Your thoughts on pet cats roaming free

kildare.17hmr

After getting a warning in another thread for bringing this up i was advised by a mod to start a seperate thread about it if i wanted to discuss it.

Personally i hate cats coming into my garden, they sh!t all over the place and sometimes dont bury it, they sh!t in the flower pots which sometimes you dont find till your putting in new flowers and digging around with your hands and i came in to the kitchen one day recently and there was a cat on the bloody counter:mad: it was a warm day and we were home so a few windows were left open.

So id like to see what everyone else thinks about "pet" cats being let to roam where ever they like by their owners. I think the owners should have full responsibility if the cat damages anything or is causing trouble the same way dog owners are. If i let my dog roam the streets doing what it liked where it liked there would be war!

star-pants

Mod Warning!!

I did say Kildare could start a new thread to calmly discuss the pros and cons of having cats roaming so I would advise all, including the OP to stick to that or this will end up being locked pretty quickly.

planetX

not again:(
cats are not the same as dogs.
I hate when my neighbours play music outside on a sunny day.
I hate the revving engines as they play with their cars.
I put up with it.
I hate the idea that there are people out there that are so hateful to cats.
Live and let live.

You must have very big attractive flower pots...

Blueprint

I wish people would take as much responsibility for their children as they expect me to take for my cats.

cyrusdvirus

I've found cats to be a lot more timid and will in general, stay away.

We always had cats in my parents house growing up, and while our ones would be as bold as brass in 'their' house, they were very quick to head the other direction if they thought there were going to be any other humans in their general vicinity

In my own place cats don't tend to hang around as much... could be to do with the gruesome twosome though!! 2 Lab Staffy's are a GOOD deterrent!!!

biko

Before I had a cat myself I didn't like them coming into my garden, or sometimes even the house if a door was open.
After getting cat I changed my mind - you can't keep them inside and they usually don't poo in the middle of the lawn but under bushes and similar.

I don't like neighbours cats coming into the house but I just stamp my feet and chase them out and they know to stay away if I'm around.

borderlinemeath

I don't mind cats at all. Even though I'm a dog person.

My neighbours have cats, before we got our dogs they were regular visitors to our garden and they were more than welcome. They keep other small furry pests away.

If I was ever to get a cat I certainly wouldn't keep it locked up in the house. Cats are independent creatures and like to go on little wanders by themselves and it would be extremely cruel to keep them confined as such.

ScouseMouse

star-pants wrote: »

Mod Warning!!

I did say Kildare could start a new thread to calmly discuss the pros and cons of having cats roaming so I would advise all, including the OP to stick to that or this will end up being locked pretty quickly.

One of the cons I personally have a serious problem with, is of them triggering security lights, which in turn alarms people for security reasons at 2 am.

naughtysmurf

We have a good few cats in our neighbourhood, I have never heard any complaints though I do appreciate cat sh!t can be annoying but at least they tend to bury it.

Not sure there is much you can do, hunter cats will roam, it's just their nature and you can't stop it, there are products you can get to deter them from entering gardens etc, haven't used them so don't know how good they are

Much more annoying is watching dog owners watching their pet from the end of a lead taking a dump on a footpath and then just walking away

kildare.17hmr

planetX wrote: »

not again:(
cats are not the same as dogs.
I hate when my neighbours play music outside on a sunny day.
I hate the revving engines as they play with their cars.
I put up with it.
I hate the idea that there are people out there that are so hateful to cats.
Live and let live.

You must have very big attractive flower pots...

music and reving engines does not bother me at all and does it matter what the flower pots look like? I still use them so it matters to me that there is cats doin their business in them!

I am a dog person and dont care much for cats anyway but i have the same complaints about dogs in my estate.

If my dog goes outside its picked up

seamus

I think to a certain extent much of the problem is that some owners feel that when it's a cat their attitude is, "Ah sure what can you do?", when neighbours complain about cats disturbing plants, irritating dogs or otherwise making a nuisance.

Outside of social concerns, there are numerous legitimate reasons for not allowing a cat to roam - longevity and stress being two.
I have to admit though I have never encountered any social problems caused by roaming cats. The neighbour below me has a cat that doesn't get let in if it's not outside the door at 9pm. It has badly scratched the handrail outside the house. It craps in the flowerbeds. Sometimes it whines outside at 5am. It sleeps on my bike in warm weather.

