Should Leash Laws Apply to Cats?

[Hisgirl]

First, I love all animals. I've had cats, dogs, horses, birds. Love them all.

We have a very strict leash law in our town. A closeby neighbor allows his cats to roam free and they kill little critters. I've seen one lying in wait for the birds we feed daily. It has also been in our fenced yard. I certainly don't want cat poop in my yard where my dog might sniff and eat it. And yes, dogs love to eat cat poop if they find it.

We spent thousands installing a fence and only walk our dog on a leash. We carefully monitor our doors and keep the dogs inside. My dog doesn't roam or pee or poop in anyone's yard.

We had a neighbor call animal control on the cat and now everyone is up in arms over it, throwing all support behind the neighbor with the cat, and they say they are going to keep letting the cats roam.

I just don't get it. Why do cats get a pass when it comes to a leash law? For those of you who will say cats will be cats, and you can't keep them inside, how would you feel if I let my dogs roam into your yard? Would you be okay with that?

Not being snarky at all. I really want to understand. Again, I've had cats, loved them both. But I kept them safely in the house. I really want to hear your thoughts.

 

[Christine]

I can't say for sure, but I believe leash laws for canines are there for the protection of people. In my state they are explicit about that in the language. As a side benefit, having your dog on a leash protects the dog itself as well as other dogs/animals. But the law isn't in place for that reason.

Cats, in generally, do not attack people when roaming about. They are more likely to be stealth and hide.

Putting all that aside--I am involved with a few "lost pets" groups and it's terribly sad to see the outcomes of free-roaming cats. The groups kind of urge people to make cats 100% indoor pets and many comply. But a lot don't, and the cats are constant victims to being killed by other wildlife, getting run over, or contracting illnesses. I haven't read up much on it either, but it also seems that free-roaming cats can be quite damaging to wildlife.

I would prefer not to see free roaming cats. I hate seeing the dead ones on the side of the road, the starving ones, the ones that get lost.

 

[Hisgirl]

Yes, the result of coyote attacks is horrible, so tragic. My parents had a neighbor's cat bite my neice when she was five years old. It was just in their backyard, two doors from home, and the girl saw the cat and assumed it was friendly. It was not and bit her.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor called animal control as was the law. The owner was furious! They had to pay for quarantine for ten days and my parents ended up giving them money and apologizing. The neighbor snatched the money, slammed the door and never spoke to mama again.

 

[BrianL]

I can't say for sure, but I believe leash laws for canines are there for the protection of people. In my state they are explicit about that in the language. As a side benefit, having your dog on a leash protects the dog itself as well as other dogs/animals. But the law isn't in place for that reason.

Cats, in generally, do not attack people when roaming about. They are more likely to be stealth and hide.

Putting all that aside--I am involved with a few "lost pets" groups and it's terribly sad to see the outcomes of free-roaming cats. The groups kind of urge people to make cats 100% indoor pets and many comply. But a lot don't, and the cats are constant victims to being killed by other wildlife, getting run over, or contracting illnesses. I haven't read up much on it either, but it also seems that free-roaming cats can be quite damaging to wildlife.

I would prefer not to see free roaming cats. I hate seeing the dead ones on the side of the road, the starving ones, the ones that get lost.

I agree with you. Leash laws are to protect people from dogs, so they don't need to apply to cats. That said, I keep my cat 100% indoors and think that is the safest thing for them. I know that some cats do like to roam, but mine wouldn't even know what to do outside. She once ran out onto the porch and froze! I do see videos of people who take their cats out on leashes or even on boats, so that's great of course, but free-roaming the streets isn't ideal.

And yes, dogs love to eat cat poop if they find it.

Can confirm - my mom's dog LOVES to eat cat poop!

 

[Christine]

I agree with you. Leash laws are to protect people from dogs, so they don't need to apply to cats. That said, I keep my cat 100% indoors and think that is the safest thing for them. I know that some cats do like to roam, but mine wouldn't even know what to do outside. She once ran out onto the porch and froze! I do see videos of peopel who take their cats out on leashes or even on boats, so that's great of course, but free-roaming the streets isn't ideal.

My daughter has a cat stroller and takes her cat out for walks.

 

[Christine]

Yes, the result of coyote attacks is horrible, so tragic. My parents had a neighbor's cat bite my neice when she was five years old. It was just in their backyard, two doors from home, and the girl saw the cat and assumed it was friendly. It was not and bit her.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor called animal control as was the law. The owner was furious! They had to pay for quarantine for ten days and my parents ended up giving them money and apologizing. The neighbor snatched the money, slammed the door and never spoke to mama again.

