Cats and bad owners

[quark1]

Just another extra comment - we are fairly rural here and we often get fouls left on the surface of garden and walkways. Most of the time it is not cats but the 'leavings' of badgers and foxes. There is also the curse of dog owners who do not think twice about letting their pooches foul someone else's doorstep and are 'bereft' of any means to clear up.

[Madasafish]

I love cats. I have never fired an airgun or any gun .. at any animal...

But cats and birds = :-((

[BarleySugar]

My friends young cat came home with a detached retina and lost his eye because of a severe blow to the head. The vet said it could not have been an accident, there were no other injuries and from the position of the blow, it could not have been caused by a fall. He was always friendly to strangers, but is now very shy. Whatever he was up to or wherever he was, he did not deserve this treatment. I know cats can be a nuisance, but there are humane deterrants. It is never right to mistreat any animal.

[seasprout]

You need to be aware that cats are free to roam and are protected by law.

Cat owners cannot be sued for damages; it is an offence to steal a cat; it is an offence to harm or terrify a cat; it is also an offence to put down snares or poison or an unlicensed deterrent.

And as for shooting them with a airifle...you are out of order

Geo..

*I agree with Geo, I feel this is an unacceptable statement Madasafish, as you are encouraging others to harm animals and break the law.

[Paul Wagland]

Apparently, an adult cat kills another animal every ten days. This is worse than the poo they leave behind, in my opinion.

They make great pets, but the cost to our native wildlife is not to be underestimated. I wish they all had to wear bells by law - simple and effective.

[Flummery]

Wasn't there another post somewhere about using dead cats in your bean trench?
I wonder.......

D'oh! That was probably me. Don't like cats - love birds. And beans!

[Alice]

The problem with cats is they are unlicensed animals. They don't actually belong to anyone so their "owners" have no responsibility for them or what they do.

I would like to see a system where people who want to keep pets have to apply for a licence first (quite an expensive one) and show that they have suitable accommodation and arrangements for the animal.

I used to have cats, but I had a big garden for them, and they were trained from birth to use the outdoor toilet area - a pit of sand ,ashes etc which was easy for them to dig in and could be dug out and replaced as required. I believe you can buy outdoor litter now. I think cat owners should provide for their pets toilet requirements.

There are responsible owners out there. In my last garden, and this one, I see visiting cats, but don't find any mess.

I hope you can find a solution.

[BarleySugar]

Collars can be very dangerous for cats though. Last summer my brother, who has a farm, found a cat who had got his collar caught up around his front leg. He was very weak, but had crawled into the barn. Sadly he was too far gone, the vet put him down because the maggots had eaten into his vital organs. He had probably got caught up by his collar, and in trying to free himself he had got his front leg through it. Then it was too tight and it bit into his flesh. I can't see how cats can wear bells without collars and many animal charities recommend cats do not wear them.

[smallblueplanet]

Apparently, an adult cat kills another animal every ten days.

Its what they do - they're animals, not cuddly toys!

I love cats to bits, and although they can become quite well housetrained, they are still animals. I hate people who treat pets as 'toys'.

As to the falling bird population, how long have there been cats? I suggest we look to changing farming practices, use of pesticides/herbicides and urbanisation first. Oh and those bl00dy europeans who trap and shoot them whilst they're migrating!

Man says to his cat 'Sparrows are on the decline' and the cat replies 'Stay there a minute, I'll go and get you a couple'.

ROFL!

[NOG]

You want to be rid of cats....

1. Go to Lidl
2. buy tin of Tuna 37p
3. Buy Mallet...£1.99
4. Open tuna and put on patio.
5. Sit next to tuna tin with a Mallet.
6.

[Paul Wagland]

Its what they do - they're animals, not cuddly toys!

That was sort of my point....

If you're saying "that's nature", then yes, to a point. In a natural environment there might me one or two wild cats per square mile. In our towns and villages there must be hundreds.

I love cats too, but is one cat worth several hundred birds and small mammals?

[smallblueplanet]

...I love cats too, but is one cat worth several hundred birds and small mammals?

Ay? Its not about what a cats worth, how on earth can you judge that, not that it should be judged...are some cats worth more birds, or are some birds of less numerical worth?

I believe the Maltese eat small birds, what shall we do with them then?

[BarleySugar]

Cats have lived with us for thousands of years, and in the past they were not fed so much by humans as they were kept to keep down vermin. Surely they would still have killed birds, especially fledglings etc, when they could? Many cats are neutered now days as well, which wouldn't have been the case in the past, so the feral population would have been higher perhaps? Have we any evidence that cats kill more wildlife now than in the past? It would be interesting to find out if there is any research into, but I'm in the middle of OFSTED inspection and just taking time out from lesson planning, so won't look atm

[rustylady]

I don't dislike cats per se - I like most animals. I do hate what they do to my garden! **** all over the place, birds stalked etc. I have owned dogs in the past, and cats have owned me. Also been host to all sorts of other pets when the kids were small. One thing all my animals had in common was that they lived in our house and garden, had their own litter trays or toilet areas, and we cleaned up after them. Why do people say the "own" a cat and see it for maybe twenty minutes a day when it comes in for food? There are around six or eight cats using my garden as a toilet at the moment and I am sick of it. I am at work most of the time, and they scarper as soon as they see me though I've never harmed them or threatened them. Cat owners should be made responsible for them as dog owners are.

[Paul Wagland]

My neighbour put a collar and bell on her cat and the poor lad rubbed his neck raw trying to get it off - he had to have treatment for the damage it caused.... Collars and bells are, to my mind, cruel to a free-roaming creature

I would think that if a cat is given a collar from a young age it will quickly get used to wearing it, just as we get used to wearing clothes and shoes. Likewise it will get used to the sound of a bell, just as people who live by a beach don't notice the noise of the sea.

Collars can be very dangerous for cats though.

Good collars have an elastic strip which lets them stretch in dangerous situations, or even a tension clip which will pop open if it gets caught up.

I just think we have many more cats now than we used to, and they are doing lots of damage. They're not the only cause of the decline in bird population, but they are a factor. I don't think we should ban or confine cats, but I do think we ought to consider what they get up to when they're out of our sight, and perhaps act to mitigate the harm they do.