Why is there such a pathological hatred of cats in Irish society?

steddyeddy

Shryke wrote: »

Of course we're bloody animals. I'm insulted you'd infer such crap from my post. Sharing the same nuero-chemicals is not in anyway the same as sharing a similar consciousness outside of there being emotions involved in both of us existing.
Humans and mice share 99% of our genes. Please don't tell me how similar we are to mice and how we're all one.
I love dogs for they're intelligence and for their nature. Anyone who can't appreciate a dog is dead inside (pretty harsh but why not), having said that I'm sure dolphins will inherit the planet once we obliterate ourselves.

Consciouness and emotion are not human attributes they belong to the higher order animals. Im just saying the expression "a dog (or any other animal) is not human" does not reduce its claim to emotion or Consciounes. Sorry If I read you up wrong!

af_thefragile

B0jangles wrote: »

Because I don't want cats roaming around my garden crapping everywhere and hunting the garden birds?

Let me put it this way; if I have dogs who keep getting out of my garden and into other people's the onus is on me, the dog-owner to improve my fencing to prevent this happening. If I do not, my neighbours are perfectly entitled to complain to the authorities and to get something done about it.

Same expectation of horse owners , in fact of all commonly owned animals, even farm animals.

Cat owners, however, are not expected to take any measures at all to keep their pets in their own gardens. Somehow it is up to everyone else either to put up with it or spend their own money to keep someone else's animal off their property - why is this so?

Well firstly dogs don't go roaming outside on their own cuz they usually end up chasing strangers/cars and get lost. So its not something a dog would do anyway.

Then cats are fairly small and harmless creatures. All that "they contain diseases" crap is bull ****. They usually bury their poo and even if they don't bury it, its going to be harmless to most people. Its only a very very small minoity of people whom it could potentially be harmful to (which is mostly pregnant women). If your kids are playing in the garden with mud and soil,there are plenty more harmful things in there than cat poo. Also bird poo is equally dangerous. Will you stop/shoot any birds that enter your gardern and leave a poo behind then?

Coming back to cats being small and harmless creatures, they're not going to hurt anyone unless you do something stupid, even then most cats are fairly timid and avoid getting close to humans. Dogs on the other hand and usually pretty aggressive towards strangers. I'ld be very worried if I saw a dog in my back garden (although how it'ld get there would be a mistery as dog's can't climb fences!) but a stange dog could easily attack and seriously injure a child or even an adult. Cats don't bark, chase after and bite people. Also cat bites/scratches are usually harmless as they're usually pretty superficial (yes you can get cat scratch disease, but usually if you just clean the wound and apply appropriate dressing, you'll be fine) while a dog bite would require a visit to the GP or AnE!.



Bottom line is cats are harmless creatures. If one comes in your backgarden, if you like it, pet it and it'll be friendly to you. If you don't like it, shoo it away, use water or whatever, do it a few times and it won't come again. There's no need to go hating on them or their owners.

JustAThought

af_thefragile wrote: »

B0jangles wrote: »

Because I don't want cats roaming around my garden crapping everywhere and hunting the garden birds?

Let me put it this way; if I have dogs who keep getting out of my garden and into other people's the onus is on me, the dog-owner to improve my fencing to prevent this happening. If I do not, my neighbours are perfectly entitled to complain to the authorities and to get something done about it.

Same expectation of horse owners , in fact of all commonly owned animals, even farm animals.

Cat owners, however, are not expected to take any measures at all to keep their pets in their own gardens. Somehow it is up to everyone else either to put up with it or spend their own money to keep someone else's animal off their property - why is this so?

Well firstly dogs don't go roaming outside on their own cuz they usually end up chasing strangers/cars and get lost. So its not something a dog would do anyway.

Then cats are fairly small and harmless creatures. All that "they contain diseases" crap is bull ****. They usually bury their poo and even if they don't bury it, its going to be harmless to most people. Its only a very very small minoity of people whom it could potentially be harmful to (which is mostly pregnant women). If your kids are playing in the garden with mud and soil,there are plenty more harmful things in there than cat poo. Also bird poo is equally dangerous. Will you stop/shoot any birds that enter your gardern and leave a poo behind then?

Coming back to cats being small and harmless creatures, they're not going to hurt anyone unless you do something stupid, even then most cats are fairly timid and avoid getting close to humans. Dogs on the other hand and usually pretty aggressive towards strangers. I'ld be very worried if I saw a dog in my back garden (although how it'ld get there would be a mistery as dog's can't climb fences!) but a stange dog could easily attack and seriously injure a child or even an adult. Cats don't bark, chase after and bite people. Also cat bites/scratches are usually harmless as they're usually pretty superficial (yes you can get cat scratch disease, but usually if you just clean the wound and apply appropriate dressing, you'll be fine) while a dog bite would require a visit to the GP or AnE!.



