Is this a frog or a toad?

[addy1]

Most of our feral cats don't stick around long. Fox, owls, etc take care of them.

 

[poconojoe]

On occasion the males will get a bit too enthusiastic in their amorous pursuits & end up drowning the female. The males do also spend a considerable bit of time beating the crap out of each other, so injuries are not uncommon during mass toad spawning. I suppose a cat might take a swipe at a toad, but they taste terrible (or so I've been told, never personally taken a taste of one) so I wouldn't think it would happen more than once. (Don't get me started on my thoughts about free-roaming cats hunting wildlife. I have very strong opinions on that matter )

I was wondering if spawning can injure a female toad. I figured this can happen. We all see how relentless male fish can get toward females.

Cats sometimes seem to grab small animals just to play with them. It seems a lot of the time they don't even eat them, they just beat them to death and leave them. I find rodents of all kinds laying dead on my porch, walkway and yard.

Oh, frogs taste just like chicken!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I have seen 'toad balls' with two or even three males all clutched onto one poor female, and once they latch on you can't get them to let go. Dudes! This is not going to end well!

I actually like cats & have had pet cats in the past, but here we have a dog door that goes out to a small fenced area in front of the porch/deck, and there's no way I could guarantee a cat wouldn't learn how to tail-gate the dogs out (and then be able to slip through the deck rails & wander off) so I won't have one here. I work hard to make my area attractive to a wide variety of critters & birds - it's not fair to bring them in & then unleash a wandering cat on them!

PS - I'll just take your word for the whole amphibian taste-test thing.

 

[poconojoe]

I have seen 'toad balls' with two or even three males all clutched onto one poor female, and once they latch on you can't get them to let go. Dudes! This is not going to end well!

I actually like cats & have had pet cats in the past, but here we have a dog door that goes out to a small fenced area in front of the porch/deck, and there's no way I could guarantee a cat wouldn't learn how to tail-gate the dogs out (and then be able to slip through the deck rails & wander off) so I won't have one here. I work hard to make my area attractive to a wide variety of critters & birds - it's not fair to bring them in & then unleash a wandering cat on them!

PS - I'll just take your word for the whole amphibian taste-test thing.

Yeah, we had a guy years ago move and leave his cats outside. What a jerk for abandoning them. Anyway, since then we've had a feral cat problem. Plus, adding to it, there is a campground close by where basically the same thing happens. People just suck.