Irresponsible Owners

[ycbm]

Even if they had to be in overnight.

Any cat outside after 8pm, goes in a pie.

I get that you are justifiably annoyed by cat behaviour, and also that you are probably being funny, but please remember that people reading this think you are talking about much loved members of their household.
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[skinnydipper]

Despite my cat having the freedom to go outside I've always had litter trays inside. Maybe some owners don't, a bit like some people not picking up after their dog.

 

[Jenko109]

I get that you are justifiably annoyed by cat behaviour, and also that you are probably being funny, but please remember that people reading this think you are talking about much loved members of their household.
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I'm not annoyed by cat behaviour at all. I like and have had cats. I'm also not fussed about them messing my lawn as said previously. Cats will be cats.

Anyone who genuinely thinks I'm advocating making cat pie and finds that post offensive, needs to get a grip.

 

[Jenko109]

Despite my cat having the freedom to go outside I've always had litter trays inside. Maybe some owners don't, a bit like some people not picking up after their dog.

We were the same.

We had one cat who lived outside for probably the first six years of his life. No interest in coming in whatsoever.

As he got older, we insisted he came inside overnight through the winter.

By about 9, he decided he preferred it inside and never left the house again.

It's nice for them to have a choice and for them to not have to go outside as you get nasty cats in the neighbourhood, or it's very cold in the winter or whatever the case may be.

 

[Clodagh]

I think we’ve done the cat thing. Some people don’t like dogs, so I do my utmost not to inconvenience them. If cats were held up to the same legislation as dogs it would be a good thing.

 

[splashgirl45]

I am in a small village, so rural, and when I rented my own yard I had feral cats and was very fond of them, but they were there to do a job so needed to be free outside but I don’t see why pet cats are allowed to free roam. It’s just not fair on the rest of us and the wildlife. I have one of the sonic type cat scarers on my flat roof and it seems to have stopped the local cat but it still comes in and uses my raised beds as a toilet which I find disgusting as I grow veg for myself to eat…someone earlier said they had a cat and didn’t have a problem with them toileting in their garden, that’s because they go in your neighbours!!!!! If everyone who had a cat had a catio it would benefit all of us. As for saying cats like to roam, I’m sure all of our dogs would like to roam given the chance and they have to be curtailed so why not cats?

 

[CorvusCorax]

Another Nah from me cats definitely use my garden as a toilet too. Maybe they don't like to crap in their own back garden, as the saying goes?

I do think catios are a good idea.

 

[Clodagh]

Another Nah from me cats definitely use my garden as a toilet too. Maybe they don't like to crap in their own back garden, as the saying goes?

I do think catios are a good idea.

It does mean owners would have to interact to amuse them, like us dog owners, although there are days I feel like tipping my lot out for 8 hours self entertaining and I could have a lazy one.

 

[Jenko109]

. I have one of the sonic type cat scarers on my flat roof and it seems to have stopped the local cat but it still comes in and uses my raised beds as a toilet which I find disgusting as I grow veg for myself to eat…someone earlier said they had a cat and didn’t have a problem with them toileting in their garden, that’s because they go in your neighbours!!!!!

I assume you are on about me.

I actually said that I DON'T have cats and do not have a problem with local cats toileting in my garden.

They don't go in the back garden because of the dogs and I don't find it a particularly great hardship to poo pick the front lawn every so often.

I can see why them toileting in areas that you are growing food would be pretty gross though.

 

[CorvusCorax]

You'll never guess what my young dog just snaffled on the front lawn

 

[DressageCob]

I don't care about the cat poo but I do care about them killing all the baby birds in my garden and leaving the partially eaten corpses everywhere. We used to have a lovely family of wood pigeons in the garden. They came back every year to have babies, until a local cat got wise and went on a killing spree. It was hideous.

Cats have a negative impact on the ecosystem so it surprises me that more people don't protest about their right to roam. Especially when environmental issues are constantly in the spotlight these days. Cats worldwide have already led to the extinction of many species and there are something like 300+ under threat due to the cat population.

