Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/19/water-fountain-and-all-of-the-animals.html
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An old friend of mine, who died some years ago, was a biologist and actor. Her partner and her had a lovely home in the mountains abutting chaparral. Looking out her office window one day, I saw she had a bird feeding station. Under it, was some cat food.
Paraphrased from memory:
Friend, “I sit for hours watching all of that.”
Me, “Why is there cat food; are you feeding cats?”
Friend, “Yes, we have two bobcats and we have a mountain lion.”
Me, “Do they eat cat kibble?”
Friend with a smile, “No, but I like to make sure they have something to eat.”
Under a large oak tree was a fountain, automatically filling from repurposed toilet plumbing. Next to it she buried her love
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She was attracting stray cats for the bobcats and mountain lions to kill and eat? That’s…dark.
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Really changed how one viewed the feeding and watering stations on her property.
At times, though dare I say more of a realist. Truly, she was a hoot. One of those kinds of cats was an invasive species, the others are native.
See Nature The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States “cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually” and No, President Trump: Wind turbines aren’t killing ‘all the birds.’ Cats are., and BoingBoing, Wind Farms Aren’t A Major Cause Of Bird Deaths 2012 09 04
Also, local coyotes likely claimed, and continue to claim, more cats than her pragmatic feeding plan.
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And potentially neighbors’ pets? Messed up. I realize not everyone likes domesticated cats, but if you lure people’s pets to be prey for wild animals you’re just a sociopathic asshole.
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Agreed to some degree. Sociopath no, but strong willed- yes. I’m not sure if she was 100 she was being truthful or being funny, that written, she had strong feelings about feral cat colonies and about the wildlife around her. Seeing the bobcat did make me think she had a plan.
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Oh yeah as I recall, (wild house)cats are kind of a plague in Australia?
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I should set one up. Mine would be full of humming birds and mountain lions.
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I was about to yell at the raccoon for “backwash”, but then the snakes and birds straight up started taking baths. 
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The squirty thing often seen in the center of the pool is a solar powered gadget. It attracts birds and prevents mosquitos’ laying eggs in what would otherwise be still water. We had a small one for our birdbath, and we did notice a big increase in birdly traffic when it was working. They require occasional cleaning - just a thorough rinse-off.
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Why does the last bird taking a bath seem like a giant?
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If that was a channel I’d watch it all day.
Of course, there are similar channels on YouTube and Prime made for cats, so I guess I’ll get busy.
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Because it is. It’s know as Pterodactylus Caeruleus.
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