Why Can't We Have Ordinances to Control Cats? Please?

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
Uck. Cleaning furniture... not fun. I'd say take this little kitty for a day trip to the low or no-cost spay/neuter clinic. The cost would probably be a drop in the bucket compared to cleaning the furniture again. I know the Nevada Humane Society has low cost options in Reno! You can call 775-856-2000, ext. 333. Neutering him will 90% of the time take care of the spraying issue, may even deter him from wandering as much! Good luck.

I really do like the cat... well both cats. theyre twins and i cant tell em apart so i just refer to them both as "buddy". Theyre really friendly i just feel bad for mine because theyre so wimpy. Although i did witness something really neat one day.
i was on the back porch and my cat Egor was sunning himself in the yard. Buddy came along and just started fighting Egor. Egor was getting his butt kicked hard and my yelling wasnt scaring Buddy away. Next thing i know Egor's litter mate and my other cat Lux came darting around the corner and beat the crud out of buddy, chasing him back into his yard. she came back to make sure Egor was okay. It was kind of sweet.

but anyway i will look into that. The Buddys could use a good neutering anyhow. Like i said they are sweet cats to me, but do get themselves into a bit of trouble. I would just worry that the neighbors would know it was me

Theyve been very tolerant of my illegal rooster so i feel i should be tolerant of their crazy cats. (theyve got seven toes on each paw!)

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Dvander Silk, I have to take issue with that "3 songbirds a day" cat kill. I have four indoor/outdoor cats. They manage maybe one or two birds a season. Believe me, we are made aware of it when it happens and it breaks our hearts. But 4 cats on 3 acres with many, many ground birds (our community has one of the highest per capita number of birds in the country) and between them they get one or two birds a year...sorry, the statistics don't add up.

But then, maybe my cats are just not that bright...

 

[bertman]

Yeah, bawkbawkbawk, I have to agree with your calling ElToroDooDoo on the 3 songbirds a day thing. Our two cats are outdoor cats who come in to eat and sleep or stay cool in the heat or warm in the cold. They are predators but they are not THAT great at preying on songbirds. A few a season is all we see evidence of. They are so proud of them that they bring them to show us. My DW, the wildlife rehabber, hates it but realizes it is the price of owning cats.

My philosophy is that they cull the weak and the slow or the injured--sometimes the babies, but not too often. Squirrels, rabbits, moles, voles, rats, field mice, toads even fall victim on occasion, but mostly our little hunters are not quick enough for the kill.

We have multiple bird feeders ( I sometimes jokingly call them cat feeders to irritate my DW) and we feed deer cracked corn daily so there are all kinds of birds and critters dining in our yard. The bird population, squirrel population, and even a new chipmunk family are thriving.

If we had biddies I would certainly not leave them around without careful supervision or a very protective hen. That would be a problem.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
i also agree on the three birds a day thing. my cats are too fat and lazy to catch anything. the only time theyve ever brought me a kill happened to be a day after i had consecutively lost three of my birds in a week. They left this dead bird on the floor next to my bed and it was there giving me the cold stare of death when i woke up. I looked those cats dead in the eye and said to them,
"IS THIS YOUR SICK IDEA OF A JOKE?"



I remember at our last house we had mice pretty bad. I liked to keep the backdoor open so everyone could go in and out as they pleased. one night i was lying on the couch and i watched as a teeny tiny little mouse crept in through the back door. I had the dog sleeping at my feet and the cats were on a table directly next to the backdoor.
Oh they all saw it! My girl cat sat and watched as it skittered along the floor. My bOy cat watched it but didnt even lift his head. My dog stared at it for a second before shutting his eyes again and getting comfortable. you bet your arse that mouse ran out pretty darn quickly once i screamed out, "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!! FREELOADERS!"

 

[RHRanch]

Quote:
i also agree on the three birds a day thing. my cats are too fat and lazy to catch anything. the only time theyve ever brought me a kill happened to be a day after i had consecutively lost three of my birds in a week. They left this dead bird on the floor next to my bed and it was there giving me the cold stare of death when i woke up. I looked those cats dead in the eye and said to them,
"IS THIS YOUR SICK IDEA OF A JOKE?"



