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#21
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
On Sat, 14 Feb 2015 11:57:25 -0800, Dick Ballard
wrote: I think there is a cultural difference between the US and UK regarding free roaming pet cats. I get the impression from some sources that NOT allowing one's pet cat to free roam is considered a form of abuse by many in Britain. I don't know where that view comes from. This is a very long time ago, but I recall one cat we had in Hampshire was hit by a spade thrown by some guy because the cat was in his apple tree. The cat suffered a while, and I think we had to get her put down. After we moved to the U.S. I gradually became aware of the idea that letting a cat roam was cruel, and when I set up my own home and adopted a cat, I never let it or any other subsequent ones roam outdoors. -- |
#22
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
Mack A. Damia wrote:
Dick Ballard wrote: I think there is a cultural difference between the US and UK regarding free roaming pet cats. I get the impression from some sources that NOT allowing one's pet cat to free roam is considered a form of abuse by many in Britain. I don't know where that view comes from. This is a very long time ago, but I recall one cat we had in Hampshire was hit by a spade thrown by some guy because the cat was in his apple tree. The cat suffered a while, and I think we had to get her put down. After we moved to the U.S. I gradually became aware of the idea that letting a cat roam was cruel, and when I set up my own home and adopted a cat, I never let it or any other subsequent ones roam outdoors. One of the problems is that they just aren't smart enough to avoid some of the hazards. The most obvious is contact with human beings. Even a hard-core feral can be easily baited and killed. Then there are dogs. Antifreeze. Wild animals, depending on the location. I've got a hard-core feral that spends most of its time when I'm awake up in a loft in a closet/pantry area, accessible to their Skyway. That's her place. One time I needed to lighten the load here so I left the front door wide open for 15 minutes when I went next door. She was in the front area on a platform when I left. She was still there when I got back. She's afraid of me, but she is more afraid of the not-so-great outdoors. Besides an infant room monitor to bring the outside sounds in, they have access to the breezes and smells from outside, from behind a lightweight plastic screen when the window is open. None of them have ever scratched that screen even though they could easily slash it in half. They enjoy lying at the windowsill taking it in without being there. Just for fun I have at times in the past taken my male house cat to show my next-door neighbors a "cat magnet". Dropped him on their side of the fence and watched him run like crazy back around the fence and to our door. He's not thrilled about being outside. That's the objective, take good enough care of them so they enjoy being inside as much or more than being outside. |
#23
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message ... Per Dick Ballard: I get the impression from some sources that NOT allowing one's pet cat to free roam is considered a form of abuse by many in Britain. Couple years back I saw a documentary about a guy who studied cats in the UK. His method was to recruit a number of cat owners who agreed to seal anything their cat brought home in a plastic bag and freeze it until the investigator came around periodically to collect and catalog them. I can't recall the numbers, but he found that each made quite a dent in the local small animal population. -- Pete Cresswell They probably did. Cats like to hunt and if you don't like it, don't have a cat. Simples ;-) My cat is brilliant around my chicken huts (small rats killed only, the big ones he says no to) If you have poultry you will always get rats coming to share their food. So he kills the small ones, and it prevents them them getting big. If they get away from him and get big I get the terriers in. No rat will get away from them. I have to keep Boyfie inside otherwise they will kill him - so we do a rat hunt. It's far better than poison. Either they escape or they don't. no dying slowly. |
#24
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
"Mack A. Damia" wrote in message ... On Sat, 14 Feb 2015 11:57:25 -0800, Dick Ballard wrote: I think there is a cultural difference between the US and UK regarding free roaming pet cats. I get the impression from some sources that NOT allowing one's pet cat to free roam is considered a form of abuse by many in Britain. I don't know where that view comes from. This is a very long time ago, but I recall one cat we had in Hampshire was hit by a spade thrown by some guy because the cat was in his apple tree. The cat suffered a while, and I think we had to get her put down. I hope you called the police. It's not allowed to kill a cat for being in someone else's apple tree. Boyfie does it occasionally. Up to now it hasn't been a capital offence. |
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
On Tue, 17 Feb 2015 19:23:32 -0000, "Christina Websell"
wrote: "Mack A. Damia" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 14 Feb 2015 11:57:25 -0800, Dick Ballard wrote: I think there is a cultural difference between the US and UK regarding free roaming pet cats. I get the impression from some sources that NOT allowing one's pet cat to free roam is considered a form of abuse by many in Britain. I don't know where that view comes from. This is a very long time ago, but I recall one cat we had in Hampshire was hit by a spade thrown by some guy because the cat was in his apple tree. The cat suffered a while, and I think we had to get her put down. I hope you called the police. It's not allowed to kill a cat for being in someone else's apple tree. Boyfie does it occasionally. Up to now it hasn't been a capital offence. I don't remember what we did other than take Penny to the vet. I think we talked to other neighbors and found out that this guy had a reputation. It was an upsetting time, and this was 1955. -- |
#26
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
Per Christina Websell:
