Cat Thread - This is how you do it.

[longqi]

Fuscus, I don't deny that cats are hunters and do damage to urban wildlife. Lets leave ferals aside for now, that's different category again. Urbanization itself is the biggest killer of wildlife add the cats are picking up the crumbs. I am not suggesting that it's alright but I do acknowledge that pets, including cats are important in people's lives and have been for decades if not centuries. People without pets are strange people (that's only my opinion) and children deprived of intimate contact with animals grow up into strange adults. For decades, out wildlife managers have been telling us "look but don't touch" and we now have a generation of young people who never left the fur of a possum, wombat or the skin of a snake. We are not allowed to keep native wildlife as pets, so what's the alternative? Dogs and cats.
Cats have been in suburbs for yonks and they shape up the urban ecology the same way dingos or crocodiles do in the wild, they are the top predator in suburbs. Yet, we still have abundance of wildlife in our gardens and I doubt there are any real data that would suggest steady declines - temporary ones, perhaps but the same goes on in the bush. Of course it hurts to see a cat dragging dead honey-eater or a water dragon and us naturalists, we get upset.
There should be a uniform law across this country; no more that 2 cats per household, both desexed and microchipped. Compulsory confinement to indoors will NEVER work. Houses are not being built to include cat runs and many people simply can't afford it. Kids (and adults) and not always diligent when it comes to closing doors, so cats get out.

What makes me cranky is the mentality of cat haters who think if they kill a cat they have done some monumental act in support of conservation. That's an absolute crap, it's equal to killing one cane toad or shooting one pig. And before somebody says "but if all did ........", it's even more crap, no need for explanation I hope.

Cheers
M



I consider myself a responsible person but if set a trap with few bottles of Grange, I'll get caught.

Prefer a good Chablis myself
Grange a bit too heavy on this jaded pallette [87 was a good year]

I agree with most of this especially the part about kids without pets
Although it may look like I hate cats I actually dont and quite enjoy their company in selected areas
But those areas never include places where small native wildlife of any description also lives

 

[Waterrat]

I see your point Michael and I appreciate your feedback.

But what happens is someones pet causes distress to someones sleeps at all hours of the morning? Lets take away for a minute the potential harm they may cause for our wildlife and concentrate on the the effects of a domestic or feral pet on someones property. Noise resulting in lack of sleep, defication caused by fighting and not to mention possible allergy probs.

Please Waterrat if you will, could you answer these questions.

Hypothetically speaking, if you found a neighbors cat in one of your averies with a couple of dead gtps, would you

A. Kill the animal on site as this is unacceptable?
B. Trap the animal and call the pound in a humane manner?
C. Track down the owner and show them the damage and price, grief that their pet has caused?
D. This will not happen as my enclousures are completely secure.

If you choose C, If there response is it only a few snakes, how would you react?
If you choose D, then well done, this topic is about responsible pet ownerhip and good on you.

At the end of the day if you dont accept responsibilities for your pets that can have or will result in other peoples issues and affect their wellbeing then you are not a responsible pet owner. I see that members get grilled for keeping gtps in setups that are not recomended by yourself. Same **** different smell wouldnt you think?

You know what they say... You cant smell the same **** on your knees.....

Peace all

Mate, what about hoons doing burnouts in front of your place? What about barking dogs in the neighborhood? The screaming kids next door? Have you ever lived in a street where someone has got ************ Sulphur-crested cockatoo that screeches every day at down? THAT'S LIFE IN SUBURBIA! Unfortunately.

 

[Nighthawk]

I don't understand what makes a cats life more sacred than our native wildlife.
Jeffa has been responsible in his disposal of a killing machine.
If the owners are responible people they will claim their cat back and maybe put some thought into restraining it's wandering habits.
If not then the world is less one cat which is certainly not a huge drama.

Life in general is sacred. It's a gift, from nature, god or random accident, whatever your stance. Irresponsible pet owners are just as guilty as sadists of forgetting this fact.
If you allow a predator in your care to run amok and as a result that animal is put down than you may as well drown it the moment you get it, it's life is wasted from that point. I lived next door to a man who let his junkyard pitties bail up women and children and kill beloved pets; those animals got put down and he blamed me for calling dog control after I beat them off my dog and chased them up the driveway with a chain (on my property no less). As far as I was concerned he may as well have held the syringe himself the moment he let those animals get out of control, but duly noted his strength of will was well-illustrated by the fact that he yelled out blame from the top of the driveway and behind the fence, the big tough skinhead, scared by an angry little woman with a choke-chain, as were his 'guard dogs'.
This is an extreme case, exceptions do happen where a snake will escape or a dog jump the fence and simply follow it's nose, but repetitive occurances where the owner doesn't appear to care what impact their animal has need to have repercussions.

