screaming frog

Jeanie · #1 (**permalink**) 06-08-2009, 10:05 PM

I am new to the site and not sure if this message will get through. I love all creatures and want to do my best for them. I am a cat owner and yes I know they can cause problems but I take care to minimise this! I have bird feeders in the garden and the cats are no problem to them.
I do have a young 1 year old though who is curious and yesterday morning I say him mezmorised standing over a frog.....I got him away from it and the frog moved under a bin but left part of leg showing....I touched it gently with a leaf to get it to move but it startled me when it let out an almighty scream, I know I didn;t hurt it though.....is that a defence sound, I don;t know anything about frogs but I certainly have never heard that they scream.
also, I was surprised to have a frog in the garden as we don;t have any water. there is a trickle of a river in the village but it isn;t at the end of the garden....should I make water available for frogs?

ron1863 · #2 (**permalink**) 06-08-2009, 10:17 PM

Hi Jeanie and a warm welocme to WAB. I don't know much about frogs but I think they are fairly safe from the cat as they don't taste too good. Some of our more knowledgeable members will give you a good answer soon though.

sidewalkdoctor · #3 (**permalink**) 06-08-2009, 10:20 PM

It's OK, frogs will do that! It certainly made me jump the first time I heard one do it (our cats had it) .It does seem to be a defence mechanism & don't worry about water, they can find their own.

welcome to WAB, by the way.

Gill Catton · #4 (**permalink**) 06-08-2009, 10:23 PM

yes crikey they can scream!! and its a defence certainly not a cry of pain. They do it in my garden and it certainly freaks my cats out too. Frogs seem to fascinate and horrify them in equal measure!!

frogs only need water to breed, and a deep tyre rut will do - a wet ditch, a garden pond they are very opportunistic, and yes a wildlife pond could be a good thing but perhaps wait until your litte one is old enough to know the dangers, perhaps make a log pile which will get nice a damp within for the frogs to shelter from the sun (if we ever have any) or hibernate in through the winter.

Hope this helps!!

Jennie · #5 (**permalink**) 06-08-2009, 10:34 PM

Frogs certainly do scream. Maybe it had been caught and brought to your garden by a cat, it sounds as if it had been traumatised before you found it.

Frogs need very little water except in the breeding season, a damp shady place where they can hide will usually be sufficient for their needs.

Welcome to WAB!

aeshna5 · #6 (**permalink**) 07-08-2009, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ron1863

Hi Jeanie and a warm welocme to WAB. I don't know much about frogs but I think they are fairly safe from the cat as they don't taste too good. Some of our more knowledgeable members will give you a good answer soon though.

Think you might be getting confused with toads there Ron- the're the ones that don't taste too good. However cats kill many amphibians.

Jeanie · #7 (**permalink**) 08-08-2009, 10:11 PM

thanks for all your messages.....I have seen him/her again, well maybe it is a different one, we have a wooden gazeebo at the end of the garden, I have seen him/her around there a couple of times. We also have what I think might be a toad who regularly sits inbetween the base stumps of an elephant grass plant we have. not sure if it is a frog or a toad, it;s only small and I thought toads were large. It is darker in colour than the other one, more black than brown and it has two lines/ridges down it's back.

Jim Ford · #8 (**permalink**) 08-08-2009, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeanie

not sure if it is a frog or a toad, it;s only small and I thought toads were large.

Like most creatures toads start off small, but tend to get larger!

Jim

JackintheGreen · #9 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeanie

It is darker in colour than the other one, more black than brown and it has two lines/ridges down it's back.

The two lines/ridges suggest frog rather than toad. It's nice to have either though.

Cheers,

Steve

jeremiah · #10 (**permalink**) 13-08-2009, 09:59 PM

My cats used to do this.

Chances are your cat will do it again, for the next few years, cats go for anything that moves. He may bring frogs into the house, and drop them, at which point they will flip over onto their backs, go stiff and play dead. I found a good way to rescue them was into a plastic flowerpot then cover with the plastic saucer and hold on firmly - they jump.

Cats have sharp canines which can do a lot of damage.

Try to keep your cats in early morning, evening and night, if you don't already.

When you have been woken at two in the morning by a frog screaming on the landing - you soon learn...