Cat License

neelyohara

Yesterday my friend (living in Canada) received a fine for nearly €450 for not having her cat licensed, for letting the cat wander or 'be at large' (it's an indoor cat, accidentally let out by her extended family) and for one other issue that I couldn't clarify because she was in the middle of a complete melt down, I think it was that the cat was on private property.

I have to admit that when I heard the story I was stunned - partly due to the severity, partly due to the fact I'd never heard of cat licenses. It seemed surreal.

I'd like to hear peoples thoughts on the idea of cat licenses and the fines she received.

For those who may be interested she has two cats, both rescues from the pound (both were due to be destroyed), she adores these animals and they are completely pampered. She wouldn't intentionally let them out but unfortunately it does happen from time to time (if it was possible for her to keep them in 100% of the time she would without hesitation). In regard to the license issue it was introduced less than two years ago, she was never notified (even by her vet who she contacted about the matter). Trust me, it isn't a case that she was avoiding the $10 it would cost for each cat!

I've seen the license info... I'm off now to find out about the laws she appears to have broken!

Overature

thats bollocks, never heard of a cat license, even still 450 is well to much to pay, road speeding fines are way less and are much more dangerous. somethings majorly wrong there

neelyohara

I know Ontario has just introduced licensing but a quick google search shows that most (if not all) US states require cats to be licensed. I've found some documents that go back to the early ninties.

I thought it was a joke at first... I've never in my life heard of a cat license let alone the fine she received! I couldn't even think of what to say to her... I just stuttered for a minute and then went straight for the expletives!

I posted it here because I thought it would be an interesting thread

John Mason

it should be brought in over here. the paint work on car is wrecked from reckless cat owners:mad:, not to mention the damage done to my garden:mad::mad:

it is disgraceful that a law like this hasnt been brought in here years ago:mad::mad::mad:

TequilaMockingBird

irishbird wrote: »

it should be brought in over here. the paint work on car is wrecked from reckless cat owners:mad:, not to mention the damage done to my garden:mad::mad:

it is disgraceful that a law like this hasnt been brought in here years ago:mad::mad::mad:

A reckless cat owner wrecked your cars paint work? Harsh.

Cats are the hippy version of pets, you don't own them, they just decide to stay. They poo in places we may not like, just like birds, and bugs, and flies.

The Sweeper

Lots of countries are introducing stricter laws in relation to roaming cats, because of the extreme irritation they cause to neighbours in built-up residential areas.

Yes, cats damage the paintwork by scratching their way up people's cars, they dig up flowerbeds, they crap in the gardens, they destroy young trees by scratching the bark to bits if it's a favourite marking post, they spray urine over gateposts, letterboxes and sometimes (if you're really lucky) your front door or your back door or your windowsills. They kill the wildlife (bigger issue in some countries than in others), they can create behavioural problems by annoying the bejesus out of people's dogs (my neighbour's dog barks all night sometimes, and I've only lately realised it's when she's out at work at night and she puts her cat out, and it attracts the neighbourhood roaming cats, and they scrap on the driveway, which I could hear, but I can most certainly hear the constant barking he does because they're out there).

Cats breed like rabbits if they're not neutered, and they irritate an awful lot of people.

Interestingly the clamp down on cats is moving extremely quickly in recent years compared to the preceding decades of carelessness regarding this single most unbiddable domestic animal. Part of this is probably because more authorities are recognising that cats don't have to be a nuisance, but another part is that so many cats are put down in pounds in western countries every year, that most authorities don't even counter the number put to sleep, other than to say "more than dogs".

In some western countries (UK, Canada, US, Australia) the laws are moving as follows:

Cats must be licensed, similar to dogs. However a collar with the licence tag on it is not usually compulsory. If your cat is caught by the rangers and returned to you, you will be fined if it's not licensed. It's an annual licence fee, just like for your dog.

Neutering and microchipping - any domestic cat caught by a ranger that does not belong to a registered breeder in Australia will be desexed before being returned to its owner. A microchip is fast becoming law along with the annual licence fee - microchipping is very useful in cats because it's the best way of ensuring your animal is returned to you.

The next law is usually a curfew - cats must be kept indoors overnight, between 8pm and 8am. This is because cats are most active at dawn and dusk and most likely to get hit by cars or kill things during those hours.

