jagdriver727
Site Donor 2021
Are the cats really hurting anything? Do you shoot every coon that comes into your yard?
Outdoor cat...advice?
- Thread starter gregk24
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Amen Nick!
I would agree that unless you live out in the woods all by yourself on some acreage, cats roaming free isn't appropriate. Few things annoy me more than animals on my property that shouldn't be there...mostly in the form of dogs that are leashed by inconsiderate owners.
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Navada Northern Railway, Dirt the cat...
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It is not my problem that you cannot control your animals, if the pet is yours it is your responsibility to keep it off others property, if you refuse it gets trapped, and turned over to animal control who terminates the animal. so NO it is not a criminal offense to kill cats or dogs that are at the pound.
In fact you are violating animal control laws in many areas if your animal strays off your property, doesn't matter whether cat or dog, and yes CATS can be dangerous via attacks with claws and bites which are very infectious, and also the potential for rabies and other diseases are a big problem which can be transmitted to humans and other animals.
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Yes, they spray homes, cars, ect which attacts more cats, they also carry dangerous viruses that can be transmitted to humans via their poop which they also drop all over my yard, oh and it stinks to high heaven. They also get on cars and scratch the heck out of the paint. They wake me at 3 in the morning with their incessant screeching too. They are pests just like stray dogs.
I don't notice the raccoons if there are any, I never see or smell their poop, they don't spray my home or cars, frankly they don't have much incentive to be here because of course I don't feed them.
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Raccoons, opossums, armadillos. They're everywhere, but they're very stealthy. That's why they're hardly noticed.
Any animal obtained intentionally and kept domestically should be controlled and contained. I don't like seeing cats die any kind of way, but the risk goes way up regardless when they are on the loose, especially with no identification.
I like cats, and like the rodent control they provide...if a cat with no identification is regularly in my yard, it's going to get fixed and an ear tipped. I don't feed them except to get them in a trap, but my yard is travelled frequently. I went from ignoring to trapping and fixing after a couple fights and in heat screaming incidents. Once fixed, that stops and they keep other cats away for a while.
It's good for domestic cats to get outside time, but it needs to be controlled. There are lots of outdoor enclosure options, and depending on their disposition some will even walk on a harness. Enclosures are really the best bet though. Or just a screened in porch with good screening. My parents had a section of their deck screened in and got some sort of upgraded animal-resistant screen.
Some cats that are accustomed to outdoor access simply won't do indoors only. I've never had a problem with those kinds of cats as long as they are fixed. It's when they aren't fixed that they cause problems.
Charles AKA Carl was probably the coolest outdoor cat I've known. He started showing up around my aunt's house randomly, she got him fixed, and he just stayed and became a fixture. He would visit neighbors, but was not unwelcomed and was known for visiting cookouts. He died from an aggressive cancer in 2017, but until the last couple months of his life was just a happy cat.
I like cats, and like the rodent control they provide...if a cat with no identification is regularly in my yard, it's going to get fixed and an ear tipped. I don't feed them except to get them in a trap, but my yard is travelled frequently. I went from ignoring to trapping and fixing after a couple fights and in heat screaming incidents. Once fixed, that stops and they keep other cats away for a while.
It's good for domestic cats to get outside time, but it needs to be controlled. There are lots of outdoor enclosure options, and depending on their disposition some will even walk on a harness. Enclosures are really the best bet though. Or just a screened in porch with good screening. My parents had a section of their deck screened in and got some sort of upgraded animal-resistant screen.
Some cats that are accustomed to outdoor access simply won't do indoors only. I've never had a problem with those kinds of cats as long as they are fixed. It's when they aren't fixed that they cause problems.
Charles AKA Carl was probably the coolest outdoor cat I've known. He started showing up around my aunt's house randomly, she got him fixed, and he just stayed and became a fixture. He would visit neighbors, but was not unwelcomed and was known for visiting cookouts. He died from an aggressive cancer in 2017, but until the last couple months of his life was just a happy cat.
The legality of killing a cat is up to the state laws. Here in GA you can kill any animal that is causing damage or injury to a person or property.
OCGA 16-12-14
...
"A) Defending his or her person or property, or the person or property of another, from injury or damage being caused by an animal; or
(B) Injuring or killing an animal reasonably believed to constitute a threat for injury or damage to any property, livestock, or poultry.
(2) The method used to injure or kill such animal shall be designed to be as humane as is possible under the circumstances. A person who humanely injures or kills an animal under the circumstances indicated in this subsection shall incur no civil or criminal liability for such injury or death.
______________________________________________
My personal opinion on outdoor cats is, if you live in a subdivision or close to others, don't. Your cat is going to get on their stuff and that is rude and opens you up to liability for fixing damages. (If your cat slides off my freshly waxed car and leaves claw marks, we're going to have a discussion and you're going to be paying me to fix it.)
