September 15, 2025 • 25 mins
On this episode of Cattitude, host Michelle Fern welcomes Jakob Shaw, Manager of Strategic Initiatives at PETA, to talk about how small everyday actions can help protect wildlife. From raccoons and squirrels to cats and dogs, animals can easily become trapped in common household items like cans, jars, and bottles. Jakob shares practical, humane tips for preventing harm—from properly securing recyclables to using safe deterrents instead of cruel methods like glue traps. Tune in to learn how simple changes in how we manage trash and household pests can make the world safer for our furry and feathered neighbors.
EPISODE NOTES: Living in Harmony with Wildlife: Simple Steps You Can Take
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EPISODE NOTES: Living in Harmony with Wildlife: Simple Steps You Can Take
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cattitude-the-1-cat-podcast--6666768/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Love. This is pet Life Radio. Let's Talk pets.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Welcome cat levers, Welcome to Cat and Cheata. I'm your
show host Michelle Burne. Today we have a super special
special show. We have a guest from PETA, people for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and he is going to
tell us how crushing cans can literally save wildlife. And
we have some simple tips for being a good neighbor
(00:44):
to the animals. So stay tuned, we'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
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Speaker 4 (01:27):
Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Welcome back everyone. I am so excited to introduce Jacob
Shaw from PETA and we're gonna talk about some simple
steps that all of us can take to live in
closer harmony with nature, things we could do to save
the animals.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
Welcome Jacob, thank you, Michelle, thanks so much for.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
I'm so excited to have you on. Before we get started,
there might be some people, maybe like five out there
are listening that are not familiar with Peter, Can you
just explain what PETA is.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
Of course, so PEDA stands for People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals and we are the largest animal rights
organization in the world with more than ten million members
and supporters globally, and PETA focuses on the areas where
the largest number of animals suffer most intensely for the
longest periods of time. So that's animals who are used
and killed in the food industry and the clothing industry,
(02:34):
who are exploited and killed in laboratory experiments, and any
entertainment industry. But you know, we also focus on how
we can live in fharmony with wildlife, ways we can
be more kind to the animals who live amongst us,
and we also obviously work on cruelty cases involving dogs,
cats and other companion animals.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, I'm excited to have you on. I've been a
fan of PEDA for years. Do you know how many
long Peda's been in existence.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
Yeah, Pita is actually approaching our forty five year anniversary
this year. We were started in nineteen eighty, so that's
forty five years of really just fantastic life saving work
that has made such a big difference in the lives
of thousands and thousands and thousands of animals.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yes, you have, and I've known Apita for a very
long time, so thanks for all you do. Let's get
talking about what we can do to be a good
neighbor to our animals. So let's talk about something that
probably people just aren't aware of. How can people dispose
properly dispose of trash to ensure animals safety.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
Right, So, our trash can really easily and quickly, unknown
to us, can become a deadly trap for hungry animal.
Right So, whether we're talking about a raccoon or awesome,
a lot of these animals who live in our yards,
in our neighborhoods, they'll try to lick the last revealing
food scrap so to be inside of can or a bottle,
and in the process their heads can become stuck inside,
(03:57):
which obviously leaves them and as fordable sit situation where
they will often start to death or die of dehydration.
But fortunately it could not be easier for us to
save these animals lives by just taking a few moments
before we throw away our cans and bottles to just
make sure we crush cans, put lids back on top
of jars and bottles before we dispose of them.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
It's such a little fix. And you're right, these animals
are in areas. I mean, I live in suburbs but
in Fort Lauderdale, and you wouldn't think there'd be so
many raccoons around, but there are and possums too, you know,
besides all the other creatures. So thanks for sharing that
just quick fix to save who knows how many animals.
(04:43):
Let's talk about not so friendly creatures in your home.
So Peter is ethical to all animals, so that includes
you know, mice and bugs and other little creatures, and
the best way to you know, not to do anything
violent them, but what is the best way to deter
them from even getting into your home so you don't
(05:04):
have to go to the next step, which is you know,
alternatives for removing them.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
So small animals, whether we're talking about you know, mice, rats, insects,
any of these little guys. You know, they only enter
our owns when food and shelter is available to them.
So it's really all of our responsibility make sure that
our homes are inviting uninviting to them as possible. And
you know, saying making our homes uninviting to them, it
may sound abstract, but it's really just a matter of
(05:30):
two simple things, right. It's making sure that one our
food and trash is kept in true proof containers, you
know it's not accessible, and then sealing off any entry
points where the animals can get inside of our homes.
Because obviously one mouse can come in, others are going
to follow. So you know, if you see cracks and
foals in your exterior walls along the floorboards, obviously the
(05:51):
proactive thing to do is to seal those up before
it becomes an issue. And then lastly, you know we
can deter animals with these safe, natural, non toxic substances.
