Feral cats vs. legal dogs at rental properties rant (Redding: tenants, camper)

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Reps all around everyone, thank you. I mainly just wanted to rant. I don't want to have bad feelings with my neighbors who have outdoor pet cats, and I also don't want them reporting me to management. Sigh.

Hawk J, your advice is actually the answer to my problem! So simple. What I can do is buy a retractable leash that's long enough that I can stay in the doorway, but my dog can reach the grass. I'll see if they make them long enough. I'm pretty sure they do. The grass is only about 10 feet away.

The reason I don't like to go outside with her late at night, is because the door won't always let me back in. It's this horrid electronic key fob system that doesn't work half the time. If I go all the way out, so the door shuts behind me, I may have to walk around the entire building to go in a different door to get back in.

Unfortunately, this is also when the cats are out and about.

Two of my close neighbors - right across the hall, and people I enjoy socializing with - are the ones with the outdoor cat pets. They have named them, and they feed them and arrange with others to feed them if they will be away. They have created little shelters for them outside. They also feed other feral cats and the raccoons, much to my horror, as I am really against feeding feral animals.

One of the cats has figured out which window is my neighbor lady who feeds it, etc., and now that cat will sit outside her window and meow really loudly hour after hour. Fortunately, when I'm in my apartment, I can't really hear it, as it's across the hall outside the other side of the building.

These people love these animals. One neighbor has apparently moved with "his" cat more than once, but is allergic, so leaves it outside and provides for it out there.

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant. I'm going to look into a retractable leash for night runs. I prefer to keep her on a 6 foot regular leash otherwise, as there's more control and works better for training.

I do like the idea of stealth dressing my dog in black LOL.

You have plenty of reason to rant here, since you don't want to rant at your neighbors. Wisely do not want to. The retractable leash is the way to go.

Cats are different than dogs in many ways and are perfectly content to have many "servants" where a Dog generally prefers one and gets attached. The neighbor who take sit with her whe n she moves, but doesn't let it in, is teetering on the rule ledge. It is not in the apt, so she can claim it is not a pet, but ...... well. Sorry you have this problem, it isn't uncommon.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Thanks for the kind words. I found a 26 foot retractable leash on Amazon. Hopefully, she won't end up wrapped around one of the poles out there LOL. I am going to splurge on one that's designed for a much bigger dog, so if she sprints all of a sudden, it won't snap. It's spendy, but should last forever and not break. She's a very athletic 22 pound rat terrier.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007CREMW6/...G2MAT2RD&psc=1

So, my rant actually turned out to be productive - another solution from CD folk. Thanks!

[marcopolo666]

Firstly, I would get a 1 foot long 2x2 piece of wood with you when you bring him out at night so that if you have to leave the doorway, you can just block the door open for the 30 seconds it would take to go untangle your dog.

Secondly, feeding feral cats is really, really stupid. It encourages other wild animals to hang around if the food is left out at night (like skunks, racoons, etc.). But the big stupidity is that well-fed ferals that haven't been spayed/neutered start crapping out kittens by the bucketload, making more feral cats.

Thirdly, I would call animal control and tell them that there is a feral cat herd where you live, and they need to be trapped and removed, as they are a danger to the 'legal' domestic pets that live there (you are afraid of rabies or other diseases). Screw the neighbors (just don't tell them it was you).

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Good advice on the block of wood. I think I'll make an art project out of it and make something I can hang by the door so it's easy to grab. Put it on a string and hang it by the door. Might be a good weapon, too ha ha. Kind of like a policeman's night stick. Only cuter.

I agree 100% about feeding feral animals. They also feed the raccoons and those things scare me. They are basically training them to come to people expecting food. I prefer wild animals that are afraid of humans.

Fleas are a real problem in this area, too. I treat my dog every month with Advantage, but that stuff doesn't keep fleas from biting. It just kills them after they bite. That's another rant. People who don't treat their animals for fleas, who then walk them around in the hallways, and the fleas jump off their dog, and later jump on my dog. Oh well, at least those fleas won't live to breed. Doing my part LOL.

[SandyCo]

We have a similar problem where I live. I'm quite close to a neighborhood park, and people feed the squirrels constantly. Squirrels are cute, but they're also destructive (they chew on cables and wires, etc.). I don't know why people can't figure out that if you keep feeding a wild population of anything without also doing some kind of population control (euthanasia or sterilizing most of the females) you're going to end up with a huge problem. The squirrels come over to my apartment complex all the time, to the point that I can't let my cats out into the courtyard without being extra vigilant. It doesn't help that small animals, like squirrels and cats, reproduce so quickly. I'm worried not only about fleas, but also rabies. One rabid squirrel could create an even bigger problem.

NoMoreSnowForMe, I'm glad you found a solution.

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by Exitus Acta Probat

Cats rule. If your dog threatens the cats, you need to keep it inside or get rid of it.

The only good feral cat is a dead feral cat. IMHO all feral cats should be put on a Wanted Dead or Dead poster.

[stan4]

I totally understand your frustration, op.
But we must always remember that just because somebody else breaks the rules doesn't mean that we can. Or that the rules no longer apply to us.

[clongirl]

If these folks truly love these feral cats, I hope they are at least making sure they get them all spayed/neutered!!

[marcopolo666]

Originally Posted by clongirl

If these folks truly love these feral cats, I hope they are at least making sure they get them all spayed/neutered!!

It sounds to me like typical Americans - they want what they want ('pet' feral cats) but won't take any responsibility for them. I doubt any of the people in question have bothered to get them neutered/spayed.

The local SPCA or animal control may do a 'catch, spay and release' - at least they won't be breeding if you can get it set up.

[Ceece]

Being fed by neighbors or not the result is the same right? A dog will chase a cat. I don't see harm in that because cats can run and climb. A dog might kill a cat and that's bad whether it's an unofficial pet or just some cat who happened by at that moment. I guess what I'm getting at is that by letting your dog off leash it may kill a cat or other small animal regardless of your feral issue, that's why dogs are supposed to be leashed.


So do what you want to do, just be ok with whatever consequences occur.