Yes, cats can bite but for the most part, they won't run up to you like a dog and do that.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I’m imagining the reality of this

NOW HIRING
Cat Catcher: if it’s not leashed, it’s your job to catch the cat! Must be able to simultaneously watch out for dogs, cars and crazy cat ladies.


…there’s a board game in there somewhere…

 

[HopperFan]

I wish there were leash laws across all domesticated animals. There is no reason for an exclusion. If there were in our area there would be a lot less missing cats (aka eaten by coyotes) and we'd find less cat collars floating through our "creek" ....

Yes I hate other dogs doing their business in our yard but at least with some water we can dilute it. But when a cat starts urinating by your home, it can be nearly impossible to eliminate it. There is a reason many landlords will rent to dogs but not cats. While most won't attack people, they can do quite extensive damage to property inside and outside.

We have one neighbor cat that has roamed for I swear decades and avoided his demise. We tease the owner who has now retired that he can't move until his cat does. Most other cats we have seen once or twice then they usually disappear until their picture shows up on a street post.

PS to add we had a family cat, Travis, who we called Sid Vicious because he would attack us, completely unprovoked. He stalked us and pounced and seemed to think it was some kind of play. So, no cats are not all benign and harmless.

 

[barkley]

I am involved with a few "lost pets" groups and it's terribly sad to see the outcomes of free-roaming cats. The groups kind of urge people to make cats 100% indoor pets and many comply. But a lot don't, and the cats are constant victims to being killed by other wildlife,

i'm a cat lover as well and while they are victims to the wildlife i would also like to point out that THEY victimize the wildlife when they are allowed to be free roaming. i live ruraly and there have been periods of time when we have had large numbers of free roaming cats that have almost entirely wiped out certain species of birds, butterflies and other small creatures. it can result in throwing off the ecosystem and as a result OTHER creatures that normaly reside are unable to survive. example in point-we had a neighbor who insisted on not fixing their outdoor cats b/c they claimed the eagles and hawks killed too many and it was a 'natural' means of maintaining a certain number. did'nt maintain anything except a growing number of cats that killed off nearly all the butterfly and moth population so that toggled into allot of the natural plants not being pollinated and dying off which resulted in less bees/further decreased pollination. the creatures that fed off those plants had a lack of food and died off or left the area, the creatures that fed off THOSE faced the same. it has taken over a decade since that neighbor's move and the demise of the last pair of his 'free range cats' for some of the natural species to begin to reappear (both plants and creatures). it's a no-win situation for all when people are irresponsible with their felines.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Yes, cats can bite but for the most part, they won't run up to you like a dog and do that.

My Nana’s cat thought he was a dog, apparently.

Agreeing with posters upthread; all four legged pets should be leashed.

 

[cmbr]

I believe much of this unfortunately stems from what I would describe as a generally apathetic attitude some outdoor cat owners seem to have. Not only can allowing pet cats to roam free cause problems for neighbors and local wildlife, it also puts the cats themselves at a constant risk. Cars, possible predators, diseases, these are all bigger risks for cats because unlike dogs, their owners oftentimes don't monitor their behavior. It's heartbreaking to me how often I've heard people take an "Oh well! Cats are just like that!" approach to their outdoor cats either running away or going missing, like they weren't put in a position for that to happen in the first place. But also, with outdoor cats there are a lot of people who don't purposefully "adopt" them, but instead just start feeding a stray who decides to stick around for guaranteed meals. It's harder to make that sort of adjustment for a stray.

People are willing to acknowledge how much upkeep a dog is because the consequences for irresponsible dog ownership can be a much greater threat to people. Cats can attack but typically don't unless they feel cornered, so the repercussions for the owner are nowhere near as dire if they leave the cat to its own devices. To me it's very, very sad.

 

[gottalovepluto]

OP, if you feel so serious on the topic why don’t you bring it before your city council? Cities don’t change things on their own.

(Full disclosure anyone who suggested this at my city council would be laughed clear into the next county- but there are enough people here who feel you have a serious idea so maybe the civic world would be more receptive where you live!)

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Our city and county leash/confinement laws apply to both dogs and cats. It's rarely enforced, but if something happens, you're legally liable.

