Problems with neighboring cat owner.

[mskoala]

I have huge issues with people who let theirdogs run around, esp when they know they don't get along with otherdogs or people.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Lissa wrote:

It's very disrespectful in my opinion.

Not knowing who owns the cat..... and the cat went missing.
Wouldsome strangercome knocking on your door looking for their lost cat,
and you pull out a picture of it saying, "Do youneed any pictures to use for the Missing Poster?":whistling

Rainbows! :bunny24

 

[Lissa]

That is a very cute cat. I would keep him. lol

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Lissa wrote:

That is a very cute cat. I would keep him. lol

I probably have more pictures of this cat than the owners do.

Rainbows! :bunnydance:

 

[Lissa]

Pet_Bunny wrote:

Lissa wrote:

That is a verycute cat. I would keep him. lol

I probably have more pictures of this cat than the owners do.

Haha. Too funny!

 

[pamnock]

I used electric fencing for many years and havefenced in acres with it. The smaller "garden pest" kits areeasy to use and can be string along the top of the 6' fence.

http://www.petsafe-warehouse.com/above_ground_electric_fences/garden_protection_ac.htm

I've also used the electric polytape, although it does have to be replace more frequently than heavy guage electric wire.

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/g00004.asp



http://electric-deer-fence.com/electricdeerfences/electricfenceconductors/polywire.htm

Much safer than trying to handle barbed wire

Pam

 

[Lissa]

I really don't know if our city would even allowus to put up an electric fence. I'll check in onit. I'll first see if the hose thingy worse though.Thanks Pam!!

 

[Flopsy]

One of my friends has an electricfence. They put it up cause one of their dogs could clear thefence. Its works wonders. Like Pam side it can bejust a thread. I couldn't even see it until I tried to jumpthe fence. Caught it just in time . Keep usposted on that hose thing though. I tried it for whensqurriels kept coming into my rabbits hutch... once I drenchedone. It sure felt good, never saw that one again,lol.

-Ashley

 

[AshtonCasey]

Maybe you two could work out a schedule. So, youknow when her cats are out and she won't let them out when you let thebunnies out. It's worth a try to alternate outings.

 

[parsnipandtoffee]

AshtonCasey wrote:

Maybe you two could work out a schedule. So, you know whenher cats are out and she won't let them out when you let the bunniesout. It's worth a try to alternate outings.

I agree. It would be both cruel and impossible to keep a cat indoorsall the time, like keeping a rabbit in it's cage. I don't see why, ifyou get on with her you can't ask her to keep the cats in for 30 minswhile your rabbits go outside. Parking a car in someone's space istotally different bacause the person is making the decision to put itthere.

 

[pamnock]

parsnipandtoffee wrote:

I agree. It would be both cruel and impossible to keep a cat indoors all the time, like keeping a rabbit in it's cage.

We keep our cat, Vera in all the time. We live right in townand I don't want her getting hit by a car (our other cat"Sam"was hit and killed by a car)or attacked by a dog.Cat diseases are also a serious threat due to the high number of feralcats in our area.

I certainly do not consider it cruel or impossible to keep a cat in all the time.



Pam

 

[m.e.]

You have tounderstand that the UK views free-roaming cats in an entirely differentway than the US. In the UK it's almost expected that you will allowyour cats to go outdoors. Here in the US, that's simply not the norm,and I challenge your assertation that it is "cruel".

Cats are not wild animals. They are domestic animals, and whenintroduced to an environment that they are not a part of (i.e. allowedto roam outdoors), they become pests. They kill songbirds for whichthey are not natural predators. Feral cat colonies can upheave entireecoystems.

Free-roaming cats, for that reason, can be just as much of a nuisanceas free-roaming dogs. They poop on other people's property, they pickfights with other animals, they run into the roadway. In this case,they might attack someone else's pets.

Like free-roaming dogs, they're at greater risk for catastrophic injuryor death, whether it be by cars, dogs, wild animals, or other cats.People will poison, trap, and shoot domestic, free-roaming cats. Herein the US, outdoor cats have less than half the lifespan of indoorcats. Outdoor cats are far more susceptible to disease and parasites.Toxoplasmosis, for instance, is almost entirely linked to outdoor cats(though it can affect indoor cats that have caught wild animals, suchas mice).

As a cat owner that lives in an area with heavy traffic, free-roamingdogs and cats (*grrrrr*), wild animals such as coyotes, foxes, andfishers, and neighbors that may be intentionally cruel towards my pets,I keep my cats inside. I simply cannot allow them to fend forthemselves in an environment that is potentially dangerous or deadly.To me, that outweighs whatever pleasure they may get from running inthe grass or exploring the woods (which they can certainly do on aharness). I would never forgive myself if something terrible, yetperfectly preventable, were to happen to them.

They are quite happy inside, and we are going to be building an outdoorenclosure where they can experience the outside world while remainingsafe.

I understand that this mindset may be foreign to a UK cat owner, andI'm not trying to convert you to another way of thinking. But these areconsiderations that all cat owners need to weigh and decide what theyfeel is best for themselves and their cats.

 

[parsnipandtoffee]

I don't think it's cruel if the cat is used toit or it's for their health or safetybut cats aren'tnaturally indoor animals so if one is used to being outside and one dayyou just decide that it has to stop in forever, surely that's not fair.