But the wooden handrail needs to be sanded and painted every few years anyway, I'm not precious about it. It craps in the flowerbeds along with a tonne of slugs and the hedgehogs and rats I've seen in them. Sometimes it whines outside, but it doesn't wake me or annoy me any more than someone slamming a car door or talking loudly outside. And it's nice to come out and find the cat on my bike and give it a quick pet .

In short, I wouldn't consider it to a "problem" in any way shape or form, unless I was a very uptight or highly strung person. In which case I'm sure that the occassional wake-up call at 5am seems like something worth complaining about.

And I'd say the same of all of my experiences with roaming cats throughout my life. I've never had an experience that I would consider an actual problem worth complaining about, definitely not worth legislating or suing for.
If I was doing flowerpots, I'd have gardening gloves on anyway, so I wouldn't be too concerned what kind of detritus I found in the pot.

aisher

Where I live there are about 3 cats (all different owners) who roam around the back walls. I had chickens at one point and they were a massive problem as you can imagine. I was fed up having to shoo them away and in the end got rid of the chickens as it was too much hassel. Now we have a dog and the cats so far have stayed away lol. I am not a fan of cats to be honest but as long as they dont come into the garden I will tolerate them.

anniehoo

As mentioned above i treat dogs very different to cats also. In general cats are more savvy and cautious than dogs would be. I consider myself a responsible pet owner and my cats, to my knowledge, have not caused any damage to my neighbours property. If they did and they could prove it was my cat, id accept full responsibly just like i would if it was damage caused by my dog or my child. My cats are regularly wormed so finding faeces in your flower bed will do you no harm whatsoever from a dewormed animal.

I let my cats out for a few hours every evening for exercise and mental stimulation and i consider it no different than parents letting their children play unsupervised for hours on end around the estates where i live and yes, they really are unsupervised!!!They've wrecked newly planted shrubs, broken long established trees, created bald spots on the grass from riding their bikes..but it doesnt bother me enough to complain. Thats life!

I accept that permanent indoor cats have a grand life but i choose not to do that to mine, no more than i would keep my children locked indoors the whole time either.

borderlinemeath

anniehoo wrote: »

As mentioned above i treat dogs very different to cats also. In general cats are more savvy and cautious than dogs would be. I consider myself a responsible pet owner and my cats, to my knowledge, have not caused any damage to my neighbours property. If they did and they could prove it was my cat, id accept full responsibly just like i would if it was damage caused by my dog or my child. My cats are regularly wormed so finding faeces in your flower bed will do you no harm whatsoever from a dewormed animal.

I let my cats out for a few hours every evening for exercise and mental stimulation and i consider it no different than parents letting their children play unsupervised for hours on end around the estates where i live and yes, they really are unsupervised!!!They've wrecked newly planted shrubs, broken long established trees, created bald spots on the grass from riding their bikes..but it doesnt bother me enough to complain. Thats life!

I accept that permanent indoor cats have a grand life but i choose not to do that to mine, no more than i would keep my children locked indoors the whole time either.

+1

I would equate cats that are kept indoors all the time to dogs that aren't walked. It just doesn't rest well with me. Pets really don't ask for much, food, water, shelter and a bit of freedom for cats and walks for dogs.

I detest cats roaming free about my garden.

It's bad enough they p*ss all over flowers, killing them and forcing me to buy more to replace them.

It's even more of a problem that they defecate in my flower beds. I have a toddler who loves to play in my back garden, which outside the cat sh*t is more or less relatively safe. I clean it up regularly, but it's an ongoing battle. I don't see why I should have to do this, they're not my cats, if it was rats or mice, I'd be able to put down traps for them and end the problem.

ElleEm

I hear they hate citrus so why not cut up some citrus fruits or put juice in the areas they go. It may deter them.

Boys will be boys and cats will be cats!

ElleEm

ElleEm wrote: »

I hear they hate citrus so why not cut up some citrus fruits or put juice in the areas they go. It may deter them.

Boys will be boys and cats will be cats!

I've tried citrus, commercial brand stuff, tea bags with pepper, you name it. All very short term solutions to an ongoing problem.

Would consider calling the warden, but I'd never catch the offending felines in question...