Some areas move past the curfew to a containment law - you may not alllow your cats to roam off your property. How you contain them is up to you. You can build a cat enclosure - an impermeable wired off structure to allow them outdoor access without letting them roam. If you have a fenced yard, there are a number of fence-capping systems that prevent the cat from scaling the fence. Some are quite complicated and expensive, others are cheap and effective and easily home made.

neelyohara, the problem in your friend's case is that cats don't just get randomly trapped by rangers. (I assume your friend's cat wasn't slumming it in the midst of the local feral cat colony). Cats get turned over to rangers, either by concerned people who wonder who owns the cat, or by pissed off people who've caught the cat because they feel it creates a nuisance on property. I would be worried that your friend not keeping her cats from roaming means they're travelling over to a neighbour's propety repeatedly. While over there, they could be crapping in garden beds or scratching cars or - and this is a big one to consider - the neighbour could be a cat owner themselves. That neighbour may have caught the cat and turned it over to the ranger, which is why your friend is facing a big fine.

(She can argue the fine by the way - if she takes steps to demonstrate that she won't allow the cats roam again, the ranger may well reduce the fine considerably.)

If you live near a cat owner who's made the decision to prevent their cat from roaming, they can get very angry indeed at the impact your roaming cats can have on their lives. Roaming local cats can cause extreme behavioural problems inside someone else's home - without ever touching their cats once.

The problems include aggression - the indoor male cat is furious at the roaming intruder in the yard, but can't get him, so instead he fights with the other indoor cats. In extreme cases, the owner can get injured trying to break up a fight like that. The recommended treatment for such behavioural problems is to use behavioural modifiers like Feliway or Rescue Remedy, along with a possible vet visit to treat injuries. So now, your innocent roaming cat has cost your neighbour money (without ever touching their cat).

In worse cases, the agitation of seeing a roaming cat outside can cause interstitial cystitis in cats - a recurring inflammation of the bladder and urinary tract that shows up through pain urinating and blood in the urine. This involves an expensive vet visit, tests to ensure the urinary problem isn't struvite crystals, a range of bloods to identify whether or not the cat has kidney or liver problems, and then treatment for the cystitis - which can be recurring if the stressor persists. This is hundreds of dollars - or euros - worth of vet work.

An owner who feels they've "gone to the trouble" of containing their cats for all of the above reasons, and who then shells out money to the vet because someone else's uncontained cat wanders onto their property, won't give a monkeys if you say you can't contain your cat or whatever. They'll just trap it, and hand it to the rangers.

I welcome cat laws, but I recognise the enormous, nearly insurmountable mindshift that needs to take place in areas where these laws are newly introduced, because people just don't hold the idea that cats can be treated like dogs. They can be contained, exercised daily, prevented from roaming, played with - and if you don't let them roam, so they don't get killed by a car or a dog or whatever, they can live literally up to and over 20 years.

morganafay

irishbird wrote: »

it should be brought in over here. the paint work on car is wrecked from reckless cat owners:mad:, not to mention the damage done to my garden:mad::mad:

it is disgraceful that a law like this hasnt been brought in here years ago:mad::mad::mad:

How did the cats wreck the paintwork and what did they do to the garden? I'm just wondering because I've always had cats, and my dad has loads of vintage cars, and my mom and brother have modern cars. The cats are always all over the cars, and all they do is leave footprints, but they easily wash off. They've never scratched the paintwork or anything . . . and they never do anything to the garden either. Oh well actually they played in the daffodils and knocked a few over, and one cat pees in my pots of lettuces and herbs but they're still growing . . . (though they're not for me to eat, for the rabbits)

morganafay

I dunno, in some ways I think it's crazy because I really don't think cats cause THAT much trouble. Well if they're neutered anyway, and vaccinated. We have a particularly aggressive/mean tom cat around right now, who keeps attacking all my cats even the girls! But other tom cats don't usually cause a problem if they come around every now and again except making the dogs bark.

Cats love being outdoors and it is the happiest they'll be and the healthiest . . . but it's safer for them indoors . . . so it's a tough choice on what is right. And some cats might not tolerate being indoors well even if kept there since birth (my indoor cat was crazy and hyper and always trying to get outside until I just let him live outside, and then he was really happy and calm.) I think that if I lived in a town then I'd keep mine inside all the time though. And I'd like to try breeding pedigree cats sometime, so obviously they'd have to be inside but I'd build a big enclosure joining onto the house or something so they could have fresh air and sit in the sun.

