Loose dogs and owner responsibilty

LMTC · Apr 13, 2006

( can't see a cat doing much harm to the point that a human would want to kill it )
We have several landscapings, and my wife loves to tend the flowers and shrubs therein. She is forever having to remove clumps thanks to local cats who think our plantings make dandy litterboxes. I spoke to two people whose places I have seen cats going to or coming from and the responses were essentially "well, ya can't keep a cat tied up." The DOG warden won't respond because he doesn't do cats. The GAME warden won't respond because cats aren't under his jurisdiction. So my option is to continue to let them defecate in our flowers? I don't think so.....

Had the same problem when the kids were young and we built them a play area, 30 x 30 boxed off and filled with sand. WE did not have any cats. But it seemed that every cat within a mile was visiting. Same lame response from people even when I'd TAKE the cat back...."well, ya can't keep a cat tied up" and " ya shoulda known the cats would c*** in your sandbox." Why? Why should I have assumed other people would not control their animals? Just because someone puts a bowl of water, a bed, and a litterbox in an open garage doesn't mean the cat is not going somewhere else to make a mess. If it's not under the owner's constant supervision and control it's no different in principle than the dog that runs.

PBinWA · Apr 13, 2006

( ( can't see a cat doing much harm to the point that a human would want to kill it )
We have several landscapings, and my wife loves to tend the flowers and shrubs therein. She is forever having to remove clumps thanks to local cats who think our plantings make dandy litterboxes. I spoke to two people whose places I have seen cats going to or coming from and the responses were essentially "well, ya can't keep a cat tied up." The DOG warden won't respond because he doesn't do cats. The GAME warden won't respond because cats aren't under his jurisdiction. So my option is to continue to let them defecate in our flowers? I don't think so.....

Had the same problem when the kids were young and we built them a play area, 30 x 30 boxed off and filled with sand. WE did not have any cats. But it seemed that every cat within a mile was visiting. Same lame response from people even when I'd TAKE the cat back...."well, ya can't keep a cat tied up" and " ya shoulda known the cats would c*** in your sandbox." Why? Why should I have assumed other people would not control their animals? Just because someone puts a bowl of water, a bed, and a litterbox in an open garage doesn't mean the cat is not going somewhere else to make a mess. If it's not under the owner's constant supervision and control it's no different in principle than the dog that runs.
)

If you see my post earlier in this thread you will see that I have an answer to your cat problem. Lots of cats around my neighborhood. None in my yard. Open sandbox - no problem. Of course, my solution eats lots of food, makes big poo piles, and pees on everything in the yard. But he's also a great friend.

KentT · Apr 13, 2006

( I spoke to two people whose places I have seen cats going to or coming from and the responses were essentially "well, ya can't keep a cat tied up." The DOG warden won't respond because he doesn't do cats. The GAME warden won't respond because cats aren't under his jurisdiction. So my option is to continue to let them defecate in our flowers? I don't think so.....
)

I agree with this point about cats not being looked at the same as dogs. I have MUCH more problems with cats than dogs in my neighborhood. People think nothing of letting their cats run free -- and they climb all over my cars, crap in my garden and flowerbeds, get in my garbage cans, pee/crap in my barn if I leave the doors open, and generally just make a nuisance of themselves...

That's not counting all the birds and small animals they kill. We have several bird feeders and used to have a family of chipmunks that cleaned up off the ground what birds had dropped. Since a neighbor moved in down the street with 3 cats that they let roam all over, all the chipmunks have been killed and the bird population is noticeably down....

IMO, leash laws SHOULD apply equally to cats also -- and we own a cat, but no dogs...

Sigarms · Apr 13, 2006

If you keep having issues with cats, then eliminate the source of the issue.

If a neighbor told me our cat was causing problems and I couldn't keep the cat inside, I would find another home for the cat.

Biggest issue I see with cats is that if you don't have them "fixed" (sp?), the can mulitply like rabbits, then you end up having more "issues".

Bird · Apr 13, 2006

I have a brother-in-law who had a problem with what are basically feral cats. A lady across the street was feeding them and there was probably at least 2 dozen of them. The lady worked in a restaurant and was bringing home all the meat scraps and bones at night. She even threw some of the food in the neighbors' yards as well as her own. So my brother-in-law first "borrowed" a live trap from the animal control department, later bought his own live trap, and when he'd get one in the trap, then he'd call animal control and they'd come get it. I'm not sure how many he caught, but he sure did thin out the cat population in that neighborhood.

Sigarms · Apr 13, 2006

Thats the issue that you can have with feral cats though. If you don't get them all, low and behold, you can have another "colony" in a couple of months.

Feeding them although may make a person "feel"better, in the end, it does nothing but help grow the colony.

Please don't take my resoponses as cruel, right now we took in a stray with 4 kittens in the garage that we're taking care of. Nice thing with kittens is that on weekends at petsmart, working with a local humane socitey, you can find homes for every one of them (usually the younger the cat, the quicker it goes). Policy is though if you take the cat, you MUST have it spayed or nutered (sp?!).

Freds · Apr 13, 2006

I am with you on the cat situation. They rank right in there with woodchucks as far as I'm concerned, but only if they are repeat offenders.... in other words, hanging out at my place and not just a cat that got loose once. I will chase anything off once.

My pole barn still reaks from the big unnuetered cat that was using it like his litterbox. I tried to trap him, but he was too smart for that and since I never saw him hanging out at any of my neighbors houses there was no one to talk to about keeping him confined.

Can't tie a cat out? I knew a girl that would tie her cat out on a long tether whenever we would have cookouts, the cat loved it.

I had a cat attack a dog I was walking in my field before, too. That would have been nice sending a customer's dog home missing an eye, but the dog pulled up just as the cat sprang out of the tall grass and took a couple swipes at it. The neighbor "got" that one.

Mr. Wurm, I think this is why you were told you should have your barn cats vaccinated for rabies. Most wild animals will move on before a dog comes in contact with it, or a kid for that matter, but a cat that might be friendly or used to dogs/people is more likely to transfer rabies if it hasn't been vaccinated because it is more likely to be handled or come in contact.

Mrwurm · Apr 13, 2006

I'm not quite sure how absolute the rabies vaccine is for dogs and cats. Perhaps it prevents transmission completely or maybe it just lessens the response and makes the condition survivable. If it prevents transmission, then all you have to do is protect your pets and you're all set. If it only reduces the danger, then, well you've got to vaccinate every creature in the county.
My neighbor is a text book example of a 'cat lady.' It's not uncommon to see two dozen cats at her place. She has a little call that she yells out that brings them in at feeding time. I really don't believe that she gets these cats vaccinated. (it cost me $200 to get four cats vaccinated) I often see a few of her 'squatters' hanging around my place. They don't last long, though. There's always one or two squished on the road.

greatrandini · Apr 13, 2006

U know some places would consider shooting your dog cruelty to animals. In some places that is a felony! Do what u want it is your dog.

KentT · Apr 13, 2006

( U know some places would consider shooting your dog cruelty to animals. In some places that is a felony! Do what u want it is your dog. )

Felony? Maybe so, but I find that hard to believe, unless there were some other factors involved related to the weapon, somehow.

Could you please tell me where it's a felony to put down your own animal, so I can try to avoid those places?

BTW, the whole analogy was to show individual responsibility -- not to pass on that responsibility for either (a) enforcing behavior of the pet or owner, or (b) doing the "dirty work" of putting down the animal if it can't be controlled... You must have not understood the "Old Yeller" context.

Thousands of pets are put down each day in the US, most of them simply because they're not wanted, not counting all the meat animals killed to feed us...