MarellaK, Cats are not children, they are animals, domestic pets. Stop putting human values onto pet cats.

Have you ever considered once the wildlife and the environment and the people who live around you when you let your cats out? This is where the CPL and other organisations are flawed who insist cats have access to a garden, but dont take into consideration the hazards posed for other animals and people. It would be much better if they tried to encourage responsible cat ownership where the owners take into consideration other things, not just the cats and themselves. Domestic cats are a threat to wildlife. They can cause significant damage to local populations of wildlife species. Cats crapping outside is a health hazard. t.gondi spores can live in soil for months. I am aware that many cat owners dont litter train theyre cats, but think its acceptable because the cat supposedly buries its crap in soil. Well birds and other animals forage in the grass and soil to find food, so they spread infection to other animals.

` where they can actually behave as cats are meant to behave, they can explore, hunt, play, exercise and just get some much needed fresh air....`

So you are saying cats should go hunting, decimating wildlife just for the hell of it, because cats should be cats? Thats a ridiculous statement to make. It is needless cruelty, the cats are not wild animals and therefore do not need to kill to eat. If you agree that cats should hunt then you are condoning animal cruelty. Cats like to use wild creatures as play toys, moving onto the next when they have had the fun out of it. Is this necessary? They can play with toys, if the owner wasnt too lazy to make an effort to play with them and keep them entertained. If you think so you need to take one long hard look at yourself

The threat to wildlife, the problems they cause for people, the significant health hazard (which is not just pregnant women who are at risk) and the dangers for pet cats outside. Are the RSPCA and CPL really right in ignoring all these consequences? Think about it

Hmm, I never thought about it like that before, but you're right. I suppose 'domestic cat' is the biggest and most overlooked giveaway!!

I have an interesting question for you, MarellaK, CELT and Olls

What would you do if you happened to live in the USA, and in Australia, where in some states now by law that cat owners have to keep the cats inside for the sake of wildlife and people

Many more states are having to keep the cats inside by law now. So what would you do? When you claim you cant keep cats inside and that they need to go out.....

I'd always stop to check the welfare of any animal that I strike when driving, if only to put the animal out of its misery.

Whilst there's not a lot that drivers can do about rabbits, pheasants, etc, stepping out in front of their car, they can, at least, put the dying animal out of its misery. I can't imagine putting a dying cat out of its misery, though. That's clearly a decision for its owners to take.

Cat-owners really need to stop exposing their beloved pets to unnecessary risk by allowing them to roam outdoors, particularly in towns, cities and near busy main roads.

SCDchick, I think I speak for a lot of people on this thread -

GIVE IT A REST!

Wont be living in America then!

the same thing happened to one of my cats when he was killed by a car the driver just left him in the road it's a very heartless thing to do because it dosen't take much to just knock on a few doors to ask who's cat it is.

He'd have been left cleaning his own blood off his flippin' car if he'd said that to me! Some people!!

My cats have always gone out, it is in their nature to go outside and hunt ask any vet and they would tell that a cat that hunts has good teeth from chewing on the bones and my cats tend to eat what they catch. They like sitting in the sun, rolling around in the dust, chasing insects. It is cruel and unfair to make a cat stay in when it wants to go out, how would you like being banned from going outside?

When my parents were looking for a house they specifically made sure that they weren't on main roads. My parents live down a quiet lane that at one stage had 8 houses down it, one of their cats got run over down that lane. The number of cars that went down there you could count on your hands, however it was a visitor to one of the flats further up who ran the cat down and didn't stop. A cat can get run over on quiet roads as well we never thought that our cat would have got run over on such a quiet lane. But we have never stopped them going out, another of my parents cats would cross a busy road just to go for a wander around a college grounds, the same cat once had a near miss with a fox, she is now 19 but still goes out.

Oh, give it a rest?

Tell you what if certain cat-owners were not so unthinking and selfish towards everyone and everything around them, then i could `give it a rest`, hang on a minute, i wouldent have even had to post in this thread

This is exactly what i was on about earlier in the thread, i take it you didnt read any of what i said? It seems i cant get through to people who think everyone and everything is duty-bound to tolerate their pet.....