I understand why dogs need to be controlled because they can be dangerous (by attacking people, and more likely than cats to cause road accidents) but cats aren't dangerous. If they had a law that they have to be neutered unless registered to breeed (and then they'd be kept indoors) and that they have to be vaccinated and tested for FIV, then that'd stop them breeding and spreading infection, hopefully. It's feral cats that are the problem anyway, and there's nobody to fine for them.

ppink

would love to see that kind of enforcement here.....for pets and children!!

crotalus667

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

A reckless cat owner wrecked your cars paint work? Harsh.

alot of cars that i have parked in my driveway have had the paintwork scrathed by cats getting up and down ,sitting on the bonnet

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Cats are the hippy version of pets, ,

Last time I checked hippies don’t decimate local wildlife populations

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

They poo in places we may not like, just like birds, and bugs, and flies.

Last time i checked birds ,bugs and flea's dont poo like small dogs ,

morganafay wrote: »

I dunno, in some ways I think it's crazy because I really don't think cats cause THAT much trouble.

My cousin lost most of his sight when he was young due to paracites in cat poo

morganafay wrote: »

and again except making the dogs bark.

That is not expectable

morganafay wrote: »

Cats love being outdoors .

so do dogs but we dont let them roam unsupervised

morganafay wrote: »

but cats aren't dangerous. .

Cats have and will atack people and chrilden , the amout of acadents caused is irevelent the fact is the do cause them and we value the life of the driver over the the cats owners wish for them to roam .and lets not forget that pleanty of people have had rabbits , hens ect killed by cats

morganafay wrote: »

If they had a law that they have to be neutered unless registered to breeed (and then they'd be kept indoors) and that they have to be vaccinated and tested for FIV, then that'd stop them breeding and spreading infection, hopefully.

that is still ignoring most of the problums they cause

morganafay wrote: »

It's feral cats that are the problem anyway, and there's nobody to fine for them.

BULL

Zulu

I think it's a bloody great idea. The sooner we introduce it here the better.

We don't let dogs wander, yet cat owner have no problem with their animals roaming. They foul other people property. They hunt and kill song birds. They are a menace.

Fine, you like them - no problem! But keep them confined to your garden. I don't like them. I don't appreciate them fouling my garden, & chasing away song birds I try to encourage into my garden.

BTW: they destroy the paint work on cars with their claws. Fuckers. :mad:

Ticktactoe

Another Cat vs Dog thread....

My cats never scrapped any of my cars which the jumped all over.
I refuse to lock them indoors all the time as that is not a life for them. If that was the case (as much as I adore them) i would get them put down.

I agree with the chipping. Makes sense.

Zulu

Ticktactoe wrote: »

Another Cat vs Dog thread....

It's not cats vs dogs, its considerate pet owners vs complacent pet owners

I refuse to lock them indoors all the time as that is not a life for them.

Then don't! Just secure your garden, and prevent them from getting into mine! A bit of consideration for your neighbors wouldn't go astray.

It's not that complicated really.

adser53

I'd welcome that law with open arms! It's all well and good letting your cat roam if you live out in the countryside on your own but roaming cat's are nothing but a nuisance in built up areas / estates. We're tormented by the neighbours cats coming into my garden to annoy my dogs in their enclosure (their barking will get me in trouble with the neighbours), I can't open any of my downstairs windows to let air in cos the little fcukers come in, they sit on my window cills, scratch up my plants and poop in my flower beds....the list goes on. How dya think my neighbour would react if I put a doggy door in our dividing fence so my dogs could roam their property and dig and poop to their hearts content? Cats should be neutered, chipped, licenced and their owners property confined so they cannot roam into other peoples property. Simple as that. If someone keeps a pet, regardless of species, they have a duty to be responsible for it and I hate the attitude that cats are an exception to this rule and have the right to roam. Enclose your gardens, build a cat enclosure, whatever it takes. This may sound harsh but to a non-cat lover, groups of roaming cats are little more than vermin and a nuisance. Sorry to all you cat lovers but it's the truth. I accept that not everyone loves dogs and take steps to respect that. Is it asking too much that cat owners do the same?

The Sweeper

Another point of council animal management - I have to have a local laws licence for my cats. Because I have six, I had to write a letter of application to the council to keep the additional four (you can have two of any animal). The council, on receipt of my letter, wrote to my neighbours, a letter that asked "Have you any problem with crazy cat lady at number 20 owning six cats?"