Is that work really well as deterance. So we're talking
about vinegar and synonym for ants, and something like pepperbin
oil or eucalyptus oil works really well for mice and
rats too, because it irritates the inside of the nasal
(06:12):
cavities and sends the message, Hey, you don't want to
come in here, this is not a welcoming space.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
I've heard also peppermint oil being a deterrent for roaches
as well.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
Yeah, and ammonia soap cotton balls is also another good
deterrent that has a similar effect. It's a snow that
you know animals don't like and will almost always tell them.
Anybody keep moving.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
And then another idea is that when you mentioned you know,
watching you know, cracks and holes and stuff, I have
heard that mice can get into a crack that's as
big as small as like the quarter, not the flat quarter,
just a couple of millimeters. So you really have to
be diligent about watching those openings in your home.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
I mean, something that I've heard people suggest doing, which
I think is a great tip, is no one it
gets dark out if you walk along the exterior wall
of trying to flashlight through if light is getting in.
But obviously mean there's some sort of crack where presumably
an animal could get in as well. So that's a
good way to just identify where these openings may be
and then find them seal them.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Ow, Okay, thanks for that. What about for you know
people that want to just say, well, what if I
use a sticky trap? Is it that bad for mice
and rats?
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Well, so killing these animals is not going to do
anything to stop others from moving in, right, We know
that the only effective long term solutions of all involve
prevention and assurance. But speaking of glue traps, I mean,
blue traps are the worst possible option by any measure.
I mean they are responsible for more animal suffering than
(07:46):
any other wildlife control product that's available today. And that's
because after animals walk across the surface of the trap,
whether we're talking about you know, mice and rats, or
birds who often find themselves stuck in glue traps, or
even kittens and puppies, I mean, these animals are stuck
to the glue and they are left to suffer a
slow screw sheeting where they'll die of dehydration, starvation, or
(08:07):
blood loss, and oftentimes their mouths and nobstrils become wood
shut and they suffocate, or other times the animal's actually
thrown out in the garbage while they're still stuck to
the trap, still alive, and they're crushed to death. So
this is just the most terrifying and painful way for
an animal to die. But that's why we're seeing countries
around the world banning blue traps, and we're seeing great
(08:29):
progress here in the US as well. West Hollywood and
Ohi to cities in California have introduced their own blue
trap bands in the last couple of years, and cities
and states around the country are looking into doing the
same thing. So really great progress there, and that's why
Peter urges everyone to never ever buy or use blue traps.
Tell your friends and neighbors never use them, and we
(08:49):
encourage everyone to tell their city council members to dan
blue traps in their cities as well.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Great idea, and there are humane traps. What should people
be aware of when they call a pet control company?
Speaker 5 (09:01):
So first and foremost, you know, always keep front of
mind that lethal solutions just don't work. Right, as we've
been talking about, if one animal can get inside of
our homes, others will follow as long as food, water,
and shelter are available to them. So we want to
make sure that we're talking to the company about prioritizing
prevention and exclusion. And when you look up, you know
(09:22):
and I was about to say the phone book, but
most people probably use a computer for this these days.
You know, try to find a humane wildlife removal company,
you know, humane is the key word there, that will
safely relocate these animals. We should steer clear of any
company that is using traps, poisons another week for weapons. Obviously,
those don't qualify as humane because fundamentally they're not effective,
(09:44):
they don't work in a long term, and they inflict
terrible suffering on animals who really are doing nothing wrong.
All they're doing is taking us up on the unknowing
offer we've often put out to them by you know,
putting food and garbage out in places they can reach
that you know, traps them to come in the first place.
So they're not meaning to do us any harm. So
we should really find just a way to make our
(10:06):
homes inaccessible to them and let them move along rather
than inflicting suffering on them.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
I absolutely agree. And there's also the consideration that of
past control companies are using poison on say your lawn
or around your house, then that gets into the grass
and the water gets on you know, your dog's feed,
or cats if you have cat communities. Around your home.
So just all around, not a good idea.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Oh, definitely not. Yeah, we see this this issue called
secondary poisoning where oftentimes you know, a mouse or a
rat will ingest the poison, and you know, larger animals
will eat them, and it moves up and up and up,
and you end up having you know, eagles and hawks
and even mountain lions dying of poison related debts. We've actually, similarly,
(10:55):
we've seen great progress there where California has banned the
use of first and second generation and anti coagulant or denticides.
It's a mouthful, but it's basically, you know, one of
the most popular kinds of poison. They are really horrific
because they basically prevent animals as blood from clotting, so
they slowly bleed out internally. You know, really really awful.
