In Robinson's third year after arriving on the island, he caught a young ewe. He did not hurry to eat it, but tamed it instead and tried to pair it with a ram. Yet even after the young ewe became an old goat, his wish never came true. Unable to bear killing it, he kept it until it died of old age.
There was also a dog and two cats aboard their ship. Robinson brought the two cats to the island, while the dog had leapt into Robinson's canoe of its own accord on the day he first went aboard to transport supplies.
It was a good dog. Though it could not fetch things for him like a hunting dog, it kept him company for sixteen years before dying of old age as well.
As for the two cats, they bred especially quickly. Robinson kept two or three as pets, while all the rest ran into the woods and became feral cats.
Those cats must have damaged the island's environment. Once one link in the food chain went wrong, other problems followed one after another.
Chizpurfles that parasitized the fur and feathers of creatures such as Crups and Augureys were relatively easy to deal with; anti-parasite medicine was sold on the market. Wizards also had to beware of Chizpurfles brought into homes by pets chewing on magical objects such as wands, or living in cauldrons that had not been properly cleaned. After consuming magical substances, they could swell up; in severe infestations, the Department for the Care of Magical Creatures would need to handle them.
Then there were woodlice. Like Chizpurfles, they were food for Golden Snidgets, but Golden Snidgets had become so rare that they needed protection. Having lost their natural predators, woodlice and Chizpurfles reproduced wildly.
Despite the