Paddy Gower's Issue With Feral Cats

Forums › Off topic › Paddy Gower's Issue With Feral Cats

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3100994 7-Jul-2023 15:02

Paul1977:
I think pet cats should be spayed/neutered. I'm not in support of having to keep cats indoors though.

I think most cats are fixed, but would also support a law making it mandatory, absolutely no reason to have them intact.

In terms of keeping cats indoors, an awful lot of pet cats are rescue cats from shelters, i.e. recovered ferals. Locking them permanently indoors would be extremely traumatic for many of them, some just need half an hour or so each day to stroll around before they come back in again for the rest of the day.

Journeyman

1184 posts

Uber Geek

#3100997 7-Jul-2023 15:16

Gurezaemon:

To my mind, the problem is not complicated. If a cat is a pet or farm cat, then it should be chipped and/or have a collar. If it doesn't have a chip and/or collar, then it is stray or feral, and should be put in the same category as possums, stoats, and rats.

I think this sums it up quite succinctly. Whether a cat is feral doesn't matter if it's standing on DoC land, in a neighbourhood, in a playground or in a sunny meadow. If it doesn't have an owner then it is most likely killing wildlife and should be eradicated.

michaelmurfy

meow
13217 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3101006 7-Jul-2023 15:57

Wombat1: Just make it law for cat owners in NZ to keep their cats indoors like here in QLD. You must prevent your cat from wandering and causing a nuisance to neighbours. Its not right anyway that people in NZ think that because they have a cat their cat has a right to roam, and poop in neighbors property. Those cats go off at night and make other baby cats. They just doing what cats do.

Before anybody judges me as a cat hater - I have two cats as well as a dog. There is no need for them to go roaming.

Couldn't agree more.

I have 2 black cats and love them to pieces. One of which (Raven) is in my profile photo here. They're both indoor only cats with an outdoor catio area. They're super happy, comfortable and are not begging us to ever go outside. If I leave the front door open they won't run out because the house is their home and where they feel comfortable.

It is big in Australia and Canada being 2 examples to have indoor cats but here in NZ it is more common to allow your cats to roam. I love my cats too much to allow them to roam and potentially get themselves into trouble with dogs, cars, other cats etc.

The SPCA also recommends cat owners to keep them indoors - this is no mistake, indoor cats on average live longer: https://www.spca.nz/advice-and-welfare/article/keeping-your-cat-safe-and-happy-at-home

I've encouraged many people who have got kittens to keep them as indoor cats and most have. It is just the kind thing to do for them assuming you give them what they need. Our cats have beds, toys, cat towers and all to ensure they're always entertained and comfortable.

People are under the assumption that they need to go outside etc but this is far from the truth. My cats right now are both on the cat tower behind me as I type this as comfortable as anything and are just happy to be around me. Cats are opportunist predators and we've had our cats catch and kill birds that have gotten too close to their outside area but I also like how they're not out potentially killing more than the few they've killed in their lifetime.

I fully agree that feral cats should be eradicated - they are a pest. But if you own one yourself I think you've got to understand the fact they are still pests if you give them the ability to roam.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Paul1977

5007 posts

Uber Geek

#3101007 7-Jul-2023 15:59

Journeyman:

I think this sums it up quite succinctly. Whether a cat is feral doesn't matter if it's standing on DoC land, in a neighbourhood, in a playground or in a sunny meadow. If it doesn't have an owner then it is most likely killing wildlife and should be eradicated.

So a domestic cat whose owners abandoned it when they moved away should be eradicated rather than, I dunno, captured and rehomed?

Gurezaemon

~HONYAKKER!~
1343 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3101009 7-Jul-2023 16:14

In an ideal world, the government would be able to afford to pay several thousand people to go around individually checking for chips and collars, in order to ascertain whether a cat is actually a domestic pet or a wild stray or feral cat. But we don't live in such a country. Yep, it sucks for the cat, but it also sucks for the hundreds or thousands of birds, skinks, weta, etc. that it will kill for fun or for food.

A rhetorical question, but should pest control people also try to trap every single wild or feral dog ravaging wildlife and livestock to check for a chip, instead of shooting them in the fear that they may be someone's pet? The same goes for pet rabbits.

Farmers can shoot dogs on their property because of the threat to their livestock - I don't see how cats should be any different given the damage they can do where they don't belong.

Get your business seen overseas - Nexus Translations

networkn

Networkn
32246 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3101011 7-Jul-2023 16:18

sir1963:

I think NZ would be far better off without cats.

Cats are the most destructive pest that has ever been introduced into any country.

Possums be like 'hold my beer'.

Paul1977

5007 posts

Uber Geek

#3101016 7-Jul-2023 16:29

michaelmurfy:

Couldn't agree more.

I have 2 black cats and love them to pieces. One of which (Raven) is in my profile photo here. They're both indoor only cats with an outdoor catio area. They're super happy, comfortable and are not begging us to ever go outside. If I leave the front door open they won't run out because the house is their home and where they feel comfortable.

It is big in Australia and Canada being 2 examples to have indoor cats but here in NZ it is more common to allow your cats to roam. I love my cats too much to allow them to roam and potentially get themselves into trouble with dogs, cars, other cats etc.

The SPCA also recommends cat owners to keep them indoors - this is no mistake, indoor cats on average live longer: https://www.spca.nz/advice-and-welfare/article/keeping-your-cat-safe-and-happy-at-home

I've encouraged many people who have got kittens to keep them as indoor cats and most have. It is just the kind thing to do for them assuming you give them what they need. Our cats have beds, toys, cat towers and all to ensure they're always entertained and comfortable.

