Stray cats

[6of6chicks]

And I wonder, if someone's cat disappears, (perhaps run over by a car or killed by another animal) do they go out and get another cat, let it roam outside to be endangered again and still think they're doing the right thing for the animal they love so much?

"She just strongly believes that cats need to roam around outside to be happy"

The native songbirds and lizards strongly believe they need the housecat confined to the house for them to be happy.

I'm not saying I agree with her. I think she's an idiot. But you asked why she lets the cat roam, and I was trying to explain it as I understand it. She genuinely believes it is in a cat's nature to roam, and that her cat would be miserable confined to the house.

Again, as I have said many times in other posts - it is my personal opinion that 99% of dog problems are actually people problems. They have owners who are ignorant, lazy, uncaring, or flat out morons who have no business owning dogs. There are NO bad dogs - just stupid people who ruin perfectly good dogs through bad training and/or neglect. I'm not a cat person, but it think some of that probably applies to cat owners as well. In my neighbor's case, it certainly does. She's ignorant of the impact that cats have on the ecosystem and they damage they can do. She's entrenched in her beliefs and won't change. But that doesn't make her a bad person. Just an idiot. Millions of cats roam free - their owners aren't necessarily bad, mean, or uncaring. That's WHY I choose deterrents whenever possible. I hate punishing an animal for its owner's stupidity.

 

[subhanalah]

Since you asked about deterrent (rather than best gun to shoot it), this might help. I had trouble with my neighbor's cat wreaking havoc in my garden. There was no way I could trap it or call animal control because I genuinely like my neighbor and she is nutso about her cat. I didn't want to break her heart or start a neighbor war. So I went the herbal route. I don't want to get in trouble with a moderator, so here's the plant:

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/w...490&show=&prodclass=Herb_and_Vegetable_Plants

Yes, that's actually the name of the plant. It's really funny to go to a gardener's association herb sale and have sweet looking grandma holler that you're buying three "___-___ plants!"

Worked like a charm. The cat wouldn't go near any of the beds that had that plant in them. I ended up putting it everywhere and the cat hasn't been back since.

Another herbal route is lavender and citrus - they don't like those either. From what I understand orange oil is non-toxic for birds, and doing a light spray around the outside of the coop might be helpful. You could also sprinkle dried lavender and citrus peels where the cat frequents. I wouldn't put any of this IN the coop, but it might help deter the cat from skulking around outside.

Good luck!

I need to get me some of that.

And I wonder, if someone's cat disappears, (perhaps run over by a car or killed by another animal) do they go out and get another cat, let it roam outside to be endangered again and still think they're doing the right thing for the animal they love so much?

"She just strongly believes that cats need to roam around outside to be happy"

The native songbirds and lizards strongly believe they need the housecat confined to the house for them to be happy.

Yes, and x2

I'm not saying I agree with her. I think she's an idiot. But you asked why she lets the cat roam, and I was trying to explain it as I understand it. She genuinely believes it is in a cat's nature to roam, and that her cat would be miserable confined to the house.

Again, as I have said many times in other posts - it is my personal opinion that 99% of dog problems are actually people problems. They have owners who are ignorant, lazy, uncaring, or flat out morons who have no business owning dogs. There are NO bad dogs - just stupid people who ruin perfectly good dogs through bad training and/or neglect. I'm not a cat person, but it think some of that probably applies to cat owners as well. In my neighbor's case, it certainly does. She's ignorant of the impact that cats have on the ecosystem and they damage they can do. She's entrenched in her beliefs and won't change. But that doesn't make her a bad person. Just an idiot. Millions of cats roam free - their owners aren't necessarily bad, mean, or uncaring. That's WHY I choose deterrents whenever possible. I hate punishing an animal for its owner's stupidity.

yes

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I agree with you.
I have a 'not smart' neighbor that I still try to be civil to even though her pack of malamute/husky crosses have attacked several times and I've lost a lot of chickens to them.
Most of the day her dogs are chained in the yard. I can't figure out why she has them. She has trouble paying for the losses when they attack. I asked her if she wouldn't be better off with fewer of them since they must be costing her a lot to keep. She lets a couple guys deer hunt on her property and they bring her a 50# bag of dog food each month in payment.

