Mrs. Valdez. I would happily take the tradeoff of never having to see a cat again in my yard. Your post somes it up perfectly though in the fact you call them wildlife. People are not bringing possums, deers, and roaches(purposely) home to invade your yard/house. If I want to see wildlife, I know where to look. I shouldn't have to deal with a cat in my yard/house/car because of a disrespectful neighbor. I live on a bayou, so I deal with/see all the things you mention and more daily and they do not bother me. I expect them to be wild and know how to deal with/ keep them away. A cat on the other hand is someones pet that they are not taking care of and now I am having to deal with it. There is not much humanely you can do to keep them away. That is the problem. I know most places are changing the laws making a cat owner responsible like a dog owner because they have been tearing up peoples stuff for years with no consequenses. People finally got fed up and that law is starting to change.
Nah. I wish I could let my dog go after every one of them on our walks, lol. Especially the ones right next to the owner's cars in the backyard.
We have a cat and we keep him indoors, as a matter of fact that is the ONLY way we agreed to take him. He's fixed but he is also declawed and if he went outside, he would not have any way to protect himself. And as someone else mentioned, he would get fleas and tics - so it is just better for him to stay inside. There have been a couple of times where I thought he might get out but he has shown no desire to want to go outside.
T-man, how can you say cats make a bigger mess than dogs? I have NEVER heard anyone come home and say "I stepped in cat poop" in fact, in the 30 years in my life of owning cats, I have rarely come in contact with cat ****, besides taking out the litter box. it's DOG **** that is littering our sidewalk, pavements and yards.
I think this thread is obviously represented by a cross-section of people who have had bad encounters with neighborhood pet cats versus others who have not really been impacted that way. Sure, I've come out to my car to find cat footprints on it. So, I took a hose and rinsed it off. I've seen cats become stowaways in neighbors cars by accident...cause their car window was open. It usually ends up in a trip to work and back. I have never seen or heard of a neighbor complain of someone's outdoor pet cat tearing something up of theirs...or complain about a little pile of poo barely visible to the naked eye...but it obviously has happened. My point is there are going to be people on both sides of this issue who have their own experiences. So, there is not going to be any consensus on whether cats should be let outside. Sorry DaDa. lol. Dada just wants people on both sides of the issue to come here and yell at each other. You can take your outdoor cat and....BLAH BLAH BLAH. Well...you can take your indoor cat and...BLAH BLAH BLAH. Those cats took er jobs!!!
I used the term wildlife only because I think of all pets as essentially wildlife that have been to some degree domesticated. I don't know about you but I haven't found a way to keep a possum out of our yard. Cats stay away because our dog will kill them if they don't. Possum's haven't learned that lesson yet. And they are freaky and not at all cute. Same goes for roaches for that matter. And yes, some people do bring roaches onto their premises and I am not happy about that. Is the problem that they are potentially pets and so you think they should be kept indoors? If a wild cat (a mountain lion, for example) were in your yard would that be more acceptable? It is the nature of cats to be able to do things like hop over fences. We had a parakeet that escaped when I was a kid and I'm sure it managed to get onto other people's property. Probably pooped on their cars while he was at it, come to think of it. Anyway, if you hate these cats so much, why don't you just get a dog? Seriously. I am terrified of roaches so I do everything I can to make garden snakes and toads feel welcome in the yard and roaches aren't much of a problem.
This thread is useless without: FLO CONTROL and MR LEE, FTW! The 2nd site is literally why we decided to let our cat have access to our backyard. The photos from indoor cats were just too depressing. Darkened baseboards all day. I totally sympathize with those not wanting neighbors cats in their yards, which is why we make sure ours don't do that, and we check in with our neighbors about it!
My cat stays inside. He usually comes if I call him. If he doesn't, it makes no difference to me. I'm secure enough and intelligent enough to let him be who he is.
I don't even own cats and have stepped in cat crap in my yard. I have seen many cats crapping in my yard and ran them off. Dogs cannot jump my fence. That is just a crazy statement to make. My Aunt is a cat person and you regularly step in cat crap in her yard. What litter box is a roaming cat crapping in? Are cats notorious for walking on peoples cars? Do they regulary track mud on your porch/ patio/ sidewalk/ driveway? Are cats also notorious for shooting that stinch spray everywhere? Do they get in peoples cars when window is down? Do they come into your house/garage when given a chance? Most dog owners now keep their dogs in their yard as they should. I am not saying dogs should roam free, but most of their owners seem to have gotten the message. Cat owners on the other hand have not. They think their cats crap don't stink, litterally as seen in across110thstreet post.
It is perfectly fine to let your cat outside. My cat was a small kitten born to the wild cats outside. It was driving me crazy by it constantly trying to get out so eventually I said F it. The cat now splits time between the two. He almost never leaves my yard. He's there when I leave for work. He is there when I get home. Now the pound is rounding up the cats around my work and they get gassed to death. I'm real glad I brought that kitten home, or he might already be dead(In fact he is now the sole survivor of 3 litters.) The mom cat is the only one still around.
I'm sorry you have had such bad experiences with cats... I am with the responsible cat owners and have neighbors that are thoughtful people. cats and dogs live alongside the homeowners and no one has any negativity attached to owning a pet. my answer to every one of your questions is NO! An inside/outside cat can be trained to go from the litter box to taking care of business outside and cleaning it up when they are done. different experiences t-man. cities and suburbs are totally different animals so to speak. I'm sorry your aunts yard is a land-mine of cat doodoo. I've been disgusted by dog owners in the cities I've lived in. pretty simple, that's all!
Mrs. Valdez, again you make my point for me. I wanted to bring up the mountain lion comparison, but thought better of it. If I decided to get one as a pet, would it be okay for him to go in your yard and do as he pleases because that is his nature? Or should I be responsible for him and make sure to keep him off of your property and on mine, because he is my pet? What is the differrence? You can substitute any animal for mountain lion and how should this change the outcome? Why do cat owners seem to be the only ones who don't understand this? To answer your question, If a mountain Lion was in my yard I would shoot him, someones pet or not. Is this what I should do with his smaller down the genetic line version's that people get as pets and don't take care of? Also, I have a dog which I keep in my backyard and in my house. He can only do so much. I don't know why I should have to have him on guard 24/7 for someone else's pets.
Ok, to all the people who want to let their cats outside. How would you feel if your neighbors trapped them, and called animal control every time they got in their yard? DD
Cats are very good judges of character and often choose the yards of people who best befit the deposit of their fecal matter.
Hearing all the animals that cats constantly kill when let outdoors, I say no. If they are allowed outside, back yard only like dogs.
