#Middlebury #WildAnimals
DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I read your recent column about whether cats will be threatened by snakes or other wildlife in rural Tennessee. I lived over 50 years in Henrietta, New York; I had raccoons, possums, deer, foxes, skunks and a plethora of other animals in my backyard every night – many more than when I lived in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Tell your reader not to worry: Almost all wild animals are much more (for good reason) afraid of you than you should be of them. Just ignore them, and you probably won’t get to enjoy them and have all the pleasure I do in seeing them in my yard. If you have a cat, you should probably keep it in at night, but they should be in anyhow. Hope this helps. – N.Z.C.
DEAR N.Z.C.: Thank you for the information! Wild animal activity can vary quite a bit depending on your region, how close you are to a town or city, the amount of undeveloped property or a wildlife reserve adjacent to your home, and more.
It can even vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. For example, when I relocated from one area outside of Boston to another, the wildlife in my yard shifted drastically. I had put up with free-roaming turkeys and the occasional glimpse of a coyote in the early mornings on my suburban street for years; in my new neighborhood, the only wild pests were rabbits, with no nearby predators to keep their numbers down.
In short, enjoy the rural life, make sure trash-can lids are secure, and don’t worry too much about predators menacing you and your pets. They prefer to stay out of your way.
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