Ranting about stupid dog ownership

[Selkie]

Sorry for stirring up a poop storm. I have a very low tolerance for self-rightgeousness, and I felt compelled to 1) correct some facts and 2) add some balance. The statements seemed to be very much anti-dog and pro-cat. That was my perception, and I stand by what I wrote.

The cat that bit me did latch on to my hand, which is why it took my slamming her against a wall to get her to "release" -- maybe she was part shark? I still have a scar from that encounter and it happened more than 30 years ago. The cat, by the way, was petite. In this instance, size had nothing to do with it.

I agree that dog owners should both train their dogs and keep them under control. I also think that cat owners should show the same courtesy. Believe it or not, I've had more CATS run out in front of me when I'm out riding my bike (there is a strictly enforced leash law where I live---applies to dogs). Why is it ok for cats to roam free? By the way, that last sentence was tongue in cheek so please don't attack. I do appreciate them keeping the rodent population under control, so long as they don't use my garden as a bathroom.

[tulip]

I have lots of scars from where my (former) parrot bit me over the years. Ouch.

[Irulan]

Why is it ok for cats to roam free? By the way, that last sentence was tongue in cheek so please don't attack.

Why should that be tongue in cheek? Don't want to make the kitty owners mad? I detest the neighborhood cats that run free in my neighborhood. They are unlicensed, untagged, they go after the birds that nest in my yard, they use my garden beds as a toilet...

[PamNY]

I've always had mixed feelings about outside cats. As a cat owner, I let mine run free when I was very young, but got more conservative as I got older. I have often enjoyed visits from neighbor cats

I can see why people think cats need to go outside, but my indoor cats seemed quite happy. One of them ran out during a snowstorm, made a fast U-turn, and never went anywhere near the door after that.

[Cataboo]

Why should that be tongue in cheek? Don't want to make the kitty owners mad? I detest the neighborhood cats that run free in my neighborhood. They are unlicensed, untagged, they go after the birds that nest in my yard, they use my garden beds as a toilet...

I think part of the decline of american birds is the well fed house cats that can afford to hunt for sport, as opposed to just what they need to eat... So pit a human fed cat against birds that have to struggle for their own food (unless someone's feeding them close by as well.)

I'm not entirely sure why with the skyrocketing divorce rates wehre people trade in their spouses on a whim, you guys find it odd that people abandon theirpets. Husband/wives, kids, pets can all be disposable.

I think the lady in the original post who took the dog back to the human society did the right thing - if she wasn't prepared to take care of that dog or fully committed to it, then she should have brought him back as soon as possible. Ideally, she wouldn't have adopted him in the first place - but if you've never had a high energy dog before, you may not realize how much time and work they can be. I'd love to have a dog, but I'm fully aware that I don't have time for a dog and it would be neglected terribly - so I don't get one.

The rest of this thread - I'm not entirely sure why everyone's so touchy here lately, lots of threads seem to devolve down these routes.

[Biciclista]

the major part of the decline of bird species is habitat destruction.
blame humans. cats do not demolish forests and put in apartment complexes nor do they build sky scrapers that are so immense and reflective that birds fly into them by the thousands nor do cats build automobiles which move so fast that they kill millions of birds every year and the drivers don't even notice them.

and this is very seriously off the subject ridiculously so.

[Cataboo]

blame humans.

Humans have cats.

I do blame humans.

[GLC1968]

teigyr - wow, that is one HUGE cat! I'm glad to see that he's just big, too...not a fatso. I love that he knows that sitting on you is punishment enough to wake you up!

I was friends with a guy in college who intentionally over-fed his cat because he liked fat cats. His cat was about 25 lbs too...but super fat. It just pissed me off.

Of course, this same guy shelled out the dough for an Anatolian Shephard (at 165 lbs) and a Ford Expedition. Had to have the biggest of everything. Wonder what he was compensating for?

[Biciclista]

teigyr - wow, that is one HUGE cat! I'm glad to see that he's just big, too...not a fatso. I love that he knows that sitting on you is punishment enough to wake you up!

I was friends with a guy in college who intentionally over-fed his cat because he liked fat cats. His cat was about 25 lbs too...but super fat. It just pissed me off.

Of course, this same guy shelled out the dough for an Anatolian Shephard (at 165 lbs) and a Ford Expedition. Had to have the biggest of everything. Wonder what he was compensating for?

I've known people that overfed their pets for that reason too. Incredible.

You can see Teigyr's cat is huge because his large head looks SMALL on his body!