But I think it's just a great opportunity for us
(11:18):
to remember that, you know, whether we're talking about a
mountain lion, an owl and eagle, a dog, cat, a mouse,
or a rat, every animal is someone who is capable
of feeling fear and pain and love and joy, just
like we do. You know, they have relationships that are
meaningful and important to them. They have families, they have
lives that they value much in the same way we
(11:39):
value our own lives. So there are so many opportunities
for us to be more considerate of them and to
be kinder to them. So you know, this is just
one of many.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Okay, let's talk You've hit on this a little bit prior,
but let's talk a little bit more. What attracts wildlife
to our home and how can we make our homes
less inviting.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Animals are always looking for two things when it comes
to its conversation, right, it's food and shelter. So with shelter,
they'll often find that in overgrown shrubbery or plants that's
you know, right along the exterior of our homes. So
one easy thing to do that a lot of people
don't think of is just trimming that back of it
so there's some separation between the shrubs and the bushes
in our homes or apartments. And then you know, the
(12:21):
other thing again is there's any cracks holes entry points
in the walls, making sure that those are sealed up.
And then as far as food goes, in addition to
what we talked about with you know, keeping it in
true proof containers, keeping garbage and cans and in bags.
You know, we also want to make sure that if
we have companion animals, we're not leaving out food for them.
I have a dog who I am obsessed with. It's
named Lily. But I make sure that overnight I'm not
(12:43):
leaving for food out in the bowl, because all that
will do is attract animals. But we're talking about mice
or insects, and even something like a bird feeder can
be an unknowing attracted right if you're throwing out little
scraps for birds, Oftentimes those scraps end up being attractive
to mice and other animals as well.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
So true. And also in warm climates you tend to
have feral colonies of cats. Some people use the term
feeder breeders. Toy'll leave food out for the cats and
not take it in, and then they are wondering why
they see little prints of you know, raccoons and passlam
and all of that, and that also brings other creatures
that you probably don't want.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Around exactly exactly. Yeah, that's I mean, that's why this
is sort of an adjacent or tangential point. But there
are just millions and millions of homeless, unwonted dogs and
cats in the US. So if you are ready to
take one of these amazing animals into your home, make
them a member of your family. We always encourage people
to actually adopt these animals rather than you know, if
(13:44):
there are cats who live outside in your neighborhood, rather
than just feeding them and leaving them out on the
streets where there are so many dangers, whether that's being
hit by a car, getting sick some sort of infection,
or being hurt by a fruel person who intends to
do them harm. You know, if you have this cat
who's coming to your porch, to your front door, wherever
it is, you know, if you're confident they're not someone
(14:05):
else's cat, you know, take them in, take them to
the vet, get them, you know, checked up, make sure
they're being taken care of, and have them become a
real member of your family rather than just you know,
a neighbor who drops by every so often.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Exactly, and make sure they're fixed. You can usually tell
by an ear notch.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
Yeah, and yes, thank you for saying that, right.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
I mean, there are some fair fairal colonies that it's
just hard to trap. But there are great cat trappers
out there. I actually hired one, so I know from experience.
I had a whole situation and I had to keep
my yard free from anything that was toxic to save
the kittens. And we're going to talk about that in
the second half of the show. But I also want
(14:46):
people to know where Jacob that can people go to
find more information about PETA and more information on how
to live in harmony with wildlife.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Yeah, so anyone who wants more information on you know,
whether this is a wild life protection tip or just
any of the myriad ways that in our daily lives
it can be kindered to animals through how we eat.
You know, what clothes we buy, what household and cosmetic
products we buy, you know what forms of entertainment we
engage with. You know, there are so so many ways
for us to be kinder to animals, and the best
(15:17):
place to start is to visit Peter dot org.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Thank you so much for coming on Catitude and sharing
this fantastic informative information.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
Thank you, it's been such a pleasure to talk to you.
Have a great day.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
We're going to take a quick break and we'll being
right back.
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Speaker 2 (16:47):
Welcome back everyone. I hope you enjoyed the first part
of the show with Jacob from Peta. So I'm going
to tell you my own story where I had to,
you know, think out of the box in order to
save creatures from anything toxic. It's kind of a funny story.
If you are a longtime listener of Catitude, you might
(17:07):
have heard it already, but for those of you that haven't,
it is so in context with what we talked about
in the first half I just have to share it
with you. So when I first moved into my current home,
there were two cats, Sammy and Jethro, and Sammy got pregnant.
She was a skinny cat. I thought she was just
(17:28):
eating well, you know, it turned out she was pregnant
and end of September, about nine years ago, she had
three babies. Mollie's one of her babies. The other two
were adopted out. So it was interesting because the day
that they were born, there was a storm. I think
(17:49):
there was a hurricane warning, which is typical where I live,
you know, South Florida. And first we had to protect
the babies because Sammy had them hidden in a spot
where there was a downpour and that would have drowned.
Then we had to sea where she hid them. It
turned out she hid them in the engine of my
partner's truck, so not a good idea. You know. It
(18:09):
was bizarre because she was so skinny sammy that she
could arch herself around. Of Course, the car hadn't been
used in a while, so it wasn't hot or anything,
and she had her three babies near their nursing and
we just thought, oh my gosh. And then she moved
a little, the babies would PLoP out, so of course
we put a cushion underneath the car just in case
she went in there again. And then we went to
(18:29):
around and we just rearranged the whole. We had an
area of the side of the house that was like
a little dog run. We added a tarb some shrubs.
