Bendigo Man Threatens To Kill Pet Cats If They Wander Into His Yard

[Peace_Of_Mind]

I hope I am not repeating this post, but I had a quick look and saw nothing on this topic in the news section:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/bendigo-man-threatens-to-kill-pet-cats-if-they-wander-into-his-yard/story-fn7x8me2-1226246080079

Surprisingly people are saying that cats owners should keep their cats in their own property. Hard to do when cats like to wander a little. Of course you have feral cats which can prove to be a problem. My brother has one that wanders onto his property, he just chases it away.

My cat used to wander, but not really to anyones home, mainly the back alley...never had any complaints.

My neighbour who lives my block of units, her cat wanders into other people's back yards, but does no harm, except for annoying one of the neighbours dogs. He also wanders into other people units and they just love him :)

This morning I found a kitten would have been around 6 months in the front of my apartment, looked a tad scared of me, but I made it known I wouldn't hurt it...played with it for a while...just put a smile on my face :)

[Janba]

Cats should be kept on you property and a wandering cat is no different to a wandering dogt. I hate wandering cats as I have a dog who hates them and have no desire to find a cat who has been attacked in my backyard.

ETA The fact that a cat wanders onto your property doesn't give you the right to kill it. This man should be stopped and the book thrown at him.

Edited January 18, 2012 by Janba

[pie]

This man is entitled to trap cats on his property, however he should take them to the pound, rather than putting up threatening notices and harming the cats.

Cats should be kept on you property and a wandering cat is no different to a wandering dogt. I hate wandering cats as I have a dog who hates them and have no desire to find a cat who has been attacked in my backyard.

Agree - in my old neighbourhood I got sick to death of neighbourhood cats roaming in my back yard stirring up (and beating up) my dog, coming through the dog door into my house, mating loudly in front of my bedroom window in the middle of the night and just causing a disturbance in general.

If you love your cat, keep it on your property away from cars, violent sickos and dogs and spare a thought for the people whose quiet enjoyment your cats are disturbing.

If you want your cat to be outside but stay in your yard perhaps you can put these up http://www.oscillot.com.au/

[Peace_Of_Mind]

Had a quick look at the link you posted on Oscillot – thanks for posting. :) Will let anyone I know about it who has cats.

Yeah cats can be annoying when wandering into backyards and I would personally do something if I had a cat and a neighbour complained, but spare a thought for those who have to put up with barking dogs i.e. my next door neighbour whose dog barks if a butterfly lands in the garden. Literally I have to put the volume of my TV high to avoid listening to his barking….and yes I and other neighbours have complained about the barking dog and she always apologise and tell him to STOP BARKING....not good enough.

[Mags]

Surprisingly people are saying that cats owners should keep their cats in their own property. Hard to do when cats like to wander a little. Of course you have feral cats which can prove to be a problem. My brother has one that wanders onto his property, he just chases it away.

Not surprisong at all and I totally agree with them sick to death of other people's wandering cats and dogs upsetting my cats and my dogs. If you want a cat keep it on your property - if you can't be bothered doing that then perhaps you should reconsider owning a cat in this day and age. No more acceptable to have roaming cats imo then it is to have roaming dogs.

Perfectly happy for roaming cats to be trapped and taken to the pound unfortunately for the cats people that let them be a neighbourhood nuisance are unlikely to pay the fines and get them released.

[Janba]

Had a quick look at the link you posted on Oscillot – thanks for posting. :) Will let anyone I know about it who has cats.

Yeah cats can be annoying when wandering into backyards and I would personally do something if I had a cat and a neighbour complained, but spare a thought for those who have to put up with barking dogs i.e. my next door neighbour whose dog barks if a butterfly lands in the garden. Literally I have to put the volume of my TV high to avoid listening to his barking….and yes I and other neighbours have complained about the barking dog and she always apologise and tell him to STOP BARKING....not good enough.

Problem with wandering animals is that you need to find out who they belong to so you can complain. Its a bit late when the cat has been killed by a dog or a car.

Barking dogs are a problem too and if the problem is really bad talk to her about things like training, antibark collars etc and if that doesn't work you can complain to the council.

[Peace_Of_Mind]

Hey back off a bit...the word 'Surprisingly' got to you.

Plus I don't have a cat at the moment and if I did I would take responsibility and make sure it did not wander off into other people's properties.

But I tell you what I would rather have a wandering cat come onto my property than a wandering dog...we know what happens with wandering dogs.

Hey don't get me wrong I love both cats and dogs. I have had two dogs in the past, both passed on now.

I just believe for 'some' people it is hard to keep their cats indoors or on their own properties.

Peace :)

[Peace_Of_Mind]

Had a quick look at the link you posted on Oscillot – thanks for posting. :) Will let anyone I know about it who has cats.

Yeah cats can be annoying when wandering into backyards and I would personally do something if I had a cat and a neighbour complained, but spare a thought for those who have to put up with barking dogs i.e. my next door neighbour whose dog barks if a butterfly lands in the garden. Literally I have to put the volume of my TV high to avoid listening to his barking….and yes I and other neighbours have complained about the barking dog and she always apologise and tell him to STOP BARKING....not good enough.

