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She was talking about another neighbor feeding a stray cat and saying "well you know if you feed it then you own it " , well I'm sorry but with that way of thinking I should own everyone I have ever bought lunch for ? I don't happen to think that because you are feeding a stray animal that you should automatically own it and there are areas in this country where that is assumed by animal control . I cannot believe that . Have any of the rest of you heard this or know it to be fact or is it just assumed ?
Legally speaking, it can be one factor in determining ownership of an animal.
I've never heard it being the one determining factor though.
I see this as fairly analogous to the determination of common law marriage in several states here in the US. In the case of CL marriage, some things to be considered are whether the couple held themselves out to be married, and whether they did things that would be considered the purview of "married people". For example, living together for 5 years probably isn't enough- but if that couple was known around town "to be married", it may put it squarely into CL marriage.
In terms of animals, I've seen a case here in Washington state where someone was bitten by a "stray" dog. The homeowner claimed that she didn't own the animal, but her actions were enough to prove her ownership, at least in the eyes of the law. Not only did she feed the dog, she took him to the vet and put a collar on his neck with her contact info.
So, no, to answer the question posed, I don't think that any place here in the US would have the bright line rule that if you feed an animal, you own it. It will entirely depend on the circumstances and what other actions come with it.
I wonder what happens if a stray cat gets fed by several people?
That's a good question. I also wonder how it would be possible to know how many different people are feeding the stray?
(I don't know if feeding a stray should establish ownership, but I do think that if you feed one, you should also see to it that the animal is spayed/neutered and vaccinated for rabies. Otherwise all you are doing is making a worse nuisance for everyone around you.)
That's a good question. I also wonder how it would be possible to know how many different people are feeding the stray?
(I don't know if feeding a stray should establish ownership, but I do think that if you feed one, you should also see to it that the animal is spayed/neutered and vaccinated for rabies. Otherwise all you are doing is making a worse nuisance for everyone around you.)
I agree 100%! At my last house my neighbor fed multiple cats. The cats loved to come into my yard and poop all over the place and dig up my mulch. Judging by the poop those cats were NOT healthy either. Multiple times I saw the cats in the act of making more cats on her driveway, so then there even MORE cats roaming all over the place. If she really wanted to help those cats she should have had them all fixed and taken to the vet for proper care. Instead she just fed them enough to encourage them to keep hanging out all over the place and being a nuisance.
If that's true then why isn't the same true for people who feed birds?
I have a neighbor who feeds both -- stray cats and birds. Asking her to stop feeding them is like asking her to rip out her own throat. She can't stop, and I don't want her to live under my rules. The feral cats live under her mobile home, not ours. It shelters them during the winter months. Sometimes they poop in our garden, but rather than have a stroke we just clean it up. There have been times when I've tossed food out for the cats too... and water during a heat wave. They are God's creatures.
If that's true then why isn't the same true for people who feed birds?
People SHOULDN'T feed birds if it creates a mess for the neighbors (and I have seen a few cases where it did, because the person in question had so many feeders out they were attracting huge flocks of starlings and pigeons who hung around and pooped everywhere). But most of the time it doesn't, because most people don't put out more than one or two small feeders, the birds in question are wild and don't depend completely on the feeders for meals, and (most important) they are still subject to natural population controls. So the feeders have little impact on the overall growth of the bird population.
The problem with feeding feral cats who haven't been spayed/neutered is that it DOES boost the population because fewer of the adult cats starve to death, which leads to a bumper crop of kittens doomed to lead short, miserable lives. And any wild or feral mammal that hasn't been vaccinated against rabies but has been encouraged to approach human dwellings puts people at increased risk. All it takes is a single bite or scratch from an infected animal to be infected, and rabies is essentially 100% fatal. And who can resist petting that nice, sweet kitten...
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