OK - not cats so much, but cat owners who let their cats freely roam the neighborhood, crap in my yard and eat wild birds, all the while thinking it's so clever when little Garfield drops the poor bird's carcass on the doorstep. My question is, if dog owners are expected to keep their pets on leashes, tied up in their yards, and required to clean up after them scrupulously - all of which I think is fine - then why are cat owners incapable of doing the same? :angry:
my mom makes me want to scream at her every time she calls and tells me about how her cat killed a bird or other small animal. PUT A *&^%*& LEASH ON HIM!!! i love cats, but i hate irresponsible owners. same goes for all other types of pets. after all, it's not the pet's fault. they go on instinct and don't understand society's 'acceptable' and 'not-acceptable' lists.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TimBikes @ Jan 10 2007, 12:17 AM) [snapback]373513[/snapback]</div> Oh my God! Not cat crap in your yard!!!! :angry: How dare those cats ruin the hygienic purity of your franken-nature yard!!!! Let me guess: Fastidiously kept, rectangular, genetically engineered, non-biodiverse grass farm which you kept unnaturally short with a weekly torture session of a smog-belching mower - because you force it to grow unnaturally fast and green by overfeeding with petrochemicals and liberally hydrating with chlorine laced former fish habitat. Yep, Damn natural cat crap! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 10 2007, 12:23 AM) [snapback]373515[/snapback]</div> In other words, Mother Nature doesn't understand society's 'acceptable' and 'not-acceptable' lists either. :mellow: Were it not for bird predators, the bird gene pool would degenerate . . . much like that of humans who don't understand mother nature and natural selection. [yep. Written by a cat lover. . . . and dogs, and squirrels, and birds, and, and . . . ]
In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the pet rescues will not adopt out a cat unless it's agreed they will keep it indoors. There are many reasons, including: - getting diseases from other animals - getting harmed by cruel people - getting abucted - ROADKILL I know for instance, that indoors only for cats is common only in the US, Canada, maybe Sweden. Brits hear about this and often consider this imprisionment, but when they see some of our driving, they might be more understanding. Indoors only cats started right after World War II when cat litter was perfected by the guy that founded Tidy Cat. The downside is the rare vet procedure of declawing became common place. What many people don't realize is some cats that become declawed start marking by urinating - harder to deal with. It takes a little practice, but nails can be trimmed to reduce the scratching damage, cedar posts can be provided to lure them away from cherished furniture. Interestingly, the US is one of the few nations in the industrialized world that allows declawing and practices it on a large scale - it's banned in most of the EU.
I would tend to agree with Tim. I have neighbors who let their dogs roam in our fenceless neighborhood. Trust me, SPE, when there's crap flying from the mower and burned-out spots from urine, I'm not thinking about the "circle of life." Our Nina is an indoor cat. When presented with an open door, she will stand and sniff and look around but she will not walk out. That's just fine with me because my irresponsible neighbor's dog would probably kill her. He, of course, would argue that there's nothing wrong with free-roaming pets.
I've been involved with pet rescues (still am). When I discuss pet issues, there is one theme there I also empahsis on the auto forums: Make an effort and take responsibility Example: Some one flys in their vehicle Saturday morning to PetsMart to Adopt-A-Pet. They want only a cute kitten or pup of a popular breed for their child. Six months later, child loses interest. Parents take it to the City Pound and assure child Spot will be alright - 60-80% of surrendered pets are put down. In this example, Dad is not putting thought in his driving to PetsMart, or whether or not his family is going to commit 10-20 years to a pet. Big oversight on why cats should be indoors - if they are unneutered - it costs cities more dealing with larger feral/abandoned cat populations and increases the suffering. If you do nothing else with your pet - please neuter.
