Cat owners - get a cat, let it out, complain that it's not in

[Paperreceipt]

I live in a fairly urban area with high density housing. Our local FB groups are inundated with posts about missing cats. I don't understand. People get a cat, let it out and then complain that it doesn't come back. What do they expect to happen?

I am biased. I think owning cats in urban areas and letting them out to shit everywhere, kill birds and caterwaul at 2am is antisocial, but AIBU?

Or take picture of cat doing normal cat things and post on fb 'worried about this cat as it looks lost'

Posts here all seem to concern cats that haven't been seen for several days when that's unusual for them, or house cats that were never meant to be out but escaped

YABU

You're in trouble now OP, MN hates dogs and worships cats despite them shitting everywhere because that's ok due to the freedom to wander law and mn'ers not having to pick up their shit

I’ve had several cats and they’ve always come back so I think it’s the exception for them to stay out. I would guess that your dislike of cats is clouding how you view this. Parents let their children out as well but if someone posted “where is my 16 year old” would you wonder what they were expecting by letting them out?

It’s unusual for a cat not to come home. But they can get locked in garages and all sorts, that is part of the reason why people post on social media to alert their neighbours to check etc.

We keep our cat in at night but even that can be tricky because she’ll leap out as soon as a door is opened. She can also unlock a “locked” cat flap.

Also it might surprise you that even the RSPB says that cats don’t have much of an impact on bird populations
www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/

[quote cadburyegg]It’s unusual for a cat not to come home. But they can get locked in garages and all sorts, that is part of the reason why people post on social media to alert their neighbours to check etc.

We keep our cat in at night but even that can be tricky because she’ll leap out as soon as a door is opened. She can also unlock a “locked” cat flap.

Also it might surprise you that even the RSPB says that cats don’t have much of an impact on bird populations
www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/[/quote]
My cat generally comes on at 9pm near enough on the dot each day. If she wasn't in by midnight I would be a bit concerned.

I would guess that your dislike of cats is clouding how you view this.

I like cats, and they tend to like me. I do like picking up cat shit from my garden on a daily basis.

I also liked it when we had ground feeders, but they no longer visit.

Parents let their children out as well but if someone posted “where is my 16 year old” would you wonder what they were expecting by letting them out?

I think there's a difference between people and cats, to be honest, but your post did make me remember that 30 years ago it was standard to let your dog out all day.

Or take picture of cat doing normal cat things and post on fb 'worried about this cat as it looks lost'

Yes! "Does anyone know who this cat belongs to? It visits every day and I feed it tonnes".

Cats are creatures of habit so if one wanders off for longer than usual it's reasonable to ask on FB if anyone has seen it.

And most cats bury their shit so it's more likely to be foxes etc making a visible mess.

I have a cat. She rarely goes out but when she does she doesn’t fail to be home for her tea time

If she wasn’t home by the evening I would be worried as it would be out of the ordinary for her

Yep we have this on all our local sites. Also the annoying ‘is this anyone’s cat’ posts

We had a missing cat poster posted through our door the other week for a cat missing in our road, the cat had been ‘missing’ for 10 hours! Within 2 hours of the poster coming through the door the local Facebook page had been updated to say ‘cat has just walked through the door’

Also cats are crafty and will happy have several houses on the go ,they go to for food as well as their own .

And most cats bury their shit so it's more likely to be foxes etc making a visible mess.

Yeah, cat owners say that a lot, despite the fact that it's cat shit and you can see the cats doing it. "Burying" is not helpful when it's in a flower bed that you want to garden in or a path you want to walk down.

I would have more respect for cat owners who said, "I deliberately let my cat out knowing that it is shitting in other people's gardens and that they have to pick it up and I'm ok with that".

YABU.

There is very simple solution.
Cat owners should catproof fences.

And I love cats for a cuddle! Not for the garden shit tho🙈

Ugh cat shit in the garden is revolting. Cat proof fencing on your own gardens for your precious wankers to keep them in please!

As a wheelchair user and unable to bend down the shit is an issue.