I remember at our last house we had mice pretty bad. I liked to keep the backdoor open so everyone could go in and out as they pleased. one night i was lying on the couch and i watched as a teeny tiny little mouse crept in through the back door. I had the dog sleeping at my feet and the cats were on a table directly next to the backdoor.
Oh they all saw it! My girl cat sat and watched as it skittered along the floor. My bOy cat watched it but didnt even lift his head. My dog stared at it for a second before shutting his eyes again and getting comfortable. you bet your arse that mouse ran out pretty darn quickly once i screamed out, "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!! FREELOADERS!"

And if you are going to get on cats for the alleged "3 songbirds a day" - Imagine the toll all human activity takes on songbird populations. I would guess its a lot. And other animal populations, too. Reptiles, amphibian, nesting grounds that get developed for housing, roads and animal deaths from vehicles, think about it!

 

[MuckyPuppy]

I believe the songbirds data. Cats do not bring back every kill they make. When my neighbors cats could regularly get into my garden, I was cleaning up little dead bodies on a regular basis. They obviously didn't kill to eat but just to kill.

I have to admit that I am slightly surprised if a wildlife rehaber is letting pet cats out of the house. Everything I have read on the subject from wildlife orgs and experts detail the devastating effects that the domestic cat has on the environment and native species.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Sorry to hear about your nuisance cat prowlers, check with your local ordinence reguarding leash laws, most people don;t know it, but cats are not 'free roam' and the owner has a legal responsibility to control it's animal, should it harm anything, or is just being a nusaince. cats carry disease and parasites and you have a right to keep it off your property. bottom line..
Sounds like yourr neighbors are pretty close by, and rather than start a war with them, the geese seemed like a great idea, how about a high powered water pistol filled with an obnoxious vinegar solution....a little fun for you and great way to get your licks in....make your yard off limits for little kitty (check with your local arms dealer)
or, the neighborhood toy store...

 

[chikinwing]

I saw this thread and found it very interesting. It seems that many people have strong feelings about cats. I for one have 3 cats that are primarily outdoor/indoor, being outdoor foremost. My one cat Thomas is 16 years old and the other two are much younger. My cats are very good at rodent control and most definitely serve a purpose. I am not certain where you all live, but I live in a very rural area and most certainly wish that my biggest fear for my chickens was cats. For my chickens it is much worse: Fox, Racoons, Skunks, Opossums, Bobcats, Black Bears, Coyotes, Snakes, Weasels, Dogs, Black Vultures, Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, etc. That list poses the most daunting of predators. If only my chickens had a broken beak instead of being a meal for an enormous fox, which by the way I have lost 8 hens and 2 cockerels in the past few weeks! Has anyone ever been to Key West Florida? I did, and saw the most interesting thing on that island, free roaming six toed cats and chickens! They live on the streets in the trees in the bushes everywhere there are allowed to go without pause, why? because they are simultaneously protected. Very cool! Some hate cats, and some hate chickens. I for one love both!

Very cool thread on Key West's cats and chickens: http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2008/08/animals-roaming-paradise-feral-cats-and-chickens-of-the-conch-republic/
http://www.jewelrygenius.com/aaNEWHTMLS/ROOSTER/chickenwars.html
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/3602129.jpg

Everyone has a right to their own opinions and feelings, I love my chickens, dogs, cats, and agree not everyone is a responsible pet owner. However, cats have always served a purpose as rodent control, my grandfather ran a produce market in Washington DC back in the day and they always had market cats to fight the rats and mice.

 

[sourland]

I like cats, but I do not delude myself about their impact on native species-- to the point of pushing some species into extinction. Just do a search: feral cats environmental impact. Yep, studies have been done indicating their deadly impact. Our first cat was a indoor/outdoor cat. Due to the multitude of creatures we were aware of her killing, the other two were strictly indoor cats.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

This thread is not about a feral cat. Domesticated cats dont do half the damage a feril cat does because they don't need to rely on basic instincts to survive. Getting rid of feral at population is a different argument from the issue at hand, which is the neighbors tame cat crawling around on the fence and the coop.