i hate people "saving" dogs graphic warning

[4dogs3cats]

i have a problem with cat rescues who won't adopt to people who will let the cat outside. There are a couple in my area. Most people don't understand that we are VERY, VERY overpopulated with cats, far more than most other cities. We actually have other rescues from all over California, Nevada, and Arizona who come here and take cats off our hands because they don't have "Enough" cats to adopt out in their cities. I would MUCH rather see a cat in a caring, loving home who lets their cats outside, then the cat dead because we are overrun with cats.

Real quick on this. I felt the same way. When I adopted my kitten in January of 2007 I said he would not go outside. Then we got a doggy door, and he would venture out back. Then he would jump the viewfence and lounge on the golf course. Then he was shot by a neighbor. I miss that cat more and more every day, and wish I had never let him outside. But its hard for me to decide if the year he spent laying in the sun and getting nice yummy food and belly rubs was better than him being euthed beause nobody would promise to keep him inside. I go both ways on this.


I think a big problem with the overpopulation in this country of course is the BYB's. But also, dogs have just become very very disposable. Just like marraige. gays are not ruining marraige, celebrities, and everyone else who doesnt take it seriously are. Back to dogs, I have had THE worst time with chance. He has killed 2 cats... OF MINE, he has eaten 3 couches. He was leash reactive so I had to clear out the petsmart hotel lobby when he came for daycare. He digs in my backyard. But you know what, every SINGLE one of those problems could have been fixed. And they all were. Okay fine he chewed the couch last night but he is now crated because I am back on 8 hour days. A dog is NOT a goldfish. You dont just look at them. You have to WORK with them. Nobody said it was easy, but I can guarantee you it's worth it!

 

[Miakoda]

I would MUCH rather see a cat in a caring, loving home who lets their cats outside, then the cat dead because we are overrun with cats.

And I've got a raccoon trap set and waiting for a neighbor's cats because they refuse to keep the things inside at night. Trouble is the cats keep having litter after litter on my property or my neighbor's property, they are bringing buttloads of fleas to my house, they are sitting outside my garage at night causing MY dogs to go absolutely bonkers at all hours, they are scratching up our cars by lying on the hoods and using them as scratching posts, and one of them is using my front door step as it's own pooping spot. And I can promise you that when I catch the cats, they will NOT be going back to their owner. Period. And sadly we will be the ones forced to deal with them as there is no way I'm going to be able to handle 2 kids, a ginormous stroller, and a seriously pissed off cat (or 2) in a giant raccoon trap in order to bring them to AC.....plus not to mention the hassle and the gas it will cost me.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

I guess it depends on the neighbors and cats. Everyone in my neighborhood has atleast one cat, my next door neighbors have 11 cats. My cats spend a lot of time in their yard, and my front yard. They don't wander anywhere else, cause I have asked neighbors to let me know if my cats are being a nuisance...And I often ask them about my cats. Everyone says my cats don't go in their yards.

it does help they can come in whenever they want to, through numerous cat doors in windows. So they are not just tossed outside with no access to inside.

And my neighborhood is suffering with many ferals right now. We have a byb down at the corner who doesn't spay and neuter her cats (She doesn't know ive been spaying and neutering them lol). Well actually, she probably wouldn't care...Shes just overrun with cats. She is for sure a cat hoarder..Shes an elderly woman who lives with a mentally challenged older son, and they have atleast 30 cats. Ive called AC on them numerous times, but our AC doesn't have the man power to respond to every call they get. I have been doing what I can to start spaying them. I rarely see her, so i can't really discuss with her whats going on with her cats. (They are ALL over the place! Many have migrated over to Alley behind my house, I feed many of them).

 

[4dogs3cats]

I guess it depends on the neighbors and cats. Everyone in my neighborhood has atleast one cat, my next door neighbors have 11 cats. My cats spend a lot of time in their yard, and my front yard. They don't wander anywhere else, cause I have asked neighbors to let me know if my cats are being a nuisance...And I often ask them about my cats. Everyone says my cats don't go in their yards.

it does help they can come in whenever they want to, through numerous cat doors in windows. So they are not just tossed outside with no access to inside.