My friend has a fantastic "catio" at her house. The cat has access to an outdoor space with some enrichment, but it's chicken wired-in so the cat isn't a threat to the world at large (and is safe itself from being squashed on the roads etc).

 

[Cinnamontoast]

My OH loathes cats, possibly because his mum was phobic. I had two when we met. He likes to quote from some Mafia film he watched that cats are ‘Snakes with fur’. They are horrible cold killers, but super cute at the same time. I remember reading somewhere that if cats looked like frogs, nobody would like them.

 

[Pippity]

My OH loathes cats, possibly because his mum was phobic. I had two when we met. He likes to quote from some Mafia film he watched that cats are ‘Snakes with fur’. They are horrible cold killers, but super cute at the same time. I remember reading somewhere that if cats looked like frogs, nobody would like them.

Terry Pratchett, in Lords and Ladies.

Cats seem to provoke more out-and-out hatred than dogs do, and I'm never sure why.

 

[Esmae]

I realise that this is a bit of a niche reason for disliking cats, but as a result I have gone from liking them to really disliking them. I have owned yard cats in the past, and I felt a lot of affection for them. I have a severe autoimmune disease that has progressed to the point that I pretty much catch anything going; 10 years ago I was told by the hospital to be really careful around certain animals, avoid handling them and wash my hands carefully if I touch anything they touch; cats are top of the 'don't touch' list because of toxoplasmosis.

Since then I have been unable to own a cat, but I have to clear cat faeces out of my garden on a daily basis, as well as vomit and partly eaten birds and rodents. So I can't have the nice side of cat owning (companionship etc), but have the bad side forced on me. I can no longer have a bird feeder as that attracted even more cats, and as I don't currently have a dog it is hard to deter them from the garden (I have tried pretty much everything).

If I let my dog foul in my neighbours gardens (or even in public areas), let them kill all the wildlife they could catch, and let them roam the streets causing car drivers to slam in their brakes to avoid hitting them then there would (quite rightly) be an outcry. I am aware that some people have allergies to dogs or are scared of them so I don't allow any dog I am walking to hassle strangers, but cats do as they please on other people's property. It is well known that pregnant women shouldn't come into contact with cat faeces so the health risk is public knowledge.

I miss being able to lie on my lawn reading a book (small lawn so difficult to avoid patches where faeces have been picked up), and I feel sad when I see the partly eaten (or not eaten at all) remains of yet another songbird. I hate having to wear gloves every time I do any gardening, and I resent having to pay for endless packets of dog bags (particularly as I miss having a dog) to pick up the mess. In warm weather I can't enjoy leaving my french doors or any ground floor windows open as the cats then come into the house.

I have no problem with people owning cats, but like any pet, they shouldn't be inflicted on everyone else, and shouldn't invade other people's property.

Here you are. These apparently really work https://www.amazon.co.uk/PestBye-Ul...d=14J5JCPX84BQZ&keywords=pet+and+wild+animal+ Would certainly be worth trying.

 

[SilverLinings]

I get the cat issues, and I wouldn't have chosen to keep cats in an urban environment but we had them when we moved here and felt it would be unfair to pen in animals which had been used to free roaming in farmland. We paid a high price recently for that choice.

I do think with the road issues, the bird issues, the garden fouling issues and other people rights to have guinea pigs, rabbits etc out in their gardens and not to have their dogs barking at night, that it probably is time to tell people that cats in urban areas need to be contained and not allowed to roam free. Though I think there should be years of notice given, because it would be hugely expensive to cat proof a house if you have single doors to the outside and ever want to open a window.



Edited to remove nightime cake-making dogs.
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I do feel for the welfare of cats as much as any other animal, and I completely agree that it would be a difficult adjustment for most cats to suddenly go from free-roaming to house cats, and for some this would be impossible without being severely detrimental to their welfare. I completely understand why you have done what you have with your cats having moved from somewhere very rural to somewhere less so, but I struggle to understand why some of my neighbours buy kitten after kitten after loosing the previous ones on the roads, and don't consider either keeping them indoors/with a catio or not having a cat as a pet until they live somewhere more suitable. Years ago I lost a cat on the road outside the yard I was renting, it was a very rural area so a freak accident but I was very upset about it, and struggle to understand how some owners (NOT you @ycbm) just see them as disposable objects.