I kind of don't know what my partner was thinking.
He was thinking, you know, magical cat land or something,
because guess what happens when kittens are about two weeks old.
They walk, they start going all over the place, and
(18:51):
cars don't see kittens very well. So we didn't want
to have one of those situations. So it was a
kind of a gated area that had a harp. It'd
add trees. We bought kitten milk, we bought special things
for them to play with, everything we could do to
keep the cats safe and from getting out. He might
be thinking, so what if they got out, Well, not
(19:14):
only would they possibly go into the street, and we
would horrifically, you know, have one of them killed by
being run over, because that's definitely possible. You know, people
don't pay attention all the time. I whanted something tiny
on the road you can't see it, so it's not
always the driver either, So we didn't want that to happen.
And then my neighbor next door, who my former neighbor
(19:36):
from next door, He has a BB gun and he
calls us and says, hey, raccoons are out, watch your kittens.
And I thought, oh my gosh, what in the world
do I do now? So he has a BB gun
and he offered a pellot one of the rod the raccoons,
and I thought, no, I don't want to do that.
I don't want to hurt you know, nature, it's their habitat.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
It's funny. I don't in a rural area, but there
are raccoons and they are bold, and there are possums too,
So I researched what could I do because whatever I
did put in the grass, One, it affects wildlife. Two,
it affects the animals that are around. Three it's gonna
affect the kittens possibly, and of course not that the
(20:19):
humans should be fourth. But what you have on the water,
the chemicals could sometimes affect, you know, the water that
you use. So I didn't want anything toxic. So I
did a lot of research online what could I use,
and so there was you know, there's a lot of
things you have to be careful about. So I found
this mixture and I'm going from memory here, but what
(20:40):
I remember it was like hot sauce and vinegar and
I don't know one or two other things that were
kind of smelly. It was really smelly.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
And what I.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Needed to do is I had to put like a cloth.
I took a couple of old towels and cut them
into strips and put them all around the perimeter of
my property. And this was to deter the raccoons from
coming in to get the kittens, because you know, raccoons
and little baby kittens, wildlife pray. I don't want to
(21:14):
go any further. So that's what I did. So picture this.
I had a bunch of rags all around my house.
And I live in a private, one story house, so
it's all around my house. There's a lake behind, so
it went to, you know, a few feet before the lake,
but it was all around and I just hope this
would keep the raccoons away. Well, and here's where the
(21:36):
funning part comes in. I ran some errands, came back,
and my partner says, look at this letter. I said
what he says, look at this letter. Now, we had
only lived in our home about I don't know six
months at this time, and didn't know the neighbors too well.
And my neighbor next door wrote a very nice, neat
(21:58):
letter that went into great detail about how somebody puts
something smelly all over the property and who could have
done this? And this stinks and why are these wags there?
And this is just horrible and you know, who in
the right mind would do this? And I read it
and I thought, oh my gosh, I haven't even met
this neighbor and I've already upset her. What in the world.
(22:21):
So right away I went over to her home because
I want to take care of the problem. And I'm
a person of action. I don't like to wait, I'm
gonna do it now. Person. So I go over to
her home and I said, I got your note and
she said, yes, who could have done this? I don't know.
This is crazy, this has never happened before. This is crazy,
blah blah blah. And I said wait, wait, it was me.
(22:42):
And she goes, now, why would you do something to
put something so smelly by our property? I said, well,
this is why, and I explained the story with the
raccoons and you know, could possibly attack the little kittens
and that sort of a thing, and she goes, oh,
I understand, and I told her it would only be
(23:05):
for a few more days. We had already decided to
adopt Molly and I was going to adopt out the
other two cats, so it was just a matter of
a couple days. I explained that I really didn't want
the little kittens to be eaten by the raccoons or
attacked by the raccoons or possums or anything else, and
she thankfully understood. She does not have any fur babies,
(23:28):
but she's very compassionate. So I think I had the
smelly rags around my house for about a week. It
rained in between, so I had to make the mixture
again with more smelly rags, but the problem was resolved.
Nothing toxic for the cats or for wildlife, and it
kept the raccoons away. So this is my story to
(23:52):
how you can live with wildlife and do it in
a natural, unharming way. And by the way, the mixture
with toxic would not harm the raccoons if they went
by it, but the raccoons would not go by it
because of the smells of the mixture, you know, the
hot sauce and the vinegar, and because of that, the
raccoons didn't want any part of it. So it was
(24:12):
just a win win all around. So thanks everyone for
listening to this episode of CATA two. Thank you Jacob
from Peter for coming on and telling us ways to
live better with nature, to be more cognizant of what
we do so we keep all the animals in mind.
Thanks to everyone listening to Catitude. I appreciate your listenership.
