to think it is totally reasonable for cat owners not to pick up poo

[PMDD]

I mean how can they?

I have 2 cats and now 1 puppy. I watch my puppy when she is out and know where she is, I can see if she is pooing. If she disappears under a bush I check (with my sense of smell) and pick up if necessary. I carry poo bags everywhere.

However, my cats come and go as they please. When they were kittens I had a litter tray that they used, but as they started to go outside with a cat flap, they stopped using the litter tray.

My (ex) neighbour asked me to come and pick up after my cats, but as there are lots and lots of cats in the area, there was no knowing that it was my cats.

I am not a bad pet owner. But I think it is unreasonable to expect cat owners to have the same poo pick up responsibility as dog owners.

I don't think that's quite the same thing though, is it 2Tinselly? If my DCs playmate came over every day and messed the toilet I would make sure that he was taught not to do so. (and I don;t mean "taught" as in with a baseball bat or anything, just "taught", as in "trained nicely")

That wouldnt be for you to do now would it. There is no justification for harming an animal.

No, there is no justification for harming an animal, but then I have never said there was. Having said that, I wouldn't mind betting that many not all people, so outraged at the very idea of someone throwing water over a cat taking a shit in the middle of a lawn, wouldn't bat an eyelid at wiping out a wasps nest, or poisoning rats.

My cat knows not to chase or kill my birds, he was taught that these birds are not for food or fun, both birds and cat were raised in the house together, so I could 'tell' the cat not to go near them. wild birds are different, I can't be with the cat to teach him that his instinct to chase that animal is wrong, I would have to spend all day following him around the neighbourhood waiting for that moment.
He also knows that the litter tray is a cat toilet, but outside teaching him not to go were he fancies I would encounter the same problem as teaching him not to beat up small animals, I can't follow him waiting for that moment.

And my cat does eat what he has killed.

Again, I'd ask for the statistics or news stories surrounding the children blinded by cat shit because I can't find any. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that there are many, many more incidents of children being killed by dogs (and blinded by dog shit) than children being blinded by cat shit.

So can 'Mr Science' please provide some evidence? Because all I'm seeing is some nasty fuckers trying to justify their wanting to hurt/kill cats with hysterical cries of 'child blinding', but not providing any actual proof.

And as I haven't yet come across anyone who has either been blinded by cat shit or who knows of anyone blinded by cat shit (but that's just anecdotal, apparently), can those saying it happens please tell me how many people they know that it has happened to?

And as to the question of training cats not to harm wildlife, I will answer that with this: I wouldn't know where to begin training my cats to do something like that! Are there classes I should be enrolling them in? Can they go to obedience training, like dogs? I wonder if I can train them to attack, like some people think is perfectly acceptable with their dogs...

And just to add, that if DCs hypothetical little playmate was messing in MY toilet, then he would not be allowed in my house unless the problem was dealt with, either by his mum or myself.

Been out for the afternoon. Is this all sorted yet?

Yes, Sparkling. We are all best friends :o

Excellent Hester.

They don't take things back as trophies, they take them as gifts, to be eaten later on by the recipient.

I might have been lying about the all being best friends bit.

Dooin, mine brings it back to make me feel guilty. The look on his face as he's chewing is 'look what you've reduced me to'

and I thought cats were meant to be intelligent - what on earth gave them the idea that their owner is going to eat it???

Cats can be incredibly clever. Yet some are incredibly stupid. Just like dogs. And humans!

You need only watch 'You've Been Framed' to see examples of both.

They think we'll eat their offerings because they see their people as superior cats. I accept this theory but will still never partake of half a mouse or a live frog.

If there's one thing my observations of wild animals over the years has taught me is that you really can't judge animal intelligence using human criteria. This applies to pets too. By our standards, cats can be mindbogglingly stupid (burying their shit in snow anyone?) and also extremely cunning.

hiya everyone,

worried about my cat,

just come in from work and she's studying a plan of my neighbours garden, she printed it off google street view and there are crosses in the sandpit area, flower bed and underneath the children's swing and slide.

she's purring loudly and talking about world domination.

aibu to think she's psychotic.

Oh no thebody! You better tell your neighbours to get a kick ass rabbit to see off your beastly feline!

I hate cats.

You are on the right thread then Yeah. What cat crimes have you got to report?

Sparkling

You're assuming that a) YeahButWhatIf has read any of the thread content apart from the title and b) now that they've dropped that insightful and extremely well thought through (not to mention intelligent) statement on us, they'll actually be back to clarify further.

Or they are one of those people that hates cats for no apparent reason Heart.

I spend at least 10 mins a day de-shitting my lawn because my neighbours' cat uses it as a litter tray. I do as my MiL does and fling it back into their garden Your cat, your crap.

Oh right Yeah, I thought there would be a new, different reason.

I can be counted on for well thought through and insightful contributions. Always.

Sorry to let you down Sparkling.