 

[ramzee86]

All this brings me back to think.
How many animal extinctions have domestic cats been responsible for? (If any it is because of us humans putting and breeding them outside their natural geographical range)
How many animal extinctions have humans been responsible for?
Yeah, we can't talk.

Speciesism, look it up.

 

[waruikazi]

That is a pathetic defeatist attitude.

All this brings me back to think.
How many animal extinctions have domestic cats been responsible for? (If any it is because of us humans putting and breeding them outside their natural geographical range)
How many animal extinctions have humans been responsible for?
Yeah, we can't talk.

Speciesism, look it up.

 

[KaotikJezta]

If a cat is left to roam after dark, it is legal in Victoria to treat it as feral, trap it and shoot it.
Even if it is a pet.

Ive been setting Possum Traps for Cats on my proptery for years.
The traps get set after 10pm and I un-set them before sun up, I do this 2 to 3 times a month.
This year I have only traped and shot 3 or 4,
where as in past years I would well and truely be in double figures by this time of year.
Cat numbers down, I must be winning the fight.

Im sorry to say this Michael, as I do respect you,
But if you were my neighbour and your cat was left to roam at night.
I would take it.

I am all for people to keep cats as pets, I understand that a Cat owner loves their beloved puss.
With that said, if they truely love their cat, lock it up at night, buy a cat run to keep it safe.

If its left to roam, its un loved in my book and I will take it.

I know it is illegal in some council areas, like mine, for cats to be out after dusk. I also know you are allowed to catch said cats but I don't think it is legal to shoot them, thats just you taking the law into your own hands. If I am wrong please post a link showing me where it says you are allowed to shoot someones pet. This attitude is fairly disgusting, what if the person is generally a very responsible cat owner and through no fault of their own there cat is accidentally let out. I had the people up the back come looking for their cat recently. She had never been outside before but had escaped her crate when going to the vet. His girlfriend had not latched it properly. She was missing for three days and they were distraught. Imagine if someone like you had gotten hold of it. Their cat was desexed and microchipped and they did everything required to keep it inside, it is not fair to have some trigger happy cat hater kill your pet because of an accident, at least trap them and take them to the pound so the owners have a chance to get them back.

 

[Radar]

That is a pathetic defeatist attitude.

I can't stand it when people come out with 'Yeah but land clearing does more damage' or 'everyone else does it so me stopping wont make a difference'.

If you love your pet, look after it inside. If you have an outdoor cat simply because you don't want to have to clean its litter tray, rethink pet ownership. I clean up after a 45kg bullarab/ridgeback/pitty. Not my favourite task, but Im responsible enough not to let it out to drop anti-tank landmines on the neighbours front veranda.

 

[snaker]

Pythons wandering at night

I think that a responsible cat owner should keep their cat indoors at night for many reasons, they may get run over, they may fight with other cats, kill wildlife or even other pets, get attacked by a dog or TRAPPED BY A PSYCHO the list goes on. A cat is like any animal - driven by instinct, and cannot be blamed for what it does, and it cannot be entrusted with it's own safety. It is irresponsibility and public acceptance that lets this happen.

If I let my Pythons wander the streets at night, or my 2yr old toddler for that matter, I would be considered a disgrace , BUT THIS IS NO DIFFERENT.

 

[69blottfilms69]

I have cats and im a cat lover
My cats have never killed a bird
one of them once brought a bunny in thinking it was a kitten carrying by the scrff it was not hurt

 

[gandal88]

i own a cat and i let it out in my yard i live in inner brisbane it is in every night and out everyday with the option to com in if it wants it has bought countless skinks grass hoppers cockroaches even the odd gecko in toplay with and everytime i see it except for the roaches i pick them up and put outside does this make it bad no it doesnt the people who sit on their porch in their rocking chair with their 12 gauge are nothing but red neck hill billies that like to kill domestic cats an excuse it likes to kill things, well so do you!! that been said i understand that FERAL cats are a different story trap and euthanise all you want you wont make a difference. i agree with all the give yourself a pat on the back and here is a meddle for being such a top guy saving the animals and posting it so others can give you a pat on the back! geez some of you people are thick as the great wall of china. end rant

 

[HoffOff]

i own a cat and i let it out in my yard i live in inner brisbane it is in every night and out everyday with the option to com in if it wants it has bought countless skinks grass hoppers cockroaches even the odd gecko in toplay with and everytime i see it except for the roaches i pick them up and put outside does this make it bad no it doesnt the people who sit on their porch in their rocking chair with their 12 gauge are nothing but red neck hill billies that like to kill domestic cats an excuse it likes to kill things, well so do you!! that been said i understand that FERAL cats are a different story trap and euthanise all you want you wont make a difference. i agree with all the give yourself a pat on the back and here is a meddle for being such a top guy saving the animals and posting it so others can give you a pat on the back! geez some of you people are thick as the great wall of china. end rant

alright, lets break this wall of text down a little.