Bottom line is cats are harmless creatures. If one comes in your backgarden, if you like it, pet it and it'll be friendly to you. If you don't like it, shoo it away, use water or whatever, do it a few times and it won't come again. There's no need to go hating on them or their owners.

With some of them spouting nonsense & utter drivel like this, you begin to make that seem like a reasonable option.

Your attitude probably best sums up why people are increasingly intolerant of catowners.... Cats**t is fine, it's " only s^^t from someone elses cat pet in your garden that your children are playing with/eating & that's OK, it " only" harms pregnant women & that's ok etc etc

Sums it up really.

charlietheminxx

Pottler wrote: »

Luckily I also run an annual Vitamin L event, when numbers get a bit ott.:) I'm not totally soft.

What is this?

gobnaitolunacy

af_thefragile wrote: »

Then cats are fairly small and harmless creatures. All that "they contain diseases" crap is bull ****. They usually bury their poo and even if they don't bury it, its going to be harmless to most people. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vijpbRyfdSA&noredirect=1

Pottler

charlietheminxx wrote: »

What is this?

A vitamin L event? It's where some of them get their shots.

Lord TSC

I hate dogs. Absolutely cannot be near one. They freak me out, and it dates back to a friend who had this massive monster of a dog when I was a kid. It would be all over me when I went round to his house and just gave me a pathological fear of them.

Cats, on the other hand, are awesome, and I wish I had one

af_thefragile

JustAThought wrote: »

With some of them spouting nonsense & utter drivel like this, you begin to make that seem like a reasonable option.

Your attitude probably best sums up why people are increasingly intolerant of catowners.... Cats**t is fine, it's " only s^^t from someone elses cat pet in your garden that your children are playing with/eating & that's OK, it " only" harms pregnant women & that's ok etc etc

Sums it up really.

You'ld be a pretty irresponsible parent if you let you kids play around with and eat dirt/****...

ancapailldorcha

One thing that bugs me is this idea that you have to be either a dog person or a cat person. I grew up with 2 dogs and I loved both. One died and the other ran away and then we adopted a stray cat. I prefer cats to dogs but since our cat died my folks have gotten a Jack Russell. I find it to be quite a pleasant if somewhat energetic addition to the household.
As far as cats carrying diseases goes, you can only do so much to protect people. They have to have some kind of cop on. Yes, cats carry Toxoplasma parasites but if you rub cat dander on your face or don't wash your hands after handling any pet then it's really your own fault.

seligehgit

Was never aware there was a pathological hatred of cats?

Roisy7

B0jangles wrote: »

Wild animal predation is not the same as someone else's pet coming into our garden and killing our pets - why is this such a difficult concept for some people?

Your cat in your garden, our fish in our garden = no problem.

If we had started putting out traps to catch and kill cats in our garden in order protect our pets, we'd be seen as psychos by our neighbours, but if they are anything like you, then they see nothing at all wrong with tacitly allowing their pets to hunt and kill ours.

Also I have to laugh at the idea of keeping koi in an aquarium - you do realise they are pretty large fish that are always kept outside?

Why is is so unreasonable to expect that cat owners should behave responsibly, and with respect for those around them, like all other pet owners are expected to do?


Also read below for a different version of you "argument" but with different animals swiched in?



You think many people would agree with you in this scenario?

Sheep can run tho. Sorry, but leaving fish in a pond uncovered is presenting a sitting target. I heard of a heron eating an entire pond of koi carp worth 3grand or something like that, yet does a heron receive your ire for doing what nature programmed it to do?

Wibbs

Even with this recent reboot, what I felt earlier in the thread still holds for me;

Wibbs wrote:

I've no problem with cats other than if they come into my garden hunting birds and then they just get shooed away. It's excessive cat people I find a bit weird at times.

What people project onto their pets can tell you a lot I have found. Someone who sees value in self serving self centered freeloading behaviour while describing it as independence, with a side order of glee over playing with/torturing prey animals is not someone I'd have much time for TBH.

The cats themselves are little to do with it I've found. I've known many cats that were very dependent and emotionally engaging and affectionate, just as I've known quite aloof and aggressive dogs.

It's the owners projections I look more at if I have a mind to and yes in my experience I have found in the majority of cases excessive cat people types tend to act out that projection of their own personalities(mostly found among women in my experience). I've even seen them project those notions on to cats that weren't like that at all. I would have similar reserve with excessive dog types who see the animal as a projection of their strength and virility and aggression(mostly men in that case).

