Why I hate cats

More than anything, education is key.

People often get kittens because they're so cute. They're not advised that this kitten will spray, growl, act aggressive, etc., if it's not spayed or neutered. They throw them out thinking the animal has developed a problem.

My sister just went through this with her puppy. She called me upset saying she's going to have to get rid of it. It was mouthing, nipping, growling, marking. I told her to hold out until after it's neutered. It's been about a month and the dog is just now calming down a bit.

So far as killing roaming animals, I cannot partake. The thought actually is bothersome to me. These creatures are victims of ignorant humans and while I despise invasive species, hacking down a buckthorn isn't bothersome to me as it doesn't have a central nervous system and it does not register pain as does an animal.

 

As far as the costs of trap, neuter, return feral cats - there are plenty of volunteers from rescue groups. Much of the time, all they ask is the support of local governments to do so. Another resource is www.alleycat.org for info

Thank you for taking a peek at www.feralcat.com

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Jan 12 2007, 11:33 AM) [snapback]374804[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the info. I will use the knowledge for sure when confronted with a problem locally.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ Jan 12 2007, 02:07 PM) [snapback]374788[/snapback]</div>

You're right, but I was just playing along with that train of thought.

FYI, I own a little bungalow and have, for the last eight years, worked to remove all of the exotic species of plants. At this point, I've replaced just about everything with CA native plants.

I think it's safe to say that I'm *keenly* aware of some of the issues in this debate.

My point was that, actually, the person who would like to kill pidgeons "because they're invasive" is using a rather transparent argument to justify his need to shoot at birds. He probably perpetuates so many exotics in his daily life, that he's probably only singling out pidgeons 'cause they make fun moving targets.

 

Hey, I LOVE cats!
They taste like chicken!
Seriously though, why does every neighborhood have to have a "cat lady", who feeds dozens of feral cats, with no consideration to neutering? There really *should* be a law.
My neighbor's cat is ALWAYS over in my yard, stalking unsuspecting birds or squirrels. Don't these people give any thought to the position they're putting their neighbors in? Their ignorance puts their cat, and me, in conflict with each other. I don't WANT to kill their cat, but one of these days one of those rocks is going to hit its target.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Jan 12 2007, 11:55 AM) [snapback]374815[/snapback]</div>

I totally understand and I hope you will allow me to be part of your fan club still.

BTW, I just signed up for a Seed/Cutting Propagation Workshop for the Redbud chapter of the Ca. Native Plant Society in Nevada City on the 24th..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(keydiver @ Jan 12 2007, 02:19 PM) [snapback]374822[/snapback]</div>

If she got with a group that trapped and neutered them, she would go from part of the problem to the solution.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ Jan 12 2007, 03:20 PM) [snapback]374823[/snapback]</div>

Always!!!
(big smile)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ Jan 12 2007, 03:20 PM) [snapback]374823[/snapback]</div>

Bestill my heart! Are you accepting applications to *your* fan club?? I can include letters of recommendation if necessary...
(laughing)

I have to be the first to say that I'm no expert by any stretch (and my thumb is only the palest shade of green)...but it's, I think, so nice to travel to different parts of the country and not always see the same plants everywhere I go.

Also, for California, natives make so much sense, 'cause if I choose to water them during the Summer, I can extend their growing period...but if there's a drought/I don't want to waste water/water gets too expensive, I can let them go dormant without killing them. Try that with a lawn monoculture.

I've actually had luck with pink flowering currants and propagation; basically, I wait 'till it's wintertime, clip a branch of an existing plant, cut it back most of the way to force root growth, and stick it in the ground...

...Nine times out of ten, I've got a thriving new plant by the end of the Summer!

Native plants are really interesting to me; there is much subtlety about them.

Uh oh...off topic...

 

I wish people in the Dallas/Fort Worth area used native grasses that used less water. Lost of people in East Texas are NOT HAPPY that some of the piney woods there will be flooded by new lakes so people can have short-cropped, golf-course like lawns that tend to cause foundation problems.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Jan 12 2007, 12:46 PM) [snapback]374837[/snapback]</div>

*BLUSH* You are awesome!

I can't wait to learn more about native plant propagation. I recently moved to my mom's in Fairfield to help me with costs while I attend UC Davis and help her after her recent motorsycle accident (I know 31 is a bit old to be at home but if it helps with my degree then I'm ok with it.). She has mostly bark, and a faux creek with some birch for frontyard landscaping but the bakyard is all set for landscaping with no real plantings so "Natural Landscaping" here I come! Now if she will let me tear out the 15'x40' section of lawn I'll be in heaven.


Ok so back on topic. What have we learned from this thread? That there are more effective and humane ways to taking care of a cat problem? What else?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ Jan 12 2007, 04:03 PM) [snapback]374842[/snapback]</div>

I think, for me, it has to do with the idea that we're all a lot more interconnected than perhaps we'd like to admit.

