gmr044@leah.Albany.Edu (Gregg Recer) (11/28/89)
O.K., I know I should leave this alone but I couldn't help myself.
There's been a string of good cat/bad cat messages coming through
lately. I really thought the post that originally suggested "trap
'em, shoot 'em, etc." was just being a little sarcastic; maybe so,
maybe not. I certainly don't think shooting your neighbor's cat is a
sound approach. However the idea that cats have some sort of legal
_right_ to roam through anybody's property seems pretty unlikely to
me. Granted there may be no cat leash laws (although I've heard of
movements to create such where I live). I think the issue has just been
ignored as opposed to there being a law guaranteeing free access for
any cat to anyone's property.
Personally, I think letting your domestic animals run loose in other
people's yards is irresponsible and rude, even if it isn't illegal.
There's nothing natural about semi-feral animals being let out of
someone's back door to go kill off the local wild bird or rodent
population. This is no less irresponsible than dumping a tankfull of
guppies into the local trout stream, IMHO.
This argument that cats do some kind of service by killing rodents is
pretty flimsy. Are there a lot of tabbies out there killing hordes of
lice-infected sewer rats and thereby saving us all from the plague?
(As an aside: the way to solve such a problem would be to provide lots
of barn owl nest boxes; these guys really love rats!!) The only
rodent-killing action I've seen is several chipmunks which were killed
right under our bird feeders by a neighbor's cat. I'd actually be
quite intrigued if an occasional chipmunk or squirrel was taken by a
red-tailed hawk in our backyard (not terribly likely) but knowing that
the cat that is killing these chipmunks will go home later and have
all the cat chow and milk it wants is rather annoying.
I know some people enjoy the independent nature of cats; personally I
like the more dependent (maybe it's dumb 8^] ) nature of dogs.
Regardless of how independent they are, to me, letting cats, or any
domestic pet, roam the neighborhood shows a lack of respect both for
the neighbors and for the local environment.
Gregg
*******************************************************************************
"In future you should delete the words crunchy frog and
replace them with the legend crunchy raw unboned real
dead frog!!"
-- Inspector Bradshaw, The Hygiene Division
*******************************************************************************denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM (Denise Caire) (11/28/89)
In article <2196@leah.Albany.Edu> gmr044@leah.Albany.Edu (Gregg Recer) writes: > >O.K., I know I should leave this alone but I couldn't help myself. Me too. > >Personally, I think letting your domestic animals run loose in other >people's yards is irresponsible and rude, even if it isn't illegal. >There's nothing natural about semi-feral animals being let out of Semi-feral? My cat is domestic, all the way. Give me a good suggestion about how I can let him out and keep him in my yard. The nature of a cat is different than a dog, as you mention later. To keep him in the garage or house all day when no one is home is cruel. A dog might like it fine, but not a cat. This is obviously a sensitive area with you, what with all the exaggerated examples you present. >This argument that cats do some kind of service by killing rodents is >pretty flimsy. Are there a lot of tabbies out there killing hordes of >lice-infected sewer rats and thereby saving us all from the plague? I think you should educate yourself a little more about cats prior to spouting off about them. They were revered by the egyptians and are beautiful in their movements and always seem to be smiling. Read up on them and maybe you'll realize there is a place for ever Read about them; there is a place for everything - even cats belong. >(As an aside: the way to solve such a problem would be to provide lots >of barn owl nest boxes; these guys really love rats!!) The only Yes, this really sounds like a reasonable suggestion. >I know some people enjoy the independent nature of cats; personally I >like the more dependent (maybe it's dumb 8^] ) nature of dogs. >Regardless of how independent they are, to me, letting cats, or any >domestic pet, roam the neighborhood shows a lack of respect both for >the neighbors and for the local environment. Again, how can I keep my cat outside but in my yard? It is easy to complain but not real constructive. Give me reasonable suggestions. Denise Caire denise@dadla.WR.TEK>COM
plb@cbnewsi.ATT.COM (peter.l.berghold) (11/29/89)
From article <2196@leah.Albany.Edu>, by gmr044@leah.Albany.Edu (Gregg Recer): > quite intrigued if an occasional chipmunk or squirrel was taken by a > red-tailed hawk in our backyard (not terribly likely) but knowing that > the cat that is killing these chipmunks will go home later and have > all the cat chow and milk it wants is rather annoying. > Actually, red-tailed hawks, owls, and other birds of prey have quite a field day with such critters. You might not see it in you own back yard as they (hawks) tend to keep away from humans... Pete