I would value intelligence and loyalty and I've seen both in cats and dogs, I've also seen freeloading selfishness daftness in cats and dogs and I'd not value that at all. What people choose to project onto their pets of either hue tells me much about them.

B0jangles

Roisy7 wrote: »

Sheep can run tho. Sorry, but leaving fish in a pond uncovered is presenting a sitting target. I heard of a heron eating an entire pond of koi carp worth 3grand or something like that, yet does a heron receive your ire for doing what nature programmed it to do?

No, because a heron is a wild animal doing its best to survive. A domestic cat is someone's pet that is well fed and cared for but whose owner cannot be bothered to actaully exercise a measure of control over their pet and prevent them killing other peoples.

If your cat was sitting snoozing in your garden. and my big scary dog came in and savaged it, would you say that, oh well, my cat was a sitting target, my fault for not keeping him/her indoors?

After all, my dog was just obeying the dictates of nature and all that...

af_thefragile

B0jangles wrote: »

No, because a heron is a wild animal doing its best to survive. A domestic cat is someone's pet that is well fed and cared for but whose owner cannot be bothered to actaully exercise a measure of control over their pet and prevent them killing other peoples.

If your cat was sitting snoozing in your garden. and my big scary dog came in and savaged it, would you say that, oh well, my cat was a sitting target, my fault for not keeping him/her indoors?

What if the cat was feral doing its bid to survive?

Also it is quite unresponsible for people to let loose a big scary dog because it may attack a human or a child too causing serious damage and not just a cat. This is why you need a license to keep a dog and there are laws preventing owners from letting their dogs roam free.

Cats are harmless to humans which is why one doesn't need a license to own one and most people don't mind them roaming around freely.

Roisy7

B0jangles wrote: »

Roisy7 wrote: »

Sheep can run tho. Sorry, but leaving fish in a pond uncovered is presenting a sitting target. I heard of a heron eating an entire pond of koi carp worth 3grand or something like that, yet does a heron receive your ire for doing what nature programmed it to do?

No, because a heron is a wild animal doing its best to survive. A domestic cat is someone's pet that is well fed and cared for but whose owner cannot be bothered to actaully exercise a measure of control over their pet and prevent them killing other peoples.

If your cat was sitting snoozing in your garden. and my big scary dog came in and savaged it, would you say that, oh well, my cat was a sitting target, my fault for not keeping him/her indoors?

After all, my dog was just obeying the dictates of nature and all that...

Bojangles (can't quote as I'm on mobile) so that means you will still leave a fish pond uncovered and complain when any creature- cat, heron, grizzly bear escaped from Dublin zoo- attack and kill them? Seems that's some pretty irresponsible pet owning there.

As for leaving your dog out... As someone said already a dog can hurt a child. To leave it out and have it savage a pet or worst case scenario, a child, you would be in huge trouble, and the dog would be put down.

Cats may be well-fed but like all animals they would not stop at the point of satiation, because in the wild they would not know when their next meal is coming from. That's why obesity in pets is so common because animals will not refuse food.

You were already told by other posters about how to discourage cats from entering your garden. There are sprays and stuff available at hardware stores.

As someone mentioned earlier there's no harm that can come to humans from cats. They are small harmless animals and the fact that you have such a bugbear with them kinda proves the op's point.

You are anthromorphising the domestic cat the way you would not a heron or any other animal, despite the fact they are both governed by their instincts.

As I said already, a cat, sheep or dog can run. Fish can't!

I would like to add I am neither a dog nor a cat person, I'm both. I'm a huge animal lover and there are drawbacks with any creature but to say you are bothered by cats in your garden (leaving aside the fish issue) seems extreme. What if the cats are feral and no one can keep them indoors?! What next, will you have water pistol for unsuspecting blackbirds landing on your lawn?

OldNotWIse

af_thefragile wrote: »

You'ld be a pretty irresponsible parent if you let you kids play around with and eat dirt/****...

So glad I'm not the only one who sees an alarming amount of people on here claiming that their kids are hell bent on eating cat sh1te Most parents watch their children to make sure they don't pick up/eat dirt/sh1t/syringes/condoms/bottles of bleach etc. Standard parenting really.

B0jangles

Roisy7 wrote: »

Bojangles (can't quote as I'm on mobile) so that means you will still leave a fish pond uncovered and complain when any creature- cat, heron, grizzly bear escaped from Dublin zoo- attack and kill them? Seems that's some pretty irresponsible pet owning there.