I'm all for it and I really wish more cat owners would quit allowing their pets to roam. I know there are people who believe it's OK and it's just normal for cats, but I've seen too many cats hit by cars or killed by wildlife to think that it's not a kind thing to do for a beloved pet. No less than 5x a week, someone is posting on one of our neighborhood groups in search of their missing cat and it's rare that they're ever seen again. They also aren't completely harmless creatures. Maybe it's not the same risk as a large dog, but people like me are sick and tired of the cat poop in the yard, the odor from them marking, the damage from them scratching stuff, and a few of them are on the aggressive side. I also don't know if these people bother to get them proper medical care. So, who knows what kind of nastiness I could face if I'm bitten or scratched. On top of that, there's a lot of evidence showing that domestic felines permitted to roam have caused significant shrinkage to the nation's songbird population. I know some people talk about using them as pest control, but I think it's time for an exterminator if you have that much of a rodent problem.

Like you, I'm a responsible pet owner and make sure my dog is on a leash when she's not in our fenced in yard or in the house. Most of the neighbors' cats have gotten smart enough to wait until the lights are out (I still catch them on the cameras), but I've hit a point where I will let the dog out to chase them if they're stupid enough to enter our yard when one of us is awake.

 

[dizneegirl]

Cats should be indoors... it's just safer for them.

Unless we're talking barn cats on a farm... if they're doing their job, they won't stray far from the barn, and won't ever go hungry.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Cats can fall under different categories from stray, barn cat/working cat, outdoor cat. Typically in my area stray cats are attempted to be cared for/dealt with by TNR programs and those are easily identified by the clip in one ear. Barn/working cats are not intended to be indoor cats and are intended to do their jobs (normally take care of mice or other issues). Part of this is to recognize that while birds can be killed by cats and cats can be killed by other wildlife it's not always a case of an owner who is allowing their cat to freely roam.

While I don't agree with allowing cats as pets freely roam it's probably a little bit hard to discern 1) who the owner is 2) did the cat get out unknowingly. There will be cases that both of those are going to be known and be easily able to discern but you're talking about creating an enforceable ordinance.

Technically our city leash law is not specifically only leashes, it's about maintaining control so a dog that is not leashed but is well controlled by the person they are with would be fine.

In our city they do say that outdoor cats must wear their license. For our county if you're in an area under the County Parks and Rec they do have this rule "Dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals must be leashed and under control in District Facilities, except in designated off-leash areas."

FWIW in other parts of the world it is seen as cruel to keep cats indoors but what risks that is for a cat is usually taken into consideration. If you have a lot of wildlife that sees a cat as prey that would be an issue to allow cats to freely roam and of course vehicle traffic should be taken into consideration.

 

[VandVsmama]

Leash law for cats is one of the silliest things I've heard in a long time. I am totally opposed to them.

And for the record, yes, our household has cats. 2 of them. They're indoor pets and do not go outside. However, if I lived on some acreage, my cats absolutely would be outdoor cats in order to keep the rodent population under control.

 

[fla4fun]

My sister has a cat and if it is outside it is either on the fenced patio with human supervision or on a leash for a walk. Other than that it is indoors. We have a lot of coyotes in our neighborhood as well as some huge hawks, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to just let one roam.

 

[Dug720]

Leash-adjacent... One thing that is good for all pet owners to have is a clear picture of yourself with your cat or dog. Even if they are "always" leashed (because leashes can break) and even if they are chipped. Sometimes shelters or vets don't have the right scanner for the chip or the chip doesn't work and that picture could be the only thing that prevents your pet from being adopted by someone else. A friend of mine volunteers at a couple of shelter organizations here in NYC and there have been cases where a chipped animal came in but the chip was unreadable and the animal went into the system and was almost adopted to a new owner when the owner got there and had a picture of them with that animal which was at that point the only way to prove it was theirs.

 

[focusondisney]

I also wish cats weren’t allowed to roam freely. We’re in a suburban development & luckily right now, nobody lets their cats out. But there have been times there were. It’s 1 thing when a squirrel or rabbit digs in my landscaping. But it’s disgusting & destructive when a cat does it. I don’t want someone’s cat using my front landscaping as their litter box. And my husband had to pick up dead birds more than once.

You can tell whose house the cat was from, because they’re the ones with the garage door left open 6 inches at the bottom.

 

[Hisgirl]

To clarify, our town does have a leash law that all domentic pets, dogs and cats, must be on a leash or confined to your own property. Our neighbor feels his cat should be able to roam. I'm just wanting to hear your thoughts since apparently my entire neighborhood is taking his side and demonizing the woman who complained about his cat.