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Suggestions:  Please - Keep Cats Inside  |
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Maj
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
M
chicago
11 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 01 2005 : 11:48:10 AM
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I have been to several B&B's and other places where ferals were being fed, or the owners let their cats out, and I won't go back to or support any of them anymore, including Seed Savers' Exchange. There are myriad good reasons:
Chicago's former head of Animal Care and Control says cats do not do a good job of controlling rats.
From my readings, I know that cats, even belled or declawed, can box or harass or bird or nestling to death - the same birds we want to hear sing or pollinate our plants. The American Bird Conservancy (www.abcbirds.org) has a several-years-old campaign to get people to Keep Cats Indoors. They eat mice that could be owl/hawk food.
Too many's the time I've come out to my small city garden and smelled the noxious odor of cat excrement, or found it in my beds, the seedlings overturned and wilting.
In this town, cats are too often struck by cars - or stolen by gang thugs who use them for dog-fight bait. Any vewt would say they're safer inside.
And cats can pass on ticks and fleas, or transmit feline leukemia or toxoplasmosis, among other pathogens.
I don't know of any scientifically sound reasons for letting them out, so I hope anyone reading this who had been letting the cat out will keep it in now - it would be interesting to hear of any chages of heart in favor of one's neighbors and other creatures. Thank you. |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2005 : 6:30:57 PM
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I won't get into the outdoor/indoor cat debate with you Maj, but if you plant rue amongst your plants, it will keep the cats away.
Cheers from Vanc. Island
Live a good and honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time. |
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Maj
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
M
chicago
11 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2005 : 09:49:18 AM
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| Maybe rue works. Maybe not. In any event, why should a gardener have to plant something she doesn't need/want in order to restrain animals allowed to trespass by their owners - something the owner herself could be arrested for? |
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verbina
True Blue Farmgirl
231 Posts
randi
n.j
USA
231 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2005 : 2:56:40 PM
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| hi maj, i do see your point. but what about the strays? farmers down my way feed them out of kindness.there are no free spay and nueter programs around here.did you ever try to catch a stray who has never been handled?i am not a big cat lover but other people think i am, i have 10 HOUSE cats spayed etc. they see the vet when they have to and i NEVER let them out. but i do try to see the other side, hard as it is. i think the strays will always be the losers and the poor birds.the whole thing is sad with no real and fair answer. people who own cats should keep them indoors.save on vet bills .let the snakes eat the mice.but thats just me.i am feeding a stray that has been coming around,i cant and will not let him starve . what do you think i should do? randi |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2005 : 5:03:51 PM
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I have an indoor/outdoor cat. Our other cat, her brother, wants nothing to do with the outdoors. Sidney is a born hunter with naturally strong instinct. She helps keep the grain room free of red squirrels and mice. That means you watch your step when you go out the door for the newspaper in the morning. There's probably going to be a dead body or two on the mat.
I don't have neighbors so there's nobody to bother, although she seldom leaves the farm any way. She spends a lot of time in the outbuildings and garden hunting. A few blasts of icy cold well water taught her early on not to use the garden for a litter box. I can't have chipmunks tunneling through our food supply or mice contaminating the animals' feed. I need to have a cat that will take care of this.
People can bring in fleas and ticks. I suppose we can cage ourselves in our homes all the time to avoid it but that's no way of life for a farmgirl. There are leukemia, distemper, rabies and other vaccines. You can choose to worry about pathogens but realistically, the world is full of them. Again, it's not a big deal.
My cats will always be able to go outside if they'd like. I feel as strongly against keeping animals indoors if they want to be out as you do about keeping them in. We live very different lifestyles in very different environments. I live on a working farm. We have a couple of lazy bones but most everything here needs to earn its keep, from a hunting cat to herding dogs to goats that clear browse and animals that feed us. I think our only non-working animals except the other cat is a 600 lb pig that does nothing but amuse me and run up the feed bill. The other cat once caught a mouse in the house, dropped it in a gallon jar and batted at it until I realized what he was doing.
