Hello Kitty

No, not this one.

This is a tale about two very naughty little spotty hound dogs who think they need to rid the neighborhood of squirrels, rabbits and cats. Over the summer Syd and Mac learned to watch for rabbits whenever we took them outside. They liked to pull and try to go meet the rabbits, but since the rabbits usually sat very still and didn't run, they could be convinced to walk in the opposite direction with just glances over their shoulders to watch the bunnies eat.

Then the girls discovered squirrels and everything changed. Squirrels run when they see the girls and the girls give chase screeching their excitement for the world to hear. Sydney has an extraordinarily high pitched voice and the moment she catches sight of a squirrel she uses it. Both dogs try to run after the fleeing squirrels even on leash and our shoulders have suffered from the pulling.

Now things have escalated. For several years there has been a mangy grey cat hanging around the neighborhood often sleeping in our hedge. I'm sure he also lives on birds in the hedge when he's not raiding trash cans. He's a mean old cat with no tail, half an ear missing and only one eye. He's been in plenty of fights over the years. My bigger dogs know enough to leave him alone as he'll hiss and swat at them, but the girls want to get him.

This cold winter he has company in the hedge. There is also a grey tiger cat with white face and paws. He showed up in the late fall and we see him wandering around the yard almost daily. We also hear a lot of yowling and screeching at night.

When the weather turned really cold a couple weeks ago, a black cat showed up. On warmer nights he sleeps on the porch chair and when the temps get low, he also goes into the hedge.

The old grey cat doesn't seem very social and he's taken to sleeping under the porch lately. Problem is that when we take the girls outside, he comes out to watch us. If Syd or Mac sees him, the screeching and pulling starts. So what to do!

This is what we decided to try. The Gentle Leader Head Collar. I bought one last week and tried it on Sydney. It worked immediately. No pulling and much less screeching. Since it worked so well, I bought one today for Mac. It also worked and we can now walk the girls without our arms being wrenched out of the sockets.

These are not muzzles. The dog can pant and drink and eat a cookie. They work by redirecting the dog. It's hard to pull your master down the street when you head is being pulled back toward them. Neither girl  fights the head collar though they obviously aren't crazy about them. These have solved the major problem, but another one remains.

Are all three of these stray cats males? Oh please let them all be males, the last thing I need to deal with is a litter of kittens.

By the way I do like Hello Kitty even if I don't know anything about her except that she's cute.