Bizzum

A massive problem that cats can cause if out free roaming is the damage they do to silage bales by puncturing the plastic.
It's easy enough for them to cause several hundred euros of damage if there not noticed.
The damage they do to wildlife life annoys me too.

Boys will be boys is scant consolation, and as boy (years ago!) any damage I done had consequences.

kildare.17hmr

Bizzum wrote: »

A massive problem that cats can cause if out free roaming is the damage they do to silage bales by puncturing the plastic.
It's easy enough for them to cause several hundred euros of damage if there not noticed.
The damage they do to wildlife life annoys me too.

Boys will be boys is scant consolation, and as boy (years ago!) any damage I done had consequences.

cats in fields i consider vermin and treat accordingly but its different in the housing estate

borderlinemeath

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

cats in fields i consider vermin and treat accordingly but its different in the housing estate

:eek:
I doubt the ISPCA would share you're point of view.

Bizzum

borderlinemeath wrote: »

:eek:
I doubt the ISPCA would share you're point of view.

How are the ISPCA at repairing silage?

piperh

anniehoo wrote: »

My cats are regularly wormed so finding faeces in your flower bed will do you no harm whatsoever from a dewormed animal.

I have kept cats in the past and quite like them however i wonder if you'd feel the same if i let my wormed dog mess in your garden and did not clean it up or do you go out everyday and clean up after them?

For me the pros of keeping cats are they are lovely (normally) friendly independant animals who help keep the vermin away.

The cons would be that as independant animals unless i supervise all their outside time i cannot be sure what they are getting up to (anymore than i can with my teenagers:rolleyes:).

Should my neighbours have to put up with my animals on their property just because i want them, i'm not sure.

cython

anniehoo wrote: »

As mentioned above i treat dogs very different to cats also. In general cats are more savvy and cautious than dogs would be. I consider myself a responsible pet owner and my cats, to my knowledge, have not caused any damage to my neighbours property. If they did and they could prove it was my cat, id accept full responsibly just like i would if it was damage caused by my dog or my child. My cats are regularly wormed so finding faeces in your flower bed will do you no harm whatsoever from a dewormed animal.

The same can be said for virtually any animal, or indeed a person, but that doesn't mean it's still not an unpleasant thing to find, be the waste from a cat, a dog, or an incredibly ignorant human! With that in mind, I don't really see your comment as a reason to dismiss anger over it.

anniehoo wrote: »

I let my cats out for a few hours every evening for exercise and mental stimulation and i consider it no different than parents letting their children play unsupervised for hours on end around the estates where i live and yes, they really are unsupervised!!!They've wrecked newly planted shrubs, broken long established trees, created bald spots on the grass from riding their bikes..but it doesnt bother me enough to complain. Thats life!

Do the kids venture onto private property/into houses uninvited, and do that damage there? If so, especially in the latter cases, I would certainly be complaining about that, and it is analogous to the OPs points re cats.

anniehoo wrote: »

I accept that permanent indoor cats have a grand life but i choose not to do that to mine, no more than i would keep my children locked indoors the whole time either.

So would you give your children the freedom to wander across other people's property, and in and out of their houses, leaving "presents" for them? Because again, this is a complaint of the OP about free roaming cats. Now I realise that cats have no concept of private property or other human concepts, but this is the very same as most pet animals (and I will not limit this to dogs, as people tend to jump on licensing as something that distinguishes dogs), yet while almost all other pet owners are expected to take responsibility for this in one way or another, cat owners seem to count themselves apart, and fob it off as their pet(s)' "independent nature"

gufnork

superscouse wrote: »

One of the cons I personally have a serious problem with, is of them triggering security lights, which in turn alarms people for security reasons at 2 am.

My two have learnt to slink in between the flower pots so they don't set our security light off.

Of course, you can adjust the sensitivity setting on them if it bothers you that much.

kildare.17hmr

piperh wrote: »

I have kept cats in the past and quite like them however i wonder if you'd feel the same if i let my wormed dog mess in your garden and did not clean it up or do you go out everyday and clean up after them?

For me the pros of keeping cats are they are lovely (normally) friendly independant animals who help keep the vermin away.

The cons would be that as independant animals unless i supervise all their outside time i cannot be sure what they are getting up to (anymore than i can with my teenagers:rolleyes:).