Randi, I feed a stray. He doesn't trust people. He didn't asked to be abandoned. He made it through a winter before I realized he doesn't belong to anyone. I could let nature takes its course but that's a horrible way to die. We tried to tame a feral kitten once. When we finally got her in the house she ate my daughter's button quail. She now lives on a potato farm an hour from here.
Robin
Thyme For Ewe Farm
www.thymeforewe.com |
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Maj
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
M
chicago
11 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 06:29:47 AM
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It's true that humans can get ticks and fleas, but we can get them off ourselves and our animals - no dog I owned could ever do that for itself. If a cat can, I never heard that.
I definitely agree that everything on the farm should earn it's keep - that was always the farm way. I am impressed that anyone can get a cat to stay out of a garden or in the barn - I didn't realize it could be done, and you deserves more kudoes than I have room for here.
But the more stray cats there are, the less food is available for owls and other predators, and the more often birds - some of marginal populations already - are endangered. This is a problem humans allowed to come into being, and inadvertently encourage by feeding strays. If we can hunt deer and turkey, if we can cull male chicks, if - as the poem on my granddad's mug says - "I eat my own lamb/my own chickens and ham" - why should we not kill strays that harm the balance of things? Why coddle them? |
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BuckBellHill
Farmgirl in Training
32 Posts
Fern
Belfast
Tennessee
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 06:49:28 AM
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My friend Traci and I have this discussion constantly. She believes in indoors and I believe in letting cats be cats. There are reasonable arguments on both sides. I guess I just feel that cats were not intended to live in a house their entire lives. If you could ask the cat, would she prefer to never experience grass or fresh air? I guess it comes down to your personal philosophy about animals etc...
Fern |
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verbina
True Blue Farmgirl
231 Posts
randi
n.j
USA
231 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 06:56:31 AM
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| hi maj, you must put a lot of time and work in your garden and i respect that. you also live in the city right? arent there laws for strays? i am country and try to live in the balance of things. hunting is very big. kids are taught gun safety. this is there town .im rather new.they respect my land and i theres.i an a vegetarian. so im not crazy about hunting.i dont know how to live in a city so i dont have the answer.but yes cat pee does smell. please dont hate the cats .randi |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 08:31:52 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Maj
It's true that humans can get ticks and fleas, but we can get them off ourselves and our animals - no dog I owned could ever do that for itself. If a cat can, I never heard that.
We use FrontLine on the dogs and cats. We haven't had a flea problem in two years. The first year took a little while to clean up the problem. We even had fleas in the house. They got their first doses this year a couple of weeks ago when one of the dogs had a flea. End of problem. I might need to give them one more dose after the first heavy frost but don't expect to between now and then. It was expensive the first year because we had to do all six animals three months in a row. It was worth it. I do have to worm the outdoor cat because of tapeworms that she picks up when she eats a critter that had fleas.
quote:
Originally posted by Maj
I definitely agree that everything on the farm should earn it's keep - that was always the farm way. I am impressed that anyone can get a cat to stay out of a garden or in the barn - I didn't realize it could be done, and you deserves more kudoes than I have room for here.
Cats generally hate water. She'd rather go off into the woods to "go" then be sprayed. She's allowed in the barn, shed and rabbitry but not in the hen house. The hens wouldn't tolerate her being in there. I think the two roosters would probably attack her. Mice nest in the hay and ruin it so I need her to be in the buildings now and then.
quote:
Originally posted by MajBut the more stray cats there are, the less food is available for owls and other predators, and the more often birds - some of marginal populations already - are endangered. This is a problem humans allowed to come into being, and inadvertently encourage by feeding strays. If we can hunt deer and turkey, if we can cull male chicks, if - as the poem on my granddad's mug says - "I eat my own lamb/my own chickens and ham" - why should we not kill strays that harm the balance of things? Why coddle them?
