Am I responsible?

anewme

I was just going to comment exactly as above re car. Ive seen scrapes on car bonnets by cats.

Its particularly noticeable on black.

If i see a cat near my brand new car it gets shooed away.

Mitch Connor

oh, and on the basic question. No, you are not responsible. You are not responsible at all. You don't show yourself as being at all responsible. You are a completely irresponsible pet owner.

Even forgetting the roaming, cause the reality is that is normal ownership behavior, but to not neuter your cat? Utterly irresponsible, ignorant and arrogant.

Pissartist

anewme wrote: »

I was just going to comment exactly as above re car. Ive seen scrapes on car bonnets by cats.

Its particularly noticeable on black.

If i see a cat near my brand new car it gets shooed away.

Put pepper on the bonnet he'll won't come back

LimeFruitGum

We had a soft top car and we caught cats sharpening their nails on the roof a few years ago. The OH was furious. It turned out one of the neighbours was leaving food out around various spots around the grounds, including the carpark because they felt sorry for all the roaming cats around the apartment block. Of course, nobody could figure out who owned which cat. They definitely weren’t strays, but it was impossible to know if they lived in our apt ground or wandered in from nearby houses and estates.
We just had to get a car cover and lots of cat repellents. But I can tell you, if we knew who owned the cats, we’d have had a word with their owner.
One the one hand, you are saying it’s your cat, and then it’s like ‘oh he just comes here for food’. Which is it. Take ownership. You got the cat, you are responsible for it.
BTW, you have to neuter the cat. Tomcats stink the place out with their pee as a way to mark territory unless they get the snip.

Mrs OBumble

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I'll never understand why cat owners think it's ok that they can let their cat roam freely to do whatever it wants, it's grossly irresponsible

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

Cats roam, it's what they do.

But they don't scratch cars. And their interactions other a animals are simply nature in action.

Paddy Cow

Fiddlesticks99 wrote: »

Now come on, cat enclosure?!? ffs. What needs to change exactly?

Put a bell on your cat and it won't be able to kill anything. Simple but effective solution.

Fiddlesticks99

taytobreath wrote: »

Neuter your cat, that tom has probably impregnated countless females that have given birth to countless more and most of these cats will see some sort of horrible suffering and cruelty because they are feral and hungry.

thats animal cruelty

Hypothetical argument

Igotadose

Paddy Cow wrote: »

Put a bell on your cat and it won't be able to kill anything. Simple but effective solution.

They learn to hunt and keep the bell still.

Mine did, would see them running across the lawn, not a bell tinkle to be heard.

blinding

Neuter the cat and yourself just to be sure .

Fiddlesticks99

Mitch Connor wrote: »

oh, and on the basic question. No, you are not responsible. You are not responsible at all. You don't show yourself as being at all responsible. You are a completely irresponsible pet owner.

Even forgetting the roaming, cause the reality is that is normal ownership behavior, but to not neuter your cat? Utterly irresponsible, ignorant and arrogant.

How exactly am I "Utterly irresponsible, ignorant and arrogant"?? You would swear I lost a child while drinking or something. Unless I keep it locked up 24/7, the cat will roam, as it should.


Get over yourself

10fathoms

I would consider your cat to be feral and treat it as such..

Fiddlesticks99

Pissartist wrote: »

That's actually a great idea, cheap too

And less of the animal torture banter please.

Ave Sodalis

Fiddlesticks99 wrote:

Unless I keep it locked up 24/7, the cat will roam, as it should.

Might be a good idea to snip it so.

riffmongous

kingchess wrote: »

I will ponder deeply on this ,and get some advice from a mate of mine who is well versed in the Law,(he is always helping the Gardai with their inquiries ).But I think you should get away with it.

