Would you keep your cat indoors during the bird nesting season.

[AJ sheffield 11]

au contraire mon ami

 

it is only your opinion that keeping cats indoors is cruel.

 

my opinion is that there are valid arguements for and against

 

So I can have a house horse

[nickycheese 10]

whilst all this is true jeremy, there is a real issue wrt the impact that domestic cats have on the local bird, small mammal, amphibian and fish populations.

 

wrt birds, have a look at my earlier post which quotes the RSPB [hardly likely to be biased against birds ] as saying "there is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK-wide" :

 

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=4985961#post4985961

 

 

I'd like to see any evidence to the contrary...

[Harleyman 12]

We have a large population of crows nesting in the trees around where I live.

If I leave my car in the driveway for more than an hour one of them drops a huge loogy on it.

Thats why I let my cat out all the time. "Go to it killer" are my parting words to him each morning as I leave him on the doorstep. Trouble is he never manages to get any of em and only last week made a mad dash for the house as a couple of wimpy looking little birds dive bombed him all the way across the back yard

 

Oh well! At least he looks mean!

[beady 10]

Can't see anywhere anyone questioning just on who's land this annual slaughter occurs? Folks who continuosly allow their moggies to roam - just where do they think they go? I know loads of folks who detest cats but have to put up with 'em doing their business in their gardens - digging up newly planted seeds - taking fish out of ponds - killing birds visiting the garden etc etc. Would these people put up with a neighbour's dogs forever tramping into their garden and doing their business? Would think they'd be the first to moan! I've got 3 cats around me and it never fails to amaze me how selfish / thoughtless the owners are. They're supposed to be pets but are kicked out in all weather - clawing at the door at daybreak to get in - frozen to death in winter - ironic to call 'em pets - they never see 'em other than at mealtimes!

[md25 10]

Nah. Being caught by a cat is an avian Darwin award because to be caught by a cat you have to be dumb enough to forage and nest in easily accesible places. Domestic cats are dumb anyway so the only birds dying are the super-dumb.

 

My cat is perhaps the dumbest cat ever. The kid across the road was feeding a flock of pigeons with a loaf of stale bread and naturally my cat begins to stalk them. Of course it is meowing at the top of its voice the entire time so the pigeons fly away when it gets within eight feet. Dumb cat.

[sandie 11]

It should be Illegal to own a cat without making it wear a bell, some cat owners make me sick coooing over their evil cute little **** of a pet, granted lots of cats are not a problem but some are varmants for killing birds.

 

when I see one with a little robin etc my natural instinct is to want to kill the cat and if one ever touched my parrot I would kill it in a heartbeat then the owner.

 

saying that we have one proper tame cat come into ours who is scared of the parrot, he/she is reyt cool but all the other killer cats bully it

 

If you dont put a bell on dont come moaning when someone takes revenge on your cat for killing defencless animals, I dont blame the cats more the owners who are just lazy ******** and selfish .. a bit like cats actually

 

Where I live birds kill birds, fish rabitts, lambs and rodents. Fo example the Owls,Goshawk, Sparrowhalk,Common Buzzardand the Kestral to name but a few, so dont tell me it is only the cat that attacks birds.

I have a wild cat cross who has been attacked by birds and her mindset is aything that fly's is a danger and it is the survival of the fittist, that to me is Nature.

As regards your comment that if a cat killed a robin your "natural" instinct would be to kill the cat. Animals have a natural instint to survive, we as the intelegent race are suposed to be superior let nature go on as it is you will never change the way animals use their instinct.

You kill a cat because you feel it has done wrong, then you put yourself down to the level of an animal not the educated human

[Gormenghast 60]

Can't you see this is evolution in it's raw state. I wish they'd used a different phrase than 'survival of the fittest'.

 

What it should be is 'survival of those that can best cope with the environment that they're in.'

 

The environment we're in is one where there are, amongst other things, a lot of cats, and their instinct is to catch things.

 

In geological time it doesn't really matter anyway. All species are going to die out sooner or later. Cats killing birds is such a miniscule thing in the grand scheme of things.

 

Let your cats out. If the birds can survive they will. If not then it's just another step in evolution.

Edited May 13, 2009 by Gormenghast
Tsk Tsk, missed the n off then.

[just_words 10]

I went around to my parents tonight. There was a bird in the back garden me and my Dad were watching. He said, we've stopped putting food out for the birds because the local cats have killed three female blackbirds within the last week.

 

I said I might let the dog eat one the cats instead of pulling it off next time, go spike...

[Bonjon 10]

Would these people put up with a neighbour's dogs forever tramping into their garden and doing their business? Would think they'd be the first to moan! I've got 3 cats around me and it never fails to amaze me how selfish / thoughtless the owners are.

 

Ok to point number one, if people let their dogs loose its a well known fact they would do one, they can be dangerous and aggressive, and dont have the sense of a feline, hence why most people dont let them roam.

 

So everyone who owns a cat and lets it out is thoughtless and selfish?? I dont think so, its far more cruel to keep an animal locked up in the house that wants to be outside. How would you propose we keep our pets from going in other people's garden then?

[beady 10]

Ok to point number one, if people let their dogs loose its a well known fact they would do one, they can be dangerous and aggressive, and dont have the sense of a feline, hence why most people dont let them roam.

 

So everyone who owns a cat and lets it out is thoughtless and selfish?? I dont think so, its far more cruel to keep an animal locked up in the house that wants to be outside. How would you propose we keep our pets from going in other people's garden then?

 

Think you may find that most dog-owners don't let their pet roam because they are responsible and thoughtful to others around 'em. Talking about dangerous and aggresive - ain't that just what a lot of moggies are to wildlife?

I understnad that you can't stop cats going on to others' properties and causing a nuisance, damage and slaughter - perhaps folks would be better not having one - that is an option believe it or not! (you may even help the neighbours who are probably too polite to mention it - have you ever thought what others around cat owners think)? - There seems to be a misguided way of thinking that if you own a cat then you have every right to allow it to cause mayhem wherever it cares to wander. Looking at the voting above it seems clear to me just how selfish / thoughtless some moggie owners are.

ps I can't abide foxhunting either (with a passion) but if I had a choice of that or the problems some moggies cause without any remorse from the owners - I think I would prefer the former be reintroduced!

[just_words 10]

Yeah, let your dogs off the leash, let 'em worry some sheep, eat small children, be bitten on the nose by a crab or two, scare scaredy cats. Why, because it'd be wrong to leash an animal, how can we be expected to stop an animal from doing what it wants.

 

Yeah, i'm being facetious! But don't get me wrong I do like cats, but don't understand why they seem to be an exception to the rules...

[Bonjon 10]

Think you may find that most dog-owners don't let their pet roam because they are responsible and thoughtful to others around 'em.

 

Ahhh right, so thats why when you walk through just about any park in Sheffield, you have to dog **** dodge?? Very responsible.

 

There seems to be a misguided way of thinking that if you own a cat then you have every right to allow it to cause mayhem wherever it cares to wander.

 

Yeh, a cat really causes that much mayhem, I mean seriousley there destroying the world single handed

 

Looking at the voting above it seems clear to me just how selfish / thoughtless some moggie owners are.

 

Why because the poll didn't go the way you wanted and insight a kitty vigilante group?

 

ps I can't abide foxhunting either

 

Well clearly we all buy our cats for bloodsport

Edited May 14, 2009 by Bonjon