Cats!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

[cgrite]

so anyways.....was walking the dog last night only to come up on a juvenile robin that was flopping around with what appeared to be a broken wing....upon closer inspection (had to knock on the people's door to make sure it was ok to be in their yard) i could see where a cat (one of the ones i see roaming the neighborhood) had almost bitten its wing completely off...... :-(:-( the neighbor confirmed this saying she seen the cat (not hers) with it in its mouth...there were fly's and gnats all flying around its wing and stuff....i wanted to cry i think....i ran to my house and put the dog away and went back with a towel and an unused cage and brought the bird back to my house where i tried to disinfect the wing (it was definately broken).....anyways i ended up taking the bird last night to our local wild bird rescue and am praying that it makes it....they are supposed to keep me informed....listen...i know it is not the cats fault....but i really wish the cat owners would keep their cats in their house where they belong....not out killing all the animals i love to watch.......JMHO

thats all for now.....

[BirdzRmylife]

I agree, I hate how cat owners let there cats free roam. They are killing wildlife all over, endangering threatened, common, and endangered species. Yearly I see cats with birds in there mouths, mice, etc. (Lats year I even saved a baby snapper from a cats mouth!)

There's nothing much we can do about it,
bugs the heck out of me.........

grrrrrrrrr cats
Steven

[TooLover]

I am an owner of a big beautiful, 16 pound black cat......however, he is declawed and does not leave this house.............I hate to wake up in the morning and see cat scratches on my vehicles, and cat paws on the windshields.

[wildirish]

I have 1 cat, named Ornery and he is also declawed and a serious indoor kitty, terrified to go out. He is also scared to death of my birds. If he is on the chair near Gingers cage she will come down and creep up behind him and then make a squirt bottle sound really loud and scares him off of "her" chair. :oops:

[Crebain]

The cat may be feral, not a pet. Feral cats are a part of the eco-system where I live.

[SavvyMoon]

I have two cats... one a large male (18 lbs) and one a beautiful,
longhaired female.
They are both "fixed" (as are ALL my four-legged pets).

The male cat stays in the house all the time, except for backyard 'potty runs' during the spring, summer and fall.
In winter he uses a litter box.

My female cat has never been happy being confined to the house.
She was one of three kittens born under a back porch and the person who lived there said if she couldn't adopt these cats out by the time they were 8 weeks old, she was giving them to the pound to be put to sleep.
So, I adopted Luna, the only female and last one of the three to be adopted.

I TRIED MY BEST to make her adapt to an indoor lifestyle. Didn't work. She loves being outside-- day and night. Well, except for when its cold, then she'll come in for part of the day and sleep inside all night.
So she's been an indoor/outdoor cat for all of her 10 years now.

Does she kill the occasional bird or chipmunk? Yes. Is she a danger to wild life and/or endangered species? Hardly. No more a danger than the average motorist or other natural predator out there.

Is she spayed? yes.
Is she up on her Rabies and other shots every year? You bet.

Is she declawed? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

That is a horribly cruel and inhumane procedure and I would never,
ever do that to any cat I had. It is mutilation.
It is surgical amputation of the toes, back to the first "knuckle."
It is a bloody, painful procedure...and I know this because unfortunately, I've reluctantly assisted with the procedure many times when I was a vet's assistant.
Even the vets didn't like doing it.

But anyhow, what's really cruel? Letting a healthy, happy, vaccinated cat outdoors for a few hours a day, (at the risk of a random wild bird or chipmunk- every once in a while)... or declawing a cat and keeping it confined in a completely unnatural indoor environment?
It's pretty much like keeping a bird in a cage all day and night, day after day... at least with some cats it is.

There are always two sides to every 'story' yanno?

[BirdzRmylife]

Uh Oh, heading for cover...................

But good points Savvy, although I still do not agree on outdoor cats

Steven

[SavvyMoon]

You don't need to agree, Steven... :-)
Or head for cover! LOL

All I ask is that people don't assume anyone who thinks differently,
(and/or lets their cats outdoors) is somehow uncaring towards wildlife,
or ignorant in some way.
I see it as being more natural and practical. Fast , strong, healthy wild birds or chipmunks (and other little animals) are *rarely* caught by cats. It's usually the sick, weak and slow ones who are.
Again, natural order of things, IMO.

[Crebain]

Originally Posted by SavvyMoon

Does she kill the occasional bird or chipmunk? Yes. Is she a danger to wild life and/or endangered species? Hardly. No more a danger than the average motorist or other natural predator out there.

Nice post, but I have to point 2 minor things: 1.) How can your cat NOT be "a danger" to the wildlife she occaisionally kills? :? And, 2.) Your cat is NOT a natural predator if you feed her on a regular basis ... she's killing because you allow her to.

[The Outlaw]

Don't people "bell" cats anymore? I always had collars with bells on mine.

THEOUTLAW