As for leaving your dog out... As someone said already a dog can hurt a child. To leave it out and have it savage a pet or worst case scenario, a child, you would be in huge trouble, and the dog would be put down.

Cats may be well-fed but like all animals they would not stop at the point of satiation, because in the wild they would not know when their next meal is coming from. That's why obesity in pets is so common because animals will not refuse food.

You were already told by other posters about how to discourage cats from entering your garden. There are sprays and stuff available at hardware stores.

As someone mentioned earlier there's no harm that can come to humans from cats. They are small harmless animals and the fact that you have such a bugbear with them kinda proves the op's point.

You are anthromorphising the domestic cat the way you would not a heron or any other animal, despite the fact they are both governed by their instincts.

As I said already, a cat, sheep or dog can run. Fish can't!

I would like to add I am neither a dog nor a cat person, I'm both. I'm a huge animal lover and there are drawbacks with any creature but to say you are bothered by cats in your garden (leaving aside the fish issue) seems extreme. What if the cats are feral and no one can keep them indoors?! What next, will you have water pistol for unsuspecting blackbirds landing on your lawn?

If you have read the thread you should know that I already described the measures we took to protect our fish - and comparing the highly unlikely scenario of a bear escaping from the zoo with the daily presence of someone else's pet in my garden is ridiculous.

I never suggested cats were a danger to people, except by way of their faeces. As I have said over and over again uncontrolled domestic cats have made it impossible for my family to keep our pet fish. I have a "bugbear" with their owners because of the attitude shown repeatedly in this thread that for some unexplained reason cats are treated differently from every other domestic animal in being allowed by their owners to go where ever they want.

Also as I understand the word, "anthropomorphizing" means attributing human characteristics to something non-human - I don't see where I have done that?

charlietheminxx

Bojangles, you also haven't responded to my comments about cats needing exercise.

Again, if you personally have a problem with cats, there are millions of ways to keep them out.

That's no reason to keep every pet cat in the country trapped indoors which is cruel to them. Taking on a cat and then doing that would be irresponsible pet ownership.

B0jangles

charlietheminxx wrote: »

Bojangles, you also haven't responded to my comments about cats needing exercise.

Again, if you personally have a problem with cats, there are millions of ways to keep them out.

That's no reason to keep every pet cat in the country trapped indoors which is cruel to them. Taking on a cat and then doing that would be irresponsible pet ownership.

Can your cat not exercise with the confines of your own garden? If you don't have enough garden space to give your pet sufficient room for exercise then I'd suggest having one is irresponsible ownership. Personally, I'd love to have a horse but since I don't have a field to keep one it I'm just going to have to go without for now.

And you never responded to my comment that the majority of cats in the US are kept indoors 100% of ther time and they seem to be doing pretty well.

charlietheminxx

You actually contradict yourself there.

If my garden isn't big, I shouldn't have a cat / Cat's are fine to keep indoors all the time because they do it in America.

Which is it?

I think it's cruel to keep cats indoors all the time, especially young cats. That's why so many people, especially American cat owners, have obese cats.

My cat is almost 9, he goes out and he comes home without a bother. He's a friendly thing, and we've never had a complaint about him. So no, I wouldn't stop him from climbing trees and walking along the fences of gardens around the place. It's in his nature, it's what's best for him and if wanting what's best for my cat when it doens't hurt anyone else is what leads you to call me irresponsible, fine.

B0jangles

charlietheminxx wrote: »

You actually contradict yourself there.

If my garden isn't big, I shouldn't have a cat / Cat's are fine to keep indoors all the time because they do it in America.

Which is it?

I think it's cruel to keep cats indoors all the time, especially young cats. That's why so many people, especially American cat owners, have obese cats.

My cat is almost 9, he goes out and he comes home without a bother. He's a friendly thing, and we've never had a complaint about him. So no, I wouldn't stop him from climbing trees and walking along the fences of gardens around the place. It's in his nature, it's what's best for him and if wanting what's best for my cat when it doens't hurt anyone else is what leads you to call me irresponsible, fine.

No contradiction, just two different schools of thought. You feel outdoor exercise is important, so as a responsible owner you should make sure you have a garden big enough for your cat. If you think, like millions of Americans, that a pet cat can get enough exercise indoors, then you keep the cat indoors.

Also you seem to think that my major concern here is the cat and whether or not he gets his exercise in or outdoors - it isn't. I honestly don't care if you keep your cat indoors 100% of the time or let him out to play in your own garden.