I need to steal this line

Autosport

One of my neighbors cat used to scratch my car and I bought a car cover and it still would sit up on the bonnet of my car and somehow still manage to scratch parts of the car so one day said cat was caught and brought to a rescue as I said I have a dog who would kill the cat if he caught it and the cat was a stray. Cats been gone quite a few years now No point talking to irresponsible owners just deal with it yourself,

Zenify

I remember somebody saying to me that cats are wild animals and you are not responsible for their actions as they cannot be controlled. Unlike a dog.

borderlinemeath

Fiddlesticks99 wrote: »

How exactly am I "Utterly irresponsible, ignorant and arrogant"?? You would swear I lost a child while drinking or something. Unless I keep it locked up 24/7, the cat will roam, as it should.


Get over yourself

You have to be on a wind up.


Given your posting, you couldn't be any more irresponsible with the pet you choose to keep. Neuter the cat before it creates any more unwanted cats/kittens. Go onto any animal rescue website and see just how many bloody cats a single tom cat can impregnate and just how many kittens will be needlessly created because you are a lazy, ignorant irresponsible pet owner.



Then again, if you leave him unneutered, you will most likely end up with a big vets bill anyway. Unneutered toms will fight. A lot. Your cat will get scratches, bites, infections, FIV, FELV, you name it.



As for the chickens, it's possible. As for the car, highly possible this time of year. Cats love sitting up on the bonnet of a car.



I really hope your neighbour gets CCTV. That would soften your cough if there was evidence of your total lack of regard for her property.

odyssey06

Fiddlesticks99 wrote: »

How exactly am I "Utterly irresponsible, ignorant and arrogant"?? You would swear I lost a child while drinking or something. Unless I keep it locked up 24/7, the cat will roam, as it should.
Get over yourself

What kind of person posts a question on an internet forum, then tells everyone who comes up with an answer he doesn't like to "Get over yourself."

Ignorance, arrogance and irresponsibility are only the start of it here.

If the cat has any sense it won't bother coming back.

Yer Da sells Avon

None of this would've happened if your neighbour had been sensible and kept her car indoors.

percy212

Get the cat neutered. End of story.

Alternatively:
Let the neighbour prove your cat is the culprit. Otherwise they have nothing and you can ignore them.

Or:
Tell your neighbour to keep the chickens in at night and to put the car in an enclosure.

odyssey06

Zenify wrote: »

I remember somebody saying to me that cats are wild animals and you are not responsible for their actions as they cannot be controlled. Unlike a dog.

A pet cat is property, not a wild animal. A feral cat is a wild animal.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9968640/How-the-law-views-cats.html

Cats Protection also says that it is a commonly-held view that cats have a right to roam wherever they wish. This view is largely based upon the fact that certain duties imposed upon the owners of dogs and livestock to keep their animals under control do not apply to cat owners. The law in these respects recognised that, by their nature, cats are less likely than some other animals to cause injury to people or damage to property. However, cat owners do have a general duty under law to take reasonable care to ensure that their cat does not cause injury to people or damage to property.

Given our common law heritage with UK, I think assume same legal status as UK unless hear otherwise with something ROI specific.

El_Duderino 09

CalamariFritti wrote: »

As for scratching a car thats more than unlikely, it makes no sense at all. A cat wouldn't scratch a car it might scratch a tree or a sofa but not a hard smooth surface like a car. If anything a cat might jump onto a car but even then it would make no sense for the cat to use its claws. Cats are amongst the most gracious and physically aware animals and they know very well what surfaces they need claws for and what surfaces they need a smooth grippy paw for.

Explain to her the car makes no sense at all and apologise and pay for the chicken and thereby keep the peace.

Cats scratch for a number of reasons including to maintain their claws, it relaxes them and Because scratching releases scent from their paws. It's marking territory in the third case and is perfectly likely in someone else's garden. It's more likely to scratch to maintain its claws and relax when on their own patch.

A cat might not particularly enjoy scratching a smooth surface like a car, as opposed to a tree. But if it becomes part of their routine when they enter the garden then it's likely they will continue to do it.

