I love cat's however I'm saddened at the amount that need to be killed because shelters fill every year with kittens. Cat's should not be allowed to roam free in the city. If you live on a full blown farm I may understand. If they allow free roaming all CATS should be spayed NO EXCEPTIONS.

Psycologically, the 'cats on leash law' idea has a fascistic ring to it.

did you read the line.....chasing cats for a million dollars an hour....comment. cat lovers are insane....lol hey if dogs are required to be on a leash its only fair cats are. personally i say get rid of all the laws the government puts on us and if an animal comes on your property its target practice time. that way owners would keep their pets in line without the government having to get involved.

So much for good neighbors. You are an example of part of what is going wrong with our lifestyle. And your affinity for 'target practice' makes you sound like 'one short of a six pack.'

people should keep their animals contained...fgh you are what is wrong with our society. you dont care if your animals go and destroy your neighbors stuff. very inconsiderate. and target practice is fun. you should try it. And I can guarantee you if you put your animal loving brain up against my individual rights brain up against each other mine would come out on top.

cats and dogs are cool...but if they are going onto other peoples property their life is at risk.....same as if they go out onto the road. if you dont want their life to be at risk then properly house said animals. if you dont it is you being the irresponsible pet owner.....your fault what happens to your animal.

james-1416766, cats do not substantially destroy anything. You are lieing.

The only thing harder than putting a leash on a cat is herding them. There's a reason why the phrase "herding cats" means "trying to do the impossible". That said, there are better things to do than worrying about a stray cat. Try going after real criminals. Lol at James the Internet-Tough-Guy.

its not about being tough

its about individual rights. I pay for my mortgage no one else....so no one else should have a say as to how my property should be exploited by animals. it should be my right to not have domestic animal feces on my property....just as it is my right to exterminate rodents who would or could make a mess out of my property I have a right to defend my property against animals...regardless of what you think the damage of a bunch of cat poop does....it is my right to keep that from my property. if you dont want your animal to be hurt by dogs or cars or bb guns then keep it contained.

for those of you who think your animal should go on other peoples property to void or defecate....i say shame on you and you are one inconsiderate person.

After putting up with cats for too many years, we have resorted to CB caps. They are quiet and efficient, drawing absolutely no attention from the neighbors. They require a wee bit more accurate shooting than other calibers, and are terminally effective out to about 75 feet. No more smell in our raised flower gardens and no more damage to the paint on our cars. And all without government assistance.

"'Generally, we provide valuable services to urban areas notably in the realm of vermin control.'"

Unfortunately cats do not discriminate between "vermin" and "birds." And the main point should be not protecting the environment and birds from cats, but protecting cats from other cats, dogs, and cars.

I have had many a cat, and they all adapt very well to living indoors. It takes only a night or two to convince them they will just have to be satisfied with viewing birds through a window.

oh yes I forgot about the cars......of course you cant prove to a court whose cat or dog did that to your car so irresponsible pet owners continue with said actions. Its just amazing to me that pet owners dont really care about the damage animals do....and they think other people just have to live with their pets actions...its very self centered and selfish type behavior.

roger never used cb caps. I find bb guns work well...use bb first to just warn them if they continue to destroy pellets or darts work well.

My wife is deathly allergic to cats, and I plain just don't like them. The smell they leave behind is extremely damaging, along with the scratches they leave on the hood of my car. If you enjoy the smell, and you don't mind the scratches, by all means keep a cat. Just keep them on your own property!

Cats on a leash because dogs are required to go on a leash? Cats aren't dogs and this is a stupid idea. I have had a number of beautiful (and shall I point out neutered) cats over the years. My last two cats lived with me for 18 years (and were indoors/outdoors pets). The one before them was with me 19 years (and was also indoor outdoor). They were all licensed with the state and chipped in case of loss--vacinated etc. They were great companions and I loved their wild side watching them stalk moving grass in the yard etc. They did not harm to the vegetation and I didn't have to clean a cat box or clean up feces like one does after a dog since they bury their own droppings descretely.

I tried on a couple of occasions to put them on a leash. They don't walk on a leash like a dog--they curl up and wiggle and try to get it off.

I'm sick of the government trying to impose restrictions on every part of our (and our furry friends) lives. My daughter-in-law had indoor only cats (Persian) who were sickly and bored. She now has a good old American Alley cat that she kept indoors for some time but he escaped one day--came in purring and presented her with a mouse. Now she lets him in and out and both of them are much better off. She loves him, but wouldn't have time with her kids to try to leash him for a walk. If a kitty is tied in the yard on a leash and line, he is fair game for coyotes and other predators.

Stop it with the regulations even on kittys for heavens sake.

As far as the ordinance being to protect the bird population as all of us would like to do:

1) Most who want to protect our feathered friends are "environmentalist" minded and they also support "alternative energy." Wind mills kill millions of birds a year and we are only supplying 2-3% of our energy this way now with a goal fo 20% by 1020! Want to save the bridies? Petition your Congressmen to drill for oil or better yet, natural gas!

2) If you must have some requirement, require a bell for cats. My cats loved to stalk birds, but never could catch them as the birds always heard the bell and I laughed as I watched the birds get the best of them. For some reason rodents didn't notice the bell. My male cat came in from the woods one day with a huge huge rat! Thanks Kitty! Those things spread disease!

At long last. The domestic cat kills 4.5 million birds every day in the USA!! Infinitely more than all oil spills in history. And, in the last 450 years, domestic cats, allowed to hunt and poach on their own free will, have cause more recorded extinctions globally than all other agents! Including habitat loss!!!!

When Europeans introduced, transported this unnatural killer predator globally, bird after bird fell extinct as well as small to mid-sized animals. On the island of Guadulupe, cats pushed extinct three birds and one lizard specie. In New Zealand, cats pushed extinct at least 8 bird species.

In 1997 in Australia, a member of their parliament called for the total eradication of all cats on that continent; cats have caused 13 extinctions of Australia's irreplacable birds and fauna. All over the world, history repeats itself. Cats also caused the extinction of the dodo. In 1916 in USA, they killed domestic cats to prevent the extinction of the heath hen that did fall extinct.

Ironically, this was far more a major issue in this nation in 1916. And, bells do not work. The only solution is to make all house cats, HOUSE cats. This is a win, win. Indoor cats live to be in their 20's unlike their outdoor counterparts, whose life expectancy is but 5 years.

Studies regarding this issue have been conducted all over the world. And, some cats slaughter as many as a thousand animals and birds every year! However horrific you may find the oil spill, this is paradise compared to the history of the recorded extinctions cats have caused in the last 450 years. Statistically, each cat permitted to hunt on their own free will butcher one bird a day and for every bird slaughtered, they butcher 3 to 6 additional animals like rabbits, oppossums, chipmunks, squirrels, baby pelicans, frogs, salamanders, and lizards and baby coyotes and foxes.

And, these animals, unlike domestic species, are the veritable strands in the web of all life as they are the job-holders, role-players and gate keepers of the Earth's ecosystems. Now, we are talking life itself, all the reasons mankind is alive.

" In WILDNESS is the salvation of the Earth and the preservation of all life"

Yep, we are a nation of animal-lovers!!

Cats INDOORS to save the Earth, oxygen, fresh water, food and life.

I dont' agree with this indoor only-cat thing. My family cat was indoor outdoor and lived for about 18 years...well over the 5 suggested above. My neighbors also had cats who adopted them when we were kids, and since they moved away and couldn't take them, and couldn't catch them, they're still around today roaming occasionally around the backyard. That's at least 12 years, that i can figure. Cats are eventually going to get mad if they'r enot allowed in the outside world...make sure that they know who their owners are, and where the food is, and they'll make their way back eventually. but upon moving into a house with a roommate with two cats, they were kept inside for a week (the plan was two but they wouldn't stop trying to run out the door and cryingand whinning to get out, so we gave up and let them out and voila! In an hour they came back for dinner.) Cats on a leash? Ridiculous. You have to typically get close enough to a cat to threaten it to the point that it's going to defend itself, and if you're dragging it on a leasgh, you're just makeing that distance that much smaller and already aggravating the cat, whereas a dog is happy to walk on a leash where you have some measure of control, as long as you're it's owner, and you can prevent it from lunging wheneve they see something like a cat, for example, running in the street ahead of them. As far as the whole Indoor cats to save earth's resources, they don't drill for oil, chop down trees, drive cars and pollute into the atmosphere, leave the lights on and watse enerygy. That's all human creature-comforts. That's all for us "domesticated" humans to use and destroy, and enjoy. We're making a far bigger impact on the earth than the average house-cat. Just take responsibility and get them spayed to control the local population. You can always get another cat in the future.

I think people should be responsible to and for their pets. That would include not allowing them to run free in unnatural environments, such as places where they can be run over by a car. It would also include neutering.

My cat was taught to enjoy traveling, wearing a sweater in the winter, and walking on a leash while she was a small kitten. Now, at 15 years old, she thinks it's perfectly normal.

In the meantime, every fall I end up taming and finding homes for feral cats before winter sets in. I resent the need to do so very much. I resent the sick, sad feeling that haunts me for days when I see a dead domestic animal on the road. Most of all, I resent people who yak about how cruel it is to contain a pet. If you feel like that, don't get a pet. They are not wild creatures living in a natural environment. They don't stand a chance against a ton of metal hurtling down on them at 70 mph. Duh.

People should have listened to Bob Barker more often, HAVE YOUR PETS SPAYED OR NEUTERED!!!!

"Thad Cochran of nearby Plainfield had this rejoinder: "If dogs have to have a leash, why not cats?"

I think the answer to that question is quite obvious, but just in case: because dogs will ATTACK people, and other animals, from time-to-time. And that's just for starters, but it is probably the biggest single reason why. Cat's just don't do that. Nor run it packs. Nor run away from you like a maniac. Nor grab a hamburger right out of your hand (well, not unless you give it a great opportunity). If you think a cat makes a mess out of your garden, try dogs instead. At least cats have the sense to bury their waste. Get it?