Should my neighbours have to put up with my animals on their property just because i want them, i'm not sure.

well put and i think thats what it comes down to at the end of the day. I have 2 young kids also who play out the back on the swings and that, the little lad who is 3 plays around the bushes with his toys, why do people expect me to be ok with this??? they are not my cats!

gufnork

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

well put and i think thats what it comes down to at the end of the day. I have 2 young kids also who play out the back on the swings and that, the little lad who is 3 plays around the bushes with his toys, why do people expect me to be ok with this??? they are not my cats!

I don't understand what we're expected to do about this. Would you like to start taking pot shots at cats or what?

They're cats, they're going to roam.

vicwatson

OP - interesting thread here -

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056312288

gufnork

vicwatson wrote: »

OP - interesting thread here -

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056312288

I just remembered, a bloke at work says he sprinkled pepper around and he never saw any more cats, lucky for the cats actually, he's not a great cat lover either.

kildare.17hmr

gufnork wrote: »

I don't understand what we're expected to do about this. Would you like to start taking pot shots at cats or what?

They're cats, they're going to roam.

Im guessin you have a cat that roams so

gufnork

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Im guessin you have a cat that roams so

Yep. He's a big chap too. He'll quite happily stroll up to anyone. Very friendly chap. That's how we got him. He just strolled nonchalently into our house one day. Poor little guy was starving, I mean literally starving. He ate 10 pouches of cat food before curling up on the armchair for a snooze.

How can anyone not love the little guys?

Bizzum

It's irresponsible ownership to allow cats roam freely causing damage, and trying to justify it is worse.
Can you imagine the mayhem if farmers behaved like this with livestock.

Discodog

Bizzum wrote: »

How are the ISPCA at repairing silage?

Our farming friends are a fickle lot. Most farmers want cats to control rats.

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

cats in fields i consider vermin and treat accordingly but its different in the housing estate

Amazing how anyone can be dog lover & hate another animal species.

Deleted User wrote: »

Would consider calling the warden, but I'd never catch the offending felines in question...

What warden ? The dog warden deals with dogs not cats.

gufnork

Bizzum wrote: »

It's irresponsible ownership to allow cats roam freely causing damage, and trying to justify it is worse.
Can you imagine the mayhem if farmers behaved like this with livestock.

Yeeeeaaaahh.... cows are quite big though, aren't they.

ppink

planetX wrote: »

not again:(
cats are not the same as dogs.
I hate when my neighbours play music outside on a sunny day.
I hate the revving engines as they play with their cars.
I put up with it.
I hate the idea that there are people out there that are so hateful to cats.
Live and let live.

You must have very big attractive flower pots...

I dont like noisy neighbours.....kids cars or music but thankfully there is a fence between me and them!
It would be great if there was a fence between the neighbours choice of pet and me also.

Bizzum

Discodog wrote: »

Our farming friends are a fickle lot. Most farmers want cats to control rats.

Fickle is it?
So it's Fine that I foot the bill? That I repair any damage?
That the irresponsible owner takes no responsibility for the situation?

I control rats, cats and anything else that effects my livelyhood.

Bizzum

gufnork wrote: »

Yeeeeaaaahh.... cows are quite big though, aren't they.

So it's a size issue then?

kildare.17hmr

Discodog wrote: »

Our farming friends are a fickle lot. Most farmers want cats to control rats.

any farmers i know hate cats being around and have a resident terrier or 2 around the yard to control vermin

Amazing how anyone can be dog lover & hate another animal species.

I dont hate them i hate the way the owners go on. i dont hate any animals. i hate them coming into my house and my garden uninvited

gufnork

Bizzum wrote: »

So it's a size issue then?

isn't it always the way...?

kildare.17hmr

Bizzum wrote: »

Fickle is it?
So it's Fine that I foot the bill? That I repair any damage?
That the irresponsible owner takes no responsibility for the situation?

No its not fine at all. If someone claims they own the cat it should be their responsability, if no one owns it its feral, treat it the same as an unwelcom fox or grain field full of rabbits

Discodog

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

I dont hate them i hate the way the owners go on. i dont hate any animals. i hate them coming into my house and my garden uninvited

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

cats in fields i consider vermin and treat accordingly

Discodog

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

No its not fine at all. If someone claims they own the cat it should be their responsability, if no one owns it its feral, treat it the same as an unwelcom fox or grain field full of rabbits

How do you tell if it is vermin or someone's pet or do you just shoot it ?

