Vraille Darkfang
First Post
So, now I have to kill a cat.
As a cat-lover it pains me to say this, but I've been left no choice.
When we moved into our new house at the beginning of the summer, I was finally able to set out bird-feeders again (something I haven't been able to do in over 10 years).
Things were going great. Had family of cardinals, Nuthatches, Titmice, Woodpeckers. Lots of interesting things going on so I could relax and watch them out my back window.
Then the feathers started appearing. A black and orange cat showed up & is constantly stalking mine (and the neighbors) bird feeders.
The Cardinals? Dead. Nuthatches? Dead. Woodpeckers? Dead. The cat kills them all. He even jumps up & knocks over the feeders. Oh, he's also using our flower gardens as a litter box. I'm now just leading them to their doom.
Now come the part that P***** me off.
The cat has an owner. Some people who moved into the rental house behind us. It's their cat. So, I go over to talk to her about her cat.
I explain her cat is killing all the birds at both me & my neighbors yard. I explain it has almost broken one of my feeders. I explain it's leaving little cat present in out flower beds.
Her response? "It's a cat, I can't so ANYTHING about it being a cat. It just does what it does I CAN'T be held responsible for what MY cat does."
The woman refuses to take responsibility for her animal. Thinks she shouldn't have to. And they now have a mixed-breed puppy. I can already tell its going to be a very large dog. This woman literally can not conceive that she could in any way be responsible for what her creature does. She also can not conceive of anything she could to keep it under control.
I mentioned keeping it inside. She looked at me like I was an idiot & told me no way would she keep that animal from living 'like god intended', plus it would just spray in the house. That's right, un-neutered cat running around. (I doubt its shots are up to date either).
The woman, if she had 3-4 kids is where the term 'white-trash' originated from. She is a second-generation individual from a lower socio-economic class. No education, no real skills, not even good grooming/communication habits. Presently in a mutually destructive relationship with some guy. I see this often enough that I view it with equal parts pity and disgust. Pity about the poor situation she was born into & disgust as I've seen so many people somehow manage to actively fight & work themselves out of that situation. Talking to her for any length of time, I find depressing. I'm not knocking poor people, I'm not blasting those without degrees, I've just seen too many people like her who are as much villain as victim of their situation. It's sad, really. Again, I'm not trying to knock a group of people, more to use a widely known (if usually inaccurate) stereotype that represents this woman to a frightening degree.
I should point out that we live in a rural area. But we live in the county seat (pop 8,000). In fact, we live within walking distance of downtown. Our area is not rural enough for 'barn cats'. In fact her house (a run-down older brick home) was empty when we moved in as the previous tenant gone behind in his rent, so decided to leave. Luckily, we have a nice, big privacy fence separating our yards & do to weird quirks of geography/real estate, their house is not considered part of the 'neighborhood' (All praise to lord of property values). The cat has nothing to hunt but our birds.
P.S. I don't buy that whole cats that don't go outside are missing out on something. They are. They are missing out on Skunks (#1 on my list), rabies, ticks, fleas, mites, ringworm, worms, diseases, other cats, automobiles, the list goes on for quite some time). I've had indoor only cats. They were more than very happy, they were also very safe & very healthy.
The long story is, she refuses to do a thing about the cat. Leaving it up to me. The cat must disappear or I have to stop feeding the birds. As it is my backyard, I figure I have more of a right to feed birds than some lady does to allow her cat to destroy our flower beds & kill songbirds. Which, by the way is illegal. Native songbirds are protected under law. If that lady sat out on her back porch and killed as many birds as her cat has, she'd be arrested (usually you just get a fine, but that high of number would lead to an arrest). As she won't take responsibility for her animal, I have too.
My options:
Option 1. Explain rationally to its owner the problems the cat is causing & try to find a way to reach an agreement where the cat could be semi-controlled. This one failed horribly. She wouldn't even consider keeping the cat in when I'm at work & only letting it out when I'd be able to keep it away from the birds. (as it turns out the cat is semi-feral, why she even brought the cat when she moved is beyond me, just another example of irresponsible pet ownership).
Option 2. Pray to Lord Ford that one of his Divine Agents may smash the feline flat. As we live right next to a rather busy road, this is almost an assurance. The only question is when?
Option 3. Set out a nice bowl of Anti-Freeze. Cats love anti-freeze.
Option 4. It IS hunting season & there are gun & ammo specials at Bass Pro. But, shooting inside the city limits is illegal.
Option 5. have someone else do the dirty work. Get a live bait trap & a can of Tuna. Our city has a animal control regulation. All Cats & dogs must have a registration tag. You must also be able to provide proof of current shots. If I can catch it, I can call Animal Control & they'll take it away (or call the owner & ask why the animal is running around free & if it's shots are up to date), then just play dumb when they ask me if I know who owns it ("Gee, I don't know, it just is constantly stalking me & my neighbor's bird feeders"). Given what I know of this woman, if I catch it, its going to the pound. Then, the cat will die, I have no doubt. As even if the woman goes to the pound to claim her animal, they won't release it until it's shots are up to date (she ain't paying). It won't get adopted because it was never properly socialized when a kitten, so It's mean. In fact after the 5 or 6 day wait for an owner to come forward, they'll put it down as it's too wild to even think of giving up for adoption.
I think I'll try option 5.
Rant over I feel better.
If you are unable/unwilling to take responsibility for the training/welfare/ownership of a pet, do the pet a favor, do yourself a favor, do those around you a favor; DON'T get one.