(24:34):
Thanks to my cat crew, Dennis, Charlotte and Molly. Thanks
so much to my producer Mark Winter for working his
magic and making every episode sound amazing. And hey, lose
the attitude have Catitude.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Let's talk pets every week on demand only on petlifradio
dot com.
Love. This is pet Life Radio. Let's Talk pets.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Welcome cat levers, Welcome to Cat and Cheata. I'm your
show host Michelle Burne. Today we have a super special
special show. We have a guest from PETA, people for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and he is going to
tell us how crushing cans can literally save wildlife. And
we have some simple tips for being a good neighbor
(00:44):
to the animals. So stay tuned, we'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
You know the expression cats have nine lives? Well, what
if you can give them one more? But give them ten?
Movement is on a mission to help give cats an
extra life. How with spee and neoter, spain or nootering
your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life and
it helps control free roaming cat populations too. Learn more
(01:14):
about the benefits of spee and neoter and meet Scooter,
the neutered cat at give them ten dot org. That's
give them ten dot org.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Welcome back everyone. I am so excited to introduce Jacob
Shaw from PETA and we're gonna talk about some simple
steps that all of us can take to live in
closer harmony with nature, things we could do to save
the animals.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
Welcome Jacob, thank you, Michelle, thanks so much for.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
I'm so excited to have you on. Before we get started,
there might be some people, maybe like five out there
are listening that are not familiar with Peter, Can you
just explain what PETA is.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
Of course, so PEDA stands for People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals and we are the largest animal rights
organization in the world with more than ten million members
and supporters globally, and PETA focuses on the areas where
the largest number of animals suffer most intensely for the
longest periods of time. So that's animals who are used
and killed in the food industry and the clothing industry,
(02:34):
who are exploited and killed in laboratory experiments, and any
entertainment industry. But you know, we also focus on how
we can live in fharmony with wildlife, ways we can
be more kind to the animals who live amongst us,
and we also obviously work on cruelty cases involving dogs,
cats and other companion animals.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, I'm excited to have you on. I've been a
fan of PEDA for years. Do you know how many
long Peda's been in existence.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
Yeah, Pita is actually approaching our forty five year anniversary
this year. We were started in nineteen eighty, so that's
forty five years of really just fantastic life saving work
that has made such a big difference in the lives
of thousands and thousands and thousands of animals.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yes, you have, and I've known Apita for a very
long time, so thanks for all you do. Let's get
talking about what we can do to be a good
neighbor to our animals. So let's talk about something that
probably people just aren't aware of. How can people dispose
properly dispose of trash to ensure animals safety.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
Right, So, our trash can really easily and quickly, unknown
to us, can become a deadly trap for hungry animal.
Right So, whether we're talking about a raccoon or awesome,
a lot of these animals who live in our yards,
in our neighborhoods, they'll try to lick the last revealing
food scrap so to be inside of can or a bottle,
and in the process their heads can become stuck inside,
(03:57):
which obviously leaves them and as fordable sit situation where
they will often start to death or die of dehydration.
But fortunately it could not be easier for us to
save these animals lives by just taking a few moments
before we throw away our cans and bottles to just
make sure we crush cans, put lids back on top
of jars and bottles before we dispose of them.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
It's such a little fix. And you're right, these animals
are in areas. I mean, I live in suburbs but
in Fort Lauderdale, and you wouldn't think there'd be so
many raccoons around, but there are and possums too, you know,
besides all the other creatures. So thanks for sharing that
just quick fix to save who knows how many animals.
(04:43):
Let's talk about not so friendly creatures in your home.
So Peter is ethical to all animals, so that includes
you know, mice and bugs and other little creatures, and
the best way to you know, not to do anything
violent them, but what is the best way to deter
them from even getting into your home so you don't
(05:04):
have to go to the next step, which is you know,
alternatives for removing them.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
So small animals, whether we're talking about you know, mice, rats, insects,
any of these little guys. You know, they only enter
our owns when food and shelter is available to them.
So it's really all of our responsibility make sure that
our homes are inviting uninviting to them as possible. And
you know, saying making our homes uninviting to them, it
may sound abstract, but it's really just a matter of
(05:30):
two simple things, right. It's making sure that one our
food and trash is kept in true proof containers, you
know it's not accessible, and then sealing off any entry
points where the animals can get inside of our homes.
Because obviously one mouse can come in, others are going
to follow. So you know, if you see cracks and
foals in your exterior walls along the floorboards, obviously the
(05:51):
proactive thing to do is to seal those up before
it becomes an issue. And then lastly, you know we
can deter animals with these safe, natural, non toxic substances.
Is that work really well as deterance. So we're talking
about vinegar and synonym for ants, and something like pepperbin
oil or eucalyptus oil works really well for mice and
rats too, because it irritates the inside of the nasal
(06:12):
cavities and sends the message, Hey, you don't want to
come in here, this is not a welcoming space.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
I've heard also peppermint oil being a deterrent for roaches
as well.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
Yeah, and ammonia soap cotton balls is also another good
deterrent that has a similar effect. It's a snow that
you know animals don't like and will almost always tell them.
