Not pointing fingers, not naming names.
I love my dogs. I love my wild birds. I even love my neighbours’ housecats. All of them! In their own yard. They surround my property. I don’t have a choice. I love my yard and have no intention on selling. Nor do I think moving away will guarantee no cats in future premises. It's my yard why should I be forced to make changes in it that I dont want? Putting chicken wire down or sprinkling unsavory substances. That’s ludicrous. Why can't I allow my dogs to run outdoors without checking for a cat first? Oh and by the way, Domestic= house. Look it up.
I own a dog sitting business. Yep LOTS OF DOGS frequent my home. I have lots of bird feeders to encourage my beautiful song birds. Yep. That encourages the cats to come prowling. EVERY DAY with out fail there is at least one who stalks the feeders. Usually more.
Yes, I chase him/her away before I let the dogs out. It’s a constant cat vigil on my part. I always check the windows before making the decision to take the dogs out. I have bells on my door to allow the cats to hear when we’re coming out. He/she has ample time to run away and scamper through the hedges and up the chain-link fencing. I do not want to have to carry a poor limp little kitty home to his/her mommy in my arms. I would be crying the whole way.
I’ve had conversations with the neighbourhood kitty moms and dads. Some are wonderful and say things like, “Oh dear, I sure hope my sweetie stays away. I’ll watch carefully and try very hard to discourage him/her from coming over. Please shoo it back home. Maybe if he/she gets a really good scare they won’t be back. Please if anything happens do not feel at fault. Sometimes this silly kitty just wont listen. I love him/her but….”
Others say things like, “It’s not my cat. My cat never leaves the house. My cat is smarter than that. My cat is so fast he/she can out run your dogs any day. If my cat goes missing I know who to sue ….”
Well, on several occasions one or more of the dogs in my care have indeed trapped and caught the cats.
Fortunately for the cats I have always been only a few steps behind my dogs in my yard. Sometimes those are long steps but I’m close at hand. Close enough to run and assist the cat to escape the dogs’ jaws. I have come away with several scratches and bites as he/she is attempting to flee.
I usually end up crying because the poor kitty doesn’t mean to hurt me but he’s so frantic to get away. I feel so bad for the kitty. He/she screams and hisses and scrambles and flails through the air or frantically claws at the nearest tree or hedge to dash over the fence and down the road. With my heart racing madly and hands shaking furiously, I do my best to contact the owner and explain about their poor kitty and to please watch for him/her to come back home safely.
How many more times? When will they learn do not come back in this yard. It is not kitty safe!
I know what you say. Get rid of the feeders minimize the birds eliminate the cats.
Baloney. That wont work. My gardens make lovely litter boxes and they are not going away just because there are limited birds.
Ok so where am I going with this topic? It’s really just, a vent, I s’pose.
Ok so where am I going with this topic? It’s really just, a vent, I s’pose.
A short while ago, the daily feline visit went unnoticed by me but not by one of the dogs. Yes, he did get the cat. I was not as close as normal. The ground is icy and snow covered.
My traction is not as good as the dogs. The cat was caught by his back end. I hoped, just his tail. This particular dog has a high prey drive. He was not letting go. Fortunately, he is also a very obedient and lovely family dog. As I ran, I hollered, “DROP IT!” He opened his jaw, the cat dropped and in a split second, ran like a shot, up the hedge and over the fence. GONE! There were no blood drops in the snow. There was a bit of kitty fluff on doggie’s mouth. Oh dear. He did get him for sure. The cat has not returned.
Where is the cat? Has he been home? Why do I feel sick to my stomach? The weather was bitter cold. I can only hope he has learned this yard is NOT SAFE for kitties.
Where is the cat? Has he been home? Why do I feel sick to my stomach? The weather was bitter cold. I can only hope he has learned this yard is NOT SAFE for kitties.
To the family who may have an injured cat at home. Give him lots of love and please keep him indoors.
It is my humble opinion; House Cats are domestic pets.
Domestic= house.
Please take some time to read and feel free to pass this onto any cat owners you think might need this inofrmation
Good Reading Material - Why All Cats Should Be Kept Indoors.
https://www.peta.org/living/companion-animals/caring-animal-companions/caring-cats/indoor-cats/
Domestic= house.
Please take some time to read and feel free to pass this onto any cat owners you think might need this inofrmation
Good Reading Material - Why All Cats Should Be Kept Indoors.
https://www.peta.org/living/companion-animals/caring-animal-companions/caring-cats/indoor-cats/
4 comments:
You know I'm a cat mom and I adore my cats. They DO go outside but only in an enclosure that I built for them. My cats do not roam free, never have. I believe strongly that if you want your cats to go outside, build them an enclosure so they can enjoy the outdoors safely, not hurt the bird population and not bother other people and their yards. I've had other people's cats poop in my veggie gardens and it ticks me off! I love feeding birds and have a huge feeder that both cats and I can enjoy from behind the windows or from their enclosure during the summer. It does not matter if you are a dog owner or a cat owner, both bring with it responsibilities and one of those is that your pet does not become a pest to anyone else. You should not have to face the stress of what if your dogs hurt a cat on your property and you should be able to feed birds and enjoy that.
Thank you so much for understanding, AND for being a RESPONSIBLE pet owner.
It really does make me feel bad for the cats. I used to adore them. Now I have come to be pretty much repulsed by them. It is NOT their fault! I know that not all dogs chase cats but I can not possibly train/teach all the dogs who come to my facility to not react to the cats. (((sigh)))
I have always believed that cats should be kept indoors. I have the same discussion with the people in our town. Same answers plus "he has to go out it is natural" Then they all cry when a cat goes missing because it had been let out. There is a cat fence product that when installed the cat cannot get out of it's yard and cats can't get into the yard. We are lucky that Keddy and Bryna are good with cats. Keddy barks and that cat is gone and gone fast. I would feel the same way if one of mine had caught a cat but I would also be mad at the irresponsible owner
Thank you Kathy
Yes I know you are also one of the wonderful cat moms. Keep it up please!
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