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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Cats everywhere!

360 replies

GoldfinchFeather · 25/06/2025 14:39

Since we have plenty of threads to moan about dogs and dog owners, how about a bit of balance and a thread for the same about cats?

I, for one, am not a fan of the things and think there are too many around. And sure, while the problems they cause may be less obvious than dogs/dog ownership, I personally think they're worse in many ways. Particularly for the terrible effect they have on local wildlife and birds in particular.

On numerous occasions I've had the misfortune to come across birds and animals that have clearly been attacked by cats. One distressing incident occurred just a few weeks ago - on an evening walk I came across a domestic cat that had just attacked a tiny baby wild rabbit. Despite shooing the cat off and it still being alive when I got to it, it didn't survive.

Seeing that made me just want to go and give the bloody thing a boot up the backside.

Yet many cat owners seem to find this behaviour either a mildly amusing part of their cat ownership ("you'll never guess what my Tiddles caught the other day!"), or have no qualms about letting their cats roam freely and slowly kill all wildlife within a several mile radius. When really, they should just be kept indoors.

And if they were, there'd be far less of them that were always going bloody missing or being stupid enough to get themselves run over on the road.

Surely I can't be alone in my hatred of cats?!

OP posts:
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MadCatandBirdLady · 25/06/2025 15:18

RSPB say bird number decline isn’t due to cats , it’s due to loss of habitat, climate change and pollution.
plus as mentioned above birds kill other birds and mammals.
i love cats. Much prefer them to dogs. Plus it isn’t fair to keep an animal locked inside.

Mademetoxic · 25/06/2025 15:16

GoldfinchFeather · 25/06/2025 14:56

Your sentence seems incomplete. Let me finish it for you:

"Cats are the best at killing wildlife and are responsible for killing an estimated 160-270 million animals annually in this country"

An absolute pest on society.

Are you aware that humans are the most destructive in society ? I have read online articles of humans leaving litter on the beaches this weekend during the hot weather. Why are humans so selfish?

TulipCat · 25/06/2025 15:15

Meh, it doesn't really matter if you don't like them OP, it's fine not to like certain animals. But it will almost certainly never become illegal to own a cat and let it roam so 🤷‍♀️.

ChocolateCinderToffee · 25/06/2025 15:15

But . . . They’re oofly little chubbybums!

Morgenrot25 · 25/06/2025 15:15

BIWI · 25/06/2025 15:01

What did you say?!!!

I love black cats.

GoldfinchFeather · 25/06/2025 15:14

Icecreamhelps · 25/06/2025 15:07

Oh give over. How many animals are slaughtered for human consumption. Your argument on that point is mute.

Yes, for human consumption. As in, there's an actual purpose to it - whether you agree with it or not.

There is no purpose to allowing cats to kill that much wildlife, putting certain species (particularly ground nesting birds) at risk of extinction in future. Because they don't need to do it to survive, they're fed extremely well at home anyway.

You seriously can't be making a direct comparison between the two?!

OP posts:
susanandlucypevensie · 25/06/2025 15:12

To answer your OP, nope. You're not alone. There's loads of cat-hating threads here. I myself cannot stand them and had a big argument with several people on a thread on here just weeks ago.

Cat people never have a decent argument. Ever. It's usually just "Waaah but Mr Tiddles is soft and cuddly and I wub him so I don't care that he's a murderous shitting and killing machine that wreaks nightly havoc on the entire neighbourhood because he makes me happeee"
But the ones on that thread were something else, some of them made me worry for the British education system.

WildFlowerBees · 25/06/2025 15:11

I’d much rather be surrounded by animals than people. People are arseholes.

susanandlucypevensie · 25/06/2025 15:09

Toottooot · 25/06/2025 14:44

Cats are far superior to people and dugs.

How can cats possibly be superior to dogs? Do you get guide cats? hearing cats? cats that sniff out cancer? police cats? cats that rescue people from burning buildings?
Obviously dogs are better

Pickingmyselfup · 25/06/2025 15:07

GoldfinchFeather · 25/06/2025 14:56

Your sentence seems incomplete. Let me finish it for you:

"Cats are the best at killing wildlife and are responsible for killing an estimated 160-270 million animals annually in this country"

An absolute pest on society.

And yet keeping them inside even with a cat proofed garden is cruel and you shouldn't own a cat.

So basically cats shouldn't exist because they will always upset somebody.

Which is stupid, I have been obsessed with cats for as long as I can remember and the world would be a poorer place without them in it.