If someone says yes, the ranger will come to the house and examine the conditions the cats are kept in. They'll make an independent judgment of whether or not you can have the animals - and that judgment is heavily influenced by you preventing the cats from roaming.

Either way, my local laws licence was granted. Interestingly, the council hasn't got the laws licence information tied to the cat registration information. They wait until they've picked your animal up because it was roaming, and then fine you when they return it - they don't proactively call the house and say "You haven't paid your licence renewal this year".

Fact is you'll always get people who ignore the local licensing laws and curfews and so on - but these laws and curfews give unhappy neighbours some power. Instead of doing something highly sinister like poisoning or otherwise killing your nuisance cat, they just have to trap it and give it to the ranger - you'll get a talking to and a big fine, and if it keeps happening, the rangers may try to persuade you to surrender the animal and not keep another - so your unhappy neighbour wins (and in a way, so does your cat - it hasn't been poisoned after all, and if you step your game up and escape-proof your garden it lives out its days happily at home).

MsFifers

I think it would be positive to have cat licenses from the point of view of cat welfare - maybe people might start to take cats seriously instead of disposable pets that can wander off & do what they like & have kittens etc.

It would be good if people had to fill in a questionnaire too before they get their licence (for dogs & cats) to prove they have a basic understanding of how to look after their animal.

It is REALLY hard to contain a cat though. I put up a type fencing round my back yard to keep my 2 in, but they just keep finding ways to get out. I have given up at this stage! I do feel guilty about it, but there is a little park next door to my house and they just seem to spend their time in there rather than in neighbours gardens. My neighbours seem to like cats also (they feed strays etc), but if I sensed there were any cat haters there I'd try again with the fencing.

Before this, I had them as indoor cats. Without doubt they are much happier being able to get out & explore. They are limited in their outdoor time though - a couple of hours in the morning & evening, and never allowed out all night.

morganafay

My cats don't damage my neighbours cars, since they don't damage ours which they climb all over. They don't go into neighbours gardens since they're too nervous of strangers, they go into fields. One cat goes into neighbours gardens but only the neighbours that feed them so they obviously like them. My cats don't destroy the bird population, or the mouse population, or the rat population. They don't poo in other people's gardens, they poo in the field and bury it. They really don't cause any trouble and I don't care if other people try to convince me they do, because I think I know that they don't. My neighbours really don't mind them. They mainly stay in my garden anyway. I think for my cats anyway, it'd be more cruel to shut them inside then to let them out, where they might possible kill a handful of birds and mice between them during the year (which are probably the weaker ones if my lazy cats can get them) and might possibly wander into someone's garden.

One day I'd love to secure my whole garden, that'd mean fencing the whole garden and putting a roof on it too. Which is really not realistic for people to do. I'll probably build a cat enclosure and have my cats in that and indoors when I have my own house, but I live with my parents anyway so can't keep my cats locked indoors.

Even if cats should be kept in their own house and garden, it's not practical and a lot of people will never do it. It's great if they can keep them in and have an outdoor enclosure, but not everyone can.

I don't know why being a considerate pet owner has to mean keeping an animal caged. I only agree with it if it's for the cat's safety. (And where I live is very safe for cats.)

I've had loads of neighbours cats around my house and they were always unneutered tom cats and hardly ever cause any kind of problem at all. Like I'm fairly laid back so a cat being around is really not going to bother me. I guess some people would be bothered by it though. A bit of meowing, a tom cat spraying, a dog barking every now and again, I don't find it annoying. And if a cat is neutered and vaccinated then I don't see any problem. That's my belief so other people can have theirs but that won't make me change mine.

morganafay

Also it's easy for people who don't have/like cats to say to keep them confined. But if they knew how hard it is to confine a cat, and how miserable some cats are indoors then they'd think differently.

But for the people who have cats and keep them in for the cat's safety, then I respect that reason for doing it.

Zulu

morganafay wrote: »

...because I think I know that they don't...

Says it all really. :rolleyes:

adser53

morganafay wrote: »

A bit of meowing, a tom cat spraying, a dog barking every now and again, I don't find it annoying.

