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?

So because you don't own a cat or understand what it is to own one, you'll just assume missing cat posts are something to judge others for? Shame you have nothing better to do than make people feel bad for worrying about their animals... Who are supposed to go out and come back BTW.

I'll tell my daughter to suck it up if her cat ever goes missing again and she's sobbing for days until we found him. Happened to be from a fb post family put up for us 🤔

@TwoAndAnOnion you're playing to a harsh crowd! The only response. people give to either missing or fed cats is tea and sympathy and good luck!

@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".

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

I think cats are rather like farts - you can just about stand your own.

This is the most true thing I've ever read @fricasseeturnips.

Our local Facebook page is obsessed with lost cats. We also have a tribe of self appointed cat rescuers who can't wait to be the first to be tagged to get out with their scanner to check if the cat is chipped every time someone posts that they have seen a cat, whether it's a lost cat or not.

I'll tell my daughter to suck it up if her cat ever goes missing again and she's sobbing for days until we found him.

Or, you could choose a pet that you look after so that it doesn't lead to such sadness?

@paperreceipt Oh we do look after him.. But that's exactly the b**chy kind of comment I'd expect from someone who appears to have far too little going on in their life. I hope it made you feel so very warm writing that.

@StormzyInaDCup

So because you don't own a cat or understand what it is to own one, you'll just assume missing cat posts are something to judge others for? Shame you have nothing better to do than make people feel bad for worrying about their animals... Who are supposed to go out and come back BTW.

I'll tell my daughter to suck it up if her cat ever goes missing again and she's sobbing for days until we found him. Happened to be from a fb post family put up for us 🤔

‘Supposed to go out and come back BTW’ doesn’t mean they will or want to. Cats can go out and pick a new family if they want and have been known to do just that. That’s the chance you take with having a pet that is allowed to roam free outside your home.

Totally agree. I love cats and grew up with them. However, I’d never get one because I can’t imagine feeling ok about letting it out to decimate wildlife and to risk getting run over. A friend is currently looking for her lost cat and another is grieving hers getting run over.

Yep @Xiddling, the car deaths are horrible for everyone, including the poor driver. The not-quite-dead accidents are even worse.

Still, at least people are exercising their right to own cats near busy roads.

@CheesyChipsOnWembleyWay

Our local Facebook page is obsessed with lost cats. We also have a tribe of self appointed cat rescuers who can't wait to be the first to be tagged to get out with their scanner to check if the cat is chipped every time someone posts that they have seen a cat, whether it's a lost cat or not.

We have those! Every “does anyone know this cat?” post on the local Facebook page gets a flurry of them tagging each other, “we need Mildred down here with the scanner NOW” “can someone trap the cat in a shed???”, and then almost every time it turns out the cat lives three doors down and is just out for a stroll.

Last year they ‘rescued’ a ‘very hungry pregnant female begging for food’ which turned out to be a male cat with a bit of a belly on him.

I have several cats who all have access to the outside but each use it differently. One I would ask on social media about after a couple of hours, one I would give a week or more and the others are in-between.

@Paperreceipt that'd be cat poo actually as witnessed by every member of the household.
Also. They didn't bury well in the litter tray either.

Is that the only thing you could think to respond to my post? To accuse me of lying with zero evidence?

Shame you have nothing better to do than make people feel bad for worrying about their animals... Who are supposed to go out and come back BTW.

But once you've let them out, you have zero control over what they decide to do. I mean, of course people can worry but that's what happens when you let your animals out to roam unsupervised for hours or days on end.

Well aren't you a barrel of fun OP starting a thread about people who have concerns a about their cats. Just scroll on by if it bothers you. With people like you around I understand why a lot of people prefer cats to humans.

@Puntastic

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.

I have never seen one of these posts and then gone and checked my garage for someone's cat. I just scroll past

that'd be cat poo actually as witnessed by every member of the household. Also. They didn't bury well in the litter tray either.Is that the only thing you could think to respond to my post? To accuse me of lying with zero evidence?

I was paraphrasing the other poster who claims we are both lying.

Well aren't you a barrel of fun OP starting a thread about people who have concerns a about their cats.

I understand why people care about their cats. I can't understand why they let them out to come to harm and are then surprised when they come to harm.

Where is all this cat shit in people's gardens? I've lived in over 20 different houses all over England my life and always had a garden of some kind. All these areas had roaming cats but I've never seen a single cat shit in my garden anywhere - ever!
I didn't have a dog either.

Cats who use litter trays bury their doings, why would cats who go outside mysteriously not do the same? It's an instinct isn't it?

I'm not buying it. Suburban gardens up and down the country are not covered in cat shit.

@MistyGreenAndBlue

Where is all this cat shit in people's gardens? I've lived in over 20 different houses all over England my life and always had a garden of some kind. All these areas had roaming cats but I've never seen a single cat shit in my garden anywhere - ever! I didn't have a dog either.

Cats who use litter trays bury their doings, why would cats who go outside mysteriously not do the same? It's an instinct isn't it?

I'm not buying it. Suburban gardens up and down the country are not covered in cat shit.

Well ain’t you lucky then!

I have had to rip up all my bushes/flower beds because cats killed them! There is cat shit most days in my garden. In the last 3 weeks I have had 2 pigeons killed and left in my garden with feathers every where...that I have had to spend my time clearing up!

If you feel left out let me know I will send you my address and you can come round and pick it all up for me.

If you feel left out let me know I will send you my address and you can come round and pick it all up for me.

Can't say that I do

I'm not buying it. Suburban gardens up and down the country are not covered in cat shit.

No, they're covered in half-hearted piles of cat shit covered by mud or wood chippings. You really only get the benefit once you step in it or put your hands in it. If you're really lucky, your toddler discovers it first.

(But VeganVeal is absolutely ok with that).

It is commonplace to let your cat out in this country, less so in other countries and I've always found that quite intriguing.

I suspect one of the reasons is because England has very few predators in comparison to other countries.

But you're right, this view that cats must be allowed outside no matter what is very anglicised. In lots of places, it's illegal to let your cat roam and any cat found outside will be taken to a shelter and the owner has to pay a fine in order to get them back.