Also, outdoor cats do a good job of cleaning up rodents, but they also hunt for fun and are the reason some bird species are being threatened. This is from a study UGA did several years ago.
abcbirds.org
More fun reading from across the pond:
www.bbc.com
OCGA 16-12-14
...
"A) Defending his or her person or property, or the person or property of another, from injury or damage being caused by an animal; or
(B) Injuring or killing an animal reasonably believed to constitute a threat for injury or damage to any property, livestock, or poultry.
(2) The method used to injure or kill such animal shall be designed to be as humane as is possible under the circumstances. A person who humanely injures or kills an animal under the circumstances indicated in this subsection shall incur no civil or criminal liability for such injury or death.
______________________________________________
My personal opinion on outdoor cats is, if you live in a subdivision or close to others, don't. Your cat is going to get on their stuff and that is rude and opens you up to liability for fixing damages. (If your cat slides off my freshly waxed car and leaves claw marks, we're going to have a discussion and you're going to be paying me to fix it.)
Also, outdoor cats do a good job of cleaning up rodents, but they also hunt for fun and are the reason some bird species are being threatened. This is from a study UGA did several years ago.
"KittyCam" Reveals High Levels of Wildlife Being Killed by Outdoor Cats
KittyCam stills showing a captured chipmunk and an injured pheobe, National Geographic KittyCam Program (Washington, D.C., August 6, 2012) A new study of house cats allowed to roam outdoors finds that nearly one-third succeeded in capturing and killing animals. The cats, which wore special video...
More fun reading from across the pond:
Why a village in New Zealand is trying to ban all cats
Officials in New Zealand say it will protect the local eco-system, but the plan is controversial.
www.bbc.com
The legality of killing a cat is up to the state laws. Here in GA you can kill any animal that is causing damage or injury to a person or property.
OCGA 16-12-14
...
"A) Defending his or her person or property, or the person or property of another, from injury or damage being caused by an animal; or
(B) Injuring or killing an animal reasonably believed to constitute a threat for injury or damage to any property, livestock, or poultry.
(2) The method used to injure or kill such animal shall be designed to be as humane as is possible under the circumstances. A person who humanely injures or kills an animal under the circumstances indicated in this subsection shall incur no civil or criminal liability for such injury or death.
______________________________________________
My personal opinion on outdoor cats is, if you live in a subdivision or close to others, don't. Your cat is going to get on their stuff and that is rude and opens you up to liability for fixing damages. (If your cat slides off my freshly waxed car and leaves claw marks, we're going to have a discussion and you're going to be paying me to fix it.)
Also, outdoor cats do a good job of cleaning up rodents, but they also hunt for fun and are the reason some bird species are being threatened. This is from a study UGA did several years ago.
"KittyCam" Reveals High Levels of Wildlife Being Killed by Outdoor Cats
KittyCam stills showing a captured chipmunk and an injured pheobe, National Geographic KittyCam Program (Washington, D.C., August 6, 2012) A new study of house cats allowed to roam outdoors finds that nearly one-third succeeded in capturing and killing animals. The cats, which wore special video...
More fun reading from across the pond:
Why a village in New Zealand is trying to ban all cats
Officials in New Zealand say it will protect the local eco-system, but the plan is controversial.
Sorry, but I couldn't kill any non threatening animal (especially a cat) that just innocently wandered onto my property.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
The OP did say if he got a cat it would be an indoor cat. 
Knowing how he is about his cars I wonder what he'd think if he found dirty cat tracks up the hood over the roof and down the trunk...repeatedly.
When my kids were little we lived in town and had a swing set and a sandbox in the back yard. I had to keep the sandbox covered to keep cats from crapping in it. Of course it didn't get covered up every time and I finally got rid of it because of the cat crap. When we lived out of town we had outdoor cats. When we moved to town we had indoor cats or no cats. Cats getting killed in the engine bay isn't urban legend, we had it happen unfortunately.
Knowing how he is about his cars I wonder what he'd think if he found dirty cat tracks up the hood over the roof and down the trunk...repeatedly.When my kids were little we lived in town and had a swing set and a sandbox in the back yard. I had to keep the sandbox covered to keep cats from crapping in it. Of course it didn't get covered up every time and I finally got rid of it because of the cat crap. When we lived out of town we had outdoor cats. When we moved to town we had indoor cats or no cats. Cats getting killed in the engine bay isn't urban legend, we had it happen unfortunately.
Especially if they like to chase rodents away.
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- Jun 13, 2013
- Messages
- 3,084
Tiberius, now living comfortably in a back yard...
TinyKittens: rescuing locally, educating globally
Watch rescue kittens on our 24/7 livestream, from rescue to adoption.
www.tinykittens.com
New Zealand is a unique problem - until the arrival of Europeans, it was largely predator free...apart from the NZ Falcon, the extinct Haast's Eagle, and some late self introduced Australian birds like the Morepork or Ruru, a small owl, and the Australian Harrier. So being ground dwelling, flightless and defenseless wasn't a problem for a bird here. Once humans and their animals got here, things haven't gone so well for the native birds.