If you lived next door to me you'd find it very annoying if we didn't go out and shoo the neighbours bloody cats away 20 times a day. The 3 gits sit on the fence overlooking my dog run or outside the gate of it driving my dogs demented. My dogs bark at nothing other than these cats and it's infuriating. The neighbours around me can't see whats going on, they can only hear it and if I just let it be, I'm sure I'd get a knock on my door about it. I'm trying to be responsible and considerate to my neighbours while the cat owners are oblivious to what their little free spirits get up to

pegasus1

it is the law here in ireland that a cat can wander where it wants to...i was told by a reliable friend only yesterday that previously a man was up in court due to him being witnessed in the killing of a neighbours cat.. the judge ruled in favour of the deceased cats owner in that he ruled that a cat is free to roam where he/she wants to... the man got fined 4,000 quid and a criminal record!

petergfiffin

pegasus1 wrote: »

it is the law here in ireland that a cat can wander where it wants to...i was told by a reliable friend only yesterday that previously a man was up in court due to him being witnessed in the killing of a neighbours cat.. the judge ruled in favour of the deceased cats owner in that he ruled that a cat is free to roam where he/she wants to... the man got fined 4,000 quid and a criminal record!

Proper order...anybody who deliberately kills an animal which is clearly a pet deserves everything which is coming to them!

I would definitely agree that all cats should be neutered (unless you're a registered breeder), collared, chipped and vaccinated and would have no problems with laws that punish people who don't do all the above. While I accept that at times cats can be an annoyance the real problem we have in this country is with feral cats which councils have really done nothing to address.

The Sweeper

The assumption that feral cats are the problem is incorrect.

Feral cats have extremely short lifespans - usually far less than three years. They breed like rabbits, but they remain concentrated in colonies for protection - females behave like nursery mothers, suckling kittens that aren't their own. Some people run trap, neuter, release programmes with feral colonies to prevent them expanding any further in size, but to keep them occupying a territory.

The only way cats end up in the pound is through trapping and surrender. They're not like dogs - a ranger won't pull a car over on the street and pick up a feral cat the way they can a wandering dog. Feral cats are so timid you're usually lucky if you see one. The cats on your fence, annoying your dogs, and crapping in your flower beds, the ones that run when you open the door - they're not feral. Someone owns them and feeds them.

Far, far too many cats - more than dogs, remember - are destroyed in the pounds every year for it to just be a feral problem. These aren't all ferals. They're surrendered animals - repeated litters from people who are astonished at the rapidity with which cats breed. One person has a cat, it has kittens, they sort of keep but sort of ignore the kittens, the kittens move into the houses in the surrounding territory, some people feed them... they start to breed. People become irritated and they capture and relinquish the cats to the pound.

Those are not feral cats. Those are cats owned by someone who simply isn't taking responsibility for them. If you have a cat and you don't get it neutered and it has kittens, those are your kittens. You don't just get to wash your hands of them. Yeah, so the cat might live in your garage and never come in the house, and had the kittens out there, and after the first four weeks you can't get near them - you don't just pretend they're someone else's problem, rejoice when their numbers inevitably dwindle (as they're bound to as at least a couple of the kittens vanish in the first few weeks, victims of all the things that kill roaming cats).

Do you really think the council has proactive cat trapping schemes in operation and that's how they fill their pounds?

More cats than dogs, every single year, in pounds all over Ireland, remember - numbers so high that they don't even count them.

They're not feral. The people who own them might be, though.

Run_to_da_hills

irishbird wrote: »

it should be brought in over here. the paint work on car is wrecked from reckless cat owners:mad:, not to mention the damage done to my garden:mad::mad:

it is disgraceful that a law like this hasnt been brought in here years ago:mad::mad::mad:

They should also be made wear bells or electronic beepers to help stop them killing song birds particularly during nesting season.

eth0_

The Sweeper wrote: »

Yes, cats damage the paintwork by scratching their way up people's cars

What a load of b*llocks. Cats do not scratch cars with their claws. They would be physically unable to climb onto a car if they had their claws extended.

eth0_

pegasus1 wrote: »

it is the law here in ireland that a cat can wander where it wants to...i was told by a reliable friend only yesterday that previously a man was up in court due to him being witnessed in the killing of a neighbours cat.. the judge ruled in favour of the deceased cats owner in that he ruled that a cat is free to roam where he/she wants to... the man got fined 4,000 quid and a criminal record!

