In defence of cats

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Awrrr
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#1198520 16-Dec-2014 17:03

Before I started adopting feral cats, I domesticated some feral turkeys that wander the hills around our property. That is where my avatar comes from (I am not anti-bird). Then friends gave me a kitten. Since I had already taught the turkeys that our yard was a sanctuary, and dozens were nesting there, I had to teach my cat that turkey chicks were off-limits. Whenever it started showing any signs of unhealthy interest in the chicks, I would pick it up, stroke it, and gently tell it that this was a no-no. The cat got the message. Everything else, especially bunnies, was fair game but he never bothered the turkeys. It even got to the point where they used to pick on him because they knew he wouldn't fight back. I'm sure some will not believe this, but that cat never touched a turkey chick. There were dozens wandering around the yard most of the time. Since the cat never bothered them, they never saw him as a threat, and they used to go up to him and check him out. Like all young creatures, the chicks were curious. My cat would put up with it until he couldn't stand it any more, and then run away. After my cat died, I stopped feeding the turkeys and they gradually stopped coming around. Needless to say, there are none in the area now. My cat Boots was truly special but I certainly wouldn't trust the new cats with anything small and alive.

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DarthKermit

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#1198720 16-Dec-2014 22:08

When our two new kittens are old enough, they will both be getting fixed. We intend to be responsible owners and do this for them.

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eth

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#1198750 17-Dec-2014 00:14

I fully agree with the OP. I personally love cats and all the joy and happiness that they bring me. My two cats both lived to around 18 years old and they were there for my whole childhood, I miss them heaps.

Regarding the whole debate about cats and birds, it definitely is about balance. Removing one species of animal won't do a thing, others will just take its place. But we need to ensure that the populations are under control. Having stray cats roaming around killing birds isn't a good thing.

It's quite extreme though seeing people saying that cats going onto someone else's property should be killed. I think that if you see stray cats and dogs on your property the best thing to protect the animal is to take it to somewhere like the SPCA. That way the animal will be protected and appropriately cared for. It is definitely not right to end the life of a living creature because it is on your property. Seeing stuff like that does make me want to be more careful about ensuring that any pets of mine stay on my property, and away from all the crazy people who want to harm them. It is hard to find a balance though as it is not good for a cat to be inside all the time, yet it is hard to keep it on your property once it is outside.

Sidestep

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#1198809 17-Dec-2014 07:53

One place we lived had a cat roaming bylaw.

Cats have to be licensed, remain on your property unless leashed, and are not allowed to kill other animals.
The same rules apply to dogs.
If a cat continually comes on your property, you call the city - An animal Bylaw officer will investigate.
You are allowed to live trap roaming cats (but NOT hurt them) and the owner can be fined, or in extreme, repeat cases the cat may be put down.
The City will loan out cat live traps.

In practise this means many people have leash trained cats in their yards, take their cats for leashed walks like dogs.
Surprisingly, cats adapt well to outside life on a leash.
Several friends had cats on running leashes, fixed or extendable leashes out in their yards. Cats quickly realise how far they can get before they hit the end.

It's funny to see a cat nonchalantly looking around and licking it's paws while birds scratch and peck at the ground just feet away.
As soon as the birds enter the cat's space - there's a reason for the term "birdbrain" - he's suddenly a predator again and they disappear in a puff of feathers.

I'm told there was a bit of a grace period when they introduced the bylaws, as adult cats were harder to leash train. From kittens, not hard at all.
One bonus was that the number of cats lost, poisoned, or run over by cars plummeted to nearly none.

MikeB4

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#1198815 17-Dec-2014 08:03

I wish cat owners would be responsible and train their pets to use an area in their own back yard for toilet duties. I am sick of cats messing in ours especially our vegetable garden. It is disgusting and a serious health risk especially for someone who is immune compromised.

Fred99

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#1198819 17-Dec-2014 08:09

Geektastic:
Lets have wolves on the south island. And bears. And beavers. All much more interesting to look at than some birds. And tastier.

Tastier?

