A cat’s life can be tough

Trying to get some shut-eye

I often envy our cat, all she does all day is snooze when the mood takes her, go for a little walk if she fancies, run around chasing things and generally doing things she thinks are fun. She eats when she likes, from the food that is always available and she get cuddles on demand.

But the last couple of weeks I have really felt sorry for her. We have redstarts nesting in our vide.

Safe in their nest

Now what could be yummier for a little cat than fresh chicks from a nest? Fortunately for the chicks, the nests are well out of Fifi’s reach, but this is where my empathy with my poor cat comes in.

Anyone who has had any dealings with redstarts will know what a heck of a noise they make. Tick, tick, tick, tick loudly and endlessly, on and on they go. The noise is to divert your attention away from the chicks, but what these stupid birds don’t realise is that all this constant ticking alerts everyone else to the fact that there is a redstart nest nearby.

Poor little Fifi is being driven potty. She has found the nest but can’t get at them and is constantly reminded of that fact. The blasted zooming backward and forward and loud ticks drive me insane when I am just carrying plants or garden tools in and out of the vide, what it must be like for a little cat who is trying to snooze in her basket and ignore the fact that a nice snack is just out of her reach.

Daddy keeps watch while....

.....Mummy brings home the dinner

So here are some photos of the offenders and the quiet little chicks. Hopefully they will fly the nest soon and our garden will go back to the quiet place it once was where people and cats can snooze undisturbed.