There is a sonic type system that you can place in spots around the garden which keeps cats out. It emits a high pitched sound that only they hear I think. A friend has it at their place and it works. Might be a useful option for you. I'll try to find out the make etc.

Thank you, I have tried one previously that didn't work and the expense put me off trying another but as the one in your later post comes with a recommendation I will look into it

Another Nah from me cats definitely use my garden as a toilet too. Maybe they don't like to crap in their own back garden, as the saying goes?

I do think catios are a good idea.

My previous neighbours thought it funny that their cat wouldn't foul in their garden but used the surrounding neighbours' gardens as a toilet instead

 

[Tiddlypom]

I might be being rather hard on these people, but there's a FB post on a local town page for someone wanting home boarding for their pom/JRT. Nothing unusual so far, but the dog must be the only dog in the household, it's for a minimum of 2 weeks to be extended to 3 weeks if the dog is settled, and it is to commence in 2 days time.

Quite a few posts pointing out that any reputable licensed boarders are likely to be booked up, and to be very careful.

 

[AmyMay]

Quite a few posts pointing out that any reputable licensed boarders are likely to be booked up, and to be very careful.

Not to mention that most will want at least one trial day before committing..

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Terry Pratchett, in Lords and Ladies.

Cats seem to provoke more out-and-out hatred than dogs do, and I'm never sure why.

Probably because most dogs don’t regularly catch and torture their prey/decimate songbird populations. Saying that, Goose brought me a mouse every day til he’d got rid of an entire nest under the waterfall. He had another one the other day.

I must re-read my Pratchett collection then decide what to do with it, it’s taking up a lot of space in the study!

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Interestingly, there are a fair amount of cats in my neighborhood and there were a few in my last one too. There was one that occasionally would crap in my front garden but it was rare.

Here there is a lot of countryside surrounding our small neighborhood, so maybe there's more room for them to roam. Many people also have chickens, and there have not been any cat vs. chicken episodes that I've heard of.

My own cat stays inside aside from the odd occasion when he goes outside with me while I'm tending to the garden or walks out the front door when I'm taking out the rubbish. He usually wants to come back in 10 minutes later once he realizes he's alone out there. I did hear cat growling one night and him and a neighbor's cat were having a standoff on the front steps, but nothing actually happened, thankfully.

I also haven't heard of or noticed an excessive amount of bird hunting either. So I don't know why it's better in some neighborhoods than others.

It's be frustrating if they were coming into my property and harming or killing my livestock or other pets, and I'd definely create some deterrents, but I would avoid killing one. I'd feel terrible!

 

[CanteringCarrot]

@Clodagh it entertained me a bit when you spoke about your Labs and them not having much drive and whatnot. I have two bitches currently, one a Labrador and one a Cane Corso. The Lab is the killer!

She killed and began to eat, of course, a rabbit that came into the garden. She chased another one, it got caught in the fence, we were able to free it, but it died of stress, I think. I think she killed another before, but the details from OH were sketchy. Haven't seen any other rabbits dare enter since!

Then, just yesterday, I see her settle down to chew something in the garden and I thought, hmm, no chew toys or items other than balls out here at the moment, what could she have... So I approached her and she was attempting to gnaw on a turtle shell...with the turtle still in it! FFS! I removed said turtle and placed it on the other side of the fence. Nothing gets in here without the Lab possibly killing it I didn't quite expect it from her.

The CC chases the odd butterfly or moth, but that's about it. The Lab is more triggered by squirrels than the CC too. Go figure!

Both of them respect the cat in this house. No questions there.

Maybe I'm the irresponsible owner here, but the Lab is quick! And apparently I cannot take my attention off of her while in the garden. What is it like to have a dog that isn't so damn beaky?!

 

[MurphysMinder]

I might be being rather hard on these people, but there's a FB post on a local town page for someone wanting home boarding for their pom/JRT. Nothing unusual so far, but the dog must be the only dog in the household, it's for a minimum of 2 weeks to be extended to 3 weeks if the dog is settled, and it is to commence in 2 days time.