Bizzum

gufnork wrote: »

isn't it always the way...?

No it isn't.
This has nothing to do with the debate.

gufnork

Discodog wrote: »

How do you tell if it is vermin or someone's pet or do you just shoot it ?

simple. If its a cat its not vermin. Glad I could help there.

Discodog

gufnork wrote: »

simple. If its a cat its not vermin. Glad I could help there.

The question was not directed to you & judging by your recent comments in this thread, I would suggest that you have nothing of value to add to the discussion.

kildare.17hmr

Discodog wrote: »

I didnt say i hated them, i dont hate foxes, rabbits, duck, pheasent, ect ether

Discodog wrote: »

How do you tell if it is vermin or someone's pet or do you just shoot it ?

if it has no collar, is out where there are no houses and is hanging around livestock or bales its vermin. lots of feral cats around my way

audreyp

I have 3 cats which I allow to roam. I let the cats decide and one of them likes to go outside. He only ever goes at night, I have a cat flap, the rest haven't roamed yet.

I am hoping he doesn't annoy anyone he is a big scaredy cat. I tried keeping him indoors but he was miserable. It wasn't fair. I don't believe it is irresponsible of me to do this. No animal can be locked inside. That would be like never walking a dog!!! I hate the idea of such intolerant people out there, it scares me!

Kids cry at all hours but I don't expect my neighbour to be able to control it. My cats are my kids and I hate the idea of them crossing paths with some of the people on this thread!

kildare.17hmr

audreyp wrote: »

I have 3 cats which I allow to roam. I let the cats decide and one of them likes to go outside. He only ever goes at night, I have a cat flap, the rest haven't roamed yet.

I am hoping he doesn't annoy anyone he is a big scaredy cat. I tried keeping him indoors but he was miserable. It wasn't fair. I don't believe it is irresponsible of me to do this. No animal can be locked inside. That would be like never walking a dog!!! I hate the idea of such intolerant people out there, it scares me!

Kids cry at all hours but I don't expect my neighbour to be able to control it. My cats are my kids and I hate the idea of them crossing paths with some of the people on this thread!

I really wish people would stop comparing cats to kids....

noise is not the problem!!! You dont need to keep them inside the hous just in your garden, cant you get cat proof fencing to stop them getting out?

audreyp

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

audreyp wrote: »

I have 3 cats which I allow to roam. I let the cats decide and one of them likes to go outside. He only ever goes at night, I have a cat flap, the rest haven't roamed yet.

I am hoping he doesn't annoy anyone he is a big scaredy cat. I tried keeping him indoors but he was miserable. It wasn't fair. I don't believe it is irresponsible of me to do this. No animal can be locked inside. That would be like never walking a dog!!! I hate the idea of such intolerant people out there, it scares me!

Kids cry at all hours but I don't expect my neighbour to be able to control it. My cats are my kids and I hate the idea of them crossing paths with some of the people on this thread!

I really wish people would stop comparing cats to kids....

noise is not the problem!!! You dont need to keep them inside the hous just in your garden, cant you get cat proof fencing to stop them getting out?

Why can't I compare my cats to kids? They mean the same to me! They are my babies, I stay up with them when they are sick and love them so much. If you can't understand it that's ok but don't criticise it. I can't cat proof my garden. I have a townhouse, couldn't do it unless my neighbours did too. Thankfully they like my cats so don't mind the odd visit!

planetX

I'd rather live next door to 20 cats than one man with a gun.

kildare.17hmr

audreyp wrote: »

Why can't I compare my cats to kids? They mean the same to me! They are my babies, I stay up with them when they are sick and love them so much. If you can't understand it that's ok but don't criticise it. I can't cat proof my garden. I have a townhouse, couldn't do it unless my neighbours did too. Thankfully they like my cats so don't mind the odd visit!

ok so ill put it a different way then. how would you like it if the neighbours kids came into your garden the whole time and did their business???? I love my dogs but i love my human kids more

kildare.17hmr

planetX wrote: »

I'd rather live next door to 20 cats than one man with a gun.