Why should you be allowed to let your cat(s) roam free? (house, paws)
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Well, if one does not have a large enough land... a neighbour's cat imposing on someone else's property isn't too nice I will say.
If you like your cat / dog to roam, make sure they don't have a bigger roaming radius than your property... to me that is fair. It is simply not so nice to have someone else's pet scratching out another neighbor's wicker set.... that is a no-no for me.
I do let my kitty out occasionally during the warm and dry weather for a couple hrs at a time... but she does not roam across the street into my neighbour's yard but stayed on premise on my property. She is mostly an indoor cat and very well behaved indoors at that (litter habits, scratching).
People also obsess about cats. No one obsesses about pets like "cat people." They are animals. My two cats live outside all year. I don't want them in the house. Outside they are useful because they keep rodents away. Unfortunately they kill a few birds and lizards a year.
In rural areas, there is such a things as "working cats." I can certainly accept that. But not in the city. Downtown dwellers have to deal with people urine from the homeless. I love cats and people, but there would be no joy in finding any urine on my front door, flowers, etc.
I have a cure for one part of the problem. My big cat who roams the property freely never does his business outside. Comes to the door and complain until he is let in and then heads straight for the litter box. I don't think it ever occured to him he could pee somewhere else.
I also don't buy the coyote taking a small dog off a leash. Even against a small dog coyotes team up. Even a 10 lb. can do damage. A few years ago somebody dumped a teacup chihuahua over my gate or wall. Around two lbs. Heard a commotion on the patio. The creature was holding off the backyard feral and our 20 lb. German Spitz. The cat and big dog may actually have been arguing about who was going to eat this thing...but I like to believe it was miniature courage that kept him alive. The spitz was a rodent hunter and would have killed the chihuahua in a couple of seconds if he had gone for him.
I have a cure for one part of the problem. My big cat who roams the property freely never does his business outside. Comes to the door and complain until he is let in and then heads straight for the litter box. I don't think it ever occured to him he could pee somewhere else.
I also don't buy the coyote taking a small dog off a leash. Even against a small dog coyotes team up. Even a 10 lb. can do damage. A few years ago somebody dumped a teacup chihuahua over my gate or wall. Around two lbs. Heard a commotion on the patio. The creature was holding off the backyard feral and our 20 lb. German Spitz. The cat and big dog may actually have been arguing about who was going to eat this thing...but I like to believe it was miniature courage that kept him alive. The spitz was a rodent hunter and would have killed the chihuahua in a couple of seconds if he had gone for him.
Let's try that experiment with Rindge fisher cats that live around here. I would give your roaming cat (or small dog) about 30 seconds.
Also, turkey vultures here are wonderful at grabbing small animals.
My #1 rule is that my pets are never allowed outside unless on a leash, and I wish that (considerate) neighbors would do the same.
One of the local cats got up to my 3rd-story balcony just today (obviously climbing my first two story balconies), hunting birds from my feeders. Out goes the Hav-a-Hart trap, and this feline will be well on her way to the local humane society (sans tags).
There are also a lot of coy-dogs around here, so the outdoor cat population is kept well in check.
You all are talking about cats. You cannot train them as to where to go outside. They are going to scale any obstacle and roam wherever they deem necessary. Get over it and accept it.
I've got feral cats galore but they don't bother me nearly as much as the guys tv on the otherside of my bedroom wall - he keeps it on all night and all I hear is this low blah blah blah murmur, just loud enough to keep me awake all night and its practically killing me. He's a little older - what am I supposed to do? He's probably hard of hearing I don't know. College kids around here party and scream all the time.
If these spraying cats are unneutered you should try to find the owner and tell them to neuter their cat or you will trap them and take them to shelter.
But generally my point is - we all have to live together and make allowances. Some constant real grievances you talk to them first, then deal with some authority. But its not all about you. People suck, cats like to go outside. Get over it.
Giesela: Get a "Sleep Machine" at Radio Shack, or some other noise generator somewhere else! I am so used to mine that I can't sleep without its comforting blanket of white noise. I have mine plugged into a boom box so that I can make it louder in the low frequencies.
Wilson513: I hear you, but we aren't all cat haters. I'm certainly not!
You all are talking about cats. You cannot train them as to where to go outside. They are going to scale any obstacle and roam wherever they deem necessary. Get over it and accept it.
Well, this IS the cat forum.... Should we talk about myocardial infarctions instead?
Quote:"You cannot train them as to where to go outside. They are going to scale any obstacle and roam wherever they deem necessary. Get over it and accept it."
I don't have to accept it. I paid a lot of money for many acres of land, and I have the absolute right to choose who and/or what goes on my property.
Get over it and accept it when, one day, your trespassing cat ends up in a shelter far away, with no tags.
I don't have to accept it. I paid a lot of money for many acres of land, and I have the absolute right to choose who and/or what goes on my property.
You have many types of critters on your land, like it or not. They were there before you and will be there after you and some will just pass through now and again. It's nature and you can't fight it. Why would you even want to? That's sort of the point of having acres of land is it not? If not, go live in a highrise.
I've had both indoor only and outside cats. I'd keep them in if the area was dangerous to them but my suburban neighborhood is full of fun cats that don't harm anything. Occasional cat poo it not a disaster people.
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