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Is there a stigma attached with owning a cat?

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    #32
    biko
    Registered Users Posts: 81,223 ✭✭✭✭biko


    I am a man and have had many cats growing up and in adult life.
    Get two (preferably rescue) so they have each other and don't get bored.


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    #33
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Deleted User wrote: »
    You can get quick release collars which snap open if a cat gets tangled in something, bells are essential if you don't want your cat to kill wildlife like birds,rats and mice and present them on your back door step as a gift! My last cat once dragged in a large rat, still half alive! I had her for over 18 years.

    Have recently adopted a kitten, almost 3 months old and she is proving a bit of a hellion but she'll settle. Sorry I didn't get two, I think she could be a cat that needs another cat to bounce off. My brother, who is in his fifties and lives alone, is adopting two kittens shortly, just waiting for them to be old enough.

    Killing rats is their job... and they do bring them to me. And get thanked mightily.. So no bells. Ever .Dreadful idea! Rats are filthy creatures.

    And I do not feed the birds of course. That would be asking for problems.

    OP maybe herein lies the stigma! Already mentioned gardens and birds...


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    #34
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    biko wrote: »
    I am a man and have had many cats growing up and in adult life.
    Get two (preferably rescue) so they have each other and don't get bored.

    And they will love each other!


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    #35
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Graces7 wrote: »
    Killing rats is their job... and they do bring them to me. And get thanked mightily.. So no bells. Ever .Dreadful idea! Rats are filthy creatures.

    And I do not feed the birds of course. That would be asking for problems.

    OP maybe herein lies the stigma! Already mentioned gardens and birds...

    I'd rather not have half mauled rats dragged into the house, thanks!


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    #36
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Deleted User wrote: »
    I'd rather not have half mauled rats dragged into the house, thanks!

    Your cat is honouring you by bringing their prey home.... And better a half mauled rat than one still running around out there with all the damage and disease they are party to.

    When I came here the place had bee empty years. There is an ages-old " rat run" near the house. My cats soon fixed that, although still the occasional dead one. One was the size of a well grown kitten :eek: I had had no idea they could grow to that size ...Never a mark on them.

    My thanks for the reference to RSPB.

    They state clearly that there is no scientific evidence to link the decrease in birds to cats. And that only a very, very small percentage of adult cats have the skill to kill a bird. Looking back I have in all my years here only seen the remains of two birds attributable to the cats. I always wondered if that was older birds that got caught?

    And RSPB recommend that collar to stop cats being strangled by conventional collars and advise you get a vet to check the collar to safeguard the cat. .


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    #37
    bladespin
    Registered Users Posts: 7,337 ✭✭✭bladespin


    Deleted User wrote: »
    I'd rather not have half mauled rats dragged into the house, thanks!

    It's a pretty rare thing really, depends on a number of things, mainly where you live - town etc it's pretty much a non-issue but around a farm or rural dwelling it's more likely, also depends on the cat, some love to hunt but a great deal prefer to be waited on (lol), if you bring a kitten up in a house setting (inside etc) they're far less likely to be hunter gatherers, the collar thing would work too though I think it's a bit cruel (just me - the wife thinks different so she wins).

    Above all though hunting is in their nature and you need to understand that before committing to one.


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    #38
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Way back in another place I managed to rob a young cat who had caught a wren of its prey.

    It was unharmed so I kept it safe overnight, then the following day when the cat was in, released it.

    Ever thereafter when that cat went out on the prowl, the alarm would go up! Every bird in the neighbourhood ( I was atop a forested mountain) would start yelling...

    Cat could lie still all day and they would not let up until , disgruntled, he skulked off back inside...

    NB I wrote elsewhere re a safe bird table I made when I had that cat. Piece of wood. 4 cuphooks, string.. Suspend it from a tree branch . Birds can feed but the cat hates uncertain places. It drove this one crazy! He used to put one paw on and when it moved, drew back
    A standard bird table is a dinner plate to a cat. ;)


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