Well put, Aquatone. I have 4 orange tabbies (neutered and the one lady cat spayed) and it would be "cat-"-astropic to try and walk these guys on a lease. They'd chew the darned thing off or just sull up and lie down. Unlike dogs, bless them, cats are independent and closer to being wild like their jungle counterparts than dogs are to the wolf. Of course , we live on 24 acres of woodlands and most of their roaming is done on our property with an occasional visit to our neighbors a quarter mile away ( the neighbors are family). If a person lives in a populated area, a responsible cat owner would keep a litter box so the neighbors would not have to provide toilet facilities.

If owners won't do what's necessary to keep cats from crapping in other peoples yards, then they shouldn't make a fuss if the property owner uses a paintball gun or tazes(electrified fencing?) their cat.

We have a metal roof, and neighborhood cats wake us up all hours of the night jumping/running on the roof. I'm about ready to buy an airgun and start reprimanding them with BB's.

And no, the surplus of cats running around the neighborhood, DOESN'T keep mice or rats from getting into the house now and then. If anything, it scares them into the houses.

james-1416766

did you read the line.....chasing cats for a million dollars an hour....comment. cat lovers are insane....lol hey if dogs are required to be on a leash its only fair cats are. personally i say get rid of all the laws the government puts on us and if an animal comes on your property its target practice time. that way owners would keep their pets in line without the government having to get involved.

Shame (lol) I'm pretty certain you did not intend how this can be taken out of context.

And it caught my eye today and this attitude toward the infringement of another sovereign's rights under land law is how we got to a government over doing it with rule of law. Human beings sell each other out every day. The loss of rights and liberty for one or some ensures the loss of freedoms for all. Loss of freedom is loss of responsibility. Propter hoc ergo propter hoc, I think that's the expression. How can people not see that the law is not the answer for sovereign rights and is in fact the method of securing control over freemen. Every support for the limiting of another man's right to express without injury to another sovereign's rights is a support for your own oppression and is wrong. There can be no action until there is a violation of sovereignity.

I live not far from Barre. It's not the best town in Vermont. I would guess there is a need to generate revenue, but I have no information.

Herding cat doesn't work and leashing them doesn't work in my experience as a cattender (LOL). You herd cows. And that is what over-governing is.I think this makes for a fine analogy to the current state of things because it is absolutely on. Ostensibly the State oppresses for it's own ends but I believe is actually a mechanism under control of undeclared owners of the USA corporation. And they know you can't herd cats so they are making them cows over time. Cows obey and cats are arrested and contained. Then we come to the dogs, the sellouts. People do not realize that they authorize their own enslavement when they do this. Why do we think there are so many laws? The existence of a huge LAW CODE is very telling of our condition as sovereigns. Lawyers throughout our government are foreign enemies of freemen because they speak another language. We need only justices to render rulings because a sovereign speaks for himself and therefore does not need an "assistent" parsing the truth. Treat others as you wish to be treated. A simple law that applies to secular and religious exercises. I know, I ramble, but it's difficult to learn to work yourself back to awareness.

I am always looking for education/information on these subjects. I do believe our people are being held by false contracts. We're being told what to think and how to behave. We accept all forms of surveilance. We have been conditioned to relinquish our rights through deliberately applied confusion and division. I also think that no party should lead without a super majority of eligible votes and that #2 be runner up. I also think that overlapping terms of a triumvirate presidency would help.

Aligning with a group as a politician or political supporter entails a loss of sovereignity as is your right to choose, volitionally. Just remember the herding potential. I'm afraid your party (if I have it right) is being co-opted (herded) through the Republican Party mechanism under the direction of the corporatist capitalists. It could just as well be through the Democratic Party mechanism under the same control. I don't vote anymore because by voting you are saying that you accept the outcome of the contest. I'm not talking about anything illegal or unlawful concerning the operation of an election.

People say "don't vote? don't complain. Truely it is my right not to vote and is my complaint. Actually, for everyone slamming any administration: "you voted on it? you accepted it."

The only reason that government is so big is the law. We have more prisoners in this country than we should have. We should house zero long term prisoners. We should have no prisons. Remember, we are sovereigns. We should only have jails for the short term holding of those suspected of violating sovereignity. Criminals should be killed for certain crimes, with all others used by the community as they are given the opportunity to redeem themselves, once. Repeat offending would be a capital crime. Crime would go down. Huge law mechanisms are unneeded. Laws are what create crime and are the same things that erode or revoke your sovereign status.

I think the answer to that question is quite obvious, but just in case: because dogs will ATTACK people, and other animals, from time-to-time. And that's just for starters, but it is probably the biggest single reason why. Cat's just don't do that. Nor run it packs. Nor run away from you like a maniac.

Cats do all those things... and more. Generally speaking, dogs do not jump up on the hood of a car, leaving deep scratches in the paint. Even when they do, and the owners are presented with "busted, red handed proof - not only of the act, but also proof that they are in fact the owner of the cat .... "I just feed it, to keep it from starving - its not my cat". The defense changes to ... its not that bad, why are you so upset?

Duh, cause its my car and your cat is scratching it, 'marking' it, causing the damage, stand up and be a man about ... oops, you are a cat owner after all, shouldn't have used that reference.

Seriously, I visit several local storage yards, lumber yards... where the owners are actively fighting a losing battle against feral cats. They leave large quantities of poop all over areas, to the point that unless they have something which only they stock; I and several others refuse to regularly visit or buy there anymore. This cat invasion is costing him serious money. Even worse, the population keeps increasing, since "well-meaning" people drop off food, unwanted or stray cats they find elsewhere ... allowing the cat colony to keep growing due to breeding and the influx of "illegal immigrants".

As in real life, If you feed them - they will come. corollary: if you feed them, then it becomes your problem and your responsibility.

Ever heard the expression "As hard as trying to "herd cats", there was a wonderful Super Bowl commercial, put out by EDS, showing it in several years by. Cats have clawed babies, adults, random people in the face - after meowing like they wanted to be picked up. The are way more unpredictable than dogs.

Cats may have their freinds and Champions - but lets not pretend they are not without sin nor just as dangerous as any other stray pet.

"Cat predation is an added stress to wildlife populations already struggling to survive habitat loss, pollution, pesticides, and other human impacts."

Yes, let's fix the problem of humans encroaching on nature by restricting nature even more. Cause that makes sense.

How are people worried about cats leaving their poo buried in their gardens (hello nature's fertilizer) and about them killing off birds, but no one comments on how birds poop all over the place! On people, cars, I bet baked on bird poop has ruined more car's paint jobs than cats have.

Skor154- Thanks, you gave me a good laugh there. You're so full of crap. Humans will kill the Earth loooong before cats get a chance to. By the way, when Europe killed off their cat population in the 1300s (because they thought they were familiars of the Devil, yay medieval science!), people were rewarded with the Bubonic Plague. Hundreds of millions of people died horribly, cause the cats weren't around to keep the rodent population under control.

Let Nature do her thing, and cats are part of that cycle. A lot of those instances you cited were from humans putting a species in an environment it didn't belong in. We've always done it, with plants, rabbits, coyotes, fish, SO MANY SPECIES, and still haven't learned that it only means bad bad results! But that's human's stupidty, not the evilness of cats. Someday maybe we'll figure it out. Nature knows what she's doing.

My parents have cats and live in the desert. They keep the scorpion population down and out of the house. No complaints.

Why my sister was a toddler, she was bitten by a dog who was standing right next to it's owner, and she now has a prominent scar under her eye. I think Tina Fey's scar is from a dog attack too. Should all dogs be kept indoors?

Animals are animals. They poop, they attack each other. Don't expect to live in a little concrete box, uninterupted in your life by the other inhabitants of this world. We share the world with them.

For the site that has a cat colony problem, may I suggest getting a dog?

We did ... the cost were prohibitive. Vets charge a lot to get embedded cat bones out during dental cleanings. At 1st he didn't charge, but as the months went on ... the cleanings required became more frequent as the dog got better at his job.

Seriously, it wasn't the cleanings as much as grizzly sight of all the fur littering the yard. However- it was quantum better than before; is smelled a heck of lot better, looked a lot better, was much easier to clean than the tubs of cat poop previously deposited by the colony.

Couldn't do it... I hate cat poop, but it was not the fault of the cats, it was caused by reckless owners, breeders and misguided, misdirected care.

Even when we put up signs requesting people not feed the cats and explained why it was a problem, not just the poop. The fleas, ticks and constant fighting, disputes got to the point that they spilled over into the daylight, business hours. And the concerned citizens continued to feed them, they still came under cover of darkness to drop off strays and feed them.

The weaker cats and the young were being found dead from who knows what kind of infections.

Let me shake your hand. You are the smartest person in the world!

All of my cats that I've ever had have been spayed. When I lived in the country my cats were allowed to stay outside. (One fought a raccoon and the raccoon lost, sadly my cat died at the age of 12 of acute liver failure) When I moved to the city I only had one cat and she never went outside. I understand wanting to keep feral cats down to a minimum, however, most of these cats aren't feral. If you can touch them, they aren't. There are truly feral cats that do decimate the populations of squirrels and birds, but they don't have owners. That said, I have fewer worries about the stray cats than the stray dogs. If they would just require that pets get spayed or neutered it would solve a lot of problems that a leash would never fix.

And they do serve an important function out of doors.

They do? Funny, in most states the departments of natural resources/wildlife (whatever)consider feral cats a pest that are one of the primary threats to songbirds. Feral cats are NOT a natural resource but are in fact a threat to natural resources. It is so bad in Wisconsin they have considered declaring them pests liable to being shot on sight.

Moreover moron, it isn't a little poo. Cat's routinely go back to the same spot to do their business and fairly quickly a flowerbed or a kids sandbox is overrun with cat crap.

BTW, dogs are also predators. They won't go feral as quickly as cats but they do go feral.

You are clearly clueless, cat people make little or no sense....

It is disinformation that roaming cats are a major threat to the songbird population. Anyone who was in a normal neighborhood years ago knows that cats roamed freely, and that there were birds everywhere (both have disappeared from some L.A. suburbs). Why is everyone afraid to address problems caused by pesticides?

Here in Hawaii feral cats are a big problem. Just as the mongoose.

Just made-up stories to drag out the 'toys for the little boys'.

Why don't people like James get help. Let's really think about that.