We have hugely differing opinions on coddling. I don't see coddling as putting out a dish of food once a day in the winter. He's feeding himself right now. When winter comes I'll start feeding him again. The stray is out there living in 5' deep snow, in temperatures that drop to -30° in January and February, in blizzards. There's an abandoned house up the road that he can stay in when he needs to be out of the weather, but other than breaking the wind it's not warmer. My indoor cat that never steps foot outside by his own choice, that is fed 24/7, kept warm and works hard at holding down the furniture, is coddled.
I don't disagree with killing strays. I'm not killing a cat that isn't causing a problem though. It's a hard and sad thing to do. Have you actually ever done this yourself? I'm not challenging you on this. I'm trying to get a feel for your experience with the subject. I absolutely hate pulling that trigger. There's more to it than shooting. Watching a body respond to nerves after death isn't pleasant. If you don't kill with the first shot it's very ugly for both me and the animal. I don't like it when it's a coyote, bobcat or raccoon that's been killing our birds. It was unpleasant and sad when a skunk that sprayed three of our four dogs and robbed our ducks' nests of eggs had to be destroyed. I don't like taking a life. However, at times it's necessary. When stray dogs come through and harass my livestock and poultry they have to be shot. I especially hate it when it's someone's pet but the owner refuses to keep the animal away. It's a reality of farm life. I have pastured animals I'm responsible for. It's my job to keep them safe. If a cat were causing me a problem, yes, I'd have to kill it.
Understanding where I live is important. These might help.
http://thymeforewe.org/ridge.jpg
http://thymeforewe.com/100_0476.jpg
I am surrounded by thousands and thousands of acres of forest. My one cat outside killing pests on my farm is not going to endanger anything but the pests she kills. Field mice, moles and shrews will never been an endangered species. If an owl doesn't have the ability to find food in this environment survival of the fittest is going to take over. It would starve to death regardless of my cat and the stray cat we feed. There are only two other cats that I know of that go outside on our two mile long road. Four cats in thousands of acres aren't going to make a difference.
quote:
Originally posted by BuckBellHill
My friend Traci and I have this discussion constantly. She believes in indoors and I believe in letting cats be cats. There are reasonable arguments on both sides. I guess I just feel that cats were not intended to live in a house their entire lives. If you could ask the cat, would she prefer to never experience grass or fresh air? I guess it comes down to your personal philosophy about animals etc...
Fern
I agree. I don't believe in keeping animals in unnatural settings unless of course, it's like my cat who's afraid of going out. He'd be miserable outside. His sister is miserable inside. She'll tear screens to go out. My personal philosophy on animals living in healthy environments is why we don't eat meat from stores. If we couldn't raise it ourselves or buy from a farmer who shares our philosophy we would be vegetarians.
I really do understand and sympathise with having to deal with cats in the city. I wouldn't want to tolerate it in my garden. I'm not from here. I lived in the city before leaving there 15 years ago. Talmadge, population 67, and Chicago, are two very different places. Our situations are very different.
Robin
Thyme For Ewe Farm
www.thymeforewe.com |
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Kathy A.