*"The flesh of the wolf may be taken certainly to be about the rankest carrion in creation, not even excepting that of the common vulture and the turkey-buzzard"
"Bear meat has tended to receive mixed reviews. Its greasy, coarse texture and sweet flavor require a certain kind of palate."
"In the 17th century, based on a question raised by the Bishop of Quebec, the Roman Catholic Church ruled that the beaver was a fish (so you could even eat them on Friday)"

*found on the internet - must be true

Fred99

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#1198850 17-Dec-2014 09:08

KiwiNZ: I wish cat owners would be responsible and train their pets to use an area in their own back yard for toilet duties. I am sick of cats messing in ours especially our vegetable garden. It is disgusting and a serious health risk especially for someone who is immune compromised.

Agreed.

Has anybody here tried motion activated cat deterrents?
There are some which emit an ultrasonic pulse (I have doubts about the effectiveness of these) as well as some activating a water sprinkler:

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MikeAqua

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#1198871 17-Dec-2014 09:46

I saw some footage where guy rigged up something similar to avoid paw-prints on his car. His video footage revealed that the same cats kept coming back, getting blasted by the sprinkler, fleeing in apparent terror, then coming back again. Maybe it was like bungy jumping for them?

True cat-dog story: Cat comes through cat door with mouse in mouth. My partner picks up the cat-mouse assembly (mice creep her out) and heads for the ranch slider. She opens the ranch-slider to see my dog (lab) waiting outside. Cat sees dog and hisses, dropping mouse. Dog snaps mouse out of mid-air and swallows it whole.

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Rikkitic

Awrrr
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#1198874 17-Dec-2014 09:55

I didn't know most cats could be leash-trained. This is a sensible idea, as well as ultra-sonic deterrents. Finding ways of keeping cats in check without harming them or driving them crazy is the ideal solution. It solves the problem for those who don't want cats around and it protects the cats.

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DravidDavid

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#1198886 17-Dec-2014 10:13

dpw: I heard something on TV recently, a discussion about the role of cats in harming native wildlife. I didn't hear the full article but caught the mention of Trap-Neuter-Return by someone. I may have incorrectly heard that the person who mentioned it (possibly someone from SPCA?) said it's not a good solution for the alarming issue of rising cat population.

My partner is a vet nurse, and we are involved with the local Christchurch organisation called Cat Rescue. To my knowledge they're the only one in the country who are running a TNR programme. We have fostered numerous feral (they prefer to call it "unsocialised") kittens so far. They have been raised to be amazing young cats (thanks to one of our dogs who turned out to be a kitten whisperer extraordinaire), before they're neutered/spayed and placed in suitable homes. I don't believe TNR is the silver bullet for the rising cat population issue, then again, I'm not sure such a silver bullet exists for this issue. However, I think it can be a great part of of a wider solution. I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned more around the country.

Have you guys heard of this programme? What are your thoughts?

My partner (also a vet nurse) was actively involved with cat colonies with an organisation called Lonely Meow. TNR was their policy and re-homing kittens that could be domesticated is also practiced. Any cat with aids or other diseases are sadly euthanized, but the rest are returned.

I filmed a feral cat being trapped on a crappy digital camera and uploaded it to YouTube. I've recently hit 1000 likes and 100,000 views. I've also been in touch with Aucklanders in the YouTube comments about sourcing a trap to catch their feral cat.

I don't think those stating TNR is contributing to the rising cat population. I believe it is keeping it at bay while slowly reducing it. From what I understand, removing a cat only puts more in it's place as they migrate from other areas. Keeping the cat colony population stable by returning them while disallowing them to breed stops other cats migrating from other areas.

Here is the YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ8C8mGqmh4

Here is another video of my vicious cat attacking the local bird life:
http://youtu.be/vGKzC_dbr68

Fred99

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#1198915 17-Dec-2014 10:26

MikeAqua: I saw some footage where guy rigged up something similar to avoid paw-prints on his car. His video footage revealed that the same cats kept coming back, getting blasted by the sprinkler, fleeing in apparent terror, then coming back again. Maybe it was like bungy jumping for them?

Darn it - but I'm not surprised.

Some salmon farms used to use waterproof firecrackers to scare off seals that wanted to enjoy a free easy feed. Then the seals got used to the bangs, then worse, they seemed to use the sound of the bangs as dinner gongs.

We don't seem to have much of a clue about how animals think, and seem to underestimate their intelligence. I'm not sure about cats, but dogs seem to understand us with greater depth than we understand them.

