Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That's why I spent a lot of time cat proofing our yard so Amber couldn't get out. It was almost like having another dog. For awhile the neighbors cat used her cat box more then she did. In her younger years she was clever enough to escape once in awhile, but during her latter years she was content to hang out on the back deck. Her yard was part of her quality of life. She was not a hunter but I never had a rabbit problem in my garden for years. Within months of her not being with us the rabbits returned. Out door cats have advantages and disadvantages. I tried to marry the best of both worlds for her. Was it perfect? No, but she never killed birds or the mice darn it, nor did she bother the neighbors. The cat across the street used to dig up my neighbors newly planted flowers. He was not amused but he didn't make a big stink about it. Sometimes I still look for her in the yard when I come home. She will be gone two years next May and we still miss her.
The woman next door's yard is a few feet below ours (with a retaining wall + a very tall fence). Most young cats couldn't get out, and her senior cats can't even climb the fence so it contains them well so she doesn't need to set up leads or install a catio. Plus she doesn't have to worry about nutbars doing things to them. I don't see anyone complaining about cats being safely contained to their own property. Just allowed to wander the whole neighborhood freely. In my case, my yard isn't fenced (cost thing at the moment.) the kitty we are caring for stopped trying to door dash after a couple weeks. He no longer asks either. he's usually lazing, or racing around the house with those little rattly fur covered toy mice.
Quote:
Yes, we did and used it to replace the furniture "not his cat" ruined. People who constantly claim it's no big deal when their cats are on your property should have to go through the hassle we did. Between asking nicely, gathering evidence and taking the jerk to court, it took almost 2 years to get our furniture replaced. And in the end the cat disappeared anyway. We could have made that happen much sooner, but were hoping the neighbor would man up and take responsibility for his pet.
Shame you had to work so hard to get your stuff back. But really, well done. If more people had this kind of organization (gathering proof that would stand in court it WAS from the animal in question, and it belonged to the individual in question) and gumption to follow through, there would be less and less free range pets. (I am counting dogs too here!). Even if it's a case of can't get blood from a stone, you've now limited that persons opportunities finding anywhere else to rent that's a nice place with a judgement/ruined credit from following up with collections.
I don't think it is unreasonable at all for cats to be kept indoors. Its downright upsetting to some dogs to see cats in their front yard...and can be costly. Twice my dog put her paw through a window trying to chase a cat. That is like $1800 pop emergency vet bill plus the pain, recovery of the dog. I thought it was just this dog, but chatted with people and lots of people had similar experiences.
Then there is cats pooping in your lawn. If people with dogs have to scoop, I think cat owners should have to follow their cats and clean up after them too!
Have you ever woken up to cats fighting in the middle of the night outside your bedroom window? I HAVE! Way too many times to count
I hit and killed a dog who was chasing a cat. I felt terrible but I couldn't avoid it (it actually ran under my truck, so I went over it with my back wheels). The owners were so upset (not with me). Their usually well behaved dog bolted out of the front door because it saw the neighbors cat and chased it.
I had a cat who kept coming in my back yard and scratching up a piece of outdoor furniture.
So no, cats need to stay inside. If they can't, they need not to be pets. I know people love them...I am sure if I wasn't allergic, I would want one too. But your pet can't cause problems for other people...if they do, you aren't a responsible pet owner.
Cats bury their poop - usually in loose ground. They also clean themselves. In that way, they are not comparable to dogs. And neither are they as domesticated as dogs, they are one of the "wildest" domesticated animals. The idea that they "need" to stay inside is just silly.
OP - your neighbor sounds like a nut. What does he do when squirrels run along his fence - get a restraining order? And birds on his roof must drive him crazy. Cite him for invading the neighborhood's normal sanity.
Cats bury their poop - usually in loose ground. They also clean themselves. In that way, they are not comparable to dogs. And neither are they as domesticated as dogs, they are one of the "wildest" domesticated animals. The idea that they "need" to stay inside is just silly.
OP - your neighbor sounds like a nut. What does he do when squirrels run along his fence - get a restraining order? And birds on his roof must drive him crazy. Cite him for invading the neighborhood's normal sanity.
Cats bury their poop - usually in loose ground. They also clean themselves. In that way, they are not comparable to dogs. And neither are they as domesticated as dogs, they are one of the "wildest" domesticated animals. The idea that they "need" to stay inside is just silly.
OP - your neighbor sounds like a nut. What does he do when squirrels run along his fence - get a restraining order? And birds on his roof must drive him crazy. Cite him for invading the neighborhood's normal sanity.
I don't care if people want to let their cats roam. I do care that their cats stay off my property. If that means I have to trap a cat in the future and take it to Animal Control, I will. I'm not up for another 2 years of headaches and property destruction due to free ranging cats.
