Win win.

Two of our boy cats have problems. Greebo has kidneys that are very much not kidney shaped and they've got stones in them to boot. (If you don't know, kidney stones in male cats are BAD, VERY VERY VERY BAD.) Porter is a crotchety old bear with territory issues. So when Greebo started to, ummm, "go" in the house, Porter added his, umm, "contributions".

For years we cleaned up after them and followed their rules about what can or can't be where (no towels or fabric on the floors or counters or bowls of fruit anywhere, I've no idea what Porter has against fruit) and we seemed to have struck some sort of agreement. Until they killed Nigel.

Nigel (if you don't know) is our Roomba vacuum. They aren't cheap you know, and having your cat "contribute" on it is not covered under the warranty. Believe me, I checked. There's even a clause about getting it wet.

That was my last straw. After threatening for years to send them out the back door and make them indoor/outdoor kitties, I finally made good.

(Greebo - aka Mr. Co-Dependent)

(Porter - aka Señor McGrumpy Pants)

It turned out for the best. No one is "contributing" where they shouldn't be and all the cats are MUCH happier. The indoor kitties appreciate having a bit more elbow room, and the outdoor(ish) cats are enjoying their freedom.

These days Porter hardly comes in at all, he prefers being a wild man out in the woods with plenty of space. Greebo still spends most of his days in the house, but now he's leaving vole carcasses by the back door, which makes me very happy.

Along with the voles, the neighborhood squirrels, bunnies, and most of the birds have stopped spending so much time in our lawn. Word must have gotten out that we've got two highly efficient predators guarding the place. Which means that we finally have this:

Strawberries! These plants are four years old, and this is the first year we've gotten to eat any of the fruit!

And then there are the currants:

Enough for eating out of hand:

No more "contributions", no more bunnies and squirrels, happy cats, and all the vole carcasses the chickens can eat. Sounds like win win to me.

(What did you think we did with the carcasses?)