And my neighborhood is suffering with many ferals right now. We have a byb down at the corner who doesn't spay and neuter her cats (She doesn't know ive been spaying and neutering them lol). Well actually, she probably wouldn't care...Shes just overrun with cats. She is for sure a cat hoarder..Shes an elderly woman who lives with a mentally challenged older son, and they have atleast 30 cats. Ive called AC on them numerous times, but our AC doesn't have the man power to respond to every call they get. I have been doing what I can to start spaying them. I rarely see her, so i can't really discuss with her whats going on with her cats. (They are ALL over the place! Many have migrated over to Alley behind my house, I feed many of them).

Yeah Mittens was neueterd and was always in my yard. This day though which happened to be halloween he wandered down the road and was shot in a neighbors yard, which I believe to be a halloween prank. I had surgery that morning and forgot to lock him inside like I had planned because he was black

 

[Punkygirl0101]

That is horrible!

Yeah, The entire month of October and up to Thanksgiving I lock my black cats indoors! You never know what psycho is going to do something.

 

[4dogs3cats]

That is horrible!

Yeah, The entire month of October and up to Thanksgiving I lock my black cats indoors! You never know what psycho is going to do something.

I know. It was sad, he wasnt even 2 years old yet. I really do miss my cats :-(. It's a lot easier living alone with just the dogs to look after, but theres a certain love you get from a cat that you just cant get from a dog. even a shiba, lol

 

[Punkygirl0101]

I love how independent cats are. If they want your love and attention..>They let you know. if they want you to leave them the hell alone, they let you know! lol. They are very self sufficient. Stray cats have a much higher chance at survival then stray dogs.

At a nursing home I used to work at, there were strays and ferals all over (It was out in the country). Even though this place didn't feed the strays, they were fat little things! The residents would give them leftovers sometimes. They had a buffet of field mice to catch!

 

[4dogs3cats]

I love how independent cats are. If they want your love and attention..>They let you know. if they want you to leave them the hell alone, they let you know! lol. They are very self sufficient. Stray cats have a much higher chance at survival then stray dogs.

At a nursing home I used to work at, there were strays and ferals all over (It was out in the country). Even though this place didn't feed the strays, they were fat little things! The residents would give them leftovers sometimes. They had a buffet of field mice to catch!

haha yeah. After the experience with Mittens I wont ever have an outside cat again, but I dont look down on those that do.

My cat and my moms cat, littermates that we got 9 years ago have been outside/inside cats for the last 7 years of their lives and they are happy and healthy (knock on wood) and I dont try to tell her to keep them inside.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

I actually always encourage everyone I know to keep their cats indoors. People often consider me a hypocrite because mine are indoor/outdoor. But they don't quite understand its not healthy to keep 23 cats inside a house together. For their health and mine, they are allowed outside. If I didn't live in a cat loving neighborhood, i would for sure keep them all inside. But my neighbors all have and love cats (my immediate next door neighbors have 11!).

 

[Dizzy]

And Dizzy, I totally don't get what you are saying here. You're saying the industry is horrible because of the amount of dogs they pump out and discard (fair enough).

But then you tell him he should look elsewhere for a coursing dog. Greyhounds are coursing dogs. The vast majority of greyhounds adore coursing/running/anything to do with it.

What I don't get, is when you look at the number of racing washouts who never even made it to the track. They're still puppies and never "worked", but love to run and have that drive. Why not adopt one to a working home and save one more life?

Basically the OP said the rescue wouldn't rehome and ex-racer for coursing.

They it their perogative.

My reply about dogs enjoying it was in relation to the other posts.

I am sure racing dogs love racing when they're winning.

I wasn't agreeing with the rescue, but making the point that these are not bad people, just because you want one and can't have one.

It frustrates me too - but I'd rather see happy rescued dogs than ones dumped in ditches.

 

[Miakoda]

So what's the difference between letting a cat roam loose and letting a dog roam loose? Why is it ok for one and not the other?

The only time I'm on the fence about cats is when they are barn cats that serve a purpose: keeping rats out the feed room. But even then all the cats I've ever known have been spayed/neutered and if something happened to the cat, such as nailed by a horse, fight with another cat, or killed by a dog, it was kind of a "well, I let the cat be out so that's the risk of it all" kind of situation. And any cat found wandering was no longer allowed to be a barn cat.

I don't have an issue with cats being outside and I think the time is good for them. But do as my neighbor does and put a harness on it and attach it to a tether. And be outside with it or possibly pay the price for a sitting duck (which would happen even if the cat isn't tethered I suppose). If dog owners have to take those extra steps to allow their dogs outside time, then so be it for cats.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

because roaming dogs cause a lot more issues than roaming cats.

