neighbors cats

[WDSearcher]

How is what I wrote any different than what you wrote? You said you take you cat outside to play like you would do with a dog, correct? How do you play with your cat? With a ball? A plush toy? Sounds like something you'd do with a dog.

Actually? My cat plays a mean game of fetch! I can take him into the backyard and toss a little foam golf ball, and he will run after it, bat it around a bit, and then carry it back to me to throw again. He does it indoors too, but much prefers to "fetch" outside, since he can hop around in the grass and hide in the shrubs. He's even been known to bury his little foam ball in the mulch, which is also a dog behavior.

I mean ... it's not outside the realm of possibility that cats will play like dogs outside. After all, dogs spend all day sleeping inside, just like cats!

 

[Hercules10]

I will take your word that they do it where you live, but cats roaming the neighborhood are not considered by anyone to be strays when they are known to be a neighbor's. A roaming neighborhood cat is not treated as a stray by animal control. You would have to lie (almost anywhere) and claim that they are a stray to get them to help you trap the cat.

And, if you knowingly trapped a neighbor's cat and they are harmed, be prepared to be sued and to pay for damages.

Any animal not under control is considered a stray and can be handled as local laws and ordinances provide. You would be hard pressed to find a ordinance/law that specifically excludes felines from it's wording. The neighbor's animals may be returned to them once they've been cleared and the owner's may be cited for not controlling their animals. In some rural areas it is permitted to eliminate them as long as it is humanely done.

 

[Scurvy]

There are laws in my area prohibiting "free range" cats, but many of my neighbors disregard that. I find it really annoying, and frankly I think they are irresponsible as well as inconsiderate. I'm tired of finding someone else's cats in my backyard or lying in my driveway. I admit to often being tempted to rescue the cats I find wandering the neighborhood by trapping them and taking them to a shelter (because after all, they must be strays; no one would disregard the leash law, would they?), but I haven't been able to bring myself to do that. If I find one more cat killing songbirds in my yard, though, I might reconsider. Somehow I think the owners who justify their cats killing birds in my yard by saying it's "natural" and part of the "circle of life" might feel differently if it was my dog killing their cat. One of them actually yelled at me because they saw me let my dog into my own fenced backyard without first checking to see if a cat was out there and the dog chased the cat out of the yard. Apparently I should have warned the cat that my dog wanted to go out. Fortunately for the cat my dog just wanted to give it a bath, but the cat's "owner" (if you can call them that, given how responsible they are) doesn't know that. Maybe they'll be more careful to keep the thing out of my yard from now on.

To the poster who was surprised to hear that people think cats should be kept inside - I didn't notice your location, but I'm guessing you aren't in the US. I know from other forums that the norm in the UK and some other areas is that cats are outside pets. In the US, it's much more accepted for cats to be kept inside. In fact, every vet I have ever known recommends that cats be kept as indoor pets - primarily because it significantly increases their lifespan. It isn't at all uncommon for cities in the US to have "leash laws" for cats just as they do for dogs.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Any animal not under control is considered a stray and can be handled as local laws and ordinances provide. You would be hard pressed to find a ordinance/law that specifically excludes felines from it's wording. The neighbor's animals may be returned to them once they've been cleared and the owner's may be cited for not controlling their animals. In some rural areas it is permitted to eliminate them as long as it is humanely done.

Perhaps, but call your local animal control office and tell them that the neighbor's cat keeps coming into your yard and you want to trap it and see what they say. I know the people that work for animal control up here. They are too busy trying to keep bears and other real threats away from people to even talk to you. They probably wouldn't even try to hide their laughter.

Seriously, here you would become the butt of jokes for many years if you placed such a call (small town). Not saying that is the case everywhere, but come on - call animal control? Just get out the hose. It will work much better, and the results are immediate (and much more fun to witness)...

 

[Leitadala]

Do your neighbors cats run around the neighborhood? If so, do dogs too?

We have rules about no unattended/un-leashed dogs here. But the cats are free to roam where ever they please. It irritates me because they come into my yard and my dog barks, sometimes early, like 5:30 a.m. My dog and I are early risers so she goes out for her first potty break about then.

It just seems to be ok with everyone that the cats are using all of our flower beds as their potty and even trying to come into our houses. One neighbor left a sun roof open on their car and got scared to death by a cat in her car when she opened the door. It all just seems to be acceptable, but I'm irritaed. I'm worried someone will complain about my dog, so I'm constantly bringing her in after just a few minutes so she won't disturb anyone. But she wouldn't if other people would keep their cats out of my yard!

We have the exact same problem - multiple neighborhood cats roam around, and the city does have a law against free roaming cats and it drives my dogs nuts. My next-door neighbor's cat has even gotten into our house on a few occassions (waiting on the front porch until I open the door to check the mail or leave for work) and that's terrible for 2 reasons: 1, I'm allergic to cats... and 2, we have two dogs that would love to show that cat who's boss. Luckily my dogs were in their kennels the times the cat has gotten in, but DH and I just don't know what to do about it (these cats are welcomed at other neighbor houses so we're the sticks in the mud on this one). We have mentioned the issue to the neighbors and they just laugh it off "oh, she's just the neighborhood cat!" or something to that effect.

 

[Hercules10]

Perhaps, but call your local animal control office and tell them that the neighbor's cat keeps coming into your yard and you want to trap it and see what they say. I know the people that work for animal control up here. They are too busy trying to keep bears and other real threats away from people to even talk to you. They probably wouldn't even try to hide their laughter.

Seriously, here you would become the butt of jokes for many years if you placed such a call (small town). Not saying that is the case everywhere, but come on - call animal control? Just get out the hose. It will work much better, and the results are immediate (and much more fun to witness)...