Something needs to be done about the failed mental health care system. Is a national health plan the answer? Something better be. Millions have been spent on training psychiatrists ever since psychiatry became a college major in the early 20th century. It is one of the most expensive degrees to earn. Then millions of dollars are spent paying these individuals after they graduate, as they have some of the highest wages in the world. How can there really be a money problem? Where are these people? Why do these things keep happening?

Actually I have a minor in psychology fgh

Should we discuss the issues you have as to why you feel you dont have to respect others????

lack of responsibility, accountability???

What is wrong with society when people feel they should not have responsibility for their pets actions....that their neighbors just have to live with it????? so you feel you should impose at will upon your neighbors and they should not have a right as to what goes on .....on THEIR property???

being an irresponsible pet owner is not a great quality. already millions of domestic animals are euthanized every year....that is a bigger issue than a handful of people putting a bb in the hide of an animal. I would propose that irresponsible pet owners such as yourself are the true people being cruel to the animals.

What needs to be discussed james-1416766, is why are you so hateful?

I own a cat which I love (and a dog and a bunny, some fish and used to own a parrot). Definitely color me an animal lover.

My cat is an indoor cat, even though we live in the very-country suburbs on a dead end street. He does go out with my daughter in a harness and extremely long leash. He loves to explore the flower gardens and the long grass. He doesn't seem to care much for going in the woods. Inside, he loves to sit at the French Doors to the deck and watch the squirrels (red and grey), chipmunks and birds. We feed them to the tune of about $50 per week in seed, suet and peanuts.

Three years ago, before we had a cat, there used to be a big orange and white cat who lived at one of the houses at the end of the road. Not very often, but he would come around in the wintertime and kill the birds we were feeding through the winter. I don't believe he ever got a squirrel, but he got four birds that I know of. Three of them I found dead, but I saw him get one, and almost get a couple of others before I chased him away. There were a couple of other cats who would come around, a black one from next door was one. But they could never catch a bird. This orange one was a very stealthy hunter, and knew how and when to slowly sneak up or lie in wait near the food till the poor hungry birds came down for it. I know this is nature, but I felt like the food we were putting out for the birds was more like 'bait'. Since the owner could/would not control the cat, our only choices were to either let the birds who had grown accustomed to depending on us starve (not) or kill the cat. I decided to kill the cat (only the one who could actually catch the birds). As I said, I love animals, so it was a difficult decision for me. What made up my mind was, the cat was only killing the birds for sport. He was clean and well-fed, and was not killing for food. So I chose to protect the wildlife.

Fortunately, the last time I chased him away before deciding to get rid of him permenantly, he never came back. I never saw him ever again. Don't know if the owner moved away or the cat got killed by a car or maybe by another bird feeder, but I never had to kill him.

By the way, all of my feeders were in trees, we'd already thought of that. But when the birds ate from the seed feeders, some of the seeds would spill to the ground, and those birds who preferred to feed on the ground (like doves) would eat that, and be vulnerable. Like I said, it's nature's way, cats kill birds if they can. But like hunters, I don't mind the ones who kill for food, but never for sport. This cat killed for sport.

James,

Do you have any idea how children mourn when they loose a beloved pet. Even adults suffer a great sense of loss from such a loss. That you would think to selfishly inflict such a loss on your neighbors is pathetic.

You may have a degree in psychology, but as my MD said that usually indicates that one is psychotic and studied the subject to fix himself. it is a proven fact in law enforcement that serial murderers usually have a record of animal cruelty progressing to human cruelty.

Dogs are also preditors, they are wolves. My cat is much more domesticated than my dog, just ask my vet.

Chris, I do not have a cat, I am allergic to cats, but my statement is based on code used in new york, one of the most pet unfriendly states in the union. Leash laws are applied to dogs, because they are considered to be domestic. Cats are not domestic. So you for spewing opinion with total disregard for the facts, sir, are a pinhead!

The finest rodent control on the planet is the snake. What cats are doing to the Earth is far more deadly than their killing rats because, the animals and birds domestic cats are poaching and killing are the foundation, bricks and mortar of man's house, the Earth. Domestic cats have never held down a job in any ecosystem on the planet. They were created by man, the cross between the African wild cat and the European wild cat, and today, domestic cats are wiping out the European wild cat.

Can a cat slither down into a rat hole, duh. And, all the songbirds, shore birds and ground nesting birds, coyotes, foxes, oppossums, lizards, snakes and frogs are the creators, sustainers, supporters and maintainers of the Earth's ecosystems or life itself. Now, we are talking the atmosphere, oxygen releasing, the nitrogen cycle and the hydrological system or life itself. Ecologically, the domestic cat is pushing the Earth closer to extinction every day because this invasive killer predator is slaugthering the strands in the web of all life.

And, this nation passed laws to protect our biological diversity from human hunters and poachers. Technically, domestic cats are in violation of the Endangered Species Act, the International Bird Treaty Act and the Lacey Bill! It is time to challenge the rights of an invasive. unnatural killer predator versus the rivets and bolts that are holding man's spacecraft altogether. Hunting licenses, bag limits, poaching laws and federal laws were crafted to prevent hunters from pushing extinct the strands in the web of all life.

Now it is time to leash in the most deadly planet killer in all of history.

And, of all domestic species, the domestic cat is the top carrier of rabies in the USA. And, no cure exists for rabies; it is deadly.

skor

ROTFLMFAO!! You must be working under the table for BP, 'cause that is the biggest load of crap I've ever seen in one place. Endangered Species Act? Hydrologic cycle? Planet killer? HOLD DOWN A JOB!? Hooboy!! Check your meds!

Oh, Mike, I guess you aren't literate in the science of ecology and history. There are differences in animals. Only native animals and plants hold down jobs and perform life services for the Earth's ecosystems, all the reasons you exist. The domestic cat is a non-native, transported, alien, invasive specie, and if a cat kills a native bird, reptile, amphibian or mammal, this introduced predator is killing the living and life-giving services, cycles and systems of the Earth's ecosystems.

An ecosystem is one living organism, kept alive, circulating, cycling and flowing because of all it native animals and plants or biological diversity. Each day in USA, domestic cats kill 4.5 million birds/biological diversity daily, each and every day, and for every bird it kills, it kills three to six additional species of biological diversity, the living and life-giving parts of the Earth's ecosystems.

You may not like this info based upon history and scientific studies but don't kill the messenger. Google cats killing birds and wildlife.

For those so worried about a cat walking through their yard, those people will have heart- attacks if a skunk, possum, or anything else passes through. Instead of getting yourselves obsessed with such simplistic matters such as a paw print on a car-something that I have never spasmed about in my whole life-and never will-Please move to an urban area where there are condominiums and no yards that anything except maybe a pigeon can get into. Please, for God's sake Please just MOVE.

FG, you aren't getting it. Domestic cats are a top agent of the extinctions of the strands in the web of all life. The animals and birds domestic cats are obliterating are all and every reason you have water to drink and oxygen to breathe! Why?

Because these animals and birds create, sustain, support and maintain the Earth's ecosystems. Now, we are discussing the science of ecology, which articulates all the reasons mankind exists. You are alive, only because of the Earth's ecosystems, which are in the eco-nomics of balancing the gaseous composition of the atmosphere, oxygen releasing, the regulation of all climate and a long list of life-gifting services, cycles and functions that are life itself. And, domestic cats are wiping out the animals and birds that are in the eco-nomics of all life, all the reasons you have oxygen, water, food and life.

Domestic cats have wiped out more birds and animals than all the oil spills in all of history, the birds and animals that support your very existence. There are vast differences in animals. ONly wild, native species of animals, birds and plants are the creators and protectors and gate-keepers of all life -- the air man breathes and the breath of all life.

there is nothing wrong with tagging a pest(cat crapping in your yard or dog attacking another pet) in the backside with a low powered airgun. I've been shot many times with an airgun(as a kid). It never broke the skin.

Animals are even tougher you give them credit for.

Many someone can come up with a low powered/long range taser for pests.

Robin S

Cats are not leashed because unlike dogs, which are considered domesticated, cats are predators.

Wow. domesticated=tame predator=hunter. Both are domesticated predators. Glad to help.
JAMES: I support your contention that non-control of ones animals puts them at risk by choice of the owner. I would say that their choice to risk infringing on your sovereignity is just, until they do infringe on your sovereignity. The mere presence of an animal acting in it's natural bent should not license you to act to protest and defend infringement of your sovereignity. Not until something happens like property damage or attack upon you or your child or ward who's sovereignity you hold has your sovereignity been offended. There must be some menace. (My interpretation.)

fgh- I actually live in a suburb and have a nature preserve a half mile away, there are continuously wild animals, skunks, groundhogs, deer, possum, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, and god only knows what else, roaming through my yard. I have no problem with these animals in my yard. I do, however, have a problem with all the cats roaming through my yard, not because they attack the birds, but because they do attack people and they do leave messes that I prefer my kids not have to deal with. They also attempt to attack my dog, which, by law, is on a leash. I would also have a problem with any dog roaming through my yard.

As for you not caring if a cat wrecks your paint on your car, great, I however, know that paint is actually on a car to protect it from the elements, living in a northern state which gets a lot of rain and snow, I prefer to not have unnecessary scratches on my car because some careless pet owner chooses to not really care for their pets.

If you want a pet, get a pet and keep it in your house or in your yard. It is that simple.

For the people who say cats won't like collars or leashes, do you really think dogs like leashes? The only reason they tolerate them is because they get them as puppies, and generally, they try to take off the collar, and pull away from the leash until they are trained. I would be willing to bet, that a kitten put in the same situation would react similarly.

Feral cats in the US kill upwards of 50 million songbirds in the US each year. Look at a closed environment scenario like islands and you will see that when feral cats are introduced to the island, the bird population disappears. Those birds eat insects like mosquitoes that carry disease to humans otherwise.

Is it really so hard to keep a cat in the house.

My cat goes out the dog door the same as the dog. Iv'e told the cat hundreds of times to stay inside the fence with the dog but he just won't listen.

So what if 50million songbirds are killed. There still isn't a shortage of them. How many songbirds are killed by wild animals? Those birds are not endangered.

The only difference between my cat and any other predator or wild animal is my cat comes inside at the end of the day and lays on my lap.

It's funny your only argument has to do with a closed environment that is already fragile to any outside influence. It has nothing to do with my cat leaving the house.

