all the time. I wonder if it's humane when I wipe out an entire colony of ants because it seems the only way to keep them out of my food and off my counters. I don't think it is, and my guilt is overwhelming, while most people could care less about insects.
I also wonder about the girlies. Cats surely weren't intended to be held captive in homes, peering out the windows at a life they would no doubt love if they were permitted to experience it. Instead, in the name of humanity, they get fed and combed and toenails trimmed and vet visits and spend their time living an unnatural life in order to keep them "safe."
People with birds surely face the same dilemma. Birds spending their lives in cages or sitting on the same perch for years and years can't really be living ideal lives, even though they're fed and get their nails trimmed and their wings clipped for safety purposes. I remember a neighbor who inherited a parrot who had outlived his owner, an instance that is probably common considering the longevity of parrots. I also remember that he was relegated to a cage because he was an irascible said to be close to 80-year-old Amazon who no one could go near because of his habit of trying to bite the hand that fed him - and any other hand that got too close.
Bottom line is that, except for blatant physical abuse, I don't know what's humane and what isn't.
You have a warm and loving heart, my friend. Don't change a thing. (*o~)
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