To ask why cats roaming is acceptable?

[PengAly]

Just want to hear opinions on this. Firstly i should be honest, i am a dog person, 100% love dogs and i really dont understand how people like cats (seems like they are a tad selfish of a pet) but i am an animal lover so obviously wish no harm to any cat and will play with one given the opportunity. This is JUST my opinion. But back to my original question...

Why does it seem universally accepted that cats can roam on other peoples properties and poop in the garden- even digging up flowers?! Now Im certain mainy people would get up in arms if a dog on a lead stepped one paw on their front garden or god forbid came within 3 feet of them or their child(I've seen many dog hating threads on MN) yet cat owners get a free pass for their cats doing as they please?

Im honestly not trying to start an argument i just dont understand it

the reason cat poo annoys me but not other wild animals is because other animals are WILD. they do not have owners who should be responsible for them. I've said it so many times now! Cats owners should be responsible. Funny how the PPs who keep defending cats ruining gardens are responding those posts about examples on how cats have caused harm and injury.

People with a cat allergy often develop an immunity to their own cat, so maybe enforced ownership of a cat (or two, or three!) would help - it would also have the effect of keepig other cats out of your garden. Mostly.

I remember my neighbours commenting how their persistent mouse problem went away when I got my cats. My dog has done fuck all for them, the lazy bastard.

people with a cat allergy often develop an immunity to their own cat
That is what happens to dh and ds. As long as dh doesnt touch his face after stroking the cat he can tolerate her

During the summer, travellers set up shop on one of the local playing fields. The kids were shitting all over the park, and the council had to send in a biohazard team to clean it up. Why do people have kids????

Cats can't be walked on a lead, or at least very few can. I tried it with mine as I thought it might be nice for them to get outside. So if the can't be attached to you they are very agile and it would be impossible to keep up with them. Dogs have an owner that they listen to. Life with a cat is very different. That being said my mum had outdoor cats and so long as they had a clean litter tray at home we didn't seem to have bother with them going in the neighbors garden.

I specifically train my cat to poo in other people's gardens.

@agnurse LOVE your smiling cat! (I had one with similar markings to your tabby for years) Now I have a Christmas tree climber who is utterly unrepentant (grey and white) and a semi permanent hot water bottle (all grey).

I have a garden full of birds, my cats ignores them

I think your cat is pretty unusual to be honest.

Because trying to stop a cat roaming is like, erm, herding cats?

I did read somewhere that, under UK law, nobody can truly own a cat in the way they might own a dog.

I literally had to herd cats yesterday. My kittens have been going out but can't be left out to roam free. I can confirm it is virtually impossible!

Here;

www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/cats-and-the-law.html

You can own them, but they have the “right to roam” and youre mot expected to control them. Madness.

I'll clarify once again for those PP who cant seem to grasp the original intent of my post... my opinion of cats is NOT what this thread is about. I simply wished to understand why cat owners seem not to care that their cats ruin other people's gardens. Yes, I gave my opinion based on my OWN experiences with cats but I even said that was JUST MY OPINION. And also it has no relevance to the initial issue and discussion of owners not taking responsibility for their pets.

OP I understand that cats regularly entering your garden and digging up flowers and causing damage would be frustrating. Have you spoken to your neighbours about the issue?

I don't mind cats in our garden, but if I did I'd use an animal-safe repellant and wouldn't ask my neighbours to keep their cats locked up inside, when this goes against a cats natural instinct. I also wouldn't expect my neighbours to miss out on the enjoyment of a cat, just because it caused an occasional annoyance for me (I'm sure I'm not always a perfect neighbour, so it's mutual compromise).

I'm not sure what you expect cat owners to do? Unless for a specific reason, it is kindest for the cat to allow them to roam freely. Owning and loving cats is part of our culture and cat owners want to create the most beneficial environment for their pet. In many cases this means allowing them to roam and then be inside when they want to.

The RSPCA website states that "Cats with outdoor access benefit from more opportunities to exhibit natural behaviours like climbing, exploring, roaming their territory and communicating with other cats in the area. Keeping your cat as a house cat will help keep them away from busy roads, but some indoor environments can become predictable and boring, leading to stress, inactivity and obesity."

