Cats and their owners!

andrewf75

Strider590 wrote: »

Neither is the building of homes and urban areas, bins full of rubbish attracting rats and seaguls, we screwed the "balance of nature" a long time ago.

Once upon a time badgers had predators, but we hunted the bears and wolves to extinction and then decided to present badgers as an endangered species (even though they are not), leaving a huge over population of them, which then leave overpopulated nest sites, roam onto busy roads and cause accidents (my old car was written off by one).

Birds, we attracted them in with bird feeders, when they shouldn't even be in urban areas. That nature guy on TV caught so much flak for saying it, but it's 100% true.

Rats, my CCTV has recorded dozens of them, when most of my neighbours don't think there are any. Our cats caught in excess of 15 in the first 12 months they were here and this is considered a well kept neighbourhood.

WE screwed the "balance of nature" and in response we've used pesticides and domestic pets to help keep things in check, cats were originally bred to catch/kill pests, long before they became family pets.

Trouble is we went through a decade or two where only one adult in a family would go to work (the man), the result was a nation of dog owners or cat haters, that generation is now in retirement, their dogs have died and they think it's OK to kill cats.
These days in most families both adults work, the only people who can have dogs are either on the dole, or upper-middle class, the rest of us can only really have pets that look after themselves, primarily cats

But the fact that we have screwed the balance of nature anyway is not justification for allowing pets to roam the neighbourhood looking after themselves! We made mistakes in the past and should be learning from them.

I'm not worried about impact on birds because they can fly away easily enough and as you say we attract them to cities anyway so it probably cancels out. But small mammals, amphibians and reptiles are sitting targets.

A pet that looks after itself roaming free goes against the definition of a pet. A pet is an animal that you should control and restrict the movement of! I can't buy any other pet and just let it loose so why can I with a cat? Not even a native bear or wolf!

rob7475

I don't get how people think it's OK for their cats to use other people's gardens as toilets. If it were a dog, there would be no end of complaints but somehow it's OK for cats to do it.

While typing this though, I think I've just had my dragon's den moment. I need to invent a cat collar that links to a central base station. When the cat goes more than a set distance from the base, it gets a small electric shock .Over time, it would be trained not to venture further than it's own back garden*

*THE ABOVE IS NOT A SERIOUS IDEA BEFORE EVERYONE STARTS HAVING A GO AT ME!!

Davesnave

rob7475 wrote: »

While typing this though, I think I've just had my dragon's den moment. I need to invent a cat collar that links to a central base station. When the cat goes more than a set distance from the base, it gets a small electric shock .Over time, it would be trained not to venture further than it's own back garden*

*THE ABOVE IS NOT A SERIOUS IDEA BEFORE EVERYONE STARTS HAVING A GO AT ME!!

I think it's a perfectly sound idea; one that's in regular use already in a cruder form via electric fences, but not being a cat psychologist, I'm not too sure how quickly or well the mental link with distance from base would be made. The cow/horse can see the fence.

Although both cats and dogs cause much comment and controversy on these boards, I think there is very little appetite from the great British public at large for changes in the law regarding pets. Plenty of technology exists, and we have a pretty good legal system, but we lack the will to pass laws restricting animal ownership or making owners more responsible for nuisances.

And even if new laws were passed, the matter of enforcement is far from easy to envisage.

DominicH

Strider590 wrote: »

Trouble is we went through a decade or two where only one adult in a family would go to work (the man), the result was a nation of dog owners or cat haters, that generation is now in retirement, their dogs have died and they think it's OK to kill cats.
These days in most families both adults work, the only people who can have dogs are either on the dole, or upper-middle class, the rest of us can only really have pets that look after themselves, primarily cats

Wow. That is borderline insane, and I only include the word "borderline" to give me an escape clause. Cats vs. dogs as reflections of the class struggle?

Private_Church

davemorton wrote: »

I always find it amusing when people bash cats/their owners. Would they prefer mice running all over the place. The amount of rodents that cats in the UK must kill every year, we would be overrun without cats. The balance of nature.

You do realise that Cats can't tell the difference between mice, voles,baby rabbits or Harvest mice?. Cats kill indiscriminately in the same way Foxes do and as for "The balance of nature " rubbish I don't know where to start. Cats kill just abour every animal smaller than itself , they don't know pygmy shrews are rare but will kill them just the same.

