to think that people shouldn't really have cats?

[gerontius]

Now, just to make this clear, I am not a cat-hater. I'm rather fond of them.

However, given that they crap in other people's gardens, is it not a massively anti-social to have one?

Although if you have the kind which uses its litter tray exclusively fair enough.

Not loving cats... have a real fear of them since i was 7yrs old and my aunts' siamese cat scratched my legs rather badly.

Neighbour who backs onto my house has 5 cats. They used to come into my garden and crap, sometimes even come into my back door if it was open... until i bought one of these.... www.deteracat.co.uk/catwatch.htm

we have a lack of cats here which is a shame as i sort of like watching them wander about. did anyone see 'my pet shame' last night with the flatulent cat?

get rid of birds, they shit on cars!

Pfft Edam,
Ethical rhetoric is only useful if it contributes to stopping the killing of native animals.

Haven't got a cat, but I love all cats except the one who has pooed in my greenhouse. Can you imagine what cat poo smells like when it is superheated to 40 degrees? I can't track down the actual poo so am forced to live with it until it biodegrades.

lol at 'tattooed woman'.

scandalous.

Zukie,

There is a woman near us who used to come and let her dog INTO our garden so it could poop. I was at work during the day and DH was doing night shifts at the time, so asleep inside with our own dogs. Our neighbours told us that about 8 am she would come by, open our gate and let the dog in for a poo while she stood on our path swinging her lead waiting for it to finish. Have no idea who this person was.

So, we lay in wait..... and let our two out at the strategic moment.

Was most satisfying.

Gerontius,

My neighbours have two cats, but no garden. These cats roam around my garden, poo in it all the time, and have killed lots of birds.

The other day one of them climbed on my car (muddy paws everywhere, but that is not the problem) and managed to get to birds nest in the roof of my car port.

So yesterday morning I walked in to see the carnage of a whole nest of dead baby birds scattered around, torn to pieces.

Last week they killed a baby blackbird.

And a few weeks back a robin.

Why can`t they put a bell on these cats?????!!! Should I say something to neighbours, or just keep schtumm?! Am starting to hate these cats, and normally like pets...

smug - if you tot up how many animals you have killed in your life (including contributions to killing as well as eating meat) I think you'll find it far outweighs even the most savage moggy.

sancti's right about gardens being a human concept. Our forefathers didn't ask the local wildlife before they cleared the forests and neither did later generations of landowners and property developers when they first enclosed the land and then built on it.

Presumably cats think human beings are inconvenient interlopers into their territory. Apart from the ones who shake boxes of dried food or open pouches. (Ds's cat was extremely cross yesterday when I forgot to do an extra fishfinger for him. )

I absolutely love my cats. They have a litter tray in the garage and I assume they use it.

They also ravage local wildlife but that bothers me not a jot as they are animals and that is what they do.

I love cats - I think they are the only animal on earth that has perfected giving humans a perfectly understandable filthy look.

"Now, just to make this clear, I am not a human-hater. I'm rather fond of them.

However, given that they leave their crap all over other animal's homes, and fill water, that other animals have to live in and drink, with crap, is it not a massively anti-social to be one?

Although if you have the kind which lives and entirely environmentally friendly life style then fair enough"

Everything we do affects other people and animals. Most of them in much worse ways than owning a cat. Car owning for example - can't get much more antisocial than cars.

Mine's an indoor disabled cat - I'm pretty sure I know where she's pooing. She's currently snoring her head off sat right beside me - she's usually my furry little shadow when I'm in the house, never more than a foot away from me - and she's kept me going through some pretty dark emotional times in the past.

I love them as animals though anyway - find it fascinating watching how meticulously they can get every single bit when they wash themselves, and love their quirks and attitude - we've got a fair few neighbourhood moggies wander into our back garden and watching the young un among them try to show that leaf on the lawn who's boss is a nice distraction from doing the washing up.

you can't justify cat-owning/seal-clubbing/random-murder by saying 'but you as a human kill lots of things/do lots of nasty things'.

Doesn't work.

cats suck.

No it's a bit more complex that that someguy. Humans destroy environments all the time - in big ways (BP atm) and in small ways (grubbing up old hedges or cutting down garden trees). That's what we do. Owning a cat is in comparison, at tiny little bit of environmental 'damage'.

in aggregate cats are massively damaging

Birds eat worms. Cats eat birds.

Fish eat smaller fish. Cats sometimes catch fish but humans eat the bigger fish - up to and including sharks.

It's all nature red in tooth and claw, innit? Apart from us. We have choices and choose to eat meat, disrupt ecosystems and destroy habitats. Wild animals are in far more danger from us than from Felix the neighbourhood moggy. Not least because we seem to be on our way to destroy the whole ruddy planet.

Presumably if there weren't any cats hunting birds and mice (or other species including birds of prey, foxes and so on) we'd be over-run with birds and rodents and our gardens would be full of birdshit and mouse droppings. And we'd be starving as the rodents would be competing for and contaminating our food.

(I'm very pleased my cat killed five mice in my garden, that's five mice who won't be coming in my house or my neighbour's houses or pooing in our homes and gardens.)

Eh? What do they do that's so bad?

Shit in gardens.
Kill mice and birds.
Scratch stuff.

How is that massively damaging?

Our next door neighbour's cat will not go to the loo in her garden, only in ours. And it digs up our flowers and veggies. I can guarantee if one of our dogs lept over our wall and did the same in her garden she would have something to say about it, but because it is a cat it is acceptable to be expected?!

cats aren't nature, they are domestic animals. There would be none without humans. The birds and worms otoh would still be there.

"in aggregate cats are massively damaging "

So are humans. That's the point. Cats are there because we own them. Owning cats is just one of the things we do that is 'massively damaging' - why pick on that one?

Wow, some people are sooo strange... OP, how do you propose I stop my cats from pooping in neighbours gardens? Maybe I should keep them on a leash?

Or are you suggesting a cull?

someguy, so you prefer an animal that is pliant to one that is a free thinker?

are you that controlling about other things?

Hey, are there actually GUYS on here? you can tell I am a newbie!!

Thats so AWESOME!