If you think its cruel to keep a cat inside then have a good hard think about how cruel it is on the wildlife who BELONG outside, to be caught and tortured by pet cats

It's amazing that someone with an - apparently - pathological hatred for cats can't seem to stay away from threads about cats. I feel sorry for people who live in a fantasy world where cats are responsible for all the problems in the world. Ignorance must be bliss.

yes but cats weren't always house cats and birds etc have other predators such as foxes or other birds. My cat was feral until a nice old lady took her in, she hunted to survive so hunting is part of her nature and if anything she was more at home outside.

Plenty of human beings cause damage to wildlife, so get off your high horse.

SCDchick do you or have you ever had a cat?

Precisely, you hit the nail on the head with that one. domestic cats were introduced by humans

Its amazing how so many cat owners just dont get the point, you just dont get it do you?

If you had bothered to read what i said you would know i dont hate cats, and i havent said i hate cats either.

Quite a bit of exageration coming from your end, i never said cats are responsible for all the problems in the world.

It must be bliss for you to inflict your pet onto others without giving a damn, musnt it?

Why just excuse after worn out excuse?

And those foxes and other birds you mentioned are actually WILD ANIMALS. pet cats are not wild animals, they are DOMESTIC PETS.

Feral cats originate from domestic cats who were lost or abandoned and had to learn to fend for themselves outdoors, which explains why your cat hunted to survive. Where else was it going to get its food from? Unless it found food from bins or certain people who feed stray cats thinking they are doing the right thing. Feral cats have little to no contact with human beings, and the feral cats of the US for e.g are causing a great deal of damage to wildlife and posing a health hazard, you just need to research about it if you dont believe me. All stems from irresponsible actions of human beings.

No not myself but i know plenty of people who do, some of which keep theyre cats indoors with no problem. I know what is coming next, you will accuse me of not understanding cats etc etc

Can i ask you something? Is it too hard to make sure your pet doesn`t create problems for neighbours who want to enjoy theyre gardens trouble-free and with no health hazard? Most importantly is it also too hard to consider the local wild life?

That's unnecessarily rude and disrespectful.

Posters express different opinions on DS. Otherwise, there would be no debate.

You should try to respect other people's opinions without resorting to insults. If you disagree with a comment, attack the comment, not the poster.

Excuse me? What is with the attitude? I asked you a fairly normal question. For your information my cat only goes into my back garden for a very short time any noise and he is straight back in. He does NOT go into my neighbours garden and DOES NOT go out hunting. He is terrified of birds, even the sparrows. Therefore I do feed the birds including the seagulls knowing they are totally safe in my garden. An apology would be nice..........

Yes, we all appreciate people have different opinions but we wish that some like SCDchick would stop foisting hers on us time and time again ad nauseum. Pet lovers come on this forum to read about other peoples pets, not to be preached at.

I would suggest if she doesn't, people are likely to post far worse things than "give it a rest" or "get off your high horse" which IMO are not rude, disrespectful or insulting at all.

The very fact that you use the words "inflict your pet onto others" is a clear indication of your agenda here. You have such an astonishingly simplistic and blinkered view of the world that it's really not worth the effort to engage you in debate.

One last thing to clear up - I have an indoor cat so your belief that I'm one of your imaginary army of cat wranglers, despatching their pets to kill all "wildlife" and defecate through letter boxes, is incorrect.

A cat by it's nature will hunt and play. When my cats were kittens, initially they were transfixed with worms, they were never killed and I rescued them. The next thing was the red elastic bands from the postman, I ended up with 19 of them offered as a gift.
Then they went for birds and/or mouse, but, apart from one bird that my neighbour and I had to bury, they brought them in to me as a 'present' and I was able to save all using a plastic box.

One time me and my partner spent an hour trying to rescue a mouse in our kitchen that our cat had caught, but didn't harm. I rescued him in the end.