it has bought countless skinks grass hoppers cockroaches even the odd gecko in toplay with and everytime i see it except for the roaches i pick them up and put outside does this make it bad no it doesnt

Correct me if i'm wrong, but most little things are very sensitive- "playing" could be damaging to the animals, cats can be pretty rough "playing". And many cats don't bring home there "kills", they just leave it outside, to die.

i understand that FERAL cats are a different story trap and euthanise all you want

I think it was stated earlier in the thread, a feral animal is anything that isn't inside it's residence, so "fluffykins" out the front, is a feral.

i agree with all the give yourself a pat on the back and here is a meddle for being such a top guy saving the animals and posting it so others can give you a pat on the back! geez some of you people are thick as the great wall of china.

I think i detect a hint of sarcasm, i'm not sure as the internet's a hard place to determine it, are you saying-
"Good on ya, you saved some wildlife"
or
"You're a idiot, you trapped a feral cat that kills native life, you should be ashamed"
(I don't agree with taking the murder into you're own hands, trapping and taking to the pound sounds perfectly fine, tho.)

I have cats and im a cat lover
My cats have never killed a bird
one of them once brought a bunny in thinking it was a kitten carrying by the scrff it was not hurt

And many cats don't bring home there "kills", they just leave it outside, to die.
And i don't think you're cat brought home the rabbit thinking it was a kitten, My mothers cat has brought rats/mice inside by the scruff, only to eat it a couple minutes later.
How can you be so sure it hasn't killed a bird?.

 

[gandal88]

alright, lets break this wall of text down a little.


Correct me if i'm wrong, but most little things are very sensitive- "playing" could be damaging to the animals, cats can be pretty rough "playing". And many cats don't bring home there "kills", they just leave it outside, to die.

I think it was stated earlier in the thread, a feral animal is anything that isn't inside it's residence, so "fluffykins" out the front, is a feral.

that is just some bullshit explanation that some one has come up with so they can justify trapping or shooting a pet instead of going bush and doing something properly he is just been a back yard bandit!!

I think i detect a hint of sarcasm, i'm not sure as the internet's a hard place to determine it, are you saying-
"Good on ya, you saved some wildlife"
or
"You're a idiot, you trapped a feral cat that kills native life, you should be ashamed"
(I don't agree with taking the murder into you're own hands, trapping and taking to the pound sounds perfectly fine, tho.)

again feral is not someones pet. that cat is loved and cared for and is far from been a feral animal

.

cheers jamie

 

[cement]

This is the law in nsw:

Responsibilities of pet owners
To ensure the comfort, safety and health of the whole
community, the Companion Animals Act places certain
responsibilities on pet owners.
Here is a summary of responsibilities of cat owners under
the Act:
l All cats must be identified by a form of identification that
enables a local authority to ascertain the name of the cat
and the address or telephone number of the owner;
l Cats are prohibited in wildlife protection areas and food
preparation/consumption areas;
l You must ensure your cat does not interfere with the
peace, comfort or convenience of any person in any other
premises, or
l Repeatedly damage anything outside the property on
which it is ordinarily kept.
Penalty notices issued under the Act
Animal not permanently identified (microchipped) . . . $165
Animal not registered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $165
Failure to notify change of address/owner . . . . . . . . . $165
Failure to take seized animal to pound/shelter . . . . . $550
Failure to comply with nuisance cat order . . . . . . . . . $165
Cat in prohibited place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110
Cat not wear identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110
Obstruct authorised officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $165

This what i mean, when i say there is no law about how to keep cats. Yes there are fines for this and that, but nothing stating how they should be kept.

Fuscus, I don't deny that cats are hunters and do damage to urban wildlife. Lets leave ferals aside for now, that's different category again. Urbanization itself is the biggest killer of wildlife add the cats are picking up the crumbs. I am not suggesting that it's alright but I do acknowledge that pets, including cats are important in people's lives and have been for decades if not centuries. People without pets are strange people (that's only my opinion) and children deprived of intimate contact with animals grow up into strange adults. For decades, out wildlife managers have been telling us "look but don't touch" and we now have a generation of young people who never left the fur of a possum, wombat or the skin of a snake. We are not allowed to keep native wildlife as pets, so what's the alternative? Dogs and cats.
Cats have been in suburbs for yonks and they shape up the urban ecology the same way dingos or crocodiles do in the wild, they are the top predator in suburbs. Yet, we still have abundance of wildlife in our gardens and I doubt there are any real data that would suggest steady declines - temporary ones, perhaps but the same goes on in the bush. Of course it hurts to see a cat dragging dead honey-eater or a water dragon and us naturalists, we get upset.
There should be a uniform law across this country; no more that 2 cats per household, both desexed and microchipped. Compulsory confinement to indoors will NEVER work. Houses are not being built to include cat runs and many people simply can't afford it. Kids (and adults) and not always diligent when it comes to closing doors, so cats get out.