Anybody keep moving.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
And then another idea is that when you mentioned you know,
watching you know, cracks and holes and stuff, I have
heard that mice can get into a crack that's as
big as small as like the quarter, not the flat quarter,
just a couple of millimeters. So you really have to
be diligent about watching those openings in your home.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
I mean, something that I've heard people suggest doing, which
I think is a great tip, is no one it
gets dark out if you walk along the exterior wall
of trying to flashlight through if light is getting in.
But obviously mean there's some sort of crack where presumably
an animal could get in as well. So that's a
good way to just identify where these openings may be
and then find them seal them.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Ow, Okay, thanks for that. What about for you know
people that want to just say, well, what if I
use a sticky trap? Is it that bad for mice
and rats?
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Well, so killing these animals is not going to do
anything to stop others from moving in, right, We know
that the only effective long term solutions of all involve
prevention and assurance. But speaking of glue traps, I mean,
blue traps are the worst possible option by any measure.
I mean they are responsible for more animal suffering than
(07:46):
any other wildlife control product that's available today. And that's
because after animals walk across the surface of the trap,
whether we're talking about you know, mice and rats, or
birds who often find themselves stuck in glue traps, or
even kittens and puppies, I mean, these animals are stuck
to the glue and they are left to suffer a
slow screw sheeting where they'll die of dehydration, starvation, or
(08:07):
blood loss, and oftentimes their mouths and nobstrils become wood
shut and they suffocate, or other times the animal's actually
thrown out in the garbage while they're still stuck to
the trap, still alive, and they're crushed to death. So
this is just the most terrifying and painful way for
an animal to die. But that's why we're seeing countries
around the world banning blue traps, and we're seeing great
(08:29):
progress here in the US as well. West Hollywood and
Ohi to cities in California have introduced their own blue
trap bands in the last couple of years, and cities
and states around the country are looking into doing the
same thing. So really great progress there, and that's why
Peter urges everyone to never ever buy or use blue traps.
Tell your friends and neighbors never use them, and we
(08:49):
encourage everyone to tell their city council members to dan
blue traps in their cities as well.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Great idea, and there are humane traps. What should people
be aware of when they call a pet control company?
Speaker 5 (09:01):
So first and foremost, you know, always keep front of
mind that lethal solutions just don't work. Right, as we've
been talking about, if one animal can get inside of
our homes, others will follow as long as food, water,
and shelter are available to them. So we want to
make sure that we're talking to the company about prioritizing
prevention and exclusion. And when you look up, you know
(09:22):
and I was about to say the phone book, but
most people probably use a computer for this these days.
You know, try to find a humane wildlife removal company,
you know, humane is the key word there, that will
safely relocate these animals. We should steer clear of any
company that is using traps, poisons another week for weapons. Obviously,
those don't qualify as humane because fundamentally they're not effective,
(09:44):
they don't work in a long term, and they inflict
terrible suffering on animals who really are doing nothing wrong.
All they're doing is taking us up on the unknowing
offer we've often put out to them by you know,
putting food and garbage out in places they can reach
that you know, traps them to come in the first place.
So they're not meaning to do us any harm. So
we should really find just a way to make our
(10:06):
homes inaccessible to them and let them move along rather
than inflicting suffering on them.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
I absolutely agree. And there's also the consideration that of
past control companies are using poison on say your lawn
or around your house, then that gets into the grass
and the water gets on you know, your dog's feed,
or cats if you have cat communities. Around your home.
So just all around, not a good idea.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Oh, definitely not. Yeah, we see this this issue called
secondary poisoning where oftentimes you know, a mouse or a
rat will ingest the poison, and you know, larger animals
will eat them, and it moves up and up and up,
and you end up having you know, eagles and hawks
and even mountain lions dying of poison related debts. We've actually, similarly,
(10:55):
we've seen great progress there where California has banned the
use of first and second generation and anti coagulant or denticides.
It's a mouthful, but it's basically, you know, one of
the most popular kinds of poison. They are really horrific
because they basically prevent animals as blood from clotting, so
they slowly bleed out internally. You know, really really awful.
But I think it's just a great opportunity for us
(11:18):
to remember that, you know, whether we're talking about a
mountain lion, an owl and eagle, a dog, cat, a mouse,
or a rat, every animal is someone who is capable
of feeling fear and pain and love and joy, just
like we do. You know, they have relationships that are
meaningful and important to them. They have families, they have
lives that they value much in the same way we
(11:39):
value our own lives. So there are so many opportunities
for us to be more considerate of them and to
be kinder to them. So you know, this is just
one of many.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Okay, let's talk You've hit on this a little bit prior,
but let's talk a little bit more. What attracts wildlife
to our home and how can we make our homes
less inviting.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Animals are always looking for two things when it comes
to its conversation, right, it's food and shelter. So with shelter,
they'll often find that in overgrown shrubbery or plants that's
you know, right along the exterior of our homes. So
one easy thing to do that a lot of people
don't think of is just trimming that back of it
so there's some separation between the shrubs and the bushes
in our homes or apartments. And then you know, the
(12:21):
other thing again is there's any cracks holes entry points
in the walls, making sure that those are sealed up.