True Blue Farmgirl
116 Posts
Kathy
Utah
USA
116 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 08:55:39 AM
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| Maj, You are right that we humans have created a problem with over population of ferral cats. last year I spent 3 months in Hawaii where they are faced with a serious ferral cat problem, many people are involved in a spay/neuter release program which is more humane but may not be enough soon enough these cats are threatening the native bird populations some of which are already near extinction. Well meaning people feed them and their numbers increase. I love cats but maybe there are times when they do need to be culled and for people to be vigilant about maintaining their populations. However, I must agree with Robin, Here in the southwest where Hanta virus is a real and dangerous threat I wouldn't even think of not having an outdoor cat. Outdoor Cats are a valuable asset to any farmstead and even the smallest lots in suburbia if you have a shed garage ect. As an alternative to cats people leave out poisons eventually this gets into the ground water, poison is not an option. We have had mice get into trucks chew up the wiring and make nests in the air filters, and contaminate feed, With out outdoor cats I could not have a garden the gopher population problem is huge. I disagree that cats don't really help with rats I have seen barn kittens take on rats twice their size! I would not have believed this if I hadn't seen it. Unfortunatedly I have lost cats to birds of prey owls and other predators mostly coyotes. I keep my cats locked up at night in their own cat house, I prefer not to do this but it is necessary. I have taken in ferral cats before but if they stay for long I get them spayed or neutered. Ferral cats can be a menace once I took pity on a starving stray which I was feeding on my back porch one day I left the door open and turned my back for a moment he leapt up onto the fridge knocked off my birdcage snatched my beloved parakeet and was gone in an instant! but still, I love the friendship grace and beauty of cats. It is unconcerned people who are the problem. ~Kathy |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 11:39:16 AM
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I agree that most farmsteads have an outdoors cat..I do. He sleeps in the hay barns and yes, kills mice and still gets fed cat food and comes to visit and wait for his bowl of milk when I am milking. He dosn't use my garden for a litter box, but then there are a zillion other places for him to go. He hates to be inside and I don't think I could make him stay in if I wanted to. My other cat is a total inside cat and is scared to even go out on the porch. She likes to watch the world out the window from inside..and that is her choice.
I agree that cats really do help with killing mice. Mine does. My barn is mouse free and that is sure an asset when I store hay and feed there. We don't have a flea problem here so I havn't had that problem here, but where i lived before we had a major flea problem..I used frontline on the dogs and cats like someone else said they do and it took care of it during the flea season. I sure don't miss that.
I would only agree to killing strays if they are killling poultry or causing problems. I would be more likely to trap them in that case and take them to animal control. I havn't had that problem. We have one stray cat around our neighborhood who I don't feed but I am sure he helps himself to my outside cats food now and then. He is not a problem so far and I just ignore him.
Jenny in Utah
The best things in life arn't things! |
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verbina
True Blue Farmgirl
231 Posts
randi
n.j
USA
231 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 1:57:13 PM
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| hi maj, ya got yourself a city problem.weres the spca?i dont thik you are going to get the answers you want. i am sorry, hey tymeforewe really ya sent him to a potato farm??hahahahahahaha randi |
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Maj
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
M
chicago
11 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2005 : 12:34:11 PM
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In a big spread about big cats, National Geographic called them "the most perfect killing machines". Several other times they have mentioned housecats as a problem for native fauna.
I am no stranger to the problem of rats in my stored clothing and items and mice eating/eliminating in the food I had stored and all of them in the walls, a couple times dying there. I have had to kill mice and rats (with the occasional smash to the head of the former when the trap didn't complete its work, with a smash to the head by my boot, immediately next my shep/wolf's paw which was on the rat's body) in my own house. My mother-in-law had a cat who was a great mouser, which I respected. I shot a dog (2 of 4 shots landed), nearly killing it, as it was terrorizing a man, and I had to shoot, though my tears, our old shep-wolf when no vet could stop his ailing/wasting.
I can't say I'm "not getting the answers I wanted." Everything that educates me is of value. This issue has troubled me for a long time. From what I understand, though, this is not just "a city problem." After all, the American Bird Conservancy is not based in Chicago, and they speak for ALL the country's birds. SPCA might be in town, but Chicago has Animal Care and Control, which does what it can, but can't keep up with placing unwanted pets, and say they probably can't come to get a stray unless I can confine it!
I don't get it. If poisons aren't an option against Hanta, why is Frontline touted against ticks? EVERYthing gets into the water table eventually.
What I haven't heard yet is HOW anybody who has cats in barns or other buildings get them to STAY in there, or just to stay on your own property. Lock them in to do their work? Okay. Trained them since they were little kits? How?