What makes me cranky is the mentality of cat haters who think if they kill a cat they have done some monumental act in support of conservation. That's an absolute crap, it's equal to killing one cane toad or shooting one pig. And before somebody says "but if all did ........", it's even more crap, no need for explanation I hope.

Cheers
M


Abundant wildlife in our gardens?? Now that is a joke! The only truth in your comments here are that there haven't been any studies done. Sometimes you don't need a uni grad to go around sticking transmitters up everything that crawls **** to know the truth. Just ask anyone who does wildlife work the ratio of cat attacks to other injuries. Cat attack is much higher then dog, or car or natural causes. This is REAL, not just me sitting back drinking wine and getting philosophical.

We had a person doing a study on ringtailed possums, but they gave up because nearly all the released animals were killed by cats. 100% fatality, They lost one or two to snake, and all the rest were killed by cat.
Compulsory confinement to indoors WILL work. Its as simple as having an enclosure for a bird, snake, or backyard for a dog. If you had to cage your cat to be able to keep one, then it wouldn't be able to get out and kill would it? Surely you can see this.

Anyone with half a brain can see that humans are the worst of all.
But this is a thread about cats... not dogs, goats, camels or people.

 

[Waterrat]

Settle down Graham, it's getting too much into your head. The local Councils can't do anything about it, communities are largely ignorant to the cat problems, and YOU can't do anything about it either, i.e. anything effective. And that's why you're having outbursts here on a forum - that's all you can do about it.
Abundant wildlife in our gardens in not a joke. We have skinks, tree snakes, water rats, butterflies, frogs, etc., in our garden ..... and we have a cat too. You are right in your last sentence, so maybe it's time to stop hating cats and start confronting irresponsible cat owners - not here at your keyboard; personally. Are you up to it?

 

[waruikazi]

Michael... pots, kettles and blackness? lol

Settle down Graham, it's getting too much into your head. The local Councils can't do anything about it, communities are largely ignorant to the cat problems, and YOU can't do anything about it either, i.e. anything effective. And that's why you're having outbursts here on a forum - that's all you can do about it.
Abundant wildlife in our gardens in not a joke. We have skinks, tree snakes, water rats, butterflies, frogs, etc., in our garden ..... and we have a cat too. You are right in your last sentence, so maybe it's time to stop hating cats and start confronting irresponsible cat owners - not here at your keyboard; personally. Are you up to it?

 

[Waterrat]

Michael... pots, kettles and blackness? lol

Me no understand. sory

 

[Red-Ink]

Like I said before I own a cat and love the little bugger dearly.....
It's an indoor cat and has never been outside without a leash around it's neck.
I'm pro eradicating feral cats....
But in suburbia these cats are people's pets, just like my cat and my reptiles.

If one of my reptiles get's out to the neighbours yard and they take a shovel to it I would be horrified and livid, it would be no different if they shot my cat as their cat haters...

If they trap my cat and have enough "BALLS" to let me know (rather than just lurking in the suburban shadows being all J.I. Joe about it)... I would actually probably give them a reward for finding the damn thing in the first place. At least it was safe and didn't get run over or got shot...
By all means trap the cats in your neighbourhood as they are causing damage but at least have the decency to let the owners know, and don't say they have three days to re-claim it from the pound. That's just you letting the pound do the dirty work while you sit back and think what a good boy I am.

 

[waruikazi]

Like I said before I own a cat and love the little bugger dearly.....
It's an indoor cat and has never been outside without a leash around it's neck.
I'm pro eradicating feral cats....
But in suburbia these cats are people's pets, just like my cat and my reptiles.

If one of my reptiles get's out to the neighbours yard and they take a shovel to it I would be horrified and livid, it would be no different if they shot my cat as their cat haters...

If they trap my cat and have enough "BALLS" to let me know (rather than just lurking in the suburban shadows being all J.I. Joe about it)... I would actually probably give them a reward for finding the damn thing in the first place. At least it was safe and didn't get run over or got shot...
By all means trap the cats in your neighbourhood as they are causing damage but at least have the decency to let the owners know, and don't say they have three days to re-claim it from the pound. That's just you letting the pound do the dirty work while you sit back and think what a good boy I am.

Why is it the trappers responsibility to ensure that you get your cat, or any other pet back?

 

[Waterrat]

Why is it the trappers responsibility to ensure that you get your cat, or any other pet back?

He said "decency" Gordo, not responsibility. Since when are red-necks responsible?

 

[waruikazi]

Since when are cat owners who allow their cats outside responsible?

My question stands. If the owner values their cat they will pay the fine/fee of pounding their animal.

Since when are red-necks responsible?