Oh, almost forgot to add this. Someone, Billy maybe, mentioned predators such as owls and coyotes recently when discussing my cats being out of doors. We don't have coyotes here. Never seen one in my entire life, nor have I heard of anyone else seeing one here. We don't have many of the animals folks elsewhere mention. No ground hogs, no prairie dogs, no wolves, no bears, no mountain lions. There are some other small animals (cute ones, squirrel size) that people mention a lot. Don't recall the names of these animals now, but we don't have them either. We mostly just have grey squirrels, deer, wild cats, rabbits, mice, rats, opossums, & raccoons.
We do have wild bores in the forests here, although very rarely encountered; I've never actually seen one of them either but have heard of them. Probably the biggest predator we have around here is the alligator. We have lots of them even here in the city (and even in my very neighborhood), and they would enjoy a nice snack, but the cats are pretty safe as long as they stay away from the ponds (and since cats hate water...).
One thing I may have failed to mention is that my backyard is enclosed with a 6ft privacy fence which helps to keep many types of critters out. These days the cats spend most of their time lying around in the backyard. I gather Ms Kitty does find the privacy fence helpful, because even years ago when she was wild and before I even realized she was back there, she had her kittens stashed back there under a thicket of prostrate rosemary up against the back fence corner. My [then] gardener found them [the feral kittens] back there one day and wanted to get rid of them. I told him to leave them alone and not work in that corner of the yard. I also had a mother rabbit and her babies living in my backyard garden for years, so I figure small animals do find it a safe environment.
We do have owls, of course, and in the past I have even heard an owl hooting in the forest behind my house; however, my backyard has a lot of plants, flowers, small trees, and shrubs in a sort of cottage garden type configuration with meandering paths. The plethora of plants and shrubs provide lots of quick access to hiding places and the small trees make it hard for large birds to fly around in the backyard to grab prey. Cocoa, the male and only surviving kitten, is now some 14lbs, so I figure he is probably too heavy for an owl to carry anyhow.
Ms Kitty is small, only 5-6lbs, but she managed to survive outdoors completely on her own for years, so I know she is plenty street smart. I doubt if an owl would try to grab a healthy adult cat, anyhow. Predators have to be careful not to get injured, because an injured predator is a dead predator (no way to hunt for food). Predators seek the very young, very old, and sick/injured not just because they are easier but also because they tend to be safer.
Ms Kitty would like to come back inside where she can hide out in a cozy corner and/or hop up on my drier to sleep on fresh laundry, and I may let her in again eventually, but I know she is plenty safe in the backyard - although the rest of nature may not be.
June,
Why is that? Is the acorn pic some kind of warning badge, so everyone knows I'm new & to keep a certain distance since I might still have cooties from other sites? 