I don't hate cats but I like to keep them on their toes. A neighbor of mine is a real cat lady. One of those who prefers the company of cats to those of people. She has two or three of the suckers and they consider my back yard to be part of their territory. Once I started dating a woman who has two good sized dogs things changed. When my girlfriend and her dogs are over at my house for a visit, I don't see the cats for at least a couple of days. :lol: I also like seeing the cats sitting in front of my garage because then I can hit the garage door opener and it's fun to watch how high they jump. One time, after I got home and didn't close the garage door for about a half hour, about five minutes later I realized that I'd forgotten something in the car and opened the garage door. Good thing too because one of the feline goobers came flying out of there. Evidently, it hadn't been paying attention and got shut in
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Jan 10 2007, 05:53 AM) [snapback]373521[/snapback]</div> er. you know what i meant. society doesn't consider it acceptable to bring in a dead bird as a gift. trust me. i know plenty about natural selection. you may note that, no, society doesn't exactly revolve around this principle. or most other rules of nature. otherwise we wouldn't go taking care of the ill and injured...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TimBikes @ Jan 10 2007, 03:17 AM) [snapback]373513[/snapback]</div> Some locations have laws dealing with this. The original reason for dog laws was one of safety; cats are small, seldom attack strangers on the street, and don't hunt in packs. Bring home a jaguar and let it run loose and see how long it takes to run afoul the law. Tom
You don't want cats roaming in the garage, because any decent person would dread cranking their car then realize a cat was sleeping in the engine. Just northwest of Fort Worth, there is a big cat sanctuary of 70 or so lions, tigers, cougars, etc. It's basically a country zoo supported by contributions for pets dumped by people idiotic enough to think these are pets. One lion is friendly (but you can never say tame). The guy that surrendered him was a biker. Just after we saw him, a flock of Harley-Davidsons were heard from the highway and he started to "chirp" just like cats do when they here someone coming home.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Jan 10 2007, 06:53 AM) [snapback]373521[/snapback]</div> Good to know my dogs are promoting faster smarter cats.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Jan 10 2007, 02:53 AM) [snapback]373521[/snapback]</div> No - I have kids and am tired of cleaning cat crap off of their shoes and hands. And by the way - a cat that is kept and cared for by humans hardly counts as "natural" selection. So if you have a cat, keep it out of my yard or "natural selection" might just take its toll.
Tim, you're right on. Last year my neighbor's cat kept coming in my yard and killing wildlife. They even go after and kill butterflies, ugh. The cat got a hold of a chipmunk and maimed the poor thing. I'm sure it didn't die a painless death. This is coming from a cat lover that has three. Since I like to let my cats experience the outdoors, I built them a fenced pen that they can go to from a window. They have quite a large run but can't do harm to wildlife. I also only let them out a night when birds, butterflies and chipmunks aren't active. For the last three years - so far, so good. No dead critters on my stoop.
my house cat went outside on a harness and leash or on the run.... to bad "Pretty kitty"(I was two, what kind of a name would you expect) was killed by an RN who decided to let her un-vaccinated ferrets loose rather than paying a fine and vaccinating them. People are stupid. I got to watch my kitty die in my dads arms on the way to the vets.
As much as I like pets...I live with two teenage girls and a wife going through menopause. That's enough wild animals for me.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Jan 10 2007, 01:51 PM) [snapback]373638[/snapback]</div> You have THE DISEASE! 13 cats! Holy crap. I would have about 20 but my husband won't let me. It is rather addicting, isn't it? We used to have 6 and three have died all very recently (2 were approaching 18 years - sisters). As vacancies accrue, he won't let me fill them. Sniffle.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Jan 10 2007, 10:08 AM) [snapback]373655[/snapback]</div> My wife has worked at Veterinary Clinics for the past decade. We end up with "broken" cats, abandoned by the owners because of their problem. Also because the owners move or brought in because they were found in the street as kittens. Blind, deaf or diabetic, it doesn't matter. Heck, we haven't had the heater on yet this winter as we tend to get "buried" in felines.
IMO, responsible cat owners keep their cats indoors and when allowing them outdoors keep them under control (e.g., fenced pens, runs, or leashes.) Cats who get in our yard face the very real possibility of making our greyhounds' dreams come true: catching the lure at the end of the race.