People are under the assumption that they need to go outside etc but this is far from the truth. My cats right now are both on the cat tower behind me as I type this as comfortable as anything and are just happy to be around me. Cats are opportunist predators and we've had our cats catch and kill birds that have gotten too close to their outside area but I also like how they're not out potentially killing more than the few they've killed in their lifetime.

I fully agree that feral cats should be eradicated - they are a pest. But if you own one yourself I think you've got to understand the fact they are still pests if you give them the ability to roam.

Can't agree that keeping cats indoors is doing them a kindness. They may live longer on average, but why is that that? Because invariably some do get hit by cars which brings the average down (I do think it's irresponsible having an outdoor cat if you live on or near a busy road, but unfortunately loads of people do)? Because some owners don't vaccinate them against FIV and they contract that which shortens their life (this is an expensive vaccine, and most probably don't want to pay)?

We live on a very quiet lane, a good distance from any busy roads. Our cat gets the expensive FIV vaccine every year (along with all the standard ones). Most of our neighbors know our cat and say hello to him.

Averages don't mean a lot to the individual. We ensure our cat is happy and healthy, and I don't believe keeping him indoors would prolong his life in our circumstances. I do think it would lower the quality of it though.

Hatch

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Hatch (affiliate link).

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3101018 7-Jul-2023 16:35

Paul1977:
Can't agree that keeping cats indoors is doing them a kindness. They may live longer on average, but why is that that? Because invariably some do get hit by cars which brings the average down (I do think it's irresponsible having an outdoor cat if you live on or near a busy road, but unfortunately loads of people do)? Because some owners don't vaccinate them against FIV and they contract that which shortens their life (this is an expensive vaccine, and most probably don't want to pay)?

It's a variant of the "fact" that people in the middle ages didn't live long. What actually happened was that there was massive infant and child mortality which pulled the averages way down, not that everyone dropped dead at age 35.

For cats, the typical lifespan of a feral is 3 years. The typical lifespan of a non-feral, no matter where it spends its time, is several times that. Since feral cats are outdoors cats by definition, they pull the average way down, just like infant/child mortality pulled the average lifespan in the middle ages way down.

Journeyman

1184 posts

Uber Geek

#3101030 7-Jul-2023 17:09

Paul1977:

Journeyman:

I think this sums it up quite succinctly. Whether a cat is feral doesn't matter if it's standing on DoC land, in a neighbourhood, in a playground or in a sunny meadow. If it doesn't have an owner then it is most likely killing wildlife and should be eradicated.

So a domestic cat whose owners abandoned it when they moved away should be eradicated rather than, I dunno, captured and rehomed?

Yes. If someone can realistically capture and rehome abandoned cats then sure, go for it. But if that can't be done then I don't think it's right to shrug shoulders and say "ah well... it was domestic once. We'll catch it some day".

Handle9

11267 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3101031 7-Jul-2023 17:17

Paul1977:

Journeyman:

I think this sums it up quite succinctly. Whether a cat is feral doesn't matter if it's standing on DoC land, in a neighbourhood, in a playground or in a sunny meadow. If it doesn't have an owner then it is most likely killing wildlife and should be eradicated.

So a domestic cat whose owners abandoned it when they moved away should be eradicated rather than, I dunno, captured and rehomed?

Yip. If you can get the former owners too it's even better.

rjh

57 posts

Master Geek

#3101052 7-Jul-2023 18:17

mkissin:

It's not just birds though, it's pretty much anything that moves. Bugs, lizards, birds, the lot.

I live at a suburban beach that seasonally has nesting banded dotterels, every year these are devastated by domestic cats.

We even have a neighbour who takes his cat to the beach to watch the sunset. Even without that habitation cats have completely wiped out the local skink population, and as a result of that, kotari no longer hunt in the area.

TBH, NZers right to bear cats is as incomprehensible as the US right to bear arms...

Rikkitic

Awrrr
18605 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3101056 7-Jul-2023 19:16

Issues like this are always oversimplified. Cats are complex creatures. Like dogs, they are capable of strong emotional bonding. Just like people, cats have feelings. They feel pain, fear, joy, love and affection. People are also complex. Some adore cats and treat them like children. Some treat them like crap and seem to like hurting them. Many, many people love their cats and depend on them utterly for emotional sustenance. A lot of old people would be very lonely without their cats. Get rid of their cats and you also get rid of their quality of life and reason for wanting to continue living. Cats take something but they also give something. It is not all one thing or the other.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

networkn

Networkn
32246 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3101057 7-Jul-2023 19:23

None of the benefits you are speaking of applies to Feral cats though. Is that not the primary focus of the discussion?

Bung

6398 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3101066 7-Jul-2023 20:06

We have cats coming onto the property or the empty section nextdoor stalking birds. I think they come from over 200m away. The possum count is over 20 now. Sometimes I wonder why these cats should get a free pass.

Bluntj

555 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3101070 7-Jul-2023 20:23

I am getting long in the tooth now, but I clearly remember when dogs were allowed to freely roam and cause havoc. The same issues with cats is now being played out.

Cats need to be licensed/chipped in the community where large discounts are available to owners of desexed animals. Clearly there is a large proportion of cat lovers who are responsible owners, but as always it is the miniority that ruins it for everyone. It is the minority who let their animals go feral in the first place and by compulsory chipping owners would be held responsible in a lot of cases.

Its is going to happen sooner rather than later.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7