I don't care if people want to let their cats roam. I do care that their cats stay off my property. If that means I have to trap a cat in the future and take it to Animal Control, I will. I'm not up for another 2 years of headaches and property destruction due to free ranging cats.
I'd rep you times a thousand, but I can't. Stupid reps won't let me!
PETS DON'T BELONG ROAMING FREE! Not cats, not dogs, not ferrets, not bunnies, not hamsters, not monkeys, not parrots, not rats, not zebras, not elephants, not freaking crocodiles! Be a responsible pet owner and keep the damn things where they belong - in your house or in your yard. If it keeps getting OUT of your yard (jumping a fence, digging under a fence), FIX THE DAMN FENCE! KEEP IT THE HECK OUT OF MY YARD. How hard is this? What in the world makes you think you and your pet gets to do whatever it wants no matter how it affects other people? Honey, neither you, nor your pet, are that damn special.
For those who have suffered damage (as an aside, we have - physical damage to me, my son, my husband, physical damage to OUR dog, and damage to our deck railing) due to people who continually and irresponsibly leave their pets roaming around free, you might, in addition to what UNC4me did litigation wise, check your Village Ordinances - they may have some teeth in them, and calling Animal Control every time something happens would probably make a HUGE difference. If you have to, take pictures, do whatever you can do to prove it to the officers.
My Village Ordinance, for example, classifies this type of animal/owner behavior as a public nuisance. If you call Animal Control enough times on an animal/owner because they're breaking the law, in my village, it WILL come up before a hearing board at which time it's determined if the animal in question is, in fact, a public nuisance (and this doesn't take all that much - it can happen if an owner ignores a ticket and it goes to collections depending on the severity of the incident) and the animal must be abated from the village within 96 hours of the finding. If it isn't, the village will take the animal and put it down if necessary. They don't mess around out here - at ALL. There are too many issues wild animal wise that we already have to deal with, and the village doesn't take kindly to irresponsible pet owners and their free roaming pets or owners who won't control their animals taxing our already strained resources. Frankly, it'd be nice if they had the power to abate some of the damn owners, but that's a different thread for a different day.
All of you that have joyfully admitted to harming a cat that may have walked on your precious lawn should realize that starting now January 2016 the FBI is going to start tracking people like you because research has shown that violence against animals can be an early indicator that a person will be violent toward humans.
ANYWAY, back to the point...everyone jumped to the whole "get your fricken cat out of my yard" complaining when the OP said nothing of the sort. She said that her cat walks on the fence/wall. That is not being in someone's yard destroying things.
I have been one of those who believes that cats should stay indoors until I moved. I now let my cats out in to the yard, periodically. (Never on weekends, holidays, or when it's raining, and not at night.) They stay in the yard, after a few of them went to the front yard, (no, they did not go in to a neighbor's yard, they simply went from the backyard to the front), and I "punished" them by not allowing them out for a few weeks. Nonetheless, they do walk on top of the fences to look around. They don't destroy anything. They don't cause thousands in damage, and they don't kill things. You know what they do? About 90% of the time, they lie on the patio, soaking up the sun, and sleep. When they first go out, they run around the yard, some climb up the fence, walk along it, get a good look at everything, and then they come down about 15 minutes later to nap. It's not a big deal, they are happier.
As I've said before, when I worked at a vet clinic, we had this debate. Half of the vets and techs argued that cats should be allowed outside, and the other half argued that they should stay indoors. The debate was "quality vs quantity" of life. I used to think it was about quantity, but I now believe it's about quality. Since my best friend died, Serenity, I've actually felt guilty about NOT letting her out when she so badly wanted to go out. Yes, I gave her the best that I could inside, but she pined for the outside, and I didn't let her have it, for all those years that she was alive. I'm mad at myself for not allowing her to do that. She would have been even happier than she was...and I robbed her of that.
Walking along a fence or wall is not destroying anything. It's not trashing someone's yard, it's not causing disruption to anyone. The neighbor in the OP's scenario is acting like a complete jerk. A cat sitting on the wall is doing nothing but sitting on a wall.
I take bigger issue with people who leave their dogs out in their yards to bark like idiots for several hours of the day over a cat walking along the top of a fence or wall.
The fact is, people let their cats out. That does not give anyone license to harm that cat. The point of the OP's post was to ask what to do about the neighbor getting upset about a cat walking along a wall. It was not about anything else that others have been writing about.
Why is your cat well being more important than my dog's well being? Or my own well being?
I personally have my cats and dog in a secure enclosure because I would never ever trust unknown people near my pets, I love them I do not have the same feelings towards people.
What math? Thats the Audubon Society's figures. Dont you think they would know?
You're kidding right? Do you even know what the Audubon Society is?
If their figures were even remotely correct, the continent would be devoid of all birds. Like I said do the math.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