If anyone doesnt like my cat they are free to call the animal shelter to come pick him up. It will be up to me to pay the fines. Nobody calls becasue he doesnt bother anyone.

Ok, so your name is Tired_of_Extremists but yet you will shoot a cat that is in your yard. Are the cats attacking you? Destroying any of your belongings? I am assuming they are not, so shooting a cat that is walking though your yard seems a bit EXTREME to me. Just another hipocrate on the vine today......

Yeah cats are known for their "torturing", they perfected water-boarding. In fact the CIA has an entire unit of specially trained cats just for their torturing techniques.

Tired, you are one of those well meaning nature lovers who will end p destroying the entire planet because you do not understand the plain simple fact that meat eating animals make their living by eating each other. It's called the food chain. Look it up!

While you're at it, why don't you change your handle to "tired of cats"?!?!??!

"So what if 50million songbirds are killed. There still isn't a shortage of them. How many songbirds are killed by wild animals? Those birds are not endangered."

Where the heck have you been? The decline in songbird populations has been a primary concern across this country for years. There are not plenty of them and in many of their past ranges some species are now extinct.

Shees, ignorant cat people. Just a bunch of loons who can't get a real friend so they get a bunch of cats...

It is disinformation that roaming cats are a major threat to the songbird population. Anyone who was in a normal neighborhood years ago knows that cats roamed freely, and that there were birds everywhere (both have disappeared from some L.A. suburbs). Why is everyone afraid to address problems caused by pesticides?

who cares people just need to have bb guns around and if one goes in your yard shoot it. problem solved. the guns make no noise no one will even know.

Just made-up stories to drag out the 'toys for the little boys'.

A bb gun wont kill a cat . A pellet rifle ????? Not before it runs home . Traps are the way leghold or live traps cats are dumb .. They get into my chickens and game birds and will keep coming back till they are all dead . People keep your cats in the house ... Or they[ run away ]

If you are this worried about your chickens and game birds you might be happier without them.

If you are corcerned about your cat getting killed while on someone else's property, but are too careless to be responsible for the cat, you are better off without the cat.

Problem cats are easy to take care of .. Ill keep my birds

couptaker

I put a dart thru the skull of a cow with a bb/pellet gun. It was just a skull laying on the ground but trust me....a powerful bb/pellet gun is more than capable. I think you are thinking of the red ryder bb gun, lol.

You say as far as you know, your cat isn't a problem, but since your cat isn't in your sight, you have no way of knowing. Cats come under my window at night and serenade each other, waking us up at all hours. Delightful. My dog was killed 2 months ago when she tried to go over a wall after a cat that had come in our yard. I have no idea whose cat it was, but I'd sure like to know. I would like to tell them how their cat affected our lives. I can no longer go in my backyard because I see my dead dog out there. I used to enjoy the birds in our front yard, but the cats have lately been leaving little bits and pieces of them behind. Mockingbirds are great songbirds, but since the people around here have been ignoring the CC&R's that state no loose animals, I fear that we won't have any next year. It's funny, when we have loose coyote's in the area, people kept their cats locked up. IF YOU CAN'T SEE YOUR CAT, YOU DON'T KNOW THE DAMAGE HE'S DOING TO YOUR NEIGHBOR.

James I know

ST Miller. Many studies have been conducted in the USA concerning this horrific issue. Many species of American birds are in critical decline. Domestic cats pushed bird after bird extinct on the Earth's islands. However, most of this nation's forested ecosystems have been fragmented into smaller islands of ecosystems because of roads, housing tracts and freeways, which open the ecosystem up for more and more predation from both natural, native predators and introduced, non-native, unnatural predators.

Many species of frogs, lizards and birds are in decline because of fragmented ecosystems that fall under island ecology, where both natural and unnatural predators gain easier access to these vital species of biological diversity.

And, frogs, salamanders, lizards and birds hold down the job in the Earth's ecosystems to save mankind from man-killing pandemics, like the influenza virus. These vital species to man and the Earth check and regulate the pathogens in the food chain with man that cause pandemics, some of which have the capability of wiping out 85 to 95% of all humans!

I heard a scientist remark that dogs are not man's best friend; lizards are. And, I have a friend who did his thesis on domestic cats slaughtering everything that moves. A major American newspaper referred to domestic cats permitted to hunt on their own as, " the killing machine ".

eg101

Seems like its your idiot dog's fault for going over the wall after the cat. "But he made me chase him". Bet you're the type to sue the cat, if you could figure out which one it was. So, if you can't stand seeing your dead dog in the backyard, why don't you get someone to bury him?

Got no patience for those who use emotionally over-the-top hyperbole to make a point. For instance, at the start of the comments, it was 1.5 million birds killed by cats. Now its 50 million. At what point did you start accepting outright lies at face value?

My neighbors have three cats. This morning there was such a cacophony of birds at my window at 5 AM that I almost wished the cats would do something about them. But they're lazy cats---a vain hope indeed.

Say, how many of you anti-cat posters are dog lovers? All of you, right? And at least a few of you seem to be violent psychopaths...

Mike, google cats killing birds and wildlife.

NoobPatrol, in fact, I do not own a cat because I would worry about it too much. You see, there has been such a proliferation of kooks in the last 20 years who have all kinds of rationalized reasons for killing. Before that I could have left a cat outside while I was gone to work and other places for hours and hours. For those readers who can see the larger picture-not NoobPatrol-you will know what I mean when I say "This is a very sad sign of the times".

FG, this is a scientific issue -- only. What is sad is, there is much evidence that the Earth is scrambling, changing. The Earth only supports and gifts with life -- only because of the Earth's natural, wild ecosystems, and ecosystems only gift the Earth with all life, because of their native, wild species of animals and plants, which are an ecosystem, altogether with soil and water. And, domestic cats are slaughtering 4.5 million birds every day in USA, the birds and animals that are keeping you alive and breathing.

Your pick, oxygen, food and water or permitting cats to hunt on their own free will, killing the rivets that hold man's only spaceship altogether. You are alive because of ecosystems and ecosystems are alive and life-gifting because of all the birds and animals the domestic cat is wiping out.

eg101

My dog was killed 2 months ago when she tried to go over a wall after a cat that had come in our yard. I have no idea whose cat it was, but I'd sure like to know. I would like to tell them how their cat affected our lives.

Your dog died pursuing natural behavior that you (CHOSE?) to restrain. I think you had the right to shoot the offending catin the act or to make claim against the owner. I have had many dogs and cats. I garden and I know the cats like fresh soil, especially where there are sprouts, lol. Dogs are often jealous of the cat's liberty. My cat stays at the house. His favorite phrase is "mein meowt".

Cats decimating bird populations? I doubt that of domesticated pets. Feral cats perhaps dent the population in a closed environment. I think the birds have more important issues killing them in large numbers if that is occuring. Lot's of birds here, predators even.

Leashing a cat is about like leashing a fish. "Your turn to take the cat out for a drag, honey".

Collar information by the owner is a good idea I think. Then any cat without a collar could be deemed "feral" and without protection of a sovereign and then action could be taken. Then if you let your cat out you are responsible for the consequences either way. Property is protected as well as sovereign rights.

So Tired of Extremists, by your logic, since you are attacking, torturing and killing things I love (cats), I can take my bbgun to your backside, yes?

Seriously, this is Vermont we're reading about. Not exactly a booming metropolitan state. As for cats being predators, yep, thank goodness. Our cats are indoors because we value their lives and want them to grow to be ripe old couch potatoes. However, we also live in a densely wooded large metropolitan city where unwelcome pest and critters vastly outnumber the people and pets combined. I have no problem whatsoever with my neighbor's cat regularly ridding my yard of vermin, snakes and woodpeckers that otherwise would eat the siding on my home down to the insulation. And those songbirds ... well, once we quit putting out seed in birdfeeders designed for our entertainment, we began seeing more of them than ever. The birds also now live, eat and bear their young in their natural environment - trees, far away from the neighbor's cat and all predators, including humans. i.e. we no longer have to put out toxic chemicals to get rid of the unwelcome pests, which in turn also saves the birds. Have yet to see a shortage of squirrels - rodents that seemingly can survive a nuclear bomb dropped on them.

The only cats that should be allowed outside are BARN CATS!!!!!! Pet cats should be kept inside. Outdoor cats cause trouble. Fights in the middle of the night, whether or not they are spayed/neutered, using neighboring gardens as litter boxes, not to mention, children's sand boxes, crawling into engine compartments in cars, and deaths caused by cars, stray dogs, or dogs in their own yard, crazy people poisoning them, even accidental poisonings, and wildlife such as raccoons, foxes, and coyotes. I would never allow my cat outside without restraint. She now knows when I take out her harness and leash, she goes outside, SUPERVISED. I have seen people build little outdoor containment systems with some wood and chicken wire, and when I finally get a house with a yard, I will do the same.

Tired -- So you're a squirrel lover but like to shoot cats? Who is that supposed to impress?

Obviously the posts here that advocate shooting neighbors' cats are from people who just don't like cats, cat owners, and anything to do with them and they see this article as an excuse to act out their hatred. Posts about shooting, using pressure hoses, etc. -- what a bunch of cowards. Picking on little kitty cats. What a man!

By the way, a study came out (last year? I did a quick search for it on MSNBC and couldn't find it right away, will keep looking) that determined that it's people, their encroachment on habitat, their use of pesticides, etc., that are the major threat to songbirds. I also remember that article didn't even mention cats.

Tired_of_Extremists, it is not too hard to figure out that all anyone who does not want a cat in there yard is to put a good-sized dog in their own yard. The weapons thing just sounds alittle kooky.

maybe you dont want a dog digging up all your flowers and crapping all the time. a bb gun is the best defense....trust me.

• james-1416766, maybe you should move to a Los Angeles suburb. No cats walking around. Few songbirds. Not to many dogs. Everything pesticided out. Just the kind of world that you want.

i love animals...have two dogs myself thank you. stop the fearmongering. I just would like for people to be responsible with their pets....if not there are consequences to pay.

Again, I can only say that you are a liar. The only reason why I would not tell you to get rid of the dogs is because 2000 dogs die per day in shelters. Atleast, two have a home.

Maybe if you teach your dogs not to dig up your flowers, they'll be fine. And they'll chase the cats off.