Problem with wandering animals is that you need to find out who they belong to so you can complain. Its a bit late when the cat has been killed by a dog or a car.

Barking dogs are a problem too and if the problem is really bad talk to her about things like training, antibark collars etc and if that doesn't work you can complain to the council.

Hey Janba,

I actually do try and find the owners of the wandering cats that come to my property, not that I mind that much, except for one nasty cat who gets stuck into my neighbour's cat. I have spoken to the family, in particular the husband and he was a complete idiot....

When a little Burmese cat appeared in our apartment garden I found out a few weeks later it belonged to a neighbour next door...but she was okay and we welcomed her as she was a good playmate for Jasper.

I have also spoken to the lady whose dogs barks alot and she keeps apologising etc., and the dog is quiet for a while and then starts up again.

So I do try :)

[rusty&biscuit]

Had a quick look at the link you posted on Oscillot – thanks for posting. :) Will let anyone I know about it who has cats.

Yeah cats can be annoying when wandering into backyards and I would personally do something if I had a cat and a neighbour complained, but spare a thought for those who have to put up with barking dogs i.e. my next door neighbour whose dog barks if a butterfly lands in the garden. Literally I have to put the volume of my TV high to avoid listening to his barking….and yes I and other neighbours have complained about the barking dog and she always apologise and tell him to STOP BARKING....not good enough.

100% agree! I have a gorgeous cat of my own whom I love dearly, and she stays indoors. No hassle at all. If she really wants to go out and get some fresh air, eat some grass, I accompany hr in the backyard. I absaloutely adore the wildlife around my area, henc the indoor cat, 2 well trained dogs who know to leave the wildlife alone, and the other killer dog sleeps inside and night to let the possums, frogs and snakes roam freely at night. The cats don't go in the backyard as my dog will rightly so chase them out, but when they're out the front really annoys me at night. I have nesting birds out there occasionally and dont want a bloody cat murdering the poor things. Keep your cats indoors at night PLEASE, if they don't get squished by a car or eaten by a snake (which does happen around here), they cause extensive damage to the native fauna!

[persephone]

..this man's threat made the news- a lot of trespassing cats just never go home again.

[german_shep_fan]

Cats should be kept on you property and a wandering cat is no different to a wandering dogt. I hate wandering cats as I have a dog who hates them and have no desire to find a cat who has been attacked in my backyard.

ETA The fact that a cat wanders onto your property doesn't give you the right to kill it. This man should be stopped and the book thrown at him.

+1

Then next thing you know you will come home to either a dead cat in your yard or a council complaint for barking dogs who have been trying to rid their yard of said tresspassing cat!

[Ben and Jerry]

In my old house we use to have problems with our next door neighbors cats wondering onto our property. We had a carport in our backyard and would have issues with the cats sleeping on the cars, leaving marks (scratches/paw prints) and having to clean up where they toileted. We spoke to the owners of the cats on numerous occassions, once they had been talked to the cats would not be seen for a day or so then they would be back. We decided since the owners clearly weren't listening or caring we would fix the issue our selves. We caught the cats and turned them over to the pound. After that we didn't have a problem with the cats again so either the owners didn't reclaim there cats or they were kept inside permantly.

My sister has a cat and it isn't allowed outside un supervised. When it does go outside she has it on a long line and harness so it still gets to experience the outside world to some extent and isn't a nuisence to the neighborhood.

[Peace_Of_Mind]

Had a quick look at the link you posted on Oscillot – thanks for posting. :) Will let anyone I know about it who has cats.

Yeah cats can be annoying when wandering into backyards and I would personally do something if I had a cat and a neighbour complained, but spare a thought for those who have to put up with barking dogs i.e. my next door neighbour whose dog barks if a butterfly lands in the garden. Literally I have to put the volume of my TV high to avoid listening to his barking….and yes I and other neighbours have complained about the barking dog and she always apologise and tell him to STOP BARKING....not good enough.

100% agree! I have a gorgeous cat of my own whom I love dearly, and she stays indoors. No hassle at all. If she really wants to go out and get some fresh air, eat some grass, I accompany hr in the backyard. I absaloutely adore the wildlife around my area, henc the indoor cat, 2 well trained dogs who know to leave the wildlife alone, and the other killer dog sleeps inside and night to let the possums, frogs and snakes roam freely at night. The cats don't go in the backyard as my dog will rightly so chase them out, but when they're out the front really annoys me at night. I have nesting birds out there occasionally and dont want a bloody cat murdering the poor things. Keep your cats indoors at night PLEASE, if they don't get squished by a car or eaten by a snake (which does happen around here), they cause extensive damage to the native fauna!

