CongratulatIons to @merej99, @d3nv3r and @chrisaiki , this week's winners of 2 STEEM each!
There was a 3-way tie. I'm open to suggestions for tie-breakers!
@d3nv3r bemoans the barn cat next door keeps having kittens and dropping them off at my feet like my ex girlfriends, what should I do?
This one can be problematic, especially in regards to ex girlfriends. The only permanent solution is to have the female cat spayed. I don't think this will be applicable to the ex girlfriends situation. As for the cat, I imagine you've already spoken with the neighbor. Since kittens keep showing up, it appears the neighbor isn't concerned about the situation. That leaves you with few options. If you have a local spay/neuter program nearby, they will be a great help in capturing, fixing, and releasing your visitor. If you want to tackle the project yourself, this description was clear and concise:
Begin to feed the cats at the same time every evening so they become used to a schedule. Do not feed the cats the day before the trapping so they become hungry. On the big night set the traps up in the barn with a little stinky canned cat food such as sardines or tuna fish. Put a blanket over the trap to camouflage it so the cats do not become suspicious. The traps should be checked every half-hour and once the cats are caught, the traps should be elevated off the ground so their feces and urine can fall through the wires and be kept away from the cat. Please be very careful while handling the traps because the cats will be frightened and acting out. (source)
They're 'street smart' and learn what the traps do, so hopefully you can trap her on the first try. You also may catch the odd passing raccoon or possum. (There are specific release methods for these critter. Read up beforehand or Ask Aunt Deb.) Just know this may be a long process.
If you can't tell the neighbor your gameplan, be sure you can handle the blowback if the neighbor finds out. If you take this on, I'd love to hear how it goes - maybe updates every now and then? I'm betting patience will pay off! Best of luck with the cat and ex girlfriends...
Why do dogs eat grass sometimes? wonders @merej99.
Turns out it's not for the reasons we take for granted... that it's to settle an upset tummy or to induce vomiting. While this may be true, it's not the only or even the most important reason. Some of the other causes may be simple boredom, a desire for a different texture, a need for fiber or other nutrients, or learned behavior from other pets. Knowing your pet's 'normal' is helpful, because that's your yardstick to measure if anything is out of whack and calls for a visit to the vet.
One theory I didn't know about was related to their diet in ancient times. Very interesting concept and it makes a lot of sense to me:
Although evolution has taken dogs from the wild to domestication, many of their natural instincts, needs, and behaviors remain instilled in their genetic makeup.
Our dogs' wild ancestors were known to feast on the stomach, intestines and other internal organs of their prey first. Their prey being predominantly herbivores, the stomach contents often consisted of grass and other leafy forage.
Numerous researchers speculate that the propensity for eating grass may be built in the heredity of our furry companions.(source)
This old dog learned a new trick today after reading this... that I don't have to be overly concerned about grass eating unless the critter seemed ill beforehand. Valuable information for the pet sitting toolkit!
@chrisaiki asks will Trump recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as an independent state?
While the topics of the questions I was expecting were pet-related, to be fair, I didn't make that an explicit rule. (That oversight is on me, so in this one case, I'm going to honor the STEEM giveaway.) Politics caught me flat-footed at first, but I tried to be fair when looking at the sources available on the issue. I skimmed headlines, sources, and alleged quotes from a variety of points of view - i.e. - China's, Taiwan's, USA's, other interested nations, affected organizations, and, finally, Trump himself.
My totally personal, non-professional pundit-style conclusion is Trump will make a spectacle out of the decision and, regardless of the consequences, come down on the side which will make him the most money. I think this is the pattern we'll see throughout his term and nobody is going to force him to do anything he doesn't want to. Megalomaniacs are like that, I've heard. It's going to be an interesting few years...