M Moore. This is science. The animals and birds the domestic cat are wiping out are biological diversity, the living links to the Earth's ecosystems. There are vast differences in animals; only wild, natural and native animals and plants are all the reasons you are alive.

In the last 450 years, the domestic cat, never a job-holder or role-player in any ecosystem on the Earth, caused the majority of all recorded extinctions, even more than habitat loss. When this nation deforested half of the USA, seven birds fell extinct. When Europeans transported, introduced this invasive, killer predator, around the world, the extinctions read like basketball, playoff scores. In the USA, according to one CA bird think tank, domestic cats, each day, slaughter 4.5 million birds, every day!

Domestic cats have no role and no job in keeping mankind alive and breathing. Conversely, the birds and animals cats are obliterating are vital to the continued existence of mankind.

skor154

never a job-holder or role-player in any ecosystem on the Earth

Cats come from the natural environment. Their value as pest controllers came first because of their ability. Pets must have come later, along with more leisure time. We could eat cats and use their parts. We use pets for pleasure.

In the USA, according to one CA bird think tank, domestic cats, each day, slaughter 4.5 million birds, every day!

And what are the populations in total? These estimates are demonstrable how? What agenda are these numbers supporting? What other ends are killing how many birds? Where is this occuring specifically? Urban? Rural? Cats are in the food chain also. Ask the other predators. How many cats are kicked every day, do you think? Very few feral cats.

Domestic cats have no role and no job in keeping mankind alive and breathing.

That's a pretty low bar for expectation. My cat lives well. He teaches. He entertains. He sucks at mousing. He keeps my dog company. He is not a prisoner nor a slave to my interests.

If, a very big IF - cats were a natural part of the ecological system of the area now called the United States/North America. or whereever these agents of terror skulk, - you would think something would have evolved naturally which would occupy the niche which you claim cats need to fulfill?

In North America, that natural predator is/was/were coyote, hawk, etc. The Cat is, was a desert bred predator - never a native species anywhere, other than where mankind has introduced them.

In the natural world even predators have natural enemies - capable of restricting their numbers, preventing them from over exploiting their prey. Lions have Hyena - who can not take them on one on one, but juvenile lions or lone lions without their Pride can and do suffer predation at the will of groups of hyena.

The point being, we have doubly violated the natural order with the introduction of bearly domesticated cats. We remove the few natural predators who could keep their numbers in check, then actively assist in creating even more of the little assassins by breeding them. Whats even more interesting is many of the more ornamental breeds could not survive in the wild without human assistance.

You should be able to follow the path of my reasoning, so lets cut to the point. Cats need to be restricted in population, in location so that other living things can remain in their position within the natural order. Any value you insist they confer in maintaining vermin control is grossly outweighed by the random killing they regularly engage in when unrestricted. Most of our homes are rat free by nature of our own efforts of cleanliness (mandated by laws in the city) or personal standards which prevent us from tossing food scraps out the window onto the lawn or pits dug in the back yard. If you need to argue as to the value of cats in keeping verin in check, then take them on a daily commute to the land fill, stuff them into the sewer to clean up the rats - then let fluffy come home and bask in the comfort of your arms after finishing her duty as Kitty killer, varmint slayer.

Now if kitty is really a pet - then, care for her properly. Let her practice her skills...in "your" yard. Confine her to "your" property and "you" take care of your pet.

Realize that the idea of a "pet" animal, meaning one without an occupation is a relatively new phenomenon, as history goes. Traditionally even the dogs, cats (large and small) of the nobles, gentry - had a job. Maybe they didn't need to do that job as often as domesticated animals of the peasant folk, but they still had an occupation. The idea of leisure and pets that do nothing other than wait for their owner to come home, is closer to the role of a concubine.

They need to be regulated...just like any other "pet". or we will be overrun with them, as them move into inappropriate areas, practice the trade in front of homes of decent folks and flaunt disdain for the values of those who do not wish to view their vile trade. ... OK - that last bit, was a little over the top... but the fact is - if "you" want a pet, then take responsibility for it. Anything less is depending on the kindness of strangers.

Leash your kitty, spay and neuter and, if they are allow out unrestricted then take responsibility when informed of their misdeeds. Its only fair.

Then keep your pet rodent in the house and NOT in my yard. I will surely skin him if I find him. You've got no right to let those animals roam at will. If you can't live with that then don't own one.

You will skin my cat? You are an idiot! but I am sure you have already had people tell you that....

An idiot? One with a few screws loose. Unfortunately, for those who have a few loose screws, looking in the mirror does not reveal anything.

Idiot. Your pick, America -- domestic cats or oxygen, the atmosphere, fresh water, food, the nitrogen cycle, a stable, moderated climate, the filtering of air and water and a living, life-giving soil and safety from man-killing pandemics, some of which have the capacity to wipe out most of mankind.

Because the animals that cats are obliterating are in the eco-nomics of all life. The animals cats are annihilating are all the reasons mankind exists. Your pet cat is killing the Earth, duhhhhh

skor154

duhhhhh

Best part of #5.5

My cat annhialates friskies, meow mix and treats. He tries grass, but it makes him puke. LOL

Screws loose or not, I'm as sane as any animal owner who lets them roam the neighborhood. But I am not here to discuss my, or anyone else's, rationality. The bottom line is I don't care about the songbirds, I don't care whether your cat is spayed or neutered, I don't care if it’s your best friend, I don't give a hoot about any of these specious arguments. The point is: if you give a damn about your cat, then keep him off of other people’s property.

You people who think it's alright to let animals roam loose in the city are the same kind of self-centered asshat that thinks that the rest of the world should accommodate your desire to keep an animal. You are also likely to be the same kind of idiot that talks on their cell phone while they are driving or while they are on the subway or bus or in a restaurant and believes that it’s ok to annoy everyone around you with their conversations about their gynecological problems or how drunk you got last night. You are the same kind of person who would let their kids bounce around in the back of your car without being belted in while you are texting. You have no consideration of anyone around you – so therefore I will show you and your animal the same consideration. If I see your pet in my yard, it will feel the sting of a projectile bouncing off its hindquarters. If you have a pet that you can’t control, be it by their very nature or by your lack of effort, then DON’T OWN THE ANIMAL. The city is not the place for keeping livestock, and frankly, that’s all pets are.

Ultimately, it comes down to one very simple thing: I don’t want your animals on my property. PERIOD. I DON'T need to justify it, or explain it. It’s MY property and if I don’t want them there, they will not be there, one way or the other. And YOU have no right to violate that, either directly or by your inability to control your furball.

There are many things people have to deal with when you have neighbors (loud music, unkept yards, junk cars, etc).

To those that have children, please note...it is NOT appreciated when you allow your kids to ride their bikes on my lawn and in my flower beds, destroying everything in their path. In my opinion, they are just as destructive as pets.

Get a clue, P.T. Barnum. It goes both ways.

I agree 100% PT Barnum.

If an animal runs around on my property. I will let my dogs kill said animal. If a kid is running around on my property, I will find the nearest person getting rid of kittens, hamsters, puppies, turtles, etc. and I will send the kid home with a new pet.

MadAs (a Hatter) -

I DO have a clue. I don't play my music in the back yard (I've been a semi-pro musician for over 30 years). If my kids are making too much noise I will quiet them down, even if it's in the middle of the day, I won't run my lawn mower or string trimmer at 7:00am, I don't park my big redneck boat or mudslinging 4 wheeler in front of other people's houses (like some people I know), I keep my yard neat and quiet, and I keep to myself. I don't impose on my neighbors and I take extra steps to MAKE SURE that I don't. I take it to the point that when leaves fall off of my tree into the neighbor's yard, I actually go over there and blow them back into my own yard. So don't you even TRY to tell me to get a clue you self-centered SOB. I'm sick of people who think they are entitled to impose themselves on everybody else. YOU get a clue. As for putting up with junk cars and such, I don't know where YOU live, but if there is a junk car in this town, the city tows it IMMEDIATELY and charges the owner. If it isn't tagged with a current plate AND tax sticker, you aren't allowed to park it on the street and it is tagged and then towed within 3 days. You aren't even allowed to change your oil or do ANY automotive work in your own driveway here. You can't park a commercial truck in a residential area. You can't park a boat with any portion of it protruding past the front of your house. You are not allowed to park any vehicle on an area which isn't paved (meaning no cars up on blocks in the front yard). I agree wholeheartedly with all of this stuff (even though it kills me that I can't work on my own car). It keeps the city from looking like some backwater trailer park.

Don't get me wrong, I grew up on the farm, I am NOT some uppity snob. I'm a working class stiff who is against government regulations (and other restrictions like HOAs) in a big way, but my personal opinion is that laws that keep property values from going down and laws that prevent people from keeping public nuisances serve us well as long as they are held to a reasonable level. I think that a requirement that keeps someone's pets off of other people's property is WELL within reason.

Oh, I have a clue alright. I have a clue that you are one of those people who think others need to put up with your obnoxious actions, pets and whatever else you do. Well I DON'T and WON'T!

The law says I am entitled to the quiet enjoyment of my property. I intend to exercise that right.

Declaration of Independence or Declaration of Inter-dependence ... the rights and obligations required.

Thumbs up! That was great.

MadasHe__: you are absolutely entitled to be perturbed by people allowing their children to ruin your lawm, as I am entitled to being perturbed by people allowing their pets, whether it be a cat or a dog, to roam free into my yard.

I have a dog, she is kept on a tie-down when in the yard, and a leash when being walked. We pick up her waste, whether it be in my yard, or anywhere else while she is being walked.

I have two children, they know they are only to walk or ride their bikes on sidewalks or the side of the road, never in anyone's yard.

I have taught my children to respect others and their property, and I have trained my dog to walk on a leash and not jump on strangers or children as they walk by. I simply ask that other pet owners show me the respect I have shown them by keeping their pets under control.

PTBarnum, I absolutely agree with you.

Not to mention the folks laughing because you have a cat on a leash. Everyone knows that it is unnatural.

Are you going to combat what everyone on here has to say?

Yes, Tired and Extremist is a troll and will try and combat what everyone has to say. Yes, RESPONSIBLE pet owners will keep their pets at home. Unfortunately, the world is full of IRRESPONSIBLE pet owners, like my neighbors, whose dog has stolen no less than SIX food dishes from MY dog. They let her run loose. I do not allow my dog to run loose and I do not allow my cat out of my house.