Since my mom's a doctor and knows I used to camp out, she insists I read all her medical journal stuff related to toxoplasmosis (especially since there's the possiblility it is causing people to develop mental ilnesses years later), Hantavirus, whatever-it-is raccoons leave at the base of trees they choose for their latrines, and tapeworms - among others. But? - If the cats weren't going in AND out, the chance of people catching tapeworms from them would be so much less, no? Toxo washing into the Pacific is thought to be decimating the sea otter population ... whether from the feces of ferals or owned cats' litterboxes, cats are at the root. Or are mammals-as-cats worth more than mammals-as-otters?
If you have no neighbors, farmers or otherwise, near enough for your cats to "visit", is it still fine for the cat to go out? Can anyone say for certain "My cat is not getting anything but vermin, and from my farm only"? Can anyone know where the cat is, 24/7? If a cat kills your domestic poultry you can kill it, good - farmers have to protect their livelihoods, their charges, their own pets and the health of their creatures. But who - besides ABC and maybe Audubon - will take on the problem of cats hunting the young of wild ground-dwelling birds? And what if your cat WAS on the neighbors property, harrying THEIR chicks or duckings or poults - and the neighbor killed it? Has that happened to anyone, and where do you go, with another cat, from there? Or with your relationship with the neighbor? |
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TheSoapMaven
True Blue Farmgirl
691 Posts
Susan
LA
USA
691 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2005 : 4:37:53 PM
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We kept our three lovely neutered males inside exclusively until my youngest started to have severe allery to them. Out they went. They bring me presents almost daily. Mice, rats, snakes. Never a bird of any kind that I am aware of. I am sure they leave my place to roam the creek bed and hunt. But they are cats. I love them and was not willing to give them away or have them put to sleep because they could no longer be house cats. I go out and pet them 5-6 times a day. Give them treats. They lay on the bench on my front porch on in our lawn chairs. They are my babies. I intend on getting chickens again by Spring. I have had no adverse reactions from them before. Coons yeah, but never my cats. We keep the chickens penned at night...free them during the day.
I didn't kill my neighbors rotweiller when he chased my son. We live in the country...with coyotes, coons, deer, my cats, my neighbors dog...we seem to be co-existing okay. After I called my neighbor about his dog and he assured me he wanted to play not bite, I found him asleep onE afternoon with all three of my cats on the front porch. Not long after that my oldest and dearest cat got stuck in this neighbors tree. He could have shot him down I guess but since my husband was at work, he climbed the tree 20ft or so and got Seamus down for me.
About the garden...havent had a problem. But all my cats are vaccinated, wormed etc.
Now we have a yellow stray showing up. I will vaccinate and neuter it as well, if it sticks around. Someone put it out I am sure. My cats allow him to eat so he most likely will hang around.
Well, that's about it for me. I hate a rodent, and love a cat that will rid me of one.
Blessings & Bliss!.· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-~Susan~
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*
Wife, Mother, Natural Woman, Savonničre, Writer, Baker, Gardener.
Wife to Jerry for 27+ years
Mom to Zach, Gesikah, Nathan, Hannah, Rachel and Benjamin
Yetta to Sam
Proprietress of Dahlem's Soapworks
http://www.thesoapmaven.com
"It's no bad thing to celebrate a simple life" ~ Bilbo Baggins
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Edited by - TheSoapMaven on Aug 07 2005 4:44:11 PM |
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TheSoapMaven
True Blue Farmgirl
691 Posts
Susan
LA
USA
691 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2005 : 4:39:16 PM
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By the way. The squirrels harrass the heck out of my cats...what do I do??? Nothing. Everyone seems to Be holding their own.
Blessings & Bliss!.· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-~Susan~
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*
Wife, Mother, Natural Woman, Savonničre, Writer, Baker, Gardener.