In the last 3 years of my cat's life she was an indoor cat, I guess as she was getting older preferred the indoors plus another cat moved into the apartment building and got your knickers in a knot so speak. When she was younger she spent alot of time on the balcony and just wondering the grounds as we have a huge garden and had her little visits in the back alley. I never had any complaints from any neighbours.

There seems to be alot of things you can do now to make sure that your cat doesn't wander unto other properties (mind you I don't mind if I see a little friendly face turn up into my garden) :)

You can built a cat enclosure or instal cat proof fencing.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

My neighbour lets his cat go where it likes. He says he always keeps it in at night but that's only if it decides to come in at night - I've seen it out after dark.

And now it's disappeared. Hasn't been home for several days which is not like that cat at all.

I've got mixed feelings about the neighbour's cat, I'd be happy if it knocked off the mice in my back yard and didn't crap in my back yard, but its a double fail there.

I have a vet who will PTS any cat that is caught trespassing. That seems to be the requirement in SA - that as long as professionally qualified person humanely pts the cat - that's legal. But there is something about trying to contact the owners - it's a bit vague about before or after cat is PTS. I don't think I'd want to do that to my neighbour's cat but any cat that tries catterwalling outside my window in the dead of night is fair game as far as I'm concerned.

Cats will travel several km from home in rural areas and can probably do similar in suburbia given the opportunity.

[Lhok]

Wandering cats are the bane of my existence. My dog has killed numerous cats that have wandered in to the yard to which I have had to clean up. The first time it happened I took the cat back to the owner as I knew whose cat it was.. well wasn't that was a mistake the owner of the cat wanted me to buy her a new cat and to pay for her old cat to be cremated not to mention she went on and on about my dog being a killer and informed the local council about it and we had to go through a whole heap of stuff with them. That all could of been avoided if she had been a responsible cat owner and not let her cats wander. It beats me why people get animals and then not look after them.

As far as I know said owner is on to her 10th cat

--Lhok

Edited January 18, 2012 by Lhok

[Clyde]

“All cats will be humanely destroyed. If your cat strays outside your yard and it disappears then it is likely that this is what happened,” the notice reads.

I feel his pain. If I had a gun I would also 'humanely destroy' any cats which wandered in to my yard. I got to a point where I was sick to death of cats coming over and bullying my cats through the glass door. It caused my cats to urinate in the house and fight amongst each other. The wandering cats also pee'd on very expensive outdoor furniture, there was a stage where they were making my life hell. I don't have a problem with the furniture anymore as I now have dogs who sleep outside but the wandering cats still stalk my little chickens in another part of the garden and it shits me that my small animals cannot free range because of neighborhood cats! I am now at the point where I skitch my dogs on to the cat if I see it in my yard. I never thought I would do that to another animal but enough is enough.

[sandgrubber]

Where I lived in South Fremantle, wandering cats often disappeared. Rumor had it that someone was using them as bait in cray pots.

Where I lived in a Perth kennel area, I had neighbours who had Akitas . . . who were quite skilled at cat killing.

Where I live now, in a mountainous area of California, we have great horned owls, bobcats, coyotes, and grey foxes (only distantly related to red foxes) who have no trouble taking on domestic (or feral) cats in rural areas, and I rarely see cat prints on my property.

I'd applaud this guy for posting a warning. My guess is the warning was a bluff . . . but wandering cats are a PITA. Worse in Australia where there are so few natural predators.

[Sheridan]

Had a quick look at the link you posted on Oscillot – thanks for posting. :) Will let anyone I know about it who has cats.

Yeah cats can be annoying when wandering into backyards and I would personally do something if I had a cat and a neighbour complained, but spare a thought for those who have to put up with barking dogs i.e. my next door neighbour whose dog barks if a butterfly lands in the garden. Literally I have to put the volume of my TV high to avoid listening to his barking….and yes I and other neighbours have complained about the barking dog and she always apologise and tell him to STOP BARKING....not good enough.

Er, two different subjects, surely. If you have a complaint about barking dogs then make a complaint (I would never do so myself).

Cats shouldn't wander. Indoors or a cat palace. Not that hard to stop a cat from wandering. The guy shouldn't be threatening the cats but he does have a legitimate complaint.

[whiskedaway]

I am at the point where I am going to get a cat trap from the council because I am completely over the cat that uses my yard as its toilet and stirs up my dogs. It is tame, it comes up to me for pats and I shoo it off all the time. It sits in my front yard teasing my dogs that are inside the house while they go absolutely troppo - OH has joked that he is going to let Akira out and see what happens then (which I won't let him do because she'll kill it). And it has no collar, no nothing, so I have no clue who owns the damn thing.

[Fit for a King]

I love my neighbours BUT their bloody cats wandering everywhere, yowling in the early hours of the morning and setting the dogs off, killing the local wildlife etc really bloody annoys me.....they won't hear of locking them up or keeping them inside however as the hubbie is not a cat person. I don't agree with this idiot killing them but trapping them and handing them over to council may provoke the owners to do something about their wandering ways.....in our area you now have to register cats but I doubt many people bother...so many cats wander around our end of the street.....