Mr Thumper goes on the warpath.

There used to be a lot of dogs on my street.
Now, sadly, there are mostly c-a-t-s. You've already met some of them.

Here's one of the Impertinent Corner Cats that sleep on cars, eat on the street, and poop in everyone's yards.

Here's longtime resident and senior cat citizen, Vanilla.

You haven't yet met Dave.

Or Lola. They're new to the street but already take their night patrol duties very seriously. 

In the daytime, they follow their humans to the shops. They get to walk there without leashes.

Here's one of the fearsome Dog-Hunting Cats of Balmain.  

Yesterday evening, Mr Thumper decided to do something about the cats that had taken over his neighbourhood. He couldn't wait to get started!

He walked so fast, my stay-at-home human could hardly keep up in her thongs!

He looked up.
He looked down.

He looked under cars and trucks.

He was very meticulous because he didn't want to miss a thing.

It was a long walk and Mr Thumper got tired, but he refused to give up.

Then! Just when all hope seemed gone! He saw a cat!

The cat saw Mr Thumper too! It leapt up onto a wall!

And that was that.

Mr Thumper was very pleased that he'd finally found a cat and scared it away. He decided to call it a day.

When he got home, my stay-at-home human had to put an ice bottle on his head because he was very hot.

***

The Dogs

Gus, Lily, Josie, John, Tiger Lily, Indie, Millie, Annie, Polly, The Dog At The Corner Whose Name No One Knows Because It Never Comes Out, Giorgio, Harry, Sid, The Bulldog, the Boxer, Minky, Dell and Sparky. And of course, Mr Piglet, Mr Thumper and me.

Dell and Sparky moved to Not So Far Away. Lily moved to Bellingen. The Boxer moved to God Knows Where. Polly ran way, was never found, and is hopefully somewhere happier now. As for The Bulldog, Gus, John, Josie, Tiger Lily, Minky and Mr Piglet, they all went somewhere Very Far Away Indeed.

The C-a-ts

4 Corner Cats [including Thomas who has a home but you wouldn't know it], Vanilla, Pepe, Tiffany, Lola, Dave, and the 2 Cats At The Other Corner whose names we don't know.

The sad numbers today.

Dogs 8   C-a-ts 11

***

Some interesting links, especially if you have a cat.

The Lost Dogs' Home is Australia's largest animal shelter. This is their Cat Handbook which details what it takes to be a good cat owner.

http://www.petlicence.com.au/CAT_HANDBOOK.pdf

Some excerpts from Section 7 -

"It is recommended that cats are confined to your property from dusk until dawn and preferably at all other times, for the protection of the cat’s welfare. Some councils enforce this through a cat curfew and it is your responsibility to find out if a cat curfew exists in your area."

"Cats do not necessarily need to roam free. Alternatives to letting your cat roam free are:

* Installing an enclosed outside run

* Training it to walk on a leash
* Keeping it as an entirely indoor cat"

"It is also important that as a cat owner, you take measures to protect wildlife from your cat. You can do this by:

* Putting a bell on the your cat’s collar
* Obeying local cat curfew laws
* Installing a fully enclosed cat run
* Keeping the cat inside.

Some thoughts on Cat Curfews, plus you can join in a discussion here -

http://www.squidoo.com/Cat-Curfew

The law in Australia [outside of local council rulings] -http://kb.rspca.org.au/Are-curfews-for-domestic-cats-mandatory_284.html


Update June 7th 2011  New rulings for Leichhardt cats!
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/pussycat-pussycat-what-have-you-been-up-to-at-night-20110605-1fniy.html