DEAR JOAN: We live in an urban area of San Jose, and sometimes at night hear the hooting of an owl of some sort. Recently we heard that repeated hooting, but interspersed with a call that I can only describe as more like a peacock!

Several hoots, followed by a sort of “waahh” then more hoots. I checked on Bird.net, which told me it’s a great horned owl and that females can make more unusual calls such as the one we heard. Is that true? And, we didn’t know that great horned owls live in urban areas!

— Malcolm Smith, San Jose

DEAR MALCOLM: That’s absolutely true. Great horned owls don’t have the repertoire of a song bird, but they do have some range.

The call of the great horned owl is described as hoo-h’HOO-hoo-hoo, and the female will often add in a one syllable call that is more guttural.

Young owls make a high-pitched demanding squawk when telling their parents they’re hungry. When angry or threatened, the owls make a rapid clicking sound with their beaks.

We have all sorts of wildlife living largely unnoticed in our suburban jungle, which is why it’s important to not do things that might harm them.

DEAR JOAN: One of our cats is a challenge to pill and I have found a different solution that works for us. We have a pill syringe.

We place a pill in the syringe and open our cat’s mouth and with the syringe shoot the pill to the back of the mouth. If you get the pill past the hump of the tongue, the cat has to swallow the pill.  The plus to this method is you can’t accidentally put your fingers between the cat’s teeth.

— Scott Gerken, Bay Area

DEAR SCOTT: I’m all for avoiding a cat’s teeth. Thanks for the tip.

DEAR JOAN: Your recent column on a cat not willing to allow flea medication resonated with me.

I needed to figure out a way to trim my cat’s claws without taking her to the vet every time. My cat loves wet food so I put her food into her bowl and immediately grab the trimmer and get to work. I pick up each paw, separate the toes and nip off the sharp ends.

I had to acclimate her to this by rubbing her toes while she scarfed her tasty food. I then started gently getting the trimmer near the claws until I had success. It took about a week but now it’s pretty easy to do.

The wary cat in your column might also benefit from having very tasty kibbles while “mom” gently rubs the spot where flea medication will eventually be applied.

— Celia (and Mimi the cat), Santa Cruz

DEAR CELIA AND MIMI: What a great tip. Thank you.

DEAR JOAN: My technique with my dog is to grind the pill with a mortar and pestle until it is broken down, like fine sand. Then I mix it into wet pet food really well. Usually works really well.

— Steve Kessler, Bay Area

DEAR STEVE: Excellent idea, although I’d check with my vet to see that it’s OK to do that. Some medications are supposed to be given whole.

The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at [email protected].