Wouldn't hosing a cat in a cold climate be abusive? Your neighbors may be more ticked off at that then trapping them.

And I'd prefer to be the butt of a joke with neighbors who resepcted my property then be walked on by their pets.

And I have called animal control on several occasions and they responded as I described.

 

[Andy B]

why is it acceptable for cats - not strays - to roam the neighborhood?

And those birds that fly around pooping on cars someone should do something about those.

The British Cats Protection website, says; If your cat has to live an indoor life in a flat, then you can safely give him fresh air by screening your open windows.

But clearly shows the norm is for a cat to spend a significant part of the day outside.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Wouldn't hosing a cat in a cold climate be abusive? Your neighbors may be more ticked off at that then trapping them.

And I'd prefer to be the butt of a joke with neighbors who resepcted my property then be walked on by their pets.

I have a cat and I respect the right of a property owner to chase her off their property with a hose or dog. She has been bitten twice by a neighbor's dog and I don't blame the neighbor or dog one bit. She should learn to stay out of their yard, and the acts were not intentional by the neighbor (they didn't "sick" the dog on my cat).

My point is simple - cats are not dogs, and people need to stop pretending that they should be treated like dogs. Cats (in the country) need to be allowed to hunt rodents, and they cannot do so on a leash...

 

[Hercules10]

My point is simple - cats are not dogs, and people need to stop pretending that they should be treated like dogs. Cats (in the country) need to be allowed to hunt rodents, and they cannot do so on a leash...

But they are animals and subject to similiar regulations.

And you should know that terriers were originally bred to hunt down and kill rodents in local food markets. Therefore they should be allowed to run free too. Maybe a few pitbulls or rotties can help out with the bear problem.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

But they are animals and subject to similiar regulations.

And you should know that terriers were originally bred to hunt down and kill rodents in local food markets. Therefore they should be allowed to run free too. Maybe a few pitbulls or rotties can help out with the bear problem.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with dogs off their leashes, either. When they come on my lawn, I shoot them with a soft pellet gun. It doesn't take many times for them to learn...

 

[bookgirl]

They will not do this to help you trap a neighbor's cat. You would have to lie to them...

Ours will lend a trap for any nuisence animal. If it's running loose and using your flower bed for a litter box, it's a nuisence.

 

[MichelleVW]

How would you suggest people manage their cats? they are not the same as dogs and in my experience it is normal for them to wander free.

Cats should be inside....where they can live a long and healthy life.

why is it acceptable for cats - not strays - to roam the neighborhood?

Because a lot of people don't have the sense that God gave a goose!

Because cats have been used in America for hundreds of years to control rodents. Live in the country without cats and you have mice, snakes, skunks, etc. almost 100% of the time.

FWIW, when we lived on Long Island, we did not allow our cats outside. There was too great a risk of them being hit by a car, and almost no risk of rodents...

I live in the country and no one has outside cats here, because if they do the coyotes or dogs will kill them. I know we have mice out in the fields, but we're not over run by them.

And those birds that fly around pooping on cars someone should do something about those.

The British Cats Protection website, says; If your cat has to live an indoor life in a flat, then you can safely give him fresh air by screening your open windows.

But clearly shows the norm is for a cat to spend a significant part of the day outside.

Thank goodness I live in the United States where it isn't expected that cats live outside.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Cats should be inside....where they can live a long and healthy life...

They can't live a long and healthy life if allowed outdoors?

 

[si-am]

They can't live a long and healthy life if allowed outdoors?

The average lifespan of outdoor cats is significantly lower than that of indoor cats.

 

[MichelleVW]

They can't live a long and healthy life if allowed outdoors?

Not likely...

http://www.petplace.com/cats/life-expectancy-in-cats/page1.aspx

Indoor cats generally live from 12-18 years of age. Many may live to be in their early 20s. The oldest reported cat was 28 years old at the time of death.

Outdoor cats generally live to be around four to five years of age. Their deaths are typically due to traumas such as being hit by a car or dog attacks. Outdoor cats are also more susceptible to several deadly viruses that are spread by fighting or prolonged intimate contact with an infected cat.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

The average lifespan of outdoor cats is significantly lower than that of indoor cats.

I have had many cats, almost all of which were allowed outdoors just about every day of their lives. Most lived to be 15 years old or older - none of them had health issues. I have also had "indoor" cats (when we lived on Long Island). They also lived to be about 15 years old. It seems to me that, with proper care from the owner, spending time outdoors might actually be good for them.

 

[MichelleVW]

I have had many cats, almost all of which were allowed outdoors just about every day of their lives. Most lived to be 15 years old or older - none of them had health issues. I have also had "indoor" cats (when we lived on Long Island). They also lived to be about 15 years old. It seems to me that, with proper care from the owner, spending time outdoors might actally be good for them.

It's an average, but I'm not going to risk my babies going outside and we live in the country!

 

[locolala]

The cat I had growing up was an indoor/outdoor cat. Almost every single cat in the neighborhood was that way, and we weren't really rural. We had about 1-2 acres per lot, most of it wooded. We never had a pest problem, nor did my cat ever get hurt from being outside (actually, I take that back.. he fell out of a tree while he was sleeping in it). That cat lived until he was 15, he died of cancer. Nothing he contracted while being outside. The cats we have now are indoor cats, but that was a requirement to adopt them. Considering we live in a little townhouse by major roads, I'm more than ok with that.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

It's an average, but I'm not going to risk my babies going outside and we live in the country!

I would never tell another person what to do with a pet in their care.

 

[si-am]

I would never tell another person what to do with a pet in their care.

Everyone is different.

I would not let my cat outside, knowing that it was going to be attacked by a dog, hoping it would just learn its lesson instead of die.