@Paperreceipt

And most cats bury their shit so it's more likely to be foxes etc making a visible mess.

Yeah, cat owners say that a lot, despite the fact that it's cat shit and you can see the cats doing it. "Burying" is not helpful when it's in a flower bed that you want to garden in or a path you want to walk down.

I would have more respect for cat owners who said, "I deliberately let my cat out knowing that it is shitting in other people's gardens and that they have to pick it up and I'm ok with that".

Sure. Sure.

Doesn't change the fact that it's true, and the majority of the time when people moan about it, it isn't cats.

But let's not let simple things like facts get in the way, eh?

I have been spamming Facebook with "is this your cat" posts because I am being terrorised by Someone Else's Unneutered Cat which is very keen to move in with me despite me never having fed it, DH forever chasing it off, and for two very different reasons neither of my cats wanting to have sex with it. For the last year it's been spraying everywhere and everything everything in the garden and also all over the outside of the house. As far as I'm concerned he's a feral cesspit who needs his knackers chopped off ASAP, but he's probably Mrs Smith's beloved cuddlebear Loki who gives the best hugs eva. I think cats are rather like farts - you can just about stand your own.

It's important to alert people to missing cats because they can get into garages and sheds etc when people aren't looking. People then close the door and the cat is stuck. If people see the poster and open their garage and shed doors just to check, it could save the cat's life. I've repeatedly had to let an idiotic cat out of our garage.

You can't cat proof the front garden/front door/driveway etc though. I looked at spending 3k for cat proofing my not very big garden. But the cats will just find other means of escape. Some cats are content to be indoor cats (I have one). Some cats are absolutely not and nothing you can do will keep them from escaping (I had two of those, one sadly recently deceased... which yes I posted on fb about and posted flyers, knocked on doors as she had been gone for 2 nights which was wholly unusual for her and I knew something had happened. I was right, she was poisoned to death).
I am now investing in a GPS tracker for my remaining cat so if she goes missing, we can find her quickly.
They both shit in my garden BTW. They shunned the many litter trays we have, and instead use the back corner of my garden in the bark chippings. So I'm 99.99% certain they don't shit in anyone else's gardens. I know how many times a day they went previously, and can check the corner to see what has been done today (they were both once a day cats, and low and behold there were 2 poos a day found in the chippings. They were both rubbish at burying it!). We also get many cat visitors to our garden. Never found evidence of them shitting here. Even pre-cats, we didn't have any issues.

@FricasseeTurnips

I have been spamming Facebook with "is this your cat" posts because I am being terrorised by Someone Else's Unneutered Cat which is very keen to move in with me despite me never having fed it, DH forever chasing it off, and for two very different reasons neither of my cats wanting to have sex with it. For the last year it's been spraying everywhere and everything everything in the garden and also all over the outside of the house. As far as I'm concerned he's a feral cesspit who needs his knackers chopped off ASAP, but he's probably Mrs Smith's beloved cuddlebear Loki who gives the best hugs eva. I think cats are rather like farts - you can just about stand your own.

Your posts on Facebook I can understand as a cat is causing you problems, it’s the ones that just see a different cat near their home and assume it’s lost or a stray.

there were 2 poos a day found in the chippings. They were both rubbish at burying it!

That'll be fox poo actually.

A common gripe in local forums.

Firstly you have the 'cat thief', the one who feeds all the local cats, egged on by other forum participants who suggest the 'cat thief' catches it, takes it to a vet/Cats Protection to be scanned. If there is no chip the CP rehomes it.

Then you have the cat owner posting asking and who's had it away with her moggie.

As a side issue, you will have the standard twat who wants to neuter and chip every cat and attacks the lost cat owner for her shocking pet-owning dereliction. Cat owner, it transpires has only just got the damned thing and its got an appointment for next week and it shot out the door when the Amazon man arrived

Moral of this story. Stop. Bloody. Feeding. Randon. Cats.

OP, any cat owner will know the difference between cat and fox poo. Fox poo absolutely stinks and looks very different...