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Old 03-25-2011, 05:54 PM
 
10,135 posts, read 27,343,947 times
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Not only is it sociopathic to kill cats, it is criminal sociopathy. Every state except a couple of western states have a law just like ours in Ohio:

§ 959.02. Injuring animals


No person shall maliciously, or willfully, and without the consent of the owner, kill or injure a horse, mare, foal, filly, jack, mule, sheep, goat, cow, steer, bull, heifer, ass, ox, swine, dog, cat, or other domestic animal that is the property of another. This section does not apply to a licensed veterinarian acting in an official capacity.
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Old 03-25-2011, 06:12 PM
 
18,837 posts, read 37,198,257 times
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If we look at feral cats as wild creatures, much the same as racoons, skunks, or rats, we don't feed those animals, why should we feed wild, feral cats? I view them the same as any wild creature, they need to rely on natural food sources, and not be dependent on humans. The worst thing that can happen to a wild animal is to get dependent on food from humans. Their own food is healthier for them, and they learn survival skills. I don't think they should be killed, but managed if possible with trapping and spaying.

BTW, several of the strays I have re-homed, I am still in touch with the owners, the cats are a fixture in the yard, and I turned non-animal people into cat owners, who really enjoy their cats. One elderly gent, his cat lives in his wood shop, and he is always puttering out there, now more sitting in his chair than doing work...and the cat is always in his lap purring. He named the cat "Truman", and Truman has an excellent home now, with a man who "hated cats"!
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Old 03-25-2011, 06:55 PM
 
7,329 posts, read 16,339,298 times
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PacificFlight, I'd still like to know where you get the information that no state outlaws killing feral and stray cats, or that most have this A.C.T. thing, which I'm having no luck googling.
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Old 03-25-2011, 07:26 PM
 
Location: Near Nashville TN
7,201 posts, read 14,882,033 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PacificFlights View Post
People want to feed these cats and protect them as their own, but come the day they have to take on responsibility, they turn backwards and claim it's not a cat under their contriol. They want the cake, they want to eat the cake, they want the cake baked for them, they want nobody else to have the cake, but they get all upset when asked to clean the plate the cake was on.
Most of the people feeding these cats are not wealthy. They couldn't pay in any case. They don't make pets of these cats and so why be held responsible? I feed the wild birds, does that make me responsible for any damage they do to someone walking past my property? People need to be more responsible for themselves and their children.

Quote:
I have killed cats on my property and it's legal. I don't enjoy it. I wish the owners of those cats had taken more responsibility and didn;t put their cats in harms way. I am branded a sociopath and monster on this board.
That would depend on why and how you killed them. No one singled you out.

Quote:
....truth is, strays and ferals are a problem, it's getting worst everyday. people can sugar coat the issue and get blind sided when drastic actions have to be taken.
How are they a problem getting worse every day? The strays and feral cats around here do no harm. What damage did they do to you or your loved ones to justify killing them?

Quote:
Unless the problem is drasticly changed, i belive in the next decade we'll see more laws making it open season on cats out in public.
Why don't you explain this "problem" so we know what you're talking about? Are they attacking children? Getting into unlocked trashcans? Sneaking into people's homes? What?

Quote:
Attitudes are changing as more and more people start to see them as problems. That cute cat walking along the fence isn;t so cute when it' is let to become 4 cats and 10 kittens roaming all over your yard.
You trap the kittens and take them, along with their mother and whatever others you can trap, to the nearest shelter. That's how my mother's neighborhood in NYC was cleansed of feral cats. None were shot or poisoned or had dogs sicced on them.
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Old 03-25-2011, 08:20 PM
 
Location: Brambleton, VA
2,186 posts, read 7,910,551 times
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Lost count...when I graduated from college and moved to my first major city, the apartment complex had so many stray cats and kittens it was insane. I got a group of neighbors together to start fundraising and we worked with a local project that spayed and neutered stray cats and worked with apartment communities, etc. to peacefully coexist. We captured and spayed/neutered cats once a month and it made a huge difference. Since a lot of the neighbors had taken in some of the cats over the years, or even recently at that time, we also arranged for a low cost spay/neuter program to help those people.

At our previous house, we probably helped over 50 strays. Ones that were abandoned by neighbors, moved in from other neighborhoods, etc. We paid for each and every one of them to get their first round of shots up to the first rabies shot and neuter/spay. We had some that would get into fights and so our vet was definitely making a lot of money! Some ended up being permanent members of the neighborhood - we had neighborhood cats recognized by our HOA, and a lot ended up going to a no kill shelter we fostered with or to members of my family. I kind of am responsible for each and every animal any of my family members has...

