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I'm a cat lover, but even I agree that wandering cats can be annoying to some neighbors. I don't want someone's cat pooping in my garden...or spraying where he shouldn't. If dog owners have to keep their dogs in their yard, so should the cat owners.
I keep my cats inside. They have two cat jungle-gyms to climb and play on. The cats are safer. The birds are safer. The neighbors are happy. And the vet visits and vaccination costs have decreased.
Having value in society is different than having personal value.
If the government would put a $25 bounty on cats.........there would be very few cats roaming around.
Plenty of cats are needlessly killed regardless of a bounty. If a cat makes a person's life better, relieves their stresses and makes them happier, then they will be a more productive person and more valuable to society. Not all value comes in dollar forms and just because it doesn't come from or create money doesn't mean it not beneficial to society.
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Originally Posted by Mnseca
How exactly is a feral cat colony GOOD?? It's not good for the cats - their lives are short and fairly miserable. Cats can survive just fine, but if you've ever taken in a feral cat you know that they have a lot of medical problems, from parasites to malnutrition. Their average lifespan is 4 years.
And it's certainly not good for the environment. Cats are not native predators, and the wildlife here has no defense against them. They have had a very serious negative effect on a number of bird species in NoVa. They throw the ecosystem out of balance, because they were recently introduced by humans and did not evolve here.
You need to reread my post. It's not a great life for the cats (I never said that), but these are wild animals. All animals live longer in captivity. That's just a fact, but we shouldn't make all animals captive just to extend their lifespan.
SPAYING and NEUTERING these wild animals not only prevents more of them, but lessons their poor behavior. An altered colony keeps the big, aggressive Tom's away too. Do some research on it.
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Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird
Its not. It isn't a native species of animal, its a pet. A person's personal decision to have, and they have responsibility to take proper care of it and not have it bother other people on their own property. How would you feel if I let my dog roam at will?
Telling a feral cat to stay out of your yard IS the same as trying to keep birds and squirrels out of your yard. They are not a native species, but they are wild animals nonetheless. It's like a Floridian trying to tell a wild iguana (an invasive species) to stay out if their yard. It ain't gonna happen!
Plenty of cats are needlessly killed regardless of a bounty. If a cat makes a person's life better, relieves their stresses and makes them happier, then they will be a more productive person and more valuable to society. Not all value comes in dollar forms and just because it doesn't come from or create money doesn't mean it not beneficial to society.
You need to reread my post. It's not a great life for the cats (I never said that), but these are wild animals. All animals live longer in captivity. That's just a fact, but we shouldn't make all animals captive just to extend their lifespan.
SPAYING and NEUTERING these wild animals not only prevents more of them, but lessons their poor behavior. An altered colony keeps the big, aggressive Tom's away too. Do some research on it.
Telling a feral cat to stay out of your yard IS the same as trying to keep birds and squirrels out of your yard. They are not a native species, but they are wild animals nonetheless. It's like a Floridian trying to tell a wild iguana (an invasive species) to stay out if their yard. It ain't gonna happen!
I disagree.
It is all about value.
If cats where expensive...........not free........people would take care of them.
Have you ever seen a "kitty-mill"????
Or, anyone making a living selling house cats??? (not purebreds or, show cats)
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.
You don't think being a responsible dog owner includes training your dog to behave around cats?
You don't think being a responsible dog owner includes training your dog to behave around cats?
No, no I don't. In some cases, it just isn't possible. Its a responsible dog owners job to know their pet, keep them confined and under control. But if the dog spots a cat running outside its house, without the owner present to do a quick recall, this just might happen. Do you know anything about training dogs? At all? You can't train a dog not to be a dog. Just listen when you are around.
It's out of the realm of the (very limited) logic anti-cat people can comprehend, but "Neighborhood Cats" can be a very positive thing for an area. I know researching that would be out of the question, but cats aren't going anywhere. As a human, you can embrace that fact of nature, or keep doing as most humans choose to do, hate and agonize over something you know nothing about thinking that hate and anger will make your tiny little sphere of reality a better place.
+1 (more if I could)!
Firstly, what about people who live in the flat-out country? Can't their dogs and cats roam?
Secondly, shouldn't some animal pets simply be allowed to roam regardless? They all weren't always domesticated animals. Some type of dogs you can't even keep indoors.
Thirdly, are we really trying to pretend that cats pooing outside is anything more than a smokescreen when compared to the fecal output of dogs? (Apologies if others have brought this up, as I haven't had a chance to read all posts.) My parents have lived next to more than one dog owner, in a very "country suburb". All said owners have let their dogs roam freely. All dogs have pooped on my parents' lawn. Why isn't this type of behavior more universally seen as an outrage by any civilized person in the first world?
I appreciate your sane and rational response.
Some cats we get are "imprinted", meaning it is torture and inhumane to bring them in. They cannot be "undone". We pay to spay and neuter them with our own money. Over time, the colonies break up. We have kept a few, and using their natural instincts, they claim territory, and that helps too, because eventually, where you had a colony, you don't any more. I am an animal person. I will defend all animals. The worth of a society can be determined by how it treats its most vulnerable. I believe by caring for all living things, our society becomes a better place, but that's for another thread
I agree with you. I recently acquired a few kittens. I did not want kittens, not a cat person and had zero desire to have anything else living in and destroying my house. However, no one would take them. Including the local humane society. So the cats will be getting fixed now that they are old enough and they will have to be content with living out their lives in/out, mostly outside. They are having a better life here than they would have had on the side/ middle of the road that we found them on.
I'm a cat lover, but even I agree that wandering cats can be annoying to some neighbors. I don't want someone's cat pooping in my garden...or spraying where he shouldn't. If dog owners have to keep their dogs in their yard, so should the cat owners.
I keep my cats inside. They have two cat jungle-gyms to climb and play on. The cats are safer. The birds are safer. The neighbors are happy. And the vet visits and vaccination costs have decreased.
I love cats and keep mine indoors. I think they have a safer life this way and I don't have to worry that some nut job will harm them. However, there is a huge difference between dogs and cats in that cats can scale 8 foot fences (high fence) and dogs can't. If they should get out, or if they are allowed to go outside with their owners and sneak away, it would be normal for them to scale a fence or tree and get into someone else's yard. For sure, they will not be digging up your daisies like a dog likely would.
Cats try to cover their feces (in sand, soft dirt, etc. if outside). They don't tend to just drop a load any old place in the yard. Tell me a dog that covers its feces and I'll get a dog, too.
No, no I don't. In some cases, it just isn't possible. Its a responsible dog owners job to know their pet, keep them confined and under control. But if the dog spots a cat running outside its house, without the owner present to do a quick recall, this just might happen. Do you know anything about training dogs? At all? You can't train a dog not to be a dog. Just listen when you are around.
What?? I have a dog that is so well trained he does not need a leash and will walk right next to me. Anywhere. I can walk through Home Depot with him right next to me. I can place food on the floor tell him, not to eat it until I give him the command to go ahead. I send him around the yard to pick up toys and trash.
Don't tell me about about training dogs... I have out the time, and energy into having an extremely well trained dog. If you can't do the same, then you have no business having a dog that you can't control
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