Thousands of Sydney Residents at War With Nuisance Dogs & Owners

[Mum to Emma]

33 minutes ago, Papillon Kisses said:

 

As do I. Those posts are sickening. I simply want the companion animals act amended so that cat owners have to be responsible too.

Agreed, but the problem is that it's far more difficult to contain cats than dogs.  Savvy cat owners (and those with spare cash) do build cat runs, to protect their felines from traffic ... and the likes of Paul777.  I personally believe their effect on bird life is vastly overstated, particularly in urban areas where most cats live.  Indian miners kill far more bird life than the feline population.   Oh, and when was the last time you heard of a cat escaping its property and mauling a passer by ...

[Pjrt]

I have sympathy for cat owners who normally contain their cats properly, but have an unfortunate escape. 

 

I have no no sympathy for cat owners who knowingly let their cats out to roam. For reasons ranging from the nuisance they cause by fighting, toileting, arousing dogs etc, to the position they put others in by say their roaming cat is bailed up by a dog that was minding its own business inside its own property. It is dreadful for the innocent and compliant dog owner to deal with the aftermath caused by the cat owner. And as someone who has run over a cat at large, I can tell you I have zero sympathy if that cat had been let out to roam by its owner. It's a truly awful thing to go through. Or even just the myriad of dead cats in gutters that I see almost daily in the city. 

Like I said, if it's a genuine accidental escape, I have sympathy. Let your cat out on purpose to roam free and I consider you a dick of a pet owner who clearly hasn't thought out the consequences to your pets health and safety or the potential consequences to other members of the community. 

 

I don't condone cruelty to cats, don't get me wrong. I am also taken aback by some of the other postings here. 

 

I am am currently without a pet, and have really considered something other than a dog for the first time. But, I cannot condone wandering cats, but I cannot live with the thought of keeping a cat in a state of confinement for life either. Other people can, that's fine, but not for me. So, I don't have plans to get a cat. 

[Paul777]

Gruf, when I drove cabs on weekends & holidays I hit a cat at least once a month during the warmer months. I will brake but I never swerve to avoid an animal unless the road is clear.

One night I hit a cat that was running towards a house so I knocked on the door at around 2am. A family lived there & it was the 3rd cat that that'd been hit by a car. Some people never learn.

[Papillon Kisses]

1 hour ago, Mum to Emma said:

Agreed, but the problem is that it's far more difficult to contain cats than dogs.  Savvy cat owners (and those with spare cash) do build cat runs, to protect their felines from traffic ... and the likes of Paul777.  I personally believe their effect on bird life is vastly overstated, particularly in urban areas where most cats live.  Indian miners kill far more bird life than the feline population.   Oh, and when was the last time you heard of a cat escaping its property and mauling a passer by ...

 

 A cat attacked my little dog. A cat that had been stalking him for a number of months and was considerably larger than him. This was true predatory behaviour when we were out on a walk, my dog on a leash as required by law. I was being very careful walking well away from the cat's property but it went a long way out and sneaked up from behind. Thankfully neighbours were around to help.

 

It is not hard to contain a cat. Keep them inside with suitable environmental enrichment if you cannot afford a cat run or those roller things for fences.

[Pjrt]

4 minutes ago, Papillon Kisses said:

 

 A cat attacked my little dog. A cat that had been stalking him for a number of months and was considerably larger than him. This was true predatory behaviour when we were out on a walk, my dog on a leash as required by law. I was being very careful walking well away from the cat's property but it went a long way out and sneaked up from behind. Thankfully neighbours were around to help.

 

It is not hard to contain a cat. Keep them inside with suitable environmental enrichment if you cannot afford a cat run or those roller things for fences.

 

Ywp years ago now I was walking my enormous Bouvier past a house with a knee high wire fence. A cat came tearing out from the porch jumped the fence and tackle jumped my Bouvier landed on his back and was tearing shreds off him! It was truly the last thing I would expect walking down the footpath with my dog on a lead! It left us both a touch traumatised. I can only imagine how a tiny dog would feel about it 

[BDJ]

And yes, cats can be as aggressive as dogs and do quite a lot of damage.  In my opinion a roaming cat is no more acceptable than a roaming dog.  Irresponsible ownership either way

[Roova]

Poppy has a Westie friend we see when we walk a particular way, they like to sniff and wag tails through the fence.  I have to keep an eye out for the Westie's huge black cat because at time he'll strut out of a bush in their yard toward us all puffed up and walking sideways.  Poppy and I leave quickly because he looks like a force not to be reckoned with!

[Mum to Emma]

21 minutes ago, BDJ said:

And yes, cats can be as aggressive as dogs and do quite a lot of damage.  In my opinion a roaming cat is no more acceptable than a roaming dog.  Irresponsible ownership either way

I was referring to dogs that maul people and children, by way of explaining why the authorities treat wandering cats as less important than wandering dogs.  Do you seriously believe that a cat could do as much damage as an angry SBT?  