[Cataboo]

For anyone who wants to be off topic about cats & birds:

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/.../predation.pdf
http://wildlife-conservation.suite10...s_to_songbirds
http://www.animalliberationfront.com...reNotGreen.htm

Of course, read with however many grains of salt since some of those sites have anti-roaming outdoor cat agendas.

[Tuckervill]

I think part of the decline of american birds is the well fed house cats that can afford to hunt for sport, as opposed to just what they need to eat... So pit a human fed cat against birds that have to struggle for their own food (unless someone's feeding them close by as well.)

This seems illogical to me. Cats like to play, of course, but their reason for hunting is to eat. If they're not hungry, they will hunt way way less, don't you think? And you think the birds are in some kind of weakened state because they are doing what they do, and the cats are super-cats because they are fed by humans?

I have two cats in my yard, and rarely ever see them catch birds or find dead birds in the yard. They do, in fact, sometimes kill birds, but not nearly to the extent that they are decimating the local bird population. I scared away about 30 doves off the edge of my pool the other day--it was amazing. All the stray cats in the neighborhood couldn't have taken care of that bird population. (My dog hunts birds every single day, but she never catches them. )

I agree with Mimi that it's development and loss of habitat that hurts the birds. Cats are just part of the food chain.

Karen

[Irulan]

This seems illogical to me. Cats like to play, of course, but their reason for hunting is to eat. If they're not hungry, they will hunt way way less, don't you think? And you think the birds are in some kind of weakened state because they are doing what they do, and the cats are super-cats because they are fed by humans?

I have two cats in my yard, and rarely ever see them catch birds or find dead birds in the yard. They do, in fact, sometimes kill birds, but not nearly to the extent that they are decimating the local bird population. I scared away about 30 doves off the edge of my pool the other day--it was amazing. All the stray cats in the neighborhood couldn't have taken care of that bird population. (My dog hunts birds every single day, but she never catches them. )

I agree with Mimi that it's development and loss of habitat that hurts the birds. Cats are just part of the food chain.

Karen

I'm not going to take the time to google up links,(you can do that yourself if you want) but the statistics are out there that housecats hunt for the kill, not to eat. When was the last time that you saw a cat actually EAT what it KILLED? They don't, they play with them, then leave them lying around, preferably on the door step.

[Veronica]

I think part of the decline of american birds is the well fed house cats that can afford to hunt for sport, as opposed to just what they need to eat... So pit a human fed cat against birds that have to struggle for their own food (unless someone's feeding them close by as well.)

I feed several feral cats in my backyard. They all get one trip to the vet for neutering and then they are free to hang out. I've watched them lay about on my deck while birds will come down and eat their cat food. They watch the birds intently, but I've yet to see them catch one.

Veronica

[Cataboo]

I feed several feral cats in my backyard. They all get one trip to the vet for neutering and then they are free to hang out. I've watched them lay about on my deck while birds will come down and eat their cat food. They watch the birds intently, but I've yet to see them catch one.

Veronica

You have well behaved feral cats.

My Mom's garden has several ponds and lots of bushes/plants - and all the neighborhood cats like to hang out in her yard - she doesn't have a cat, doesn't feed them, but has 4-6 of the neighbor's cats in her yard. They eat the goldfish in her ponds (she's put them in to eat the mosquitos), and there's often dead birds about.

We did have a siberian husky once that had a dog run in the back yard - the the the end of his leash/run was a magnolia tree with a blue jay nest in it... any time the dog got near the blue jay nest, the blue jay dive bombed the dogs head. The happened 5 or 6 times before the dog got sick of it and opened his mouth and the blue jay was no more.

[Eden]

Your moms goldfish are probably eaten by raccoons, not cats...... I had fish in my back yard for a while too - the raccoons made a huge mess of everything and I had to give up.

I have strictly indoor cats (for their safety and welfare) but I too have had indoor outdoor cats in the past and the best they were ever able to do were tiny mice. I never had a cat who was a successful bird hunter. Do I think no cats can do it - of course not, but I certainly don't think house cats can be pinned with the disappearance of birds..... Chemicals - specifically DDT (think Silent Spring) nearly destroyed bird populations and they are just beginning to make a comeback. I've noticed a huge increase in the numbers and species of birds even just in my neighborhood in the past 10 years. We had only pigeons, house wrens, finches and starlings when I moved here. Since that time I've seen eagles, peregrins, flickers, scrub jays, owls, bush tits, oregon juncos (in the winter) and many more.

In any case the OP was complaining about a stupid *human*, not even a dog or a cat...