Can you re-tell that story because it's pretty incomprehensible. A man was fined €4000 and given a criminal record because he saw a cat die? What?

adser53

The Sweeper wrote: »

The assumption that feral cats are the problem is incorrect.

Feral cats have extremely short lifespans - usually far less than three years. They breed like rabbits, but they remain concentrated in colonies for protection - females behave like nursery mothers, suckling kittens that aren't their own. Some people run trap, neuter, release programmes with feral colonies to prevent them expanding any further in size, but to keep them occupying a territory.

The only way cats end up in the pound is through trapping and surrender. They're not like dogs - a ranger won't pull a car over on the street and pick up a feral cat the way they can a wandering dog. Feral cats are so timid you're usually lucky if you see one. The cats on your fence, annoying your dogs, and crapping in your flower beds, the ones that run when you open the door - they're not feral. Someone owns them and feeds them.

Far, far too many cats - more than dogs, remember - are destroyed in the pounds every year for it to just be a feral problem. These aren't all ferals. They're surrendered animals - repeated litters from people who are astonished at the rapidity with which cats breed. One person has a cat, it has kittens, they sort of keep but sort of ignore the kittens, the kittens move into the houses in the surrounding territory, some people feed them... they start to breed. People become irritated and they capture and relinquish the cats to the pound.

Those are not feral cats. Those are cats owned by someone who simply isn't taking responsibility for them. If you have a cat and you don't get it neutered and it has kittens, those are your kittens. You don't just get to wash your hands of them. Yeah, so the cat might live in your garage and never come in the house, and had the kittens out there, and after the first four weeks you can't get near them - you don't just pretend they're someone else's problem, rejoice when their numbers inevitably dwindle (as they're bound to as at least a couple of the kittens vanish in the first few weeks, victims of all the things that kill roaming cats).

Do you really think the council has proactive cat trapping schemes in operation and that's how they fill their pounds?

More cats than dogs, every single year, in pounds all over Ireland, remember - numbers so high that they don't even count them.

They're not feral. The people who own them might be, though.

Here, Here! Nail on the head or what! There's nothing more that I could add to that! I will however repeat this for dramatic effect....
The cats on your fence, annoying your dogs, and crapping in your flower beds, the ones that run in when you open the door - they're not feral. Someone owns them and feeds them.

eth0_

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

They should also be made wear bells or electronic beepers to help stop them killing song birds particularly during nesting season.

Domestic cats kill very few birds, actually.

adser53

eth0_ wrote: »

Can you re-tell that story because it's pretty incomprehensible. A man was fined €4000 and given a criminal record because he saw a cat die? What?

Someone witnessed HIM killing the cat.

Was there not a thread on here recently where someone stated that whatever way the law is over here, cats are classified as wild animals or vermin or something and not actually as people's property in the same way as dogs are? I'm not condoning it, Jesus that's just wrong, I'm just asking

gaz wac

adser53 wrote: »

If you lived next door to me you'd find it very annoying if we didn't go out and shoo the neighbours bloody cats away 20 times a day. The 3 gits sit on the fence overlooking my dog run or outside the gate of it driving my dogs demented. My dogs bark at nothing other than these cats and it's infuriating. The neighbours around me can't see whats going on, they can only hear it and if I just let it be, I'm sure I'd get a knock on my door about it. I'm trying to be responsible and considerate to my neighbours while the cat owners are oblivious to what their little free spirits get up to

a few muzzle's should sort that right out !!

The Sweeper

eth0_ wrote: »

What a load of b*llocks. Cats do not scratch cars with their claws. They would be physically unable to climb onto a car if they had their claws extended.

They jump up and regularly extend and contract claws to help them gain purchase if they feel they're sliding. They can easily scratch the finish on a car. Cats claws are in and out all the time when they're moving on a sliding surface. I have timber floorboards in my house with a multi-coat laquered finish to protect them, so the finish is very hard - but it still gets scratched by my cats when they're racing about. Precisely the same thing would happen to a car if they were jumping up on it. They don't walk up and jump with their claws extended, but as they slip and slide they'll put out both front and back claws to gain traction.

This isn't a scratch like some yob with a key is scratching your car. It's a fine line scratching. Personally I don't give a shit, my car is 15 years old and even if someone ran a supermarket trolley into it, it probably wouldn't look any worse - but for someone who's conscientious of their new car's finish, I can imagine it would be infuriating.