A cat owner can't win whatever they do so as a long term cat owner, I will keep owning cats and I will do what I feel is best vs inside/outside.

On the plus side they don't maul people like some dogs do. No domestic cat is capable of killing a grown adult man but people hate dogs too. Some people just hate everything and love to judge people who do things in a way they perceive as wrong but that are legally and socially acceptable.

So as I say to my children, let's all just learn to get along, you do you as long as you aren't hurting anybody.

justkeepswimingswiming · 25/06/2025 15:07

Also if you boot a cat, you can grauntee a crazy cat person will see it & boot you back. No need to be nasty to animals

Icecreamhelps · 25/06/2025 15:07

GoldfinchFeather · 25/06/2025 14:56

Your sentence seems incomplete. Let me finish it for you:

"Cats are the best at killing wildlife and are responsible for killing an estimated 160-270 million animals annually in this country"

An absolute pest on society.

Oh give over. How many animals are slaughtered for human consumption. Your argument on that point is mute.

GoldfinchFeather · 25/06/2025 15:04

MrsMoastyToasty · 25/06/2025 14:59

It's just survival of the fittest. We give animals human attributes, but in fact they are domesticated wild animals and will always have a strong drive to prey on and kill other creatures.

So that makes it okay, then?

I imagine people would be pretty horrified if something like fox hunting was allowed again and the defence was "well, it's just human nature to want to hunt animals".

Or imagine if hunting of birds and wildlife was a widespread activity in this country and 160-270 million birds and animals were killed, for no real reason (don't give me the nonsense about cats needing to hunt to eat), and it was just put down to man's strong drive to hunt?

But because it's fluffy cats doing it, it's okay?

OP posts:
justkeepswimingswiming · 25/06/2025 15:04

Rodger disaproves of your statement.

Cats everywhere!
BIWI · 25/06/2025 15:01

What did you say?!!!

Cats everywhere!
neverbeenskiing · 25/06/2025 15:01

GoldfinchFeather · 25/06/2025 14:56

Your sentence seems incomplete. Let me finish it for you:

"Cats are the best at killing wildlife and are responsible for killing an estimated 160-270 million animals annually in this country"

An absolute pest on society.

.

Cats everywhere!
MugPlate · 25/06/2025 14:59

Neighbour’s cat has eradicated a nest of rats.

Very useful and no poison involved. Eco.

MrsMoastyToasty · 25/06/2025 14:59

It's just survival of the fittest. We give animals human attributes, but in fact they are domesticated wild animals and will always have a strong drive to prey on and kill other creatures.

5foot5 · 25/06/2025 14:57

On numerous occasions I've had the misfortune to come across birds and animals that have clearly been attacked by cats. One distressing incident occurred just a few weeks ago - on an evening walk I came across a domestic cat that had just attacked a tiny baby wild rabbit. Despite shooing the cat off and it still being alive when I got to it, it didn't survive.

I know you caught that rabbit killing cat in the act, but don't assume all the injured/dead birds you have seen are the victims of cats.

Magpies can be right bastards. I get them in the garden a lot and they do terrorise smaller birds. I have also had a blackbird killed and devoured on my lawn by a sparrowhawk. Foxes and badgers will also kill smaller mammals.

Edited to say: also have you never seen Springwatch! Loads of killing and never a cat in sight.

neverbeenskiing · 25/06/2025 14:57

"There are two means of refuge from the misery of life — music and cats" (Albert Schweitzer)

YABU btw.

GoldfinchFeather · 25/06/2025 14:56

theyoungishman · 25/06/2025 14:45

Cats are the best

Your sentence seems incomplete. Let me finish it for you:

"Cats are the best at killing wildlife and are responsible for killing an estimated 160-270 million animals annually in this country"

An absolute pest on society.

OP posts:
HRTQueen · 25/06/2025 14:56

Absentmindedsmile · 25/06/2025 14:53

..

making clear their thoughts towards the op

Love it 😎

ghostyslovesheets · 25/06/2025 14:56

Bernard, Bonnie, Wee Man and Ben send you head rubs. - they really only catch mice

Cats everywhere!
Cats everywhere!
Cats everywhere!
Cats everywhere!
U53rName · 25/06/2025 14:54

Unsure which side to pick…I think both cat owners and dog owners are c*nty. Perhaps dog owners more so, only because I’ve never had a cat jump all over me with its muddy paws as its owner exclaimed that it “is really gentle and is not normally like this.”

Gettingbysomehow · 25/06/2025 14:54

I adore cats, they are my life. I have two perfect cats, next door has three cats and I love them too.