I hate to do this to an animal, but I really don't see what other choice I've been given.
As a cat-lover it pains me to say this, but I've been left no choice.
When we moved into our new house at the beginning of the summer, I was finally able to set out bird-feeders again (something I haven't been able to do in over 10 years).
Things were going great. Had family of cardinals, Nuthatches, Titmice, Woodpeckers. Lots of interesting things going on so I could relax and watch them out my back window.
Then the feathers started appearing. A black and orange cat showed up & is constantly stalking mine (and the neighbors) bird feeders.
The Cardinals? Dead. Nuthatches? Dead. Woodpeckers? Dead. The cat kills them all. He even jumps up & knocks over the feeders. Oh, he's also using our flower gardens as a litter box. I'm now just leading them to their doom.
Now come the part that P***** me off.
The cat has an owner. Some people who moved into the rental house behind us. It's their cat. So, I go over to talk to her about her cat.
I explain her cat is killing all the birds at both me & my neighbors yard. I explain it has almost broken one of my feeders. I explain it's leaving little cat present in out flower beds.
Her response? "It's a cat, I can't so ANYTHING about it being a cat. It just does what it does I CAN'T be held responsible for what MY cat does."
The woman refuses to take responsibility for her animal. Thinks she shouldn't have to. And they now have a mixed-breed puppy. I can already tell its going to be a very large dog. This woman literally can not conceive that she could in any way be responsible for what her creature does. She also can not conceive of anything she could to keep it under control.
I mentioned keeping it inside. She looked at me like I was an idiot & told me no way would she keep that animal from living 'like god intended', plus it would just spray in the house. That's right, un-neutered cat running around. (I doubt its shots are up to date either).
The woman, if she had 3-4 kids is where the term 'white-trash' originated from. She is a second-generation individual from a lower socio-economic class. No education, no real skills, not even good grooming/communication habits. Presently in a mutually destructive relationship with some guy. I see this often enough that I view it with equal parts pity and disgust. Pity about the poor situation she was born into & disgust as I've seen so many people somehow manage to actively fight & work themselves out of that situation. Talking to her for any length of time, I find depressing. I'm not knocking poor people, I'm not blasting those without degrees, I've just seen too many people like her who are as much villain as victim of their situation. It's sad, really. Again, I'm not trying to knock a group of people, more to use a widely known (if usually inaccurate) stereotype that represents this woman to a frightening degree.
I should point out that we live in a rural area. But we live in the county seat (pop 8,000). In fact, we live within walking distance of downtown. Our area is not rural enough for 'barn cats'. In fact her house (a run-down older brick home) was empty when we moved in as the previous tenant gone behind in his rent, so decided to leave. Luckily, we have a nice, big privacy fence separating our yards & do to weird quirks of geography/real estate, their house is not considered part of the 'neighborhood' (All praise to lord of property values). The cat has nothing to hunt but our birds.
P.S. I don't buy that whole cats that don't go outside are missing out on something. They are. They are missing out on Skunks (#1 on my list), rabies, ticks, fleas, mites, ringworm, worms, diseases, other cats, automobiles, the list goes on for quite some time). I've had indoor only cats. They were more than very happy, they were also very safe & very healthy.
The long story is, she refuses to do a thing about the cat. Leaving it up to me. The cat must disappear or I have to stop feeding the birds. As it is my backyard, I figure I have more of a right to feed birds than some lady does to allow her cat to destroy our flower beds & kill songbirds. Which, by the way is illegal. Native songbirds are protected under law. If that lady sat out on her back porch and killed as many birds as her cat has, she'd be arrested (usually you just get a fine, but that high of number would lead to an arrest). As she won't take responsibility for her animal, I have too.
My options:
Option 1. Explain rationally to its owner the problems the cat is causing & try to find a way to reach an agreement where the cat could be semi-controlled. This one failed horribly. She wouldn't even consider keeping the cat in when I'm at work & only letting it out when I'd be able to keep it away from the birds. (as it turns out the cat is semi-feral, why she even brought the cat when she moved is beyond me, just another example of irresponsible pet ownership).
Option 2. Pray to Lord Ford that one of his Divine Agents may smash the feline flat. As we live right next to a rather busy road, this is almost an assurance. The only question is when?
Option 3. Set out a nice bowl of Anti-Freeze. Cats love anti-freeze.
Option 4. It IS hunting season & there are gun & ammo specials at Bass Pro. But, shooting inside the city limits is illegal.
Option 5. have someone else do the dirty work. Get a live bait trap & a can of Tuna. Our city has a animal control regulation. All Cats & dogs must have a registration tag. You must also be able to provide proof of current shots. If I can catch it, I can call Animal Control & they'll take it away (or call the owner & ask why the animal is running around free & if it's shots are up to date), then just play dumb when they ask me if I know who owns it ("Gee, I don't know, it just is constantly stalking me & my neighbor's bird feeders"). Given what I know of this woman, if I catch it, its going to the pound. Then, the cat will die, I have no doubt. As even if the woman goes to the pound to claim her animal, they won't release it until it's shots are up to date (she ain't paying). It won't get adopted because it was never properly socialized when a kitten, so It's mean. In fact after the 5 or 6 day wait for an owner to come forward, they'll put it down as it's too wild to even think of giving up for adoption.
I think I'll try option 5.
Rant over I feel better.
If you are unable/unwilling to take responsibility for the training/welfare/ownership of a pet, do the pet a favor, do yourself a favor, do those around you a favor; DON'T get one.
I hate to do this to an animal, but I really don't see what other choice I've been given.