I only care when your cat comes into my garden to hunt my fish and poop in the flowerbeds, and see, this is where your line "when it doens't hurt anyone else" comes in. If you are just letting your cat roam the neighbourhood freely without knowing where he is, you have no idea what he's doing, do you?

charlietheminxx

We trained the cat from when he was a rescue kitten, he doesn't poop in peoples flowerbeds. He only goes as far as the other gardens on my road, I know all my neighbours fairly well, and as I said, I've never had any complaints in 9 years.

None of them have ponds with fish though - if that was a problem then I would certainly work with my neighbours to resolve the issue, and I wouldn't have a problem with paying for the scented repellent for them if that was the best course of action.

When I was a very small child, I lived somewhere with a large garden, and we had rockery thing with fish which we kept covered with netting most of the time.

DyldeBrill

well I thought they were hated everywhere...sly little ****es

B0jangles

charlietheminxx wrote: »

We trained the cat from when he was a rescue kitten, he doesn't poop in peoples flowerbeds. He only goes as far as the other gardens on my road, I know all my neighbours fairly well, and as I said, I've never had any complaints in 9 years.

None of them have ponds with fish though - if that was a problem then I would certainly work with my neighbours to resolve the issue, and I wouldn't have a problem with paying for the scented repellent for them if that was the best course of action.

When I was a very small child, I lived somewhere with a large garden, and we had rockery thing with fish which we kept covered with netting most of the time.

That's great, you're being a responsible owner of a clearly loved and cared for pet but I'm sorry to say as a representative of the cat-owning community in this country, you're definitely in the minority in my experience.

Shenshen

B0jangles wrote: »

No contradiction, just two different schools of thought. You feel outdoor exercise is important, so as a responsible owner you should make sure you have a garden big enough for your cat. If you think, like millions of Americans, that a pet cat can get enough exercise indoors, then you keep the cat indoors.

Also you seem to think that my major concern here is the cat and whether or not he gets his exercise in or outdoors - it isn't. I honestly don't care if you keep your cat indoors 100% of the time or let him out to play in your own garden.

I only care when your cat comes into my garden to hunt my fish and poop in the flowerbeds, and see, this is where your line "when it doens't hurt anyone else" comes in. If you are just letting your cat roam the neighbourhood freely without knowing where he is, you have no idea what he's doing, do you?

I'm begining to wonder, have you actually even spoken to the owners of the cats who attacked your fish?
Have you ever asked them to prevent their cats from coming into your garden?
And if not, why not?

B0jangles

Shenshen wrote: »

I'm begining to wonder, have you actually even spoken to the owners of the cats who attacked your fish?
Have you ever asked them to prevent their cats from coming into your garden?
And if not, why not?

Because I don't know who they are? I'm not that great a tracker so I haven't been able to follow the cats home via their usual routes through hedges and along the tops of walls.

Quorum

B0jangles wrote: »

Can your cat not exercise with the confines of your own garden? If you don't have enough garden space to give your pet sufficient room for exercise then I'd suggest having one is irresponsible ownership. Personally, I'd love to have a horse but since I don't have a field to keep one it I'm just going to have to go without for now.

B0jangles wrote: »

No contradiction, just two different schools of thought. You feel outdoor exercise is important, so as a responsible owner you should make sure you have a garden big enough for your cat.

Very difficult to contain a cat within one garden. They are adept climbers and can squeeze through tiny spaces by flattening out their body. If a cat wants to leave a garden, it will find a way.

B0jangles

Quorum wrote: »

Very difficult to contain a cat within one garden. They are adept climbers and can squeeze through tiny spaces by flattening out their body. If a cat wants to leave a garden, it will find a way.

Oh I know cats are amazing climbers and escapologists, I just don't think is fair that because it is difficult to keep them in their own gardens, many cat owners feel ok with making no effort whatsoever to do so.

gobnaitolunacy

It's time this thread was put to sleep.

fishy fishy

B0jangles wrote: »

No contradiction, just two different schools of thought. You feel outdoor exercise is important, so as a responsible owner you should make sure you have a garden big enough for your cat. If you think, like millions of Americans, that a pet cat can get enough exercise indoors, then you keep the cat indoors.

Also you seem to think that my major concern here is the cat and whether or not he gets his exercise in or outdoors - it isn't. I honestly don't care if you keep your cat indoors 100% of the time or let him out to play in your own garden.

I only care when your cat comes into my garden to hunt my fish and poop in the flowerbeds, and see, this is where your line "when it doens't hurt anyone else" comes in. If you are just letting your cat roam the neighbourhood freely without knowing where he is, you have no idea what he's doing, do you?

how can you let your cat out to get exercise in your garden without him climbing up the wall and running next door.