Cats are naturally born predators, that's what they do! We don't thinkit's cruel if a lion catches an antelope, it's all just a big foodchain.

 

[m.e.]

More to the point:

Lissa, I think you or Jason should definitely try talking to yourneighbor. There's no reason why someone doing something illegalwith their pets should keep you from doing something perfectly legalwith yours. You shouldn't have to fear for your rabbits' lives becauseshe allows her cats to roam.

That's certainly not very neighborly, and hopefully, she'll understand that

 

[m.e.]

parsnipandtoffee wrote:

I don't think it's cruel if the cat is used to it or it'sfor their health or safetybut cats aren't naturally indooranimals so if one is used to being outside and one day you just decidethat it has to stop in forever, surely that's not fair.

Cats are naturally born predators, that's what they do! We don't thinkit's cruel if a lion catches an antelope, it's all just a big foodchain.

But cats are not lions, and they arenot wild animals. Yes, they have instincts to hunt and to runaround outside. Rabbits have instincts to dig burrows and eat plants,that doesn't mean we allow them out to fend for themselves. It's toodangerous.

For the average Americancat, the outside is a very dangerous place. And it certainly isn'tnatural. Automobiles are not natural predators, and look how many catsthey kill every year... Roaming dogs are not natural. Neighbors whowill poison or shoot your pet are not "natural". And cats themselvesare not a part of the ecosystem and can do some serious damage to localwildlife populations.

We have domesticated cats, and we need to take responsibility for that.We can't just plunk them into the great outdoors and say, "Run along.Don't get into too much trouble." You wouldn't do that with a dog, or arabbit.

Like I said, I don't intend to change your mind. I don't know what it'slike where you live so maybe things are different. There are alwaysexceptions It certainly seems to be a more accepted practice in theUK to let your cat outside.

 

[Bassetluv]

I live in a city where the bylaw ordinancestates that cats are to be kept either indoors at all times, or on aleash. However, this ordinance has been ignored by a majority of catowners ever since it was put into place. Personally, I am one of thosepeople who has a cat who goes outdoors. (Actually I have two cats, onewho goes outdoors and one who is strictly an indoor cat.) Fritz, thecat who goes outside, was previously owned by someone who let him gooutdoors more than he was allowed inside. After I adopted him(ironically, because he was hit by a car and the owners abandoned him),I attempted to turn him into an indoor cat. No such luck. If he didn'tget his way and go outdoors, he cried constantly, clawed at the door,urinated in corners and/or on the door, furniture, etc. until I finallyrelented and let him out (after attempts to harness him outdoors, whichalso failed). He now has been with me for almost nine years, and (sofar) haven't had any complaints from neighbours. Actually, over half ofthe people on my street own cats, and they all go outdoors as well.

I did have a problem with one neighbour's cat for a brief time...hediscovered that I have rabbits, and he began stalking them. FortunatelyI also own a dog, and if I have to go in the house while the rabbitsare loose in the backyard, the dog stays outside with them. She chasesaway any cats, squirrels, raccoons, etc., and alerts me when there issomething wrong.When this neighbour's cat showed upa few weeks ago, Kaya began barking like mad a couple of minutes afterI'd gone into the kitchen, so I ran to the door to see what was wrong.Her fur was raised and she was going nutz, running back and forth fromthe door to the side fence (that's her way of saying to me, "MOM!!!COME QUICK!!! LOOKIT THIS!!!"). So I followed her to the fence andthere, sitting on the other side, was the biggest, meanest, orneriestcat I'd ever seen. Kaya ran up to the fence and began barking wildly atthis Catzilla, but hesimply hissed and (literally) attackedthe fence, claws out and fangs bared. So I shooed Kaya away andapproached, and the cat then went after me...lol...I had to run! He'dspotted the rabbits apparently, and was planning an attack when Kayathwarted him. Kaya isn't a small dog (she weighs upwards of 50 lbs) andshe scares off just about everything, but she knew enough to keep herdistance from this brawler. However, her presence did keep him fromdoing any harm.

Anyway, for the most part I have the best defense system against a cator any other animal (including humans) who might wander into the yardwhen the bunnies are out, but if I didn't have Kaya I would recommendtargeting roving pests with a blast of the garden hose...set on fullwith a good strong spray nozzle. It won't hurt the animal, butcertainly will deter them. Without my dog though, I wouldn't leave therabbits unsupervised for any length of time, as newpredatorscan show up and do damage very quickly.

 

[parsnipandtoffee]

I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone,andas said if it's for your pets healththen itshould be kept in. I certainly wouldn't want someone to poison or harmany animal because it came into their garden.

Maybe it is just a UK/US thing. I just know that my cat (Rags who livedto a ripe old age of 17) practically lived outdoors, except when hewanted a hug, and if you shut the door he used to climb out of thewindow!! Wild horses wouldn't have kept him in. He even used to followme to school and sit outside the gates for me till hometime.

 

[Lissa]

UPDATE: Yesterday while carrying the crib in from the car to the house her stupid cat ran into our house STRAIGHT FOR THE RABBITS. :X:X Luckily they were in cages. We had to call her over to our house to remove her cat. This is so out of control. This is why people need to keep their cats indoors. :X

 

[bunnydude]

Oh, I would have been soooo angry. More with the owner than with the cat, because the cat wasjust followingits instincts.