New puppy in the garden - cats beware!

July 2026

There are a number of reasons why I have not been blogging over the cooler months, but one of the best reasons is the four-legged addition to the family.

Toby

This is Toby, a black labrador, who is hubby's birthday present for a big, round number of years old. Once he is a bit bigger, I hope he is going to be an important part of guarding the wildlife in the garden.

One of the problems we have in maintaining the garden as a wildlife haven is the neighbourhood cats. Them pooing in the middle of the lawn is not helping their case either. As one of nature's best predators, when they want to be, they pose a real and ongoing threat to the birds and even the butterflies. The Californian quail I was so excited to have in the garden got harassed so much by the cats that they left after a few weeks. I am not sure if any got killed, or if it was solely the constant flushing of them from their resting place in the bamboo next door that meant they moved on, but I am hoping Toby, despite being a gundog breed, is going to stop that happening again should the quail return.

A beautiful and effective hunter

We have recorded half a dozen different cats in the garden and we have come across the remains of a few birds, usually juveniles, left lying around, killed for fun.

One of the cats really liked lounging in the butterfly garden flowerbeds during the summer. Whilst that was very cute, it would also swat the passing butterflies. It was a good jumper too. It's fortunate the monarchs like to remain quite high off the ground, but I don't know how the lower flying varieties like the blue butterflies faired against its ninja paws.

Watching activity on the swan plant

Crossed fingers that this next spring and summer the cats stop lingering around the garden now we have a watch dog (and that they poo in their own gardens).