DravidDavid

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#1198917 17-Dec-2014 10:31

Fred99:
We don't seem to have much of a clue about how animals think, and seem to underestimate their intelligence. I'm not sure about cats, but dogs seem to understand us with greater depth than we understand them.

I think all animals have a similar understanding of us. I think we all under-estimate their intelligence. I think people find dogs understand them more because they express their feelings in a very similar way to what we do. They are as enthusiastic about us as we are them!

Cats don't have the same level of emotion that we can visibly see, but are probably expressing it in ways we can't really pick up on.

lokhor

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#1198980 17-Dec-2014 11:38

I have a Bengal cat, Oscar who is harness trained, we take him for regular walks. Currently he is an indoor cat as he broke his leg in 3 places and is recovering. He was previously an outdoor cat and a sometime predator. He mostly enjoys eating bugs.

He is also one of the most gentle cats, especially around other cats and even rabbits. All of the neighbours in our street adore him and allow him inside their house to play with their cats and children. He never hisses and almost never growls.

We have trained him to sit, shake hands, lie down and say a prayer as well. He is very affectionate with us, but also loyal so not very affectionate with other people, although he will never scratch or bite another person - the vets love him.

All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.

dpw

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#1198998 17-Dec-2014 12:01

DravidDavid:
dpw: I heard something on TV recently, a discussion about the role of cats in harming native wildlife. I didn't hear the full article but caught the mention of Trap-Neuter-Return by someone. I may have incorrectly heard that the person who mentioned it (possibly someone from SPCA?) said it's not a good solution for the alarming issue of rising cat population.

My partner is a vet nurse, and we are involved with the local Christchurch organisation called Cat Rescue. To my knowledge they're the only one in the country who are running a TNR programme. We have fostered numerous feral (they prefer to call it "unsocialised") kittens so far. They have been raised to be amazing young cats (thanks to one of our dogs who turned out to be a kitten whisperer extraordinaire), before they're neutered/spayed and placed in suitable homes. I don't believe TNR is the silver bullet for the rising cat population issue, then again, I'm not sure such a silver bullet exists for this issue. However, I think it can be a great part of of a wider solution. I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned more around the country.

Have you guys heard of this programme? What are your thoughts?

My partner (also a vet nurse) was actively involved with cat colonies with an organisation called Lonely Meow. TNR was their policy and re-homing kittens that could be domesticated is also practiced. Any cat with aids or other diseases are sadly euthanized, but the rest are returned.

I filmed a feral cat being trapped on a crappy digital camera and uploaded it to YouTube. I've recently hit 1000 likes and 100,000 views. I've also been in touch with Aucklanders in the YouTube comments about sourcing a trap to catch their feral cat.

DravidDavid: I don't think those stating TNR is contributing to the rising cat population. I believe it is keeping it at bay while slowly reducing it. From what I understand, removing a cat only puts more in it's place as they migrate from other areas. Keeping the cat colony population stable by returning them while disallowing them to breed stops other cats migrating from other areas.

I can't recall anyone actually saying TNR contributes to the rising cat population. I just heard that it was not the solution to it or some such. I agree with you about the removal of a cat from its territory, which made me question this quote from Lonely Miaow website:

"Lonely Miaow's mission is 'No more Strays'. Our rescue method is known as trap-assess-resolve (TAR). We never return a cat back to a colony situation and we do whatever possible to rehome the cats and kittens we rescue."

It sounds like they're not practicing TNR at all. I'm not a cat population control expert, so please do not take this as me saying one is better than the other. I'm just curious.

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Rikkitic

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#1199057 17-Dec-2014 12:57

DravidDavid:
Fred99:
We don't seem to have much of a clue about how animals think, and seem to underestimate their intelligence. I'm not sure about cats, but dogs seem to understand us with greater depth than we understand them.

I think all animals have a similar understanding of us. I think we all under-estimate their intelligence. I think people find dogs understand them more because they express their feelings in a very similar way to what we do. They are as enthusiastic about us as we are them!

Cats don't have the same level of emotion that we can visibly see, but are probably expressing it in ways we can't really pick up on.

I am not a cat expert, just a cat lover, but I have spent a lot of time around them and made some observations. Cats do not respond the same way dogs do, but their capacity for emotion should not be underestimated. I have seen my cats happy and sad, and their feelings are unmistakable. My cats also love me, and they express it better than most people do. Cats make their feelings crystal-clear.

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