[tdierikx]

Wandering cats can cause car accidents when people swerve to try to avoid them... seen  it happen more than once...

 

I am allergic to cats, so can't have any of my own, but would never go out of my way to hurt one in any way... however, I have neighbours who think that their cats have the right to go wandering whenever and wherever they please. I must say that a cat going over 2 fences to go into my dog pen with 3 Rotties in it was not the smartest move a cat could make... and not only the owner was traumatised by the outcome... but responding by poisoning 2 of my dogs (one died as a result) was not exactly a civil course of action either.

 

One place I lived at, the neighbour's cat had a penchant for dismembering birds on my front lawn. I had a polite word with said neighbour (who was horrified that her cat was doing it), and she would periodically come and remove the mess left by her cat...

 

At my current residence, there used to be a tomcat that would come and mark my front door every night... not pleasant... so I invested in a very lifelike concrete black snake ornament - no more marking...  even scared the poor parcel delivery person a couple of times... lol!

 

Not a fan of cats deciding to make babies underneath my bedroom window in the wee hours either... jeebus they are noisy! And they set the dogs off to boot!

 

T.

[BDJ]

1 hour ago, BDJ said:

And yes, cats can be as aggressive as dogs and do quite a lot of damage.  In my opinion a roaming cat is no more acceptable than a roaming dog.  Irresponsible ownership either way

I was referring to dogs that maul people and children, by way of explaining why the authorities treat wandering cats as less important than wandering dogs.  Do you seriously believe that a cat could do as much damage as an angry SBT?  

____________________________

 

Yikes - how much easier it would be if everyone read what was written - grrrrrrrr.

 

I never compared what damage a cat can do compared to a dog (especially one with a powerful jaw).  But for the record, whilst a can can't (obviously) do the same amount of crush and rip type damage that a dog can due to their physical size and structure, I have seen a few dogs spend several days at the vets due to infections and/or eye damage inflicted by a cat.   Cat bites and scratches can very easily become very very nasty.

[Rozzie]

It's not really that hard to contain cats. I have 5 indoor cats. They have toys and climbing trees, food and water. They also have a Caboodle but it is far too hot out in it atm. They prefer the cool tiles.
They cohabit with the Foxies.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[persephone]

In another lifetime , when just about all cats were freeranging the city burbs ..I lost one to an irate neighbour  .. and had one miraculously survive a car  incident .Mine were even then, indoors at night , and when I was not home ...

When I moved back to the bush .. my family couldn't believe I kept the cats indoors /with access to a wired 'cage'. That all changed once they got to know the cats ..  

Having somewhere for your cat to be safely housed  can be cheap as chips, really --- for years  I have used a discarded aviary - obtained free  after it was tossed around in a storm . It is approx 15ft x 6ft X 7 ft  and attaches to the house . It is kitted out with perches/logs etc . The cats have a view of the bantams/budgies ..and also of visitors to the birdbath  alongside

I figure that if dogs  are to be kept confined and under control , then so should cats ...

[BarbedWire]

I also had a dog, a boxer, that was attacked by a cat (jumped on his back and dug in its claws when I walking him on a lead) and when I spoke to people about it afterwards someone suggested that maybe the cat had been attacked or harassed by dogs or maybe it had a litter it was protecting. I hadn't thought about that and it does make sense because most domestic cats do not attack dogs by jumping on their backs and the ones that scratch at a dog's face usually do so in self defence. I don't mind cats although I am not prepared to have a cat that has to be contained all the time and I am very anxious about what unnameable cruelty those cat haters in our society might do to my cat so I choose not to have one. I worry too much and owning a cat is such a liability these days although I do feel sorry for all those cats in rescue that don't make it because no-one wants them. There are so many. Cats should be desexed.

 

I thought this thread was about barking dogs 

 

Sorry having trouble posting. This post belongs to the previous page. Before Rebanne's and Perse's

Edited January 16, 2017 by sarsplodicus

[mr.mister]

It isn't hard to keep cats inside. I don't buy it when people say they 'can't'. They can, they just don't want to. 

 

All my three are indoors only and have been since day 1, the oldest is 8 this year. We don't have a run but there is plenty indoors to keep them occupied. 

 

I can understand people's frustrations about roaming cats. There was a roaming tom in my old neighbourhood who drove me nuts, would get into fights outside my bedroom window at 2am and piss on my front flyscreen. The front entrance reeked. 

 

Trapping and taking to the pound is one thing, wanting to kill them is another... it isn't the cat's fault their owner is irresponsible. 

 

Eta sorry sars that probably sounded like it was in response to your post, it wasn't, just a general comment over the last few pages' discussion. 

