by Charlotte Manville

Created on: August 19, 2008   Last Updated: September 21, 2008

Weird Critters Get Wired

I love to grow vegetables, but one year I did not have enough time to take care of a full-sized garden. Instead, I planted a few tomato plants, broccoli plants, and green pepper plants in three long flower pots along my deck. I figured that I wouldn't have to worry about rabbit or deer, and the fresh veggies would be right at my doorstep. I was wrong.

Two weeks after placing my small window-grown seedlings in their new home, something had terrorized them. Two plants were destroyed, but there were remnants of the plants all over deck. The very next day, another plant had disappeared in the same pot about a foot away from the first. The following day, a third plant was taken, and I was furious. I stayed home from work the following day, and kept a constant vigil at my front window, which overlooked my quickly dwindling garden. Not in my wildest dreams had I figured on what was to happen next. A local, gray, tom cat leisurely strolled up my steps, onto my deck, started scratching a hole for his you-know-what, and destroyed a new seedling as he scratched.
I was furious! I chased him away from my deck all . . day . . long. I couldn't stay home from work every single day! I decided the best answer would be chicken wire. I had some left from last year's garden to protect it from rabbits. This time, however, I arched it over my plants all along the wooden pots like a canopy, and stapled it securely in place. I went to bed that night, confident that old 'Tom' would have to find a different litter box.
The next morning, before leaving for work, I heard an awful meowing and howling coming from my deck. What in the world? I looked out my front window, and here was old 'Tom' trying to scratch through the chicken wire. His paw would reach partially in, but when he tried to squat, the wire kept hitting his butt before he could get into the position that he wanted. Whenever the wire touched him, he yowled in frustration, tried scratching through the chicken wire, squatted again, and yowled as soon as the chicken wire touched him.
It took me a good five minutes before I could stop laughing. Once I did, I looked out the window, and there he was still trying. Finally, I couldn't take hearing his agony any more, and I shooed him away.
The moral of the story: "Don't shit on what others eat! Weird could turn into wired!"

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