Get a super soaker and fill it with a mixture of ammonia and water (50/50). Doesn't hurt your plants but you hit the cat a couple of times it starts getting the idea. Plus, they avoid the ammonia in the earth the next time the come around. Takes a little effort I know but it eventually worked with my neighbors cat.

The other option is a pellet gun but that can be iffy if you live in a populated neighborhood.

Can you mix rat poison with bird seed to make the neighborhood quieter?

Tired_of_Extremists

You are a real moron. Go get some professional help you moron.

What about putting cayenne pepper over your mulch/soil? Its supposed to work as a deterrent for dogs so maybe it would work for cats too. Just a thought as it would be a potential alternative to the chicken wire - less visual. Only thing bad with it is you'd have to reapply if it rains.

I love animals as much as the next person but honestly, irresponsible pet owners are the main problem. The cats are doing what nature intended - eating birds, squirrels, etc., and digging to cover their poo - but when that pet's actions (allowed by an irresponsible pet owner) negatively impacts those around them then the actions should be curtailed by holding said pet owner responsible. I keep my three dogs either indoors or in our fenced backyard. When they are out of the backyard, they are on a leash. If my dog were to poo in my neighbor's yard, then I would clean the mess up. If my neighbor's dog was allowed to poo in my yard, you can be sure I would take steps to stop that behavior. My grandfather's neighbor would let his poodle out so the poodle would relieve himself in my grandfather's yard. Two shots on two separate ocassions to the butt with a pellet gun and that dog never set foot in my grandfather's yard again. The dog wasn't harmed and grandfather's yard started growing again.

To say that cats dont belong on leashes, I think its simply a matter of patience. My mother's cat hated the harness and leash but after enough time passed, she realized that if she wanted to go anywhere outside, she was going to be in a harness. She got over her snit, I think, because she finally started walking in her harness like a dog would. I'm trying to train my rabbit on a harness. You think a cat looks funny in those, try a rabbit! With enough practice, she'll get the hang of it and quit trying to duck under chair and table legs. :)

Tired is correct. This is a deep and profound scientific issue. It comes down to this, literally. Your pick -- cats or the Earth. Because domestic cats are slaughtering and obliterating the caretakers and job-holders of the Earth's living, life-giving systems, the Earth's ecosystems.

Tired is talking of saving the Earth, the atmosphere, oxygen releasing, a stable climate, the hydrological system, the nitrogen cycle and the creation and renewal of the Earth's soil or life, given to man, free gratis because of the animals and birds cats are annihilating.

The domestic cat has killed more of the Earth than all oil spills altogether in all of history! Man's best friends in all of the Earth are birds, frogs and lizards, which cats are annihilating at the tune of 4.5 million every day in USA!

I don't think I've ever seen so many psychopaths in one topic...and that includes every political debate. You all need help. Seriously.

Besides, if cats are the biggest problem in your life, consider yourself lucky.

Whoops, anon, you missed the boat and the oxygen. You are alive because of the Earth's ecosystems, and ecosystems are alive, only, because of all the species of animals and birds, the domestic cat is obliterating.

14Laughs, my sister had a rabbit trained not only to walk on a leash but to use a litter box.

skor- grow some brains. You are so full of crap that your breath stinks.

You idiot - most places have laws that require you to clean up behind your dog. Two wrongs don't make it right. Typical pet owner attitude - everybody else is supposed to put up with you damn noisy crapping animals.... if you want to keep livestock then move out to the country and buy 10 acres and let them run free. Just keep them out of my yard.

Then keep your obnoxious little annoying animal INSIDE your house aned keep his crap outta my yard. Why should I have to put up with your desire to have a pet? It's nearly as bad as that damn yap dog next door that won't shut up. Pet owners... a drain and bane on society.... get a goldfish or something.

My cats stay inside, including the stray I rescued.

Law or no law, there's always dog poop left around. It seems people only pick it up when you watch them. And if you don't mind your dog pooping all over your yard, I do. I can smell it when I'm out in my yard. At least cats bury it. I have never stepped in cat poo.

And I agree with you on the yapping dogs. Are all dog owners deaf?

Our dog is in a fence and if not our town requires it to be leashed. The same should be expected of cats. Your argument has no merit except to buttress the other side of your position.

Cat people can't even argue their own point....

Chris. Ironically, animal-lovers passed restrictions and laws on human hunters/poachers to save the rest of Holy Creation, yet, no human hunter has slaughtered as much of biological diversity [the animals and plants that create, support, sustain and maintain the Earth's ecosystems] as the domestic cat.

Cats are free to hunt on their own free will without bag limits, poaching laws, hunting seasons and Bambi laws. Also, cats torture "play" with their trophy, taking an inordinately length of time to kill their little victims. And, domestic cats share the dubious honor with human hunters -- killing for sport, for the fun of it! Wildlife rescuers report getting birds with their eyes popped out and their guts hanging out of their bodies while still alive!

I rescued a western toad wandering around in the daylight with his eyes missing and long scratches all over his little body. I held him and he died over my heart. He had been wandering blind all night and suffering.

Yup, we are a nation of animal-lovers, that's for sure. However, Australia, why, they have a vastly different attitude about domestic cats. One genius with an IQ of 170 has a bumper sticker that reads, the only good cat is a flat cat.

My own grandson loves cats. His two cats are indoor cats only because he loves animals. His cats will never be run over by a car, come in contact with deadly pesticides and herbicides, killed by a dog or picked up to be used in a research lab. And, he has solved the flea problem. And, he will have his cats for 20 yrs. plus because indoor cats are safe cats, and they live 3 times as long as outdoor cats.

Sadly, domestic cats have been dubbed, America's throwa way pet because they die so frequently. And, I don't want my little dog to get hit by a car or come in contact with big dogs causin I love him too much. Why would any decent animal-lover turn his beloved pet loose to wander where ever into traffic, freeways, big dogs, and bird-loving neighbors!

skor

I hope you're seeing a therapist somewhere.

mike

regardless of whether or not he needs a therapist the question I pose to you is what is more important...because I do believe he is right as far as the ecosystems being affected...now how much is up to debate....but what is more important....a cat or a bird???

give me the bird any day.

sorry

keep your cats off other peoples property and be responsible pet owners.....how is this even an issue???

If the Earth were to lose her birds, it is lights out for man. This is not an issue about psychology; this is all about the science of ecology, which dictates that man is alive, only because of the Earth's ecosystems. And ecosystems are alive and functioning, only because of their native species of plants and animals, [the very animals cats are slaughtering] are an ecosystem altogether with a living soil and water.

A bird think tank in which all its members are ph'd's reports that, every day in USA, domestic cats slaughter 4.5 million birds every single day. And, for every bird a cat butchers as birds are considered to be a difficult prey specie, they slaughter 3 to six additional animals. Many vital species of biological diversity, like frogs and lizards, are merely sitting ducks for cats.

Population losses of biological diversity and their extinctions is as dangerous as it ever gets for mankind because cats are slaughtering the strands in the Earth's web of all life. How serious, eco-scientists compare the extinctions of biological diversity, like native birds, frogs, lizards, and small to mid-size mammals as a threat to mankind and civilization, second only to global thermonuclear war. And, the domestic cats have caused the vast majority of recorded extinctions in the last 450 years! Connect the dots, Mike.

That argument makes no sense. Every other animal that you listed is a native species so it's normal for them to run free, but a feral cat is not. It's a domesticated animal. If your argument is extended then it would be perfectly acceptable my neighbor to let his cow roam my yard.

There's a difference. The rabbit, the squirrel, the chipmunk, et al do not have owners responsible for them. Nice way to undermine everyone else's argument by going too far.

Then YOU come over and clean up the crap.

Why should ANYBODY have to put up with YOUR pets in their yard?

And yes, I hate the squirrels just as bad as your cat, if not worse. If I was allowed to I WOULD kill every rodent that came into my yard... cats included.... sick of them chewing up my furniture and plants, digging up my yard, destroying my property... Kids are welcome.

Wild animals are one thing - they can't particularly be controlled, but allowing your so-called domesticated animals to run loose in the neighborhood is something else entirely. If I found ANY animal as big as a cat or dog loose in my yard, be it a pet, a coon or opossum, I would (and have - several times) call animal control to take them away - just the same as I would call the police if I found a burgler in my yard. Keep your rodents out of my yard. I choose NOT to have pets because I live in town. I choose NOT to annoy my neighbors and friends with an animal in their face, with the barking dog, with the cat in heat whining in the alley and digging up their flower beds.

If I lived in the country (like when I was a kid) I'd have a couple of dogs and maybe even a cat or two even though I specifically don't like cats. I love pets, which is specifically why I wouldn't subject them to living in the confines of a city. To live in town, and then force everybody else to deal with my animals is not only selfish, it is downright rude. Children can be controlled and to compare them to pets is ridiculous. Their ball rolling into my yard is hurting nothing although I won't tolerate them playing basketball in the street outside my window at 9 pm keeping my kids awake. It all has to do with common decency. Keep you and yours to yourself and I'll do the same for you.

So to put it bluntly - Deficient in knowledge or not - keep your damn rodent off my property.

HEAR THIS LOUD AND CLEAR - I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR PET. Neither do most people.

How about this - if your cat craps in my flower bed and kills the song birds that I have put out food for, then YOU come over and clean it up. YOU come over and replace the plants. YOU come over and scrape the crap off of my shoes and carpet. You self-centered idiots think you can let your animals just run loose and nobody is supposed to get upset about it??? Who do you think you are??? Get a clue and stop being an asshat. You wouldn't let your kids run loose in the neighbor's yard, what makes you think that it's alright to let your animals run through the neighbor's yard?

If pet owners would control their animals, there wouldn't be any need for stupid laws like this, but as long as there are stupid people there will need to be stupid laws to TRY to keep them under control. Blame pet owners for this kind of law, not the people who want to do something about the problem.

House cats are not a naturally occuring wild species. Moreover, most wild animals will avoid a place frequented by humans. Granted, bunnies eat my wifes lettuce but at least she isn't digging up nasty cat crap. Nice try though moron.