And then as far as food goes, in addition to
what we talked about with you know, keeping it in
true proof containers, keeping garbage and cans and in bags.
You know, we also want to make sure that if
we have companion animals, we're not leaving out food for them.
I have a dog who I am obsessed with. It's
named Lily. But I make sure that overnight I'm not
(12:43):
leaving for food out in the bowl, because all that
will do is attract animals. But we're talking about mice
or insects, and even something like a bird feeder can
be an unknowing attracted right if you're throwing out little
scraps for birds, Oftentimes those scraps end up being attractive
to mice and other animals as well.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
So true. And also in warm climates you tend to
have feral colonies of cats. Some people use the term
feeder breeders. Toy'll leave food out for the cats and
not take it in, and then they are wondering why
they see little prints of you know, raccoons and passlam
and all of that, and that also brings other creatures
that you probably don't want.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Around exactly exactly. Yeah, that's I mean, that's why this
is sort of an adjacent or tangential point. But there
are just millions and millions of homeless, unwonted dogs and
cats in the US. So if you are ready to
take one of these amazing animals into your home, make
them a member of your family. We always encourage people
to actually adopt these animals rather than you know, if
(13:44):
there are cats who live outside in your neighborhood, rather
than just feeding them and leaving them out on the
streets where there are so many dangers, whether that's being
hit by a car, getting sick some sort of infection,
or being hurt by a fruel person who intends to
do them harm. You know, if you have this cat
who's coming to your porch, to your front door, wherever
it is, you know, if you're confident they're not someone
(14:05):
else's cat, you know, take them in, take them to
the vet, get them, you know, checked up, make sure
they're being taken care of, and have them become a
real member of your family rather than just you know,
a neighbor who drops by every so often.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Exactly, and make sure they're fixed. You can usually tell
by an ear notch.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
Yeah, and yes, thank you for saying that, right.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
I mean, there are some fair fairal colonies that it's
just hard to trap. But there are great cat trappers
out there. I actually hired one, so I know from experience.
I had a whole situation and I had to keep
my yard free from anything that was toxic to save
the kittens. And we're going to talk about that in
the second half of the show. But I also want
(14:46):
people to know where Jacob that can people go to
find more information about PETA and more information on how
to live in harmony with wildlife.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Yeah, so anyone who wants more information on you know,
whether this is a wild life protection tip or just
any of the myriad ways that in our daily lives
it can be kindered to animals through how we eat.
You know, what clothes we buy, what household and cosmetic
products we buy, you know what forms of entertainment we
engage with. You know, there are so so many ways
for us to be kinder to animals, and the best
(15:17):
place to start is to visit Peter dot org.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Thank you so much for coming on Catitude and sharing
this fantastic informative information.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
Thank you, it's been such a pleasure to talk to you.
Have a great day.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
We're going to take a quick break and we'll being
right back.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
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Speaker 4 (16:30):
Let's talk past.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Let's done, pet a pet Life.
Speaker 7 (16:33):
Radio, Hetline Radio, pet Life Radio dot Com.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Welcome back everyone. I hope you enjoyed the first part
of the show with Jacob from Peta. So I'm going
to tell you my own story where I had to,
you know, think out of the box in order to
save creatures from anything toxic. It's kind of a funny story.
If you are a longtime listener of Catitude, you might
(17:07):
have heard it already, but for those of you that haven't,
it is so in context with what we talked about
in the first half I just have to share it
with you. So when I first moved into my current home,
there were two cats, Sammy and Jethro, and Sammy got pregnant.
She was a skinny cat. I thought she was just
(17:28):
eating well, you know, it turned out she was pregnant
and end of September, about nine years ago, she had
three babies. Mollie's one of her babies. The other two
were adopted out. So it was interesting because the day
that they were born, there was a storm. I think
(17:49):
there was a hurricane warning, which is typical where I live,
you know, South Florida. And first we had to protect
the babies because Sammy had them hidden in a spot
where there was a downpour and that would have drowned.
Then we had to sea where she hid them. It
turned out she hid them in the engine of my
partner's truck, so not a good idea. You know. It
(18:09):
was bizarre because she was so skinny sammy that she
could arch herself around. Of Course, the car hadn't been
used in a while, so it wasn't hot or anything,
and she had her three babies near their nursing and
we just thought, oh my gosh. And then she moved
a little, the babies would PLoP out, so of course
we put a cushion underneath the car just in case
she went in there again. And then we went to
(18:29):
around and we just rearranged the whole. We had an
area of the side of the house that was like
a little dog run. We added a tarb some shrubs.
I kind of don't know what my partner was thinking.