Not really buying the OP though. Just responding to this point about cat behaviour.

mvl

percy212 wrote: »

Get the cat neutered. End of story.

Alternatively:
Let the neighbour prove your cat is the culprit. Otherwise they have nothing and you can ignore them.

Or:
Tell your neighbour to keep the chickens in at night and to put the car in an enclosure.

Are you a home owner yourself ? this is not how you'd foster good relations with your neighbors !?!

Also, the neighbor is not obliged to let a "stray" cat roam freely in their garden/yard. no mind the one chicken: for a scratched car I'd check CCTV and then get the pet owner to pay; that is ... only if I'd have patience with the entire process. Cause what I'd really need is for the scratching to stop, I assume.
So, I'd rather advise OP to get a pet insurance with large third party liability for this cat ... and look into products for cat fencing !

Quandary

We lived in a relatively rural location for a long time and an annoying neighbours cat(also not neutered) was causing a lot of hassle late at night. People had politely asked her to keep her cat in at night but she didn't bother. One night , not for the first time, the cat jumped in through an upstairs window of a neighbours house and sprayed everywhere. The cat had also killed a pet rabbit a few weeks before this so tensions were running high.

Unfortunately for the cat, the neighbour took matters into his own hands and solved the problem permanently. We don't know exactly what he did but that was the last we saw of the cat.

Three days later the owner knocked around asking if anyone had seen her cat. She never found him and presumed he just ran away.

Poor cat met an unfortunate end and she went off on her merry, ignorant, inconsiderate way.

Unfortunately, some people think the world exists primarily for them and their enjoyment, and everything and everyone else is just along for the ride.

Vicarious Function

Having an unneutered tom which is allowed to roam at night sounds irresponsible in the extreme. This cat's life, will likely be shortened as, like feral cats, it will succumb to disease eventually.

Fiddlesticks99

borderlinemeath wrote: »

You have to be on a wind up.


Given your posting, you couldn't be any more irresponsible with the pet you choose to keep. Neuter the cat before it creates any more unwanted cats/kittens. Go onto any animal rescue website and see just how many bloody cats a single tom cat can impregnate and just how many kittens will be needlessly created because you are a lazy, ignorant irresponsible pet owner.



Then again, if you leave him unneutered, you will most likely end up with a big vets bill anyway. Unneutered toms will fight. A lot. Your cat will get scratches, bites, infections, FIV, FELV, you name it.



As for the chickens, it's possible. As for the car, highly possible this time of year. Cats love sitting up on the bonnet of a car.



I really hope your neighbour gets CCTV. That would soften your cough if there was evidence of your total lack of regard for her property.

Thanks for your input, as irrelevant as it is. This issue is not about unwanted litters of kittens or impregnating other cats. Read my original post, thanks.

bottlebrush

well as a certain person said on the radio earlier in the week 'it's for a judge to decide'

Fiddlesticks99

borderlinemeath wrote: »

You have to be on a wind up.


I really hope your neighbour gets CCTV. That would soften your cough if there was evidence of your total lack of regard for her property.

CCTV?! and then what?:D my cat will be identified?? lol



Maybe e fits could be posted around area

Fiddlesticks99

odyssey06 wrote: »

A pet cat is property, not a wild animal. A feral cat is a wild animal.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9968640/How-the-law-views-cats.html

Cats Protection also says that it is a commonly-held view that cats have a right to roam wherever they wish. This view is largely based upon the fact that certain duties imposed upon the owners of dogs and livestock to keep their animals under control do not apply to cat owners. The law in these respects recognised that, by their nature, cats are less likely than some other animals to cause injury to people or damage to property. However, cat owners do have a general duty under law to take reasonable care to ensure that their cat does not cause injury to people or damage to property.

Given our common law heritage with UK, I think assume same legal status as UK unless hear otherwise with something ROI specific.

Alleged damage

Danzy

The neighbour should just kill the cat, problem solved.

How complex does this problem it have to be?