They probably did. Cats like to hunt and if you don't like it, don't have a cat. Simples ;-) My cat is brilliant around my chicken huts (small rats killed only, the big ones he says no to) If you have poultry you will always get rats coming to share their food. My maybe a dozen cats. "Maybe" because she divides them into two groups "House Cats" that come-and-go from the house and "Barn Cats" which are semi-wild things that live in the barn and feed on rodents. Try to touch one of the barn cats and you'll need medical attention. I saw another documentary called "The Cat Connection" (BBC... might have been the same one where they described the study...) in which they described cats - in terms of evolutionary perfection as hunters - as the dry-land analog of great white sharks. Guy I worked with had a "Maine Coon" cat - which are even more compulsive hunters than most. One day it brought home a live pheasant. He took the pheasant from the cat, threw it up into the air, and the thing started flying away.... not like a duck's very steep takeoff... more a gradual increase in altitude as it crossed the yard. When it was about halfway across the yard, the cat took off after it, leapt into the air, and dragged it down... -- Pete Cresswell |
#27
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
"buglady" wrote in message ... On 2/13/2015 6:28 PM, John Doe wrote: Having fewer stray cats in Europe nowadays probably helps keep the bubonic plague away. You all were nearly wiped out and traumatized by the bubonic plague, makes sense that you are scared to death of stray animals. I hope something like that never happens here, but I fear it could. ..........Huh? Bubonic plague comes from fleas on rats or other rodents. Cats killed rats. Unfortunately cats can be killed by the plague too, so things only got worse over time. The major factor of spread was the rats on the ships, which transported it all over. And there already is bubonic plague here popping up occasionally in AZ. http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/oids/vector/plague/ .........She's saying the cats in the UK are owned, not strays, not that there aren't cats all over outside. They are not any cats here in my garden waiting for a home. Yet. I'd really like to get an unneutered boy and transform his life. Like I did for Boyfie. He doesn't agree one bit. |
#28
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
"buglady" wrote in message ... On 2/13/2015 6:28 PM, John Doe wrote: Having fewer stray cats in Europe nowadays probably helps keep the bubonic plague away. You all were nearly wiped out and traumatized by the bubonic plague, makes sense that you are scared to death of stray animals. I hope something like that never happens here, but I fear it could. ..........Huh? Bubonic plague comes from fleas on rats or other rodents. Cats killed rats. Unfortunately cats can be killed by the plague too, so things only got worse over time. The major factor of spread was the rats on the ships, which transported it all over. And there already is bubonic plague here popping up occasionally in AZ. http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/oids/vector/plague/ .........She's saying the cats in the UK are owned, not strays, not that there aren't cats all over outside. buglady I am sure that there are some stray cats in the UK. I am waiting for one to arrive to join Boyfriend (he came as a stray himself in 2003) No luck yet. Never seen a stray cat here for years. Every cat I see is owned and lives nearby. Boyfie does not agree with the idea I have about finding another smelly intact boy and transforming his life. He says he was not smelly ( he was not) He has no intention of sharing me. No way. I would really like to find another boy like him. He's charming |
#29
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message ... Per Christina Websell: They probably did. Cats like to hunt and if you don't like it, don't have a cat. Simples ;-) My cat is brilliant around my chicken huts (small rats killed only, the big ones he says no to) If you have poultry you will always get rats coming to share their food. My maybe a dozen cats. "Maybe" because she divides them into two groups "House Cats" that come-and-go from the house and "Barn Cats" which are semi-wild things that live in the barn and feed on rodents. Try to touch one of the barn cats and you'll need medical attention. I saw another documentary called "The Cat Connection" (BBC... might have been the same one where they described the study...) in which they described cats - in terms of evolutionary perfection as hunters - as the dry-land analog of great white sharks. Guy I worked with had a "Maine Coon" cat - which are even more compulsive hunters than most. One day it brought home a live pheasant. He took the pheasant from the cat, threw it up into the air, and the thing started flying away.... not like a duck's very steep takeoff... more a gradual increase in altitude as it crossed the yard. When it was about halfway across the yard, the cat took off after it, leapt into the air, and dragged it down... -- I hope his owner ate it ;-) Pheasants are yummy. I have a pheasant that visits my garden but my cat says "absolutely not, far too big.." He's a bit of a wuss tbh. No rats bigger than 4 inches in case he gets bitten by those brown chisel teeth on the big guys (he isn't stupid) He rarely hunts birds, too much trouble now he's getting older. He does very occasionally bring me a wood pigeon. I fry the breasts of those and make a soup from the rest. So it's not wasted. Cats will hunt, it's what they like to do; it's their nature. |
#30
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Counting stray cats while cycling at night
"John Doe" wrote in message ... So now this troll is saying that cats should be outside "to hunt mousies and ratties". Maybe they should be outside playing with skunks and raccoons, vectors for rabies... If you are referring to me, I have always made it clear that I appreciate the difference between the USA & the UK regarding safety for cats. It is perfectly safe to let cats out here - providing you don't live on a busy road. We don't have rabies and no animals that will eat them (apart from a rogue fox now and again) which my cat is aware of. If he sees a fox that might have ideas on him he's up a tree in 2 seconds. Saw him scale a tree after a squirrel in that time. He missed it though. Very little traffic here and he knows how to avoid it. He is perfectly able to look after himself when he is out. Which is not to say I haven't worried when he's been out for too long and once or twice I've been out looking for his dead body on the road but he comes in saying "what's the problem? I was out looking at rats around the chicken huts and you know how long it can take for them to come out" n |
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