Oh, Rich, I have a neighbor, who was very disturbed because his cats were slaughtering everything that moves, and I see him all the time with his "leashed cat", who does beautifully on a leash.

Now, the other animals you mentioned, are, "biological diversity", and they truly are man's best friend because they are in the eco-nomics of oxygen releasing, the balancing of the gaseous composition of the atmosphere, a safe and stable climate, seed dispersal, purification of air and water, a living, life-giving soil, 99% of all pest control, pests that consume man's crops and the checking and regulation of disease pathogens that cause global pandemics. To name, just a short list of all the living services they provide all of mankind with, free of charge.

It's called science, and the animals in the business of keeping you alive are, biological diversity or wild, native animals, those animals domestic cats are obliterating! The strands in the very web of all life. Cats or oxygen, fresh water, food and life????

So, let's all adopt a bobcat or lynx (those ARE true, wild, NATIVE species throughout North America) to keep down the wild rodents and birds that descend upon our vegetable gardens and eat the seeds we so lovingly plant and upon which we will depend for food this winter!

Oh, Tired, the term is not "un-native" it is "non-native." Educate yourself.

I've had cats killed outside. I am saddened by it but if I let them outside then I accept that they take the same risks as every other animal outside.

I was just going to say...how bout this for some sound advice? Keep your cat indoors. They, as long as you play with them, will live long and healthy lives. No cars, coyotes, ticks, fleas, worms. And beleive me, you don't want your outdoor cat getting into anti freeze. It is a brutal way for them to die and it happens all the time.

And TraceyG...sorry but your comment astounds me. You accept that "they take the same risks as every animal outside"??? Really? You are responsible for your pet. you are the one that is responsible for them getting hit by a car or harmed by another animal. Your idea that cats understand risks is really dumb! I feel sorry for your pets!

How do you know stupid? Did you follow your cat around while they were outside? maybe you told them before they left not to poop in others yards? Cat people realy are stupid....

I think you're the stupid one, Chris! Do you read? "My cats have always lived indoors" That's how she knows they've never pooped in a neighbors yard.

Thank you Liz. My cats (and dogs) have always been indoor pets. Although the dogs were allowed their place in the grass, they were cleaned up after, as well. Nevertheless, please folks, everyone clean up after your pets. That's why they are YOUR pets.

That's okay. Chris can't spell, either.

I have absolutely no problem with dogs running free as long as they are friendly. Had neighborhood dogs roam he neighborhood a lot as kids and they were like family.

Nope, I work hard to keep my yard free fleas so my dog doesn't suffer. freely roaming dogs are also often dangerous. There weren't too many pit bulls back when I was a kid now they run all over the place. Fifi running loose isn't going to be a danger to even a 2 year old. Pit bulls are dangerous to even adults.

Good for you, Ruth. Indoor cats' life expectancy is 20 yrs. plus, while an outdoor cat's life expectancy is 5 years. Plus, when you keep your cats indoors, you are making a great contribution to the very existence of the Earth.

skor

Time to debunk another of your many fallacies. That 5-year lifespan you keep quoting is for FERAL cats, not owned outdoor cats, and the reason it is only 5 years is because they become part of the food chain.

Mike, would you permit your 2 yr. old child to roam the streets unprotected? Duhhh. If you love anything, don't you want to protect it? Cats are victims of cars, freeways, big dogs, rat poisons and pesticides. I have a small dog. And, he would never be unleashed!

I protect him from big dogs, cars, rat poisons and pesticides because I love him. Aren't cats as deserving of my kinda love?

skor

your type of reasoning wont work on cat owners....they believe in not being responsible and letting their cats damage and infiltrate other peoples yards and property and believe other people have to live with their cats.

its insanity.

James, I just don't get it. If I love an animal, I don't want him competing with cars, big dogs, pesticides, rodentcides and humans who want their private property for their own enjoyment and basic, inherent American right. Ironically, the domestic cat is "the most dangerous predator ever introduced" and yet, all domesticated animals, with the exception of the most deadly predator of all time, must be maintained on their owners private property!

My neighbor must keep his horse, his mules, his chickens, his hogs, all dogs and his goats off my private property. I have had my neighbors cats using my trees as scratchin posts, shredding the bark and killing MY trees, digging up my plants, and I am highly allergic to cats and am an asthmatic. Essentially, a cat could kill me via asthma. Yet, I am forced to have them on my private property, regardless.

What is more important, basic human rights, property rights or the rights of the most earth-slaughtering animal in history?

skor

while I dont know if i subscribe to your theory of cats being the most dangerous thing everything else was spot on and couldnt have said it better myself.

By the way i understand the whole ecosystem thing and actually never thought as the cat not being native to this country. but are dogs really or humans for that matter?

James, the domestic cat is a cross between the African wild cat and the European wild cat; therefore, has never held down a job in any ecosystem on the Earth. Several scientific studies have been conducted on the devastation of domestic cat depredations. Nat'l Geographic even produced a documentary on the secret lives of cats. Google cats killing birds and wildlife.

In the last 450 years, when European explorers sailed around the world, they dropped off their European animals around the world. And, the domestic cat was the deadly, most rapacious, wiping out native species worldwide. For instance, 8 birds fell extinct in New Zealand, alone, because of the transportation or introduction of the domestic cat. Australia lost 13 of its indigenous species of biological diversity. The domestic cat was an agent of the extinction of the dodo too. IN Hawaii the domestic cat has wiped out many native species.

I placed a white bookmark on every bird extinction in a tome about extinct birds that cats caused. The book is a flutter with little white flags....."and cats were introduced to the island..." over and over.

In 1997, a member of Australia's parliament called for the eradication of all cats in Australia to protect its native species. Australians are very different regarding their feelings about the "most dangerous predator ever introduced." They love their indigenous species and are proud of these unique animals that occur no where else on the Earth.

And, dogs are also non-native as well, but we have laws that confine them to their owners' properties, and they are not quite as rapacious as the domestic cat. According to one bird advocacy, cats slaughter 4.5 million birds every day in USA.

Are 4.5 million birds being slaughtered every day in this recent oil spill?

skor, there are FAR MORE than 4.5 millions of a very many species being slaughtered by the BP oil spill. Perhaps you missed the FACTS? But then, you only see what you want to see and you prattle on and on about cats being the biggest ecological disaster in history and you are full of crap. HUMANS are the biggest ecological disaster ever.

They are taken to an animal shelter three towns over so I know they will never be recovered by their owners.

You're a really @!$%#ed up person. How do you know that cat didn't just get out by mistake and a worried owner is searching the town looking for their pet?

How do you know that cat didn't just get out by mistake and a worried owner is searching the town looking for their pet?

I have owned cats. They don't bolt for doors like dogs do. get real. A loose cat was let loose on purpose.

The hell they don't! I've seen many-a cat bolt out the door just like a dog. They're very curious animal and usually don't respond well to people trying to control their behaviors and instincts.

I have yet to see a cat with a collar to identify it or the owner. Do I care if it got out by accident? NO. If you can't control your animal, it won't be yours long.

I caught a neighbor's cat using the top of my convertible as a scratching post. When I confronted the ownerd about it, they said "cats will be cats." They won't pay for the damage because I couldn't prove it was their cat, even though I caught it while it was on the car.

I took the cat back and needless to say, that cat lost all of its nine lives.

Cat and dogs are usually chipped. As long as the animal is registered, there should be enough information to tie the animal to it's owner. If the animal isn't, it's just a stray that will be euthanized.

I caught a neighbor's cat using the top of my convertible as a scratching post. When I confronted the ownerd about it, they said "cats will be cats." They won't pay for the damage because I couldn't prove it was their cat, even though I caught it while it was on the car.

You could have sued the neighbors and most likely have won. You can't however (legally at least) shoot someone's cat for going into your yard and damaging your property. The driving someone's pet to the pound three towns away isn't illegal, it's just immoral.

HD, I am an asthmatic and am highly allergic to cats. Yet, I have cat dander scattered over my private property. What about the basic ethic of your cat damaging others' property or causing a life-threatening asthma attack? Many people love birds and want them on their private property, yet your cat denies them their basic, inherent property rights to love and plant and enjoy their private property.

Why do cat-owners deny their neighbors very basic rights, like the right to breathe, grow plants and flowers or feed birds? One man's morality is another's sin and death sentence!!

skor, jeez, you are STUPID. Cat-sized live traps are cheap. GET ONE. When you catch one, call animal control and tell them to come get it.

Do you have a problem with reasoning? So since we haven't eradicated all threats to songbirds we shouldn't make any efforts at all? Morover, for every songbird killed by a human dozens are killed by cats. You realy are an idiot. Shees, you shouldn't be able to own any pet you're so clueless...

Rich, you are incorrect. In the USA, each and every day, domestic cats slaughter 4.5 million birds, each and every day! For every bird a cat butchers, it will kill three to six additional animals, many of which are headed for extinction.

In Australia, domestic cats have caused many extinctions of animals that occur no where else on the Earth. They caused 8 bird extinctions in New Zealand, and domestic cats were wiping out Hawaii's native birds long before the mongoose was introduced/transported to that island ecosystem.

In the last 450 years, the domestic cat has caused more recorded extinctions than any other agent, including habitat losses and is cited for being the most "dangerous predator ever introduced". All over the world, scientists have conducted studies that substantiate this. In the USA, there is the Wisconsin Study, the Virginia Study, the bird feeder study, and many conservation groups have their own, "Cat INdoors Only" programs and studies.

Google, cats killing birds and wildlife.

TMP. Bet you didn't know you were also performing a responsibility and caring for the Earth as well. Yes, I don't understand cat-owners who allow their cats to wander, no telling where. I have a coronary if my little dog even behaves as if he might run outside!

My neighbor across the street witnessed a big dog killing his cat, and I don't understand this carelessness. The life expectancy of an indoor cat is 20 years plus; the life expectancy of an outdoor cat is 5 yrs. I think many cat owners truly don't love their cats or they would protect them from big dogs, cars and poisons.

I certainly do not want my little dog wandering in front of a car or onto a freeway or coming in contact with big dogs or lawn pesticides and rat poison. Geez, what kind of pet owners are these????

The world needs more people like you.

Good for you tmp.... I don't have any problem with pet owners like you.