Also, in my opinion I think that it's really important to make sure that we as individuals are not "taking up too much space." You may know what I mean, there always seems to be one or two people on the block or on the train or bus who do things that, if we ALL did them, would become a significant irritant.

It's all about, as I've mentioned previously, EMPATHY.

Attempting to see the issue from the other person's (often opposing) viewpoint, as well as our own. If we fail to do this we're not only shortchanging ourselves...but belittling the other person through our unwillingness to consider their viewpoint.

That's what I think.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus @ Jan 11 2007, 10:15 AM) [snapback]374181[/snapback]</div>

Borrow my Shiba Inu or get one of your own! She's the best of both worlds - she hunts like a cat, but she's a dog. She keeps my yard clear of possums, alligator lizards, rats, moles, and the occassional squirrel. Obviously, the cats stay away from her, though she doesn't care about them.

 

I would never go out of my way to harm a wandering cat but I don't want them in my yard and will try to chase them out. When I let our dogs out I try to look around for cats and rabbits (the only animals that have wandered into our yard) and make enough noise to warn them. What I won't do, however, is step into the middle of a fight between my dogs and a stray cat though I will yell to try to stop it.

My husband, however, did step in to stop our dogs from playing tug-of-war with a cat that three of them had caught in the yard. Lucky for the cat, he was able to save its life.

 

I hate Purple Loosestrife as much as I hate pigeons. I also hate Caulerpa Taxifolia. I rip these out with my bare hands if I stumble across them. No, I don't have lamb's ear in my garden, either.

I don't hate all invasive species. I have come to love the European Honeybee and the Earthworm, neither of which are native to North America (but hey, neither am I).

Just because a creature or plant is warm, fuzzy, or gentle and small does not mean we should give it higher priority in the ecosystem. I would never kill a snake, even a poisonous one, that is native to the area, for example.

Nate

 

Dogs are from Klingon, Cats are from Romulus!

I agree that dogs are like Klingons. Though there are rogue dogs, but generally speaking most dogs are honorable. Cats are like Romulans, not Vulcans. Romulans have no honor. Though Romulans are a subspecies of Vulcans, Vulcans ultimately took the high road and supressed their dangerous emotions and impulses. Romulans, like cats, have taken the low road and act on their dangerous and painful (to others) impulses.

Ok, I have to admit it, I really hate cats. Sadly, they seem to love me. I hate them, not for any of the main reasons listed, mostly I don't like their unpredictability. I REALLY HATE that they will make nice while on your lap, purring away and then out of no where scratch the bloody hell out of your hand or arm with their needle like claws, or worse, bite you with their stilleto like teeth.

I have met a few dog-like cats that I liked, but I still didn't trust them in any way. I wouldn't have one.

In my world, affection from a pet shouldn't intentionally hurt. My dogs would never in a million years scratch the hell out of me or bite me out of the blue while I was petting them. They've accidentally knocked me over and nipped me, but only accidentally.

 

For 7 years we lived in a neighborhood of too-close-together, unfenced residences. OK, it was, uh, a (clears throat) mobile home park.

Park rules specified keeping all pets indoors. But many residents didn't obey with their cats.

Raise your hand if you've ever had a cat perch or sleep on the roof of your car (we had carports, not garages), then exit by walking or sliding down your windshield after its feet have been bathed in the morning dew. (Rain-X should also make Cat-X.)

After many days of this happening after we moved in, I berated park management for refusing to enforce their rule even-handedly. Their response? Supplied me with a cat trap (cage-like) and said I should take any trapped cats to the pound, especially since (they evasively theorized, knowing as I did that it wasn't true) they were "almost sure those aren't park-based cats, but just strays."

I took the first trapped cat to the pound. It belonged to the folks across the street (which I didn't yet know). Naturally, they were upset upon retrieving it. We received threats from other cat-owning park residents nearby, and my wife, a recent Asian refugee, was taunted by neighborhood kids as being a "cat-eater". We returned the trap and returned to cleaning the windshield almost every morning.

Fast-forward (and OT): after 8 years in litigation, culminating in adjudication by the CA Supreme Court, the 155 of us residents who sued the management of this park (after forming a chapter of the Golden State Mobile Homeowners' League) won our case against the park owner (a wealthy developer). We won on several counts, including illegal rent increases, illegal utility charges, having a mandatory lease with several illegal provisions, and selective enforcement of park rules. Total payout will be a million bucks; after attorneys' fees, we'll see about $6,000.

 

A man after my own heart! Way to go, Jack!

Nate

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJandGENESIS @ Jan 11 2007, 03:09 AM) [snapback]374022[/snapback]</div>

It is your s**t. YOU deal with it. Unless you are fine with all the neighbors crapping on your porch ?

I know you do not have a biology background TJ, so I'll just tell you: there is not enough difference to matter between my poop, and your dogs.

 

As long as you PICK UP after your dog, then okay.

Nate