Quite a few posts pointing out that any reputable licensed boarders are likely to be booked up, and to be very careful.

I saw that this morning. Like you my first thought was that any decent home boarder would have been booked up weeks ago. I have a friend who goes to people's houses to animal sit (does horses too which is useful), but she has no availability this summer. I was tempted to comment but in the end didn't bother.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Apparently they have just sold their house, so a house sitter is not an option.

 

[rabatsa]

I had two high prey drive dogs, a greyhound and a GSD, which have free range of the front and back yards, when a feral cat decided to have kittens in my barn.

One kitten survived and by default became my feral cat. He is fed and neutered. He has a lot of friends who visit and have stopovers. Next door have some high prey drive ridgebacks who live in kennels facing a grass area. The cats hold parties on this grass area and can have the ridgebacks going frantic for several hours at a time, usually late evening into the early morning hours. The cats will aproach the kennel bars if the dogs stop being manic, to wind them up again.

My feral will sit and stare at my dog when I am about the barn but each keeps to their side of the gate.

I am happy for the dog to chase stray cats who enter her yard as they all seem to know exactly where the boundaries are and they always check for her anyway.

Away from home and on a lead, she is always on a lead away from home, and the dog knows not to chase anything.

 

[Clodagh]

@rabatsa is that really fair on the ridge backs? Or their owners. I’d be spitting!

 

[splashgirl45]

I had two high prey drive dogs, a greyhound and a GSD, which have free range of the front and back yards, when a feral cat decided to have kittens in my barn.

One kitten survived and by default became my feral cat. He is fed and neutered. He has a lot of friends who visit and have stopovers. Next door have some high prey drive ridgebacks who live in kennels facing a grass area. The cats hold parties on this grass area and can have the ridgebacks going frantic for several hours at a time, usually late evening into the early morning hours. The cats will aproach the kennel bars if the dogs stop being manic, to wind them up again.

My feral will sit and stare at my dog when I am about the barn but each keeps to their side of the gate.

I am happy for the dog to chase stray cats who enter her yard as they all seem to know exactly where the boundaries are and they always check for her anyway.

If I was the owner of the ridge backs I would be very annoyed and would be hosing the cats down regularly. Perhaps the owner needs to let the dogs out to free roam in his garden.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Aren’t these the ridgebacks that have jumped your fence and attacked your dog? Is it because the cats are taking the mick?

 

[rabatsa]

@rabatsa is that really fair on the ridge backs? Or their owners. I’d be spitting!

The ridgeback owners either never see the cats or ignore them. One of the cats involved is their own cat. The dogs killed some kittens that they had in the house. I suspect as long as it does not cost them money or inconvenience them they do not care.

Their kennels face our property and away from their yards. Since we put up stock board along our fence there is a lot less swearing at our dog during the day, they still bark every time I enter/leave the house.

 

[paddy555]

whilst cats do kill birds they are also vitally important in killing vermin ie rats especially and mice.
If you have stables (town or country) I'm not sure how you manage without free roaming moggies. Similarly if you have chickens or anything else where there is food around. Other than a firearm which most don't have access to there seem to be little that can kill vermin.

 

[Arzada]

whilst cats do kill birds they are also vitally important in killing vermin ie rats especially and mice.
If you have stables (town or country) I'm not sure how you manage without free roaming moggies. Similarly if you have chickens or anything else where there is food around. Other than a firearm which most don't have access to there seem to be little that can kill vermin.

We're really missing the yard cat, not just because she was a lovely cat to have around. She was born in the farmhouse to a pet cat and chose to be an outdoor girl. Since she died about 16 months ago I realise how much work she did to keep the place vermin free. Unfortunately there isn't a successor.

 

[skinnydipper]

My cats killed very few birds. Current cat is a farm cat, she does sometimes bring mice home, eats them and then leaves innards for me to dispose of.

For a few years now we have had bluetits returning to one of our nest boxes, wrens have built a nest in one of our climbing shrubs and this year next door's conifer, easily accessible from our fence, is home to a blackbird family. My cat has shown no interest in any of them.