I do have a problem with people who let their animals roam loose and terrorize the neighborhood kids.

I had a neighbor whose dog got out of their fenced yard. They did nothing about it. He got out several times more, still they did nothing. I knew whose dog it was, and always called them to come get their dog, and politely suggested that they do something about their fence. Still they did nothing. Eventually, the dog was taken away by animal control and "is" no more. The dog was friendly enough, but the neighborhood kids were afraid of it because he was a big ole dopey lummox and was intimidatingly "familiar" with them. It didn't take the neighborhood long before they got rid of the problem - but they got rid of the wrong problem. The problem was the neighbors who didn't care enough about their animal to take the same precautions as they would with their own children. Of course, these are also liable to be the same people who you see driving down the road with their kids hopping all over the back seat of their car without being seat belted, while they are smoking in the car and talking on their cell phone (off topic I know, but it illustrates the point). When people don't even care about themselves or their own kids, why would we assume that they care about what their pets are doing to others?

skor, here's hoping that coronary pays off one day soon and you shut up.

Cat droppings are also a health hazard.

Cat droppings are also a health hazard

It's called toxoplasmosis and generally only effects those with a severely compromised immune system like with AIDS. Unless you're eating the cat @!$%#, then I can't feel too bad for you.

Then why did the doctor warn my wife about cat poop when she was pregnant with our two daughters? She was warned not to do any gardening if there were cats that roamed the neighborhood.

cats carry more diseases than any other domestic animal. fact. they are useless as a pet. only good they are for is micing. but then you can just buy some mouse traps if you have a mouse problem.

Then why did the doctor warn my wife about cat poop when she was pregnant with our two daughters? She was warned not to do any gardening if there were cats that roamed the neighborhood.

Because it's better to be safe than sorry with a pregnant woman. Pregnant women are more susceptible to infection but cat @!$%# isn't a huge concern unless they are constantly around it. Toxoplasmosis much more often effects people with severely comprimised immune systems.

cats carry more diseases than any other domestic animal. fact

Sources??

T Foster, you are a thinker. Welcome aboard, planet Earth. We need more like you.

HD-2 is correct toxoplasmosis is the concern for pregnant women. Cats can be tested for it. I don't remember if there is a cure for it but the solution is to have someone else in the family clean the litter box and/or even get the self cleaning kind.

I agree that all cats and dogs should be spayed and neutered. There are millions of cats and dogs killed in animal shelters every year because there are not enough homes for them all.

The free roaming cats that I worry about are the feral/non human friendly cats. They have been abandoned by families that move and don't take them with them. They have been abandoned by families that not longer want them and think it is ok to just drop the cat (or dog) off somewhere in the country. I am not alone in wanting to provide for these abandoned cats. They tend to live in colonies around a food source, i.e. dumpsters, and it is humane to trap these cats, spay or neuter them and return them to live out their lives without producing more and more kittens. I know several people who care for several colonies of cats; they bring food and water for them as well as trap, spay or neuter and return them to their colony - it is call TNR. The cats are trapped and taken to the vet when the colony caretaker sees they are ill. If all colonies of feral cats were taken care of in this manner there would be a big drop iin unwanted cats and kittens. And we would be better humans for caring for these castoffs of society.

Cat feces can contain deadly parasites. If a bird or reptile consumes an insect that has come in contact with cat feces, the feces can pass on giardia and a long list of parasites to unsuspecting wildlife.

The only real way to get the potentially deadly effects of what can be found in cat (or ANY OTHER KIND of) feces is to ingest or inhale them. I have always had cats. I have always kept my cats indoors, therefore, there has always been a litter box to clean. While I was pregnant, I cleaned the box while wearing rubber gloves and a painter's mask. Problem solved.
economykiller, the reason your wife was warned about cat feces is very basic: humans are filthy creatures. For some reason, most of them neglect WASHING THEIR HANDS and then wonder why they get sick after sticking their hands in their mouths. Yes, one needs to be careful of anything they may contract during pregnancy. HOWEVER, careful washing of hands and keeping one's hands OUT of one's mouth go a LOOOOOOOONG way toward preventing disease.

skor, the feces of ANY species can carry giardia, e.coli, various intestinal worms and only GOD knows how many kinds of bacteria. Stop trying to blame it all on cats.

Grumpy ol' bast*&d, I do keep my cat inside. I also live in Texas and Bubba could hold his own against a coyotes any day of the week, and probably you too....

Okay. Send Bubba over to play. But just to be safe, say your goodbyes first.

Chipmunks, squirrels and songbirds are a bigger nuisance in my yard than stray/wandering cats ever will be. I don't personally have cats because I don't like an animal that @!$%#s in my house even if it is in a box in the coner, but that's beside my point. My point is that as long as the stray cats don't piss in my garage then they are no different to me than any other wild animal in my neighborhood. I am glad there are a few cats around to kill and eat the disgusting squirrels, which are nothing more than rats with furry tails, that are everywhere. And what about the song birds @!$%#ting everywhere? I have never had to wash cat crap off my car.....

Bronco. Wow, you are utterly clueless as to why you are alive, and it has everything to do with songbirds, squirrels and chipmunks or biological diversity. And, these species have a job to perform for you and the Earth. They are in the eco-nomics of planting the Earth's forested ecosystems. Now, we are discussing the air we breathe, the gaseous composition of the atmosphere, the creation and renewal of a life-giving soil, a stable, moderated climate, the hydrological system, the purification of the air and water and the entirety of the Earth's biogeochemistry.

There was little oxygen on the Earth until the advent of trees and plants. And, trees and plants release oxygen, sequester C02, evapotranspire cooling water vapor, keep the streams full of water that drain into the seas, shelters the heat of the sun from the earth, contributes to the nitrogen cycle [a circulatory system that flows from plants to birds, squirrels and chipmunks, and if this cycle were to fail, you would die quickly]....

And, the birds, squirrels and chipmunks are the planters of hardwoods, pines and all of the Earth's terrestrial or land based ecosystems, all the reasons you are alive.

skor

Birds, chipmunks and squirrels eat seeds---they don't plant them.

I can't tell if skor is serious or sarcastic. I hope for his/her sake it's sarcasm.

I don't know where to start, from suggesting cats will singlehandedly bring about the end of the earth's ecosystem to saying cats should hold jobs to prove their worth. Skor, here's a clue: Six billion+ humans cause more damage to the ecosystem in one day than cats ever could in a thousand years.

Now, Mike, what is it, you don't understand about poop and or planting seeds. I took my fave daylilies and planted them in plastic containers. Suddenly, I was growing oak trees. Those pesky blue jays and little squirrels that are busying themselves by planting trees, those little things that release, let's seeee, is it.... oxygen!!!!

Anne, you gotit. But and however, all those pesky humans also place onboard countless populations of planet devouring, unnatural, introduced, planet-killing predators. FYI, the unnatural, domestic HOUSE cat.

the house cat is a pest and should be treated as such....skor is right it is devastating the natural ecosytem. dogs dont do it half as much as cats. if we want a mouser i will buy some poison and some traps....i dont have a mouse problem though...i am not a pig.

I love to have wild, native birds on my private property; however, I had to cease pursuing this enjoyable endeavor because I was attracting cats to my yard. And, they were killing the birds I loved.

So, on my private, personal property I have been denied the right to enjoy my private property the way I wished it. Yes, cats have destroyed my right to private property. I won't set the Earth's birds up to be slaughtered and tortured to death. So, I will never feed them or enjoy them ever again.

Cats can dictate to me, how I utilize my private property and rights to freedom. Duhhhh

easy answer skor...kill the cats

Grumpy, my sister has a cat (which lives outdoors, but the nearest neighbor is over a mile away and she does not range that far) who is the bane of coyotes. Three times they have wounded her. Three times, there have been coyotes found hit by cars that have been blinded. Those coyotes must have thought they'd grabbed hold of Satan herself! You'd think this cat would be HUGE wouldn't you. NOPE! She's a fat little spayed queen cat who purely hates anything canine. I've seen her put a 140-pound Akita off the porch with its tail between its legs and squealing! However, the cat feces in the flowerbeds is a disgusting issue. Since they are HER flowerbeds, though, she is the only one who has to deal with them.

Grumpy, my sister has a cat (which lives outdoors, but the nearest neighbor is over a mile away and she does not range that far) who is the bane of coyotes. Three times they have wounded her. Three times, there have been coyotes found hit by cars that have been blinded. Those coyotes must have thought they'd grabbed hold of Satan herself! You'd think this cat would be HUGE wouldn't you. NOPE! She's a fat little spayed queen cat who purely hates anything canine. I've seen her put a 140-pound Akita off the porch with its tail between its legs and squealing! However, the cat feces in the flowerbeds is a disgusting issue. Since they are HER flowerbeds, though, she is the only one who has to deal with them.

skor, try spraying the edges of your property with ammonia and/or coyote urine (you can get it at most good sporting goods stores that sell hunting supplies) - that should help to repel cats.

ITA with having a cat for indoors in the city. In my neighborhood I see a cat a few times and then they never come back. So I'm guessing and hoping a neighhor is catching and giving them to the pound. I've lived here a year and dogs are walked all the time on leash and picked up after it's the law here.

No, silver, the problem here is, only native, wild species of animals and birds are the strands in the web of all life, the very animals and birds, the unnatural, non-native, killer predator are obliterating. In other words, domestic cats are big time Earth killers because wild and native animals and plants are the creators, sustainers and maintainers of the Earth's ecosystems, every and all the reasons mankind exists.

Now, we are discussing oxygen, water, food, life and protection from deadly, man killing pandemics. Cats are not man's best friend; birds, lizards and frogs hold that title.

skor, PLEASE try to find another wheeze. You're just plain boring, shortsighted and not very bright.

Thank you Lynn. You have also taken a step to save the Earth. And, you are truly an animal-lover. We need more like you.

Traps work great. I use them all the time. If you don't want to kill them (I do but my wife is against it), take them to a shelter a few towns away. You will never see the pest again.

You are one sick MF!!!!! Hope you come back as a cat in your next life...and get shot repeatedly with a bb gun. SICKO

MO -- You're an animal lover (including cats) who has no problem killing other people's cats? You should have that schizophrenic thing checked out.