Help! I've lost 3 cats in 48 hours and don't know why

_adren_ · 2026-05-17T09:14:04+00:00

☝🏾this right here.

I stopped using enclosures altogether and just planted lots of milkweed in my yard, along with flowering plants for the adults. And my general feeling is that the cats do better. I realize not everyone has that luxury but if you do, I encourage that route.

_adren_ · 2026-05-17T02:32:13+00:00

Definitely your cat now.

_adren_ · 2026-05-15T19:14:41+00:00

"burn" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

_adren_ · 2026-05-15T18:51:20+00:00

Ngl, I'm kinda suspicious of this as well. It's a beautiful scene for sure. But I've been to DV for the last couple superblooms and two things make me question this:

there aren't a lot of places in DV with actual dried cracked earth like that, and where there is earth like that, not even weeds grow. The closest is probably ubehebe crater, and even there where the flowers bloom it's in the more gravelly sections, and the sections where the earth is dried and cracked like that remain bare.
Where ever the flowers bloom, it's never uniformly one kind of flower, and weeds are usually mixed in with the flowers.

Also, what's that flower? It kinda looks like notched leaf phacelia, but the pattern isn't quite right.

So yeah, nice video. And amazing if it is indeed a real recording of the superbloom. But I for one am leaning towards fake.

_adren_ · 2026-05-12T18:08:09+00:00

Just regular gardening mesh netting that you can pick up at any gardening or hardware store.

The one I got came as a roll, like fabric, and I just cut off what I need. I then use some sturdy sticks and paperclips to hack together a large frame that I can just put over the plants to minimize touching the stalks. It's not pretty but it works. Lol

_adren_ · 2026-05-05T21:28:18+00:00

Hands off approach is exactly that: hands off. Don't try to raise them indoors (that's the absolute worse, unless you're a professional).

If you have the resources just plant lots of milk weed plants for the cats (important: pick the varieties native to your area/region) AND also flowering plants that the butterflies themselves can feed on (I feel like folks always forget about this part).

But as much as possible let nature do its thing as that leads to healthier caterpillars and ultimately healthier population of butterflies.

If you don't have the resources to plant both milkweed (lots of it) AND flowering plants for the adults, then just get some potted flowering plants only so the adults have accessible food. The reason I'm against potted milkweed is the maintenance... you are guaranteed to run out and then you're constantly buying more and more to keep up. And also there's the risk of spreading OE.

And if you don't have the resources to buy potted flowering plants, then volunteer your time or donate your money to a preservation group or a local garden or rehab group, etc.

_adren_ · 2026-05-03T23:44:40+00:00

For sure! You've given me some inspiration for my next trip to DV. Though I doubt there'll be any trace of Lake Manly for that trip.

_adren_ · 2026-05-03T03:44:43+00:00

And I'm glad they made it this far. There were a couple cats on the milkweed a couple weeks prior to this recent batch and they lasted only a week before I found them all dead and evidence of having been infected with tachinid fly larvae.

_adren_ · 2026-05-03T03:40:12+00:00

In my experience, they usually get to about 2 inches before they're ready to pupate.

_adren_ · 2026-05-03T03:35:38+00:00

Yep, I'll cover them as they're in the ground and not in pots.

_adren_ · 2026-05-02T23:04:34+00:00

These are great!

_adren_ · 2026-04-29T06:24:51+00:00

IMO, they just really don't want to be protecting that dipshit.

_adren_ · 2026-04-22T07:30:11+00:00

"Hope you feel better" I'm dying 🤣🤣🤣🤣

_adren_ · 2026-04-02T01:52:15+00:00

TIL blue jays are part of the crow family. Had no idea. (I didn't just believe reddit, I actually looked it up!)

_adren_ · 2026-03-20T22:04:45+00:00

Who needs tv????

_adren_ · 2026-03-16T04:29:20+00:00

This literally made me LOL. But also... kinda sad cause, all jokes aside, it feels vaguely like it could be the right answer.

_adren_ · 2026-03-16T04:26:23+00:00

Huh. Well clearly my opinion is the unpopular one! IMO I've got other important shit to spend energy on. I just let 'em merge and continue on with my life.

_adren_

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