For example:

My cats will sit in my front yard, or on my front porch. People walk by..Whatever, they either run off or they don't care.


A Dog is sitting in their front yard (And this is a non fenced front yard). The dog will most likely, bark at a the person walking by, possibly show aggression. A person is not going to be afraid of a cat sitting in the yard ignoring them, but will be afraid of a dog, not on a leash or contained, barking at them (Even if the dog is friendly).

Wandering dogs can also cause harm to people's cats. Is a cat going to cause harm to people's dogs? No...

Wandering cats are a normal thing to see, and not a threat. Wandering dogs are a threat.

Like I mentioned, my cats don't go past my next door neighbor's yard. They stay in our yards, in my house, on the porch..And thats it. They don't wander the neighborhood like I have seen the many roaming dogs doing.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

Forgot to add!

my dogs on the other hand (This is in reference to the fact my cats don't go very far) would take off...They would be all over the place. In people's yards, barking at them, in the middle of the street, down towards the busy street..Dead. My cats won't.

 

[Dizzy]

Because a dog isn't a cat for starters.

 

[Sweet72947]

because roaming dogs cause a lot more issues than roaming cats.

For example:

My cats will sit in my front yard, or on my front porch. People walk by..Whatever, they either run off or they don't care.


A Dog is sitting in their front yard (And this is a non fenced front yard). The dog will most likely, bark at a the person walking by, possibly show aggression. A person is not going to be afraid of a cat sitting in the yard ignoring them, but will be afraid of a dog, not on a leash or contained, barking at them (Even if the dog is friendly).

Wandering dogs can also cause harm to people's cats. Is a cat going to cause harm to people's dogs? No...

Wandering cats are a normal thing to see, and not a threat. Wandering dogs are a threat.

Like I mentioned, my cats don't go past my next door neighbor's yard. They stay in our yards, in my house, on the porch..And thats it. They don't wander the neighborhood like I have seen the many roaming dogs doing.

In my old neighborhood I had neighbors who owned a black lab that they would leave sit out in the front yard. You would walk by with your dogs on a walk and she would just sit there and watch the world go by, not caring about you at all; like a cat. The only time I saw her cause any problem was when a UPS guy drove up the driveway and got out of his truck to deliver a package. The dog stood up and barked her face off at him until one of the owners came outside and put her in the garage.

And actually, I've heard several stories of cats causing harm to people's dogs. On a different forum, there's been at least two people who posted about their dogs being attacked by a random cat, causing significant damage to the face. And there was a news story about two cats who attacked people last year, actually ran into their house after them. I can't find it now, but it was posted here.

And a long time ago, when I was little, I had a friend who petted a cat outside that she didn't know and he scratched her across the forehead and caused her to need stitches. Luckily the cat was found and his rabies was up to date, so she didn't need any shots.

 

[Dizzy]

OMG so confused, I could have sworn this was the declawing thread.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

A cat isn't going to run up to a dog being walked down the street, and claw it. I have heard similiar cases of people's dogs being scratched by neighbor's cats too..but why you ask? Because the owner of the dog let it get really close to a cat that didn't belong to them. If I let my dogs go up to my next door neighbor's cats (Who were not raised with dogs) they would scratch the **** out of my dogs face!

A mailman isn't going to be afraid of a cat sleeping on its bed on the porch (My mail lady likes to pet my cats when shes on my porch), but a mailman WOULD be afraid of a dog sitting on a front porch.

 

[Dizzy]

Most UK cats go outdoors.

Mine ALWAYS have, always will.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

Most cats in America go outside too Dizzy lol. Everyone I know with cats let them outside. There are cats ALL over the place! There are cats that live at the Stadium down the street. (My neighbor's actually caught one of the feral kittens the other day).

 

[Jules]

To me, it all depends on the living situation. When we lived in NC we let our cat outside. He didn't do anything, it was okay with our neighbors and all was well. If I would live somewhere and my neighbors would be complaining about my cats roaming in their yard, then I would make sure to figure out something where we wouldn't have an issue. Like my parents, they live in a quiet street and they actually trained their cat to walk on a leash around the house. When it is nice outside and they sit outside or are able to have a constant eye on her, she will sit outside on a tie out and enjoy the environment without the dangers. And trust me, she enjoys it.

Here, I would never let Pumpkin outside. Too many loose dogs, stray cats he could get in a fight with- it is just too dangerous.