Edited January 17, 2017 by mr.mister

[The Spotted Devil]

I've had indoor/enclosure cats for more than 15 years. I don't like roaming cats either but it's really important to understand how difficult it is to change long time attitudes to cat ownership. Compare the focus on dog education by local councils etc with education on cats. It's YEARS behind. Think about the effort the government pours into changing attitudes about wearing seat belts, drink driving etc. That's massive attitudinal change (education) PLUS enforcement. My local council announced 24 hour cat curfew - no notice, no education and no enforcement. WTAF?

Edited January 17, 2017 by The Spotted Devil

[melzawelza]

11 hours ago, mr.mister said:

 

Trapping and taking to the pound is one thing, wanting to kill them is another... it isn't the cat's fault their owner is irresponsible. 

 

 

In a good majority of cases, trapping and taking to the pound *is* killing them, let's not pretend it's not. 

 

11 hours ago, The Spotted Devil said:

I've had indoor/enclosure cats for more than 15 years. I don't like roaming cats either but it's really important to understand how difficult it is to change long time attitudes to cat ownership. Compare the focus on dog education by local councils etc with education on cats. It's YEARS behind. Think about the effort the government pours into changing attitudes about wearing seat belts, drink driving etc. That's massive attitudinal change (education) PLUS enforcement. My local council announced 24 hour cat curfew - no notice, no education and no enforcement. WTAF?

This. I also have two indoor cats with an enclosure. I encourage people to contain their cats if possible, but despite what some here are saying it absolutely can be difficult to contain cats. I don't have issues doing it but I don't have kids or visitors coming and going regularly and leaving doors open, I've got cats that are generally fairly happy with the restricted indoor life, and I am thankfully financially healthy enough to be able to afford my cat enclosure (which cost about $1500) which keeps them sane. The idea of containing cats is very new and something that seems completely odd to most pet owners. And as TSD said there has been next to no education of the public on the topic to create a culture change. 

I support education and showing people the benefits of containing cats but I absolutely do not support legislation requiring. All that results in is mass dead cats in the pound, and is essentially unenforceable unless everyone wants a significant rate increase to put on an extra ten animal management officers dedicated to rounding up cats causing no problems and subsequently killing them in the pound. Legislation like that would also completely hinder Trap/Neuter/Release programs for unowned/community cats, which is the *only* effective and humane way to manage unowned cats, particularly in the suburbs. Catching and killing *increases* cat numbers. 

 

As for the comments encouraging cruelty to cats - absolutely disgusting on a supposed animal-loving forum. 

Edited January 17, 2017 by melzawelza

[mr.mister]

It isn't necessarily killing them if their owners are willing to spring them from the pound. Anyway, I'd rather a cat be humanely euthanized than 'disposed of' in whatever way by cat-hating joe blow. 

 

Cats need to be treated more like dogs regarding containment legislation, and there needs to be education done in conjunction with this. Setting a curfew and not enforcing it or educating the public about it is setting the whole thing up to fail. 

 

Eta: uncontained cats do cause problems. Their impact on native wildlife is catastrophic. 

 

Sorry for going OT. 

Edited January 18, 2017 by mr.mister

[The Spotted Devil]

Impact on wildlife really depends on the ecosystem. In some places it IS devastating. But in others cats predominantly predate upon rats mice and rabbits. The science is clear that it's not clear. Macquarie Island is one of THE best examples of pest eradication. An holistic approach specific to the environment is the only way. 

 

As a cat behaviourist living with a rather vague cat lover I can tell you that educating cats not to dash out the front door or howl plaintively at a closed one takes quite a bit of skill. Especially when Mr TSD indulges and gives in to them all the time!!!!

Edited January 18, 2017 by The Spotted Devil

[Rebanne]

17 hours ago, The Spotted Devil said:

 

 

As a cat behaviourist living with a rather vague cat lover I can tell you that educating cats not to dash out the front door or howl plaintively at a closed one takes quite a bit of skill. Especially when Mr TSD indulges and gives in to them all the time!!!!

 

I have to say, after having cats confined for over 20 years now, that I have never had trouble with cats trying to dash out or howling to be let out, except for one that had had freedom for approx 12 years. All the other cats over that time where quite happy to be kept inside. Maybe because they have the choice to be inside or out in the cattery because it is attached to the house?

[melzawelza]

Sure, if you get them as kittens and they never know outside exists then it's not too hard, but what about cats you adopt as adults from shelters or rescues that have lived outside? One of mine door dashes every single chance he gets, the other couldn't care less. Both have experience outside because both were from a shelter. I can manage my door dasher because I don't have kids leaving doors open and once he's out he doesn't go far so I can just go and pick him up, but if he was a bolter or my house was a lot more busy it would be very difficult.