Cats inside house (2 Cats Dead; 1 Cat Adopted; 1 Raccoon, 1 Possum Relocated)

[Vraille Darkfang]

For those who remember.

I went through hell last year dealing with a neighbor who refused to keep her cats in her house & just let them run wild.

She moved away & some new people moved in, with cats (but indoor ones).

Now they have begun to let them outiside.

I was 30 minutes late to work today.

Picking up our garbage after the cat knocked it over this morning & spread it all over our yard.

But I've prepared for this. Animal Control told me the PROPER & SAFE (for kitty & person) to trap nuisance PESTS (not pets, peSts) & turn them over to Animal Control.

I'll talk to them. Once. But I've been through MONTHS of hell before expecting someone to give a darn about their animal's actions.

I will warn them: Their cat WILL stay out of my yard.

Option 1: They keep control of their animal.

Option 2: I catch it, turn in over to Animal Control & they can pay the $25 to $500 Dollar fine to get it back out (the $500 Number comes for an unliscensed cat with no proof of any shots, a recent Rabies scare upped the fine for an animal without Rabies Shot).

I can repeat Option 2 until the cat doesn't come back.

This might sound harsh (& up until last year, I'd agree).

However, I you think I am being too hard....

I'll go over to your house.

Crap in all your flower beds.

Crap all along the side of your house.

Crap all over the yard.

I'll stop when I get to 10 Wal-Mart Sacks worth.

Oh, & then I'll urinate over your car every morning. How's that sound?

Then I'll sharpen my knives on your deck.

Plus, I'll break your bird feeders & leave various bird parts throghout your yard.

Does that sound like fun?

Welcome to Vraille's Summer 2006.

There will be no repeat performances. My sanity can not take it.

If you think I'm being a jerk,

Last year, when Animal Control set out the Animal Cage to trap the neighbor's cats, she had to wear a breath mask. That was how bad the smell was. Worse case she had seen in her 15 years. She was amazed at our restraint (She was grateful we didn't resort to the Anti-Freeze solution that seems popular around here).

I'm just ranting.

I'm just tired of dealing with this.

I'll leave you with this:

Your cat in your yard: a PET.

Your cat in every other yard: a PEST.

Pest, synonym for Vermin.

As in what you call an exterminator for.

If your cat is in my yard, all compassion has been forcibly driven from my body (and I'm a long term cat-owner).

Cats in my yard will be sent to Animal Control. We don't have a no-kill shelter anywhere near here.

I will be killing (indirectly) cats. I did kill one last year (Too wild, Animal control had it destroyed).

It is phrase that until 14 months ago or so, I'd swear I'd never, ever even consider.

Now I have a Flowchart & Phone number on speed dial.

And irresponsible owners have forced me to become a cat killer (if anyone knows of a no-kill shelter near Columbia MO, let me know; I can upgrade from Kitty Killer, to Kitty Jailer).

Well, that's enough of my crappy (not the most humorous pun I've ever used) day.

This Rant hasn't helped one bit.

My frustration is still there, as is the very real possiblilty I'm going to be sending a kitty to death row very soon.

I hope these people will be reasonable about their cat (they live 10 FEET from a Major highway for pete's sake! 25 Semi's a day pass through & hundreds of vehicles. Flat Cat, right away).

To cat owners:

Consider yourself.

Consider your cat.

Consider your neighbors.

Educate yourself on what happens to a Cat outdoors (Nasty, Brutal & short is a good summary).

Educate yourself on what a Cat thinks about outdoors (Most research I've read indicates indoor cats have the same 'cat happiness' as an outdoor one, but a much healthier, longer lifespan).

Educate yourself on what happens to the outdoors (Hawaii Wildlife being an extreme example).

Educate yourself on what happens when the cat doesn't come back (statistically, the outdoors is kitty Russian Roulette, eventually the chamber comes up loaded).

I'd be obliged if you could all give me some well wished Aid Other Bonsues to the Diplomacy Check I'm going to be making tomorrow.

I think 9 of the cat's 9 lives would also appreciate it.

 

[Thunderfoot]

VD (never realized how unfortunate your initials were),
As an owner of cats, I can actually understand exactly where you are coming from my man.
Of course, I used to have the same problem with dogs, but it doesn't matter what pet is causing the mess, people have lost respect for their neighbors.

I hope your new neighbors are more understanding than your last ones and that this is a one time thing. Hang in there guy.

 

[Bront]

MOST outdoor cats are pretty easy to deal with, and may cause an occasional nusance, but not much more than a wild animal might. My cat is an indoor cat that likes to go outdoors. She rarely leaves our yard, and at worse, goes 2-3 houses down, and usually just sits in the driveway, deck, or porch. She doesn't like to go to the bathroom outside (She's run inside to go to her litter box and run back out). We also have 2-3 that occasionaly show up around our house, but have never been much of a nuscance.

In fact, rabbit damage to flowers seems to have been cut down greatly.

But, that said, if a neighbor complained about our cat, I'd probably talk with them, and ask them to be patient, and if it continued to happen, I'd keep her inside.

What is it about your yard that attracts cats?

 

[Lewis526]

Here's something unfair about the way the law is written:

If your dog leaves your yard and enters someone else's yard, and then kills their cat, you and your dog are liable for the neighbor's cat's death.

If your cat leaves your yard and enters someone else's yard, and then kills their dog, neither you nor your cat can be held responsible for the neighbor's dog's death.

In other words, dogs and their owners are held responsible for the dogs' actions, but cats and their owners are not. At least that's the way I'm told the law stands in Georgia.

This tends to make cat owners less likely to control their pets, because they have no fear of being punished. I think it's a great idea to take the matter into your own hands. If it costs the neighbors $50 or more every time their cat enters your yard, they're going to stop letting it out. You might also want to get a trash can that is more difficult for wildlife to get into. If a cat can open it, so can a raccoon.

 

[Elephant]

Please learn to write shorter posts with fewer extraneous spaces between every single sentence. I got about half a page in and couldn't read anymore because the formatting was too annoying.

 

[Ferret]

Keep the cat poop and return it to the owner.....

Hope things clear up.

 

[Nyaricus]

Please learn to write shorter posts with fewer extraneous spaces between every single sentence. I got about half a page in and couldn't read anymore because the formatting was too annoying.

Dude, he's been here awhile, and it's just the way he posts when he needs to rant.

VD, I hope these new owners smarten up... :\

 

[Morrus]

However, I you think I am being too hard....

I'll go over to your house.

Crap in all your flower beds.

Crap all along the side of your house.

Crap all over the yard.

I'll stop when I get to 10 Wal-Mart Sacks worth.

Oh, & then I'll urinate over your car every morning. How's that sound?

Then I'll sharpen my knives on your deck.

Plus, I'll break your bird feeders & leave various bird parts throghout your yard.

Somewhat unfortunately for you, society collectively (in the form of written law) considers those actions to be crimes, whereas similar actions performed by a cat are not. So I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Phanboy]

I appologize in advance, but in honor of the lolcats thread...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Fanboy- that's funny!

Vraille- I remember you saga, and wish you the best.

You might just consider bringing over some cookies and relating your story to your new neigbors, just so everyone's clear.