Many cat owners are blissfully ignorant of the damage done.
My mother-in-law is one. When we moved here she said I should get a cat to keep outside for mice. I said I don't need a cat, I need to keep my native birds and small animals. She said, "that's just natural". I said, "there's nothing natural about an invasive species (i.e. domestic cats) randomly killing wildlife.

And this may sound like I hate cats. I don't. I think they're really cool amazing animals. I just don't believe they need to be roaming where they aren't native.

There have been a couple of studies of the damage done. One was in a small town in England where they got the entire town to agree to keep a record for 5 months of all the wildlife their cat's brought home.
"A total of 14370 prey items were brought home by 986 cats living in 618 households. Mammals made up 69% of the items, birds 24%, amphibians 4%, reptiles 1%, fish <1%, invertebrates 1% and unidentified items 1%. A minimum of 44 species of wild bird, 20 species of wild mammal, 3 species of reptile and 3 species of amphibian were recorded."
When they extrapolated that number for the entire British Isles they determined the number that cats were responsible for killing in the same 5 month period.
"with a British population of approximately 9 million cats was estimated to have brought home in the order of 92 (85-100) million prey items in the period of this survey, including 57 (52-63) million mammals, 27 (25-29) million birds and 5 (4-6) million reptiles and amphibians."

27 million birds in 5 months.

A more recent study done in the US put kitty cams on the felines allowed to roam. They discovered that only one in four of animals killed were brought home and that most were either eaten on the spot or just killed and left. So that means that that 27 million birds killed in Britain is more like 100 million.

http://www.mammal.org.uk/sites/default/files/Domestic Cat Predation on Wildlife.pdf

http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/120806.html

The kitty cam study showed that cats (including ferals) kill 4 billion animals in the US each year, including 500 million birds.

 

[subhanalah]

I agree with you.
I have a 'not smart' neighbor that I still try to be civil to even though her pack of malamute/husky crosses have attacked several times and I've lost a lot of chickens to them.
Most of the day her dogs are chained in the yard. I can't figure out why she has them. She has trouble paying for the losses when they attack. I asked her if she wouldn't be better off with fewer of them since they must be costing her a lot to keep. She lets a couple guys deer hunt on her property and they bring her a 50# bag of dog food each month in payment.

Many cat owners are blissfully ignorant of the damage done.
My mother-in-law is one. When we moved here she said I should get a cat to keep outside for mice. I said I don't need a cat, I need to keep my native birds and small animals. She said, "that's just natural". I said, "there's nothing natural about an invasive species (i.e. domestic cats) randomly killing wildlife.

I have had this exact conversation with someone! Don't forget the native bunnies!
Some people really can't follow a train of logic past their nose. The spider at the fly, the toad ate the spider, the cat ate the toad, the dog ate the cat...

 

[6of6chicks]

I agree with you.
I have a 'not smart' neighbor that I still try to be civil to even though her pack of malamute/husky crosses have attacked several times and I've lost a lot of chickens to them.
Most of the day her dogs are chained in the yard. I can't figure out why she has them. She has trouble paying for the losses when they attack. I asked her if she wouldn't be better off with fewer of them since they must be costing her a lot to keep. She lets a couple guys deer hunt on her property and they bring her a 50# bag of dog food each month in payment.

Many cat owners are blissfully ignorant of the damage done.
My mother-in-law is one. When we moved here she said I should get a cat to keep outside for mice. I said I don't need a cat, I need to keep my native birds and small animals. She said, "that's just natural". I said, "there's nothing natural about an invasive species (i.e. domestic cats) randomly killing wildlife.

That's too bad about your neighbor. It's hard having to put up with things a neighbor does, but I think most people do it because complaining almost always escalates the situation. Then you're worse off than before. At least that's always how it has been for me. One neighbor has a dog that kills chickens and roams free, and the other has a roaming cat. But they are the ONLY neighbors I have, and my cat neighbor has helped me out many times over the years. If something happened I could call her and she'd be there for me in a heartbeat. I have to weigh the value of that against the destruction her animal causes. But it's tough, no doubt.

And I guess, by not trapping the cat, I am ALSO partly responsible for the damage the cat does. Legally, no, but morally, yes. But, like I said, that's what makes it tough. In all other ways she's a good neighbor, and I can't justify killing her pet just because she's irresponsible. All I can do is control & protect MY animals to the best of my ability. That, and soak that little fur ball with the hose every chance I get, lol! (only when he's in my yard, of course...)