saulnier@acadia.crd.ge.com (Emilie T. Saulnier) (11/29/89)
In article <2196@leah.Albany.Edu> gmr044@leah.Albany.Edu (Gregg Recer) writes: > >Personally, I think letting your domestic animals run loose in other >people's yards is irresponsible and rude, even if it isn't illegal. Is it still *irresponsible and rude* if those other people also have cats that they let out? What if the cats aren't hunters? What about domestic animals that don't kill birds and rodents (lets say geese, since I often see them roaming around here)? What if the neighbors don't care about their personal menagerie of wild birds and rodents or nature in general? If you are talking about the general population of birds and rodents, is letting a cat run loose on your own property any more responsible (after all there will be birds and rodents there too)? In fact, is developing a piece of land for an apartment complex any less harmful to the local population of birds and rodents? What about the birds and rodents that are killed by automobiles? Is it irresponsible and rude to drive a car, on the grounds that it might kill a wild animal? (All right, I'm getting carried away here :-)) >There's nothing natural about semi-feral animals being let out of >someone's back door to go kill off the local wild bird or rodent >population. This is no less irresponsible than dumping a tankfull of >guppies into the local trout stream, IMHO. Does this mean guppies kill off trout? >This argument that cats do some kind of service by killing rodents is >pretty flimsy. Are there a lot of tabbies out there killing hordes of >lice-infected sewer rats and thereby saving us all from the plague? What if they're killing off deer-tick-infested mice? >rodent-killing action I've seen is several chipmunks which were killed >right under our bird feeders by a neighbor's cat. I'd actually be Is it less irresponsible to put bait out to attract birds and rodents to a dangerous place? Would the cat get less chipmunks if they weren't so conveniently preoccupied, and always at the same place? Or if they weren't so tame from human contact? >I know some people enjoy the independent nature of cats; personally I >like the more dependent (maybe it's dumb 8^] ) nature of dogs. ^^^^ Don't you mean fish? :-) Emilie
michele@dgbt.uucp (Michele Guillet DGBT/DIP) (11/30/89)
In article <2196@leah.Albany.Edu>, gmr044@leah.Albany.Edu (Gregg Recer) writes: > > sound approach. However the idea that cats have some sort of legal > _right_ to roam through anybody's property seems pretty unlikely to > me. Granted there may be no cat leash laws (although I've heard of > movements to create such where I live). I think the issue has just been > ignored as opposed to there being a law guaranteeing free access for > any cat to anyone's property. > I would like to mention that the city I live in has recently pass a cat by-law making it illegal for cats to roam free, the cats identified are brought back to the owner on the first offense, and after that there is a fine and possibly the cat is sent to the Humane Society. The by-law has created a lot of arguments so far. Although I don't have cats, I like them, and would have one if it weren't for allergies. The cats I had were house cats and I don't think they were unhappy or show any ill effects from being in-door cats. -- INTERNET: michele@dgbt.crc.dnd.ca 3701 Carling Avenue Ottawa, Ontario CANADA OR: michele%dgbt@ncs.dnd.ca PO BOX 11490 sta "H" Ottawa UUCP: ...utzoo!bnr-vpa!bnr-rsc!dgbt!michele (maybe michele@crcmar in uucp maps)
mm@cloud9.Stratus.COM (Mike Mahler) (12/06/89)
In article <919@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM!, denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM (Denise Caire) writes: ! In article <9723@cloud9.Stratus.COM! mm@cloud9.Stratus.COM (Mike Mahler) writes: ! Stop trying to compare cats to dogs or birds. That is part of the ! problem. Show me where I compare a cat to a dog or a bird. What I AM comparing is the similarity of the irresponsibility of the owner in each hypothetical situation. You want I should use exact comparisons? Ok. If I owned a lion (big cat) and it killed someone, I'd be held responsible. ! !! I think there was also something to the effect that the neighbor with the ! !! cat wasn't negligent, and did not have malicious intent, so she would not ! !! have to pay for her cat's deed. ! ! ! ! Maybe it's time to get some laws passed requiring ! ! restraining cats and forcing responsibility of owners. Maybe ! ! then we won't also see so many "FREE KITTENS" signs if people ! ! are required to register their cats. -- ! ! Why would registering cats reduce the reproduction rate of cats? ! Neutering is the answer. (Maybe that wasn't the complaint?) It's a side-effect. When I find a tag on the cat that has YOUR name or registration number on it, I can report it when it's scratching the paint on my car and have YOU pay for the damage. ! Again, all you we-hate-cats people you can do is complain instead ! of making responsive and reasonable suggestions towards a workable ! solution. I never said I hated cats. Obviously you're paranoid enough to label anyone that disagrees with you as a "cat-hater". ! Cats are good! Responsible owners are better. --