Cats and Birds information on net.

Dear Heloise: I have three furry "children" that meow instead of speak. Occasionally they want to dig in my houseplants.

I have come up with a way to deter this behavior. I collected sweet gum balls (spiky pods from the sweet gum tree -- H.) from my yard and put them on top of the dirt at the base of my plants.

No more digging, no one hurt, and the whole family is happy. -- CKS, via e-mail

That sounds like a winner, but for those who don't have sweet gum trees, use pine cones from the yard, or they can be found in most hobby stores. Cats hate the feeling of pine cones and will avoid them. Just lay them across the soil in the pot -- you can make them a couple of layers deep. They don't hurt the plant and should deter cats from digging. --Heloise

Dear Readers: Brenda Wagner of Boardman, Ohio, has a wonderful 7 1/ 2-year-old "special dog," Precious, who was born without front legs. It's sad to know that some people told Brenda to have the dog "put to sleep" -- it would have been a terrible thing to do. The photo shows Precious walking on her hind legs. Brenda says Precious taught herself to walk that way to get around, and she runs up steps, chases rabbits and is very happy and loving. --Heloise

P.S. Now this is a story with a happy ending!

Dear Heloise: I've always enjoyed watching the antics of squirrels in our yard, but they do chase away the birds. Since I also want to keep all the birds, I decided to get a feeder for the squirrels.

Squirrels love peanuts and seeds, and their favorite treat is corn. I found a terrific feeder in a large discount store that holds one corn cob. It is placed upright on a long nail and can be attached to the trunk of a tree or to a pole. I also hung a large, plastic potted-plant tray from a plant hanger and filled that with nuts and seeds, and put the two feeders away from the bird feeders.

It's a pleasure watching both the birds and our little clowns, the squirrels, enjoying their separate feeders. --Theresa A., Bulverde, Texas

Dear Heloise: My dear daughter had to find a way to keep the dog off of the furniture at night and while she was at work. She bought a clear-plastic carpet protector that has sharp points across it to keep it positioned in the carpeting.

She put the pointed side up on the furniture when she was away. The dog was trained within a few days and would not think of getting on the furniture.

# posted by Medical Information : 5:03 AM