We are new to the area we now happen to live in and somehow no strays have found us just yet. I am sure they will at some point.
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Old 03-25-2011, 08:46 PM
 
Location: Southeast Missouri
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Killing dogs and cats may not be legal in a lot of places, but it seems like the laws against it are rarely enforced, especially in rural areas.
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Old 03-25-2011, 09:22 PM
 
Location: El Paso, TX
2,807 posts, read 7,550,798 times
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I was actually searching for the laws here in TX, but they're pretty ambiguous...for example, if someone says the cat has killed one of their livestock animals, they have the "right" to kill it. How do the authorities know that it was the cat in question? Or a cat at all? It would be very easy for someone to get away with killing a stray cat who they feel is a nuisance by finding the loopholes and teling little white lies which, as most of us know, will usually be accepted without question in rural communities.

I don't know the solution, but awhile back there was a thread about a vaccine that would sterilize animals that's already being used in some countries (The UK I think if I remember correctly)...I don't know how effective it is or how much it would cost, but I imagine it must be cheaper than the cost of the actual surgery, at least in the case of females. This would be great if it worked, because it could be done quickly...just trap, inject, and done...no cost of gas driving the cats to the vet and back, either.

In any case, this is yet another example as far as I'm concerned of why I will never allow any of my cats outside to roam...too dangerous. I'm glad they only know an indoor life and don't show any interest in going outside the house, they're happy watching birds from their perches on the windowsills, eating home-made chicken, and getting the occasional "dose" of catnip, LOL!
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Old 03-25-2011, 09:31 PM
 
Location: In a cat house! ;)
1,758 posts, read 5,459,442 times
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There was a time, believe it or not, that we didn't have any cats of our own and didn't think we liked cats.
The neighborhood cats would poop in our yard, spray our doors and windows, drive our dogs nuts, etc. Like cats or not, I had enough sense NOT to blame them for their behavior and NEVER considered harming them.
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Old 03-25-2011, 09:55 PM
 
10,135 posts, read 27,343,947 times
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In rural areas, cats are mostly a resource. Only very rarely does a cat get a taste for baby chickens. Instead they focus their hunting entirely on real farm pests, rats, mice voles, etc. Farm people often have a different outlook on all animals because in the end, they are products. So when a cat does become destructive to the small birds, they are put down.

I don't accept this but then it is not my decision to make.

A perverted city dweller that claims the right to kill cats because of unwanted paw prints on a car hood or a couple of dead birds (cats' natural prey), is a wholly different, more disgusting thing entirely. More strict laws are needed and enforcement as well. We have had some horror stories in Cincinnati that I will not repeat here. But there is no question that there are some very sick people out there who need to have the hand of justice put down on them.
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Old 03-25-2011, 11:56 PM
 
Location: Southeast Missouri
5,812 posts, read 18,747,236 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wilson513 View Post
In rural areas, cats are mostly a resource. Only very rarely does a cat get a taste for baby chickens. Instead they focus their hunting entirely on real farm pests, rats, mice voles, etc. Farm people often have a different outlook on all animals because in the end, they are products. So when a cat does become destructive to the small birds, they are put down.

I don't accept this but then it is not my decision to make.

A perverted city dweller that claims the right to kill cats because of unwanted paw prints on a car hood or a couple of dead birds (cats' natural prey), is a wholly different, more disgusting thing entirely. More strict laws are needed and enforcement as well. We have had some horror stories in Cincinnati that I will not repeat here. But there is no question that there are some very sick people out there who need to have the hand of justice put down on them.
I tend to agree. I never want to see an animal put down, but at least city dwellers usually do have resources they can turn to, whereas most rural areas do not. Overall people in urban areas also tend to make more than people in rural areas, meaning they may have more ability to care for the animals in the first place. The rural areas tend to be poorer with less in the way of shelters and rescues, so the animals already have more strikes against them.

I cut people in the rural areas probably more slack, not because putting down animals is okay, but because they do have so little help with strays. However, I really don't feel that way about people who do have access to help, which urban people are more likely to. However, I do know people who say "well the pound is going to put them down anyway." In these areas, that is kind of a valid point. Probably 80% or more of animals in shelters here are put down anyway.

Bottom line is that life is not fair, especially for most animals. We can try to help as many as we can, but there will always be some, whether in a shelter or not, that are put down. Still, if every person did all they could then we wouldn't have quite as much of an animal problem.

To be honest, I do give more credit to someone who puts an animal down rather than dump it. Not that I recommend either, but being put down is probably preferable to what happens to most dumped cats or dogs. In areas like this, no shelter will take them, so people see that as the next best option. It's not the best option, but given financial constraints many people see putting the animal down as the better option than dumping it.

The whole idea is awful to talk about and worse to think about, but it is a fact of life, especially in poor rural areas.
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