He was thinking, you know, magical cat land or something,
because guess what happens when kittens are about two weeks old.
They walk, they start going all over the place, and
(18:51):
cars don't see kittens very well. So we didn't want
to have one of those situations. So it was a
kind of a gated area that had a harp. It'd
add trees. We bought kitten milk, we bought special things
for them to play with, everything we could do to
keep the cats safe and from getting out. He might
be thinking, so what if they got out, Well, not
(19:14):
only would they possibly go into the street, and we
would horrifically, you know, have one of them killed by
being run over, because that's definitely possible. You know, people
don't pay attention all the time. I whanted something tiny
on the road you can't see it, so it's not
always the driver either, So we didn't want that to happen.
And then my neighbor next door, who my former neighbor
(19:36):
from next door, He has a BB gun and he
calls us and says, hey, raccoons are out, watch your kittens.
And I thought, oh my gosh, what in the world
do I do now? So he has a BB gun
and he offered a pellot one of the rod the raccoons,
and I thought, no, I don't want to do that.
I don't want to hurt you know, nature, it's their habitat.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
It's funny. I don't in a rural area, but there
are raccoons and they are bold, and there are possums too,
So I researched what could I do because whatever I
did put in the grass, One, it affects wildlife. Two,
it affects the animals that are around. Three it's gonna
affect the kittens possibly, and of course not that the
(20:19):
humans should be fourth. But what you have on the water,
the chemicals could sometimes affect, you know, the water that
you use. So I didn't want anything toxic. So I
did a lot of research online what could I use,
and so there was you know, there's a lot of
things you have to be careful about. So I found
this mixture and I'm going from memory here, but what
(20:40):
I remember it was like hot sauce and vinegar and
I don't know one or two other things that were
kind of smelly. It was really smelly.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
And what I.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Needed to do is I had to put like a cloth.
I took a couple of old towels and cut them
into strips and put them all around the perimeter of
my property. And this was to deter the raccoons from
coming in to get the kittens, because you know, raccoons
and little baby kittens, wildlife pray. I don't want to
(21:14):
go any further. So that's what I did. So picture this.
I had a bunch of rags all around my house.
And I live in a private, one story house, so
it's all around my house. There's a lake behind, so
it went to, you know, a few feet before the lake,
but it was all around and I just hope this
would keep the raccoons away. Well, and here's where the
(21:36):
funning part comes in. I ran some errands, came back,
and my partner says, look at this letter. I said
what he says, look at this letter. Now, we had
only lived in our home about I don't know six
months at this time, and didn't know the neighbors too well.
And my neighbor next door wrote a very nice, neat
(21:58):
letter that went into great detail about how somebody puts
something smelly all over the property and who could have
done this? And this stinks and why are these wags there?
And this is just horrible and you know, who in
the right mind would do this? And I read it
and I thought, oh my gosh, I haven't even met
this neighbor and I've already upset her. What in the world.
(22:21):
So right away I went over to her home because
I want to take care of the problem. And I'm
a person of action. I don't like to wait, I'm
gonna do it now. Person. So I go over to
her home and I said, I got your note and
she said, yes, who could have done this? I don't know.
This is crazy, this has never happened before. This is crazy,
blah blah blah. And I said wait, wait, it was me.
(22:42):
And she goes, now, why would you do something to
put something so smelly by our property? I said, well,
this is why, and I explained the story with the
raccoons and you know, could possibly attack the little kittens
and that sort of a thing, and she goes, oh,
I understand, and I told her it would only be
(23:05):
for a few more days. We had already decided to
adopt Molly and I was going to adopt out the
other two cats, so it was just a matter of
a couple days. I explained that I really didn't want
the little kittens to be eaten by the raccoons or
attacked by the raccoons or possums or anything else, and
she thankfully understood. She does not have any fur babies,
(23:28):
but she's very compassionate. So I think I had the
smelly rags around my house for about a week. It
rained in between, so I had to make the mixture
again with more smelly rags, but the problem was resolved.
Nothing toxic for the cats or for wildlife, and it
kept the raccoons away. So this is my story to
(23:52):
how you can live with wildlife and do it in
a natural, unharming way. And by the way, the mixture
with toxic would not harm the raccoons if they went
by it, but the raccoons would not go by it
because of the smells of the mixture, you know, the
hot sauce and the vinegar, and because of that, the
raccoons didn't want any part of it. So it was
(24:12):
just a win win all around. So thanks everyone for
listening to this episode of CATA two. Thank you Jacob
from Peter for coming on and telling us ways to
live better with nature, to be more cognizant of what
we do so we keep all the animals in mind.
Thanks to everyone listening to Catitude. I appreciate your listenership.
(24:34):
Thanks to my cat crew, Dennis, Charlotte and Molly. Thanks
so much to my producer Mark Winter for working his
magic and making every episode sound amazing. And hey, lose
the attitude have Catitude.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Let's talk pets every week on demand only on petlifradio
dot com.
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