I love cats and dogs, have four kitties at home (rescues). I do agree that owners should take some responsibility for cats messing in other people’s gardens though. When I got my first two they were indoor only due to their being disabled (at birth) and when they do venture outside it’s just outside our front door to chill in the sun - so they don’t cause real trouble... our boy cats however are fully able and roam at leisure - so I informed my neighbours that should they notice my cats in their gardens causing a mess to let me know and I will go and clean their mess for them. I’ve even bought non-toxic cat repellent for a couple of neighbours to protect their flower beds from our eldest boy cat who is a right bugger for digging :’)

As for the selfish pet comment I do have to disagree, they may not show their love as obviously as a dog, but should you put the time in to develop a real bond with them, Cats are just as loving :) the eldest of the boys is currently curled up on my pregnant belly because I’ve hit another round of Braxton Hicks and he’s never been a ‘lap cat’ but seems to know when they’re hitting because he will gently place himself on my tummy and purr until they go away and then he removes himself to wander some more.

My female cats dote on my one year old twins as though they were kittens, I do have to remove them if they start trying to clean them though as I know those tongues aren’t sanitary lol and my youngest Male cat is my DS’s best friend, they play together and there has only been one incident involving claws, I quickly reprimanded said kitty and three months hence (and a lot of boisterous play from my DS) the claws have not made a reappearance.

What gets me are people who get a cat and leave it to go semi feral, thinking that they need NO training or input to develop a proper relationship with their owner... obviously we can’t train a cat to the degree we can a dog, but like with most things, you get out of them what you put in

@LittleTipple Thank you for those points, very valid. I'm not here to give a one shoe fits all solution. It would just be nice to see more cat owners understand the annoyance instead of the entitled "cats are the best" attitude I keep seeing from PPs on here. I understand the law allows cats to roam free but I was just interested in having a discussion about how it seems slightly unfair that they are the ONLY pet that is seen in this way. The debate about keeping cats in the house in my opinion is not black and white. I've known cats whom its safer to be kept inside or there are owners who have trained their cats to shit in a litter box and then there are owners who seem to take advantage of the "free spirit" of a cat. My point that has been missed by many people is that it doesn't seem quite so fair for cats to be given a free pass by their owners for whatever they do when out the house because "that's their nature". Every animal that is kept as a pet can be given that excuse....

@KellyW88 you seem like a really responsible owner. I wish more cat owners were like you

@StoppinBy the dogs were off leash but on a green. They are on leash until they get to the green and dog owner said it all happened so quickly that she hadn't even seen the cat but her whippets had and were off over near my house where the cat had tried to run up a tree.

I wasn't trying to blame anyone for it, I'm not sure what can be done to stop it happening, I think dogs should be able run off leash in appropriate areas which is what this green was, (they are on leash at all other times) lots of people mentioned on local page about a whippets strong prey driven instinct and how shouting them off would be no more effective than her shouting her cat off a small bird. One neighbour had said if she's going to defend her cat killing animals because if it's prey instinct then she needs to understand that same instinct is strong in other animals and as she lives next to very popular dog walking area letting her cats out might not be good.

It was a horrible thing to see but I was surprised at the hostility towards the cat owner when she posted. Felt sorry for her because I was upset at what I'd witnessed and she must have been even more so. :(

@BollockingBaubles that must have been a horrible thing to witness. Its very unfortunate and I'd never wish for that to happen to a cat. But as you have mentioned that is nature and the dogs were acting on their natural instinct, same as the cats were freely roaming on theirs. One of the reasons its safer for cats to be kept indoors. I do appreciate you saying dogs should be able to run in green areas. I agree and its so sad to see on here everyone saying dogs should never be off lead- I think that's quite cruel and a well trained dog is safe off lead. But then people are also saying keeping a cat indoors is cruel so it really depends on person own experiences with various animals

I like both cats and dogs fairly equally, but what's this about forbid came within 3 feet of them or their child(I've seen many dog hating threads on. Sorry, and probably someone else has said this already, but cats don't rip out the throats of children; it's dogs that do that...that do that because their entitled, narcissistic owners are too lazy and stupid to put their specially bred monster mutant killer death beast pit bull on a lead. If an adult hurts and injuries your dog because you let it near her child, that is 100% your fault. Why do strangers have to gamble on the life of their child because some idiot can't put their dog on a lead? Legally, at least in Scotland, if an adult kills your leadless dog and gets scratched while delivering the death blow, that is 100% your fault and you will be liable for damages. Cats are fine in that respect, not comparable at all.