Why do you think its other homeowners obligation to make their gardens cat proof so your cats can't go in their garden sh*t in the flower borders and kill any small animal within the garden?.

If my Border Terrier was let out to sh*t in your garden and I told you to put up with it because my dog is unique you would be rining the Council insisting they send someone out to collect the dog.

Train your cats to live in doors like many people already do and before you post the usual rubbish about "Cats can't be trained because they are wild animals " they can and in fact Dogs were wild animals before they were domesticated by man.

Truth is cat owners on the whole can't be bothered and when their cats disappear they are inconsolable but fail to grasp the simple concept of its their own fault.

Strider590

DominicH wrote: »

Wow. That is borderline insane, and I only include the word "borderline" to give me an escape clause. Cats vs. dogs as reflections of the class struggle?

How'd you figure that out?

Basically you can't responsibly own a dog unless your out of work or one member of the family doesn't work at all.

And I say that from the perspective of someone who grew up with dogs in the family.

Private_Church wrote: »

You do realise that Cats can't tell the difference between mice, voles,baby rabbits or Harvest mice?. Cats kill indiscriminately in the same way Foxes do and as for "The balance of nature " rubbish I don't know where to start. Cats kill just abour every animal smaller than itself , they don't know pygmy shrews are rare but will kill them just the same.

Why do you think its other homeowners obligation to make their gardens cat proof so your cats can't go in their garden sh*t in the flower borders and kill any small animal within the garden?.

If my Border Terrier was let out to sh*t in your garden and I told you to put up with it because my dog is unique you would be rining the Council insisting they send someone out to collect the dog.

Train your cats to live in doors like many people already do and before you post the usual rubbish about "Cats can't be trained because they are wild animals " they can and in fact Dogs were wild animals before they were domesticated by man.

Truth is cat owners on the whole can't be bothered and when their cats disappear they are inconsolable but fail to grasp the simple concept of its their own fault.

You have absolutely no idea what your talking about.

In all likelihood, cats crapping in gardens are not looked after properly (ie litter trays at home emptied regularly), just as the west highland terrier over the way isn't looked after as it runs around the street p1ssing up peoples cars.
Cats also don't crap in the middle of a footpath for children to trip over and land on. Do you think that if dogs could jump and climb like cats, that they'd be happy staying indoors???

Private_Church

rob7475 wrote: »

I don't get how people think it's OK for their cats to use other people's gardens as toilets. If it were a dog, there would be no end of complaints but somehow it's OK for cats to do it.

While typing this though, I think I've just had my dragon's den moment. I need to invent a cat collar that links to a central base station. When the cat goes more than a set distance from the base, it gets a small electric shock .Over time, it would be trained not to venture further than it's own back garden*

*THE ABOVE IS NOT A SERIOUS IDEA BEFORE EVERYONE STARTS HAVING A GO AT ME!!

Sorry to say but you are around 20yrs too late. There was a system out years ago which did just that. A wire was placed around the boundary of a garden and you put red ribbons all along it .When a dog,cat went too near it the collar gave out a small electric shock. The dog.cat soon learnt to link the boundary with a shock. After a few weeks you could take the ribbons off as the dog related the bounary with a small shock so they learned to keep inside the garden. I think they outlawed them a few years ago... I knew a family who used it for 2 Dalmation pups and it worked a treat.

DominicH

Strider590 wrote: »

How'd you figure that out?

Basically you can't responsibly own a dog unless your out of work or one member of the family doesn't work at all.

And I say that from the perspective of someone who grew up with dogs in the family.

The part about housewife dog owners turning into cat killers when the dogs die. That was nuts.

[Deleted User]

Least they aren't coming into your home!

Only last night I was shooing next door's cat back out of my first floor window! yet again, almost daren't have any Windows open.

*I have my own cat who at nearly 10 yo I confirm has never been outside since being a rescue*

getmore4less

rach_k wrote: »

Are you sure it's not foxes, at least on the furniture? Cats don't poo on stuff, they poo under stuff and try to cover it. Google for pictures of fox poo!

But yes, get rid of wood chips, that was always going to be a bad idea with cats around.

At least cats spending time in your garden will keep away rodents.

The latest cat drop round our garden is on top of a small bush with a dip in the middle/top.