Wife to Jerry for 27+ years
Mom to Zach, Gesikah, Nathan, Hannah, Rachel and Benjamin
Yetta to Sam
Proprietress of Dahlem's Soapworks
http://www.thesoapmaven.com
"It's no bad thing to celebrate a simple life" ~ Bilbo Baggins
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Edited by - TheSoapMaven on Aug 07 2005 4:46:04 PM |
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Barn Goddess
Farmgirl in Training
29 Posts
Mary Jane
Henry
Virginia
USA
29 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2005 : 12:07:01 PM
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Clare, I'm glad you stepped in. I'll sit down and debate anyone about indoor/outdoor, feral/tame cats, but not in this forum. Keep it light ladies.
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Tatiana
True Blue Farmgirl
98 Posts
Tania
Boise
ID
USA
98 Posts |
Posted - Aug 13 2005 : 08:22:48 AM
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I agree that there are too many cats running around. Here in Boise there is a homeowner who bought a large parcel in the river bottoms. He wanted to keep part of the place as a nature preserve and so had the Fish and Game department come and do a study to see how best to achieve this. Interestingly, they found several fox dens in which were found many lovely cat collars. For the safety and well being of the cats they should be kept indoors.
They do kill a lot of songbirds though my dog is as much to blame in my yard. My understanding is cats do not mouse unless they have been taught by their mothers so most are useless for this purpose. A suggestion for an alternate rodent control...Jack Russell terriers. They will go after anything that moves but get along with horses and other large stock.
Tania in Boise |
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Maj
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
M
chicago
11 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2005 : 06:18:41 AM
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Hi, Tatiana...
Good info about the foxes. Hy husband saw a cat out alone getting pecked on the head by two crows!
Because I had an airedale once (he wasn't a ratter, but I didnt' need one) and took two herding dogs through their own specialty trails, I am interested in the breeders who strive to maintain their dogs' instincts. Are you raising Jack Russells?
Thanks! |
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Tatiana
True Blue Farmgirl
98 Posts
Tania
Boise
ID
USA
98 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2005 : 07:49:41 AM
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Hi Maj:
I only raised my own. The breeder I got him from is my groomer also. He is a very gamey dog. Keeps the squirrels at bay in my yard( have had to dispose of several as he doesn't know what to do with them after killing them). I think breeding is incredibly important as my dog is very nice with people. Doris' dogs are very sociable and sweet. So check this out carefully. Also, socializing them is really important. I took him everywhere when a pup that I could, the bank, Home Depot, the pet stores so he would meet and greet. Some Jacks have problems with this. They are very smart dogs but will make you insane if you don't have a really good sense of humor. Spot chases light reflections constantly, even to the point of tearing up a bit of my rug (I am am repairing it soon). He always wants to play and never tires out. But he is loving and does lots of tricks easily to entertain the family. Be aware though that they act like puppies most of their long years of life (15), and only calm down just a smidge when about 3 years old. These dogs get abandnonned a lot due to the fact that the owners have difficulty controlling them or making their lives mesh in. They are nothing like the dogs on TV who are only doing tricks to do their jobs. I love my Jack though despite all of this. Just make sure you research really carefully. Or better yet, dog sit for a week or so.
Tania |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Nov 11 2005 : 3:56:27 PM
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Just as another perspective... my step father has always claimed that the cats were helping keep the different bird species strong by culling out the weaklings. I don't know if that's true for every case or not, but it is the way nature works.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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Maj
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
M
chicago
11 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2005 : 10:10:28 AM
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| Cats kill birds sitting on nests and the nestlings too. That's not just "culling the weak." |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
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shelley ginger
Farmgirl in Training
48 Posts
Shelley
Ossining
New York
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2006 : 04:11:42 AM
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[quote]"We have hugely differing opinions on coddling. I don't see coddling as putting out a dish of food once a day in the winter. He's feeding himself right now. When winter comes I'll start feeding him again. The stray is out there living in 5' deep snow, in temperatures that drop to -30° in January and February, in blizzards. There's an abandoned house up the road that he can stay in when he needs to be out of the weather, but other than breaking the wind it's not warmer. My indoor cat that never steps foot outside by his own choice, that is fed 24/7, kept warm and works hard at holding down the furniture, is coddled.
