Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
And yes, I have a cat and love them to death, but if someone lest their cat roam free, that peeves me and shows the owners don't care. If they care enough, they can try and pick the bugger up at the pound. If not, hopefully someone else will.
It's not entirely unlikely that the cat wouldn't even exist without the owners it has (or the support system which would currently include the original poster, if you want to think more broadly), and if by some chance it did exist without, it would probably be considerably more threatening to your way of life in this context than it is. Those owners have probably put more effort into keeping the cat alive and out of the way than anyone else ever will, so think about that before you all start throwing stones. From what I understand of the situation, the "mistake" (assuming quite a bit about their goals) the owners are making (in my opinion) is allowing the cat to flesh out the instincts it has in a manner which simultaneously: 1) renders it incompatible (or at best poorly qualified) for full adoption by another family which values an "indoor cat" relationship (which is problematic largely because it seems like this would be the primary type of family which would want to and/or be available to adopt) if the owners ever decided not to keep it for themselves, 2) renders it compatible with a scenario where someone will "make that decision for them" to an end they will dislike, which it appears is what they are indeed gunning for, completely irrespective of whether they understand what they are doing and their philosophical friction with the surrounding community, and 3) possibly (or likely, rather) renders it unable to fully contend on its own given the dependences the cat still has on the support system for whatever reason (unless the owners are in the process of successfully weaning the cat to be released... or vice versa, which would be interesting). If the cat (and its instincts, which it purportedly cannot control) could choose the environments it wants to function in with any meaningful level of influence that would be great, but it's a [censored] cat and it doesn't get that option. I'm certainly not saying that I think the instincts the cat has are evil (in the popular sense of the term, of course) and I am most certainly not saying the cat wouldn't indeed be happiest if it were able to exercise all of them in some hospitable environment (because I think it unquestionably would be). The latter condition is perhaps what the owners are attempting to enable (though unfortunately still making the "mistake" noted above, unless they fit the caveat). The focus with this situation is that whatever the intentions and behaviors of the owners, the cat either has no niche within the environment it is being opened to or has no meaningful access to it because of a bad fit with the particular species of cat, some (more specific) physiological trait, personality trait, the other neighbors, garages, cars, plants, trashcans, etc. Maybe cats in general don't really have a place wherever this is. The same, of course, could all be said of the home of the pesky cat's owners, and probably could be (which they also might realize, and shifts this into "lesser of two evils" gear if it wasn't already in it to begin with). The question then is why they are so sure things will stay the way they are for them and the cat, or why they are so sure things will not stay the same for them and the cat (what they are anticipating, what their goals are, etc.). For one out of a thousand possibilities: maybe their cat was given to them by their daughter who works for PETA and the wife is allergic or hates the cat for whatever reason, but cannot give it to the shelter (where it will basically wait to die) for fear of upsetting her, and so has devised this plan to have one of the neighbors get rid of the cat for her. You (or one of the other neighbors) take the blame and she gets rid of the cat. "Oh heavens, I could never get another one... I'm so traumatized by what happened the last time! Besides, those neighbors would just find a way to kill it again and I can't (fill-in-the-blank) just on account of a cat, surely you would agree. Oh goodness, I was just thinking of the cat's needs!"
My default "reaction" (for whatever reason...) is that these are decent people who have recognized some sort of wild streak in their cat and are trying to give it an outlet with a small allowance for [censored] off their neighbors, similar to the goal the parents would be trying to convince their daughter of in the above scenario (and I definitely know a few cats that I like better than certain people), feeling somewhat satisfied in being "correct" and/or possibly willfully seeking some kind of reaction from someone to whatever end. It could also be the case that they don't give a hoot about the cat and they're just trying to [censored] with you. Maybe the cat is just trying to [censored] with you!
If that's so, you had better watch out... you don't want to be the guy that got pwned by a cat and the neighbors too, right?
Anyway, what interests me is why you are willing to avoid a confrontation with the neighbors on this topic, but basically push the cat off into everyone else's yard. I suppose that's none of my business though.
If this were a parenting styles discussion (not to say there are any equivalents here, but not to say there aren't) and no oddball factors are involved, the owners might be classified as primarily "permissive". Maybe kitty is just acting out.
Originally Posted By: Oilgal
So a heat pad on the lowest setting under a folder beach towel, set nearby at a similar height, may give you a paw print free car and an additional nice feeling inside.
I'm really honestly surprised only one other person thinks the catnip is a viable route.
I think your idea might have some merit though too. Why not put the heating pad under a stuffed cat instead? Instant cat mother! I know it would go for that. No, wait... a cat mother stuffed with catnip! Meow! It can't fail.
Originally Posted By: Shaman
Call me insensitive, but it's not his job to provide a nice warm bed for a animal he didn't purchase, he doesn't know, doesn't love, and obviously, by this thread, doesn't wany.
I like that you included "purchase", Mr. Insensitive. Say (hypothetically) that the owners purchased the cat and kept it to themselves. Wouldn't they have more of a right to throw it away than anyone? What would a happy cat look like anyway, I wonder?