@ronatheseal wow what a delightful person you are great job making quite nasty assumptions on a massive group of people and animals.

Shux. What 'assumption' has offended thee?

Haven’t rtft however the reality is that cats are independent for the most part and stopping them from wandering is virtually impossible to the point that most rescue charities won’t rehome the majority of cats to homes where they have no ability to go out unless in special circs i.e. where a cat is already a recognised house cat.

Given that it is the cat’s natural instinct to wander, how would one propose that the cat owner takes responsibility for the fact that the cat goes into other people’s gardens?

By the same token however I do think that owners who insist that other people not allow their cat to wander into their houses are unreasonable given that the owners themselves feel that they’re permitted to allow their cats to roam wherever they want iyswim?

E.g. if someone complained that the cat wanders into their house and approached the owner, the owner would likely tell them that they should be taking steps to prevent it from doing so if they don’t like it. However if said cat wanders into a neighbou’s house and the neighbour doesn’t object, the same owner would likely take exception because it’s their cat and the neighbour should have no right to allow it into their house.

So if you own an independent animal which you allow to roam freely which it will do by virtue of its nature, then part of that also means that that animal may roam freely into someone else’s house and adopt them instead of you which is also in its nature and you as an owner should be just as accepting of that. And I speak as a previous cat owner who, although I would have been upset if my cats had adopted someone else, and have never encouraged anyone else’s cat into my house, also accept that independent means independent rather than independent purely on the owner’s terms..... iyswim.

people with a cat allergy often develop an immunity to their own cat this is true although there can be unknown drawbacks. I am alergic to cats. Have owned them for as long as I can remember. I also have hayfever in the summer. Two years ago I lost my last cat when she was hit by a car and shortly afterward I developed a life-limiting illness. Due to the amount of medication I have to take I was dreading hayfever season as I didn’t want to have to take yet another amount of meds (antihistamine) so was surprised when the hayfever never materialised. Thought it might be a coincidence but then this year I never had hayfever either. Not so much as a sniffle. Can only put it down to the fact that this is the first time in as long as I can remember that I haven’t had a cat. So now I won’t ever likely be getting another one as they clearly have been contributing to my hayfever all these years... .

Haven’t rtft however the reality is that cats are independent for the most part and stopping them from wandering is virtually impossible to the point that most rescue charities won’t rehome the majority of cats to homes where they have no ability to go out unless in special circs i.e. where a cat is already a recognised house cat.

Given that it is the cat’s natural instinct to wander, how would one propose that the cat owner takes responsibility for the fact that the cat goes into other people’s gardens?

By the same token however I do think that owners who insist that other people not allow their cat to wander into their houses are unreasonable given that the owners themselves feel that they’re permitted to allow their cats to roam wherever they want iyswim?

E.g. if someone complained that the cat wanders into their house and approached the owner, the owner would likely tell them that they should be taking steps to prevent it from doing so if they don’t like it. However if said cat wanders into a neighbou’s house and the neighbour doesn’t object, the same owner would likely take exception because it’s their cat and the neighbour should have no right to allow it into their house.

So if you own an independent animal which you allow to roam freely which it will do by virtue of its nature, then part of that also means that that animal may roam freely into someone else’s house and adopt them instead of you which is also in its nature and you as an owner should be just as accepting of that. And I speak as a previous cat owner who, although I would have been upset if my cats had adopted someone else, and have never encouraged anyone else’s cat into my house, also accept that independent means independent rather than independent purely on the owner’s terms..... iyswim.

people with a cat allergy often develop an immunity to their own cat this is true although there can be unknown drawbacks. I am alergic to cats. Have owned them for as long as I can remember. I also have hayfever in the summer. Two years ago I lost my last cat when she was hit by a car and shortly afterward I developed a life-limiting illness. Due to the amount of medication I have to take I was dreading hayfever season as I didn’t want to have to take yet another amount of meds (antihistamine) so was surprised when the hayfever never materialised. Thought it might be a coincidence but then this year I never had hayfever either. Not so much as a sniffle. Can only put it down to the fact that this is the first time in as long as I can remember that I haven’t had a cat. So now I won’t ever likely be getting another one as they clearly have been contributing to my hayfever all these years... .