I don't disagree with killing strays. I'm not killing a cat that isn't causing a problem though. It's a hard and sad thing to do. Have you actually ever done this yourself? I'm not challenging you on this. I'm trying to get a feel for your experience with the subject. I absolutely hate pulling that trigger. There's more to it than shooting. Watching a body respond to nerves after death isn't pleasant. If you don't kill with the first shot it's very ugly for both me and the animal. I don't like it when it's a coyote, bobcat or raccoon that's been killing our birds. It was unpleasant and sad when a skunk that sprayed three of our four dogs and robbed our ducks' nests of eggs had to be destroyed. I don't like taking a life. However, at times it's necessary. When stray dogs come through and harass my livestock and poultry they have to be shot. I especially hate it when it's someone's pet but the owner refuses to keep the animal away. It's a reality of farm life. I have pastured animals I'm responsible for. It's my job to keep them safe. If a cat were causing me a problem, yes, I'd have to kill it."[quote]
Very well said Robin!!
My own cat Scooter does not like going outdoors unless accompanied and then for short visits. My fiance Erik takes him out for "field trips" where he cautiously slinks around then does a lovely roll on the deck (he wouldn't dare go in the grass!!) at which time he realizes that he's not indoors. He makes a mad dash for the door and runs to the safety of his favorite chair.
I too have a stray that comes round. Somewhere in its sad life I believe that this cat was someone's pet and has been abandoned. She does her best to keep herself groomed and tidy. While she is too shy to come too close, she will accept the food that I put out for her. In my heart I could not and will not let her starve. She did not put herself in that situation and for me to just stand by and let her die would be cruel beyond measure.
I will continue to try and reach her and perhaps someday I will be able to befriend her at which time I would gladly get her to a vet etc. In a perfect world this would happen in a heartbeat. In reality she will probably continue to look for her can of food each day...and as long as I have anything to say about it, she'll find it.
We'll be friends until we're blue in the hair.
http://www.erikandshelley.com
http://stillmeadowfriends.blogspirit.com/ |
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manda
Farmgirl in Training
49 Posts
amanda
corralitos
cA
USA
49 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2006 : 10:07:57 PM
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Wow! Very hot topic. There is a feral cat program here in Santa Cruz County also that catches, spays/neuters, vaccinates, and adopts out as barn cats or as mousers to homes. I have a cat that is indoors because we have coyotes and mountain lions around. It is a tricky situation and I know lots of people who depend on their barn cats to keep the critters and rodents out of the hay and grain. The key is to spay/neuter your pets to keep the populations down-should really be a law. I personally would not kill a cat or animal unless it was dying already. Live and let live.
Manda |
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Maj
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
M
chicago
11 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2006 : 08:36:41 AM
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Here is some new info from the American Bird Conservancy's website:
2. New study shows TNR programs have no impact on feral cat populations: “Analysis of the impact of trap-neuter-return programs on populations of feral cats,” by Patrick Foley, PhD, Janet Foley, DVM, PhD, Julie Levy, DVM, PhD, and Terry Paik, DVM published in the December 1, 2005 issue of AVMA’s Journal, used a mathematical model to evaluate two large-scale, long-running TNR programs for feral cat population management. From 1992 to 2003, 14,452 cats were trapped, neutered, and released out of an estimated 240,690 feral cats in San Diego County, CA. From 1998 to 2004, 11,822 cats were trapped, neutered, and released out of an estimated 36,398 feral cats in Alachua County, FL. In both counties, the researchers concluded that results of the analyses did not indicate a consistent reduction in the feral cat population or the proportion of female cats that were pregnant.
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
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Suggestions: Please - Keep Cats Inside |
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Please - Keep Cats Inside