Yes, feral cats are a problem...although I know someone who looks after a Kauri reserve, and they trap rats, cats, weasels, stoats and possums to keep the forest predator free. Possums are vegetarian but destroy the eco system. He guts every cat he traps, and has never found birds in their system, only rats...that's not to say they don't catch birds of course. I had a cat when living in the bush - every morning there would be up to 4 rats on the deck, if he ate them he would leave the head and liver. Rats, mice. rabbits and ducklings were his prey, maybe he caught a few blackbirds and thrushes, but never a native that I saw. With all the rats he caught, I reckon he saved more native birds than all the conservationists in the area.
Over the years we had one cat at a time. Sometimes they were outside cats that were in the neighborhood and ended up being both an indoor and outdoor cat. Sometimes we got an only indoor cat.
I think any cat in an environment with moving motor vehicles has to be born outside and raised with motor vehicles to know to stay away from them. To introduce an indoor cat to the outside is taking a big chance that it will get ran over. So do not do that. Also they may not find there way back to your house.
When I was a kid there was a large friendly red outside cat that would show up at out door some days, and we would let it in. It would walk around the inside of out house for a little while, maybe we would feed it something, and then it would leave. After a few months we found out that it actually belonged to the girl in the house two doors up the street from us, and its name was Buttons. Even when we knew who it belonged to, it still showed up and came in once in a while.
One cat we had spend most of its time outside, and out family would all go places in dads station-wagon. When that cat saw out station-wagon parking it would come running and run up the front porch steps and wait on the porch to go in the house with us. We have two flights of cement steps in-front of the house. One day it came running from the alley that T connects with the street across the street while we were parking, ran in front of out car and up the first flight of steps, and leveled out to run across the first landing one step too soon and ran head first full speed into the cement at the top of the top step just before the first landing, bounced off, and form then on would have seizures about once or twice a month. We got special meds for it, but it still had seizures once in a while. Still it lived a few years after that, and still went outside sometimes, but not as often.
We had one cat that the next door neighbor said liked to do its business under the two small pine trees in her back yard. We were good friends with everyone in that house, but the mother of that house was an avid gardener and would complain about the cat about once every month. I never smelled anything when I was over there, and it may be that the cat just hung out under those trees in the shade, but I do not know for sure.
So if you want an outdoor / indoor cat, adopt one in your neighborhood. That is easy to do. Just put out some cat food and fresh water every day. If they eat it daily, and can be around people, then after a week or so they will be calm when you open the door while they are there. If they come in, then there is a good chance they will be a good indoor outdoor cat.
Do not lock an outdoor cat from going back outside. One we had jumped out an upstairs window to get out when no one opened the door, and that is a high area with cement all around below the window but it was not hurt. If they want out, and know what cars are, let them out.
We had one cat that would run out or in the front doors when someone else had the doors open. One day we found about two inches of the end of a cat tail in-between the front door, and the front screen door that closes fairly quickly by a spring.
We had one cat that figured out that the back porch screen door was usually not locked, and had a spring that closed it. When it wanted back in the house, it would stand on its back legs and put its claws in the screen, walk backwards, and then let the screen door slam shut, and repeat that a couple of times until someone heard it and opened the back door and let it in. Then it would open the screen door like that again and run it before it closed, if you were too slow to open the screen door for it.
We had one that figured out how to jump up and turn on or off the light switch on the wall, but it seldom did that. And that same cat knew how to open the lever on a screen door, but also it seldom did that. Sometimes they amaze you on what they can figure out.
I think any cat in an environment with moving motor vehicles has to be born outside and raised with motor vehicles to know to stay away from them. To introduce an indoor cat to the outside is taking a big chance that it will get ran over. So do not do that. Also they may not find there way back to your house.
When I was a kid there was a large friendly red outside cat that would show up at out door some days, and we would let it in. It would walk around the inside of out house for a little while, maybe we would feed it something, and then it would leave. After a few months we found out that it actually belonged to the girl in the house two doors up the street from us, and its name was Buttons. Even when we knew who it belonged to, it still showed up and came in once in a while.
One cat we had spend most of its time outside, and out family would all go places in dads station-wagon. When that cat saw out station-wagon parking it would come running and run up the front porch steps and wait on the porch to go in the house with us. We have two flights of cement steps in-front of the house. One day it came running from the alley that T connects with the street across the street while we were parking, ran in front of out car and up the first flight of steps, and leveled out to run across the first landing one step too soon and ran head first full speed into the cement at the top of the top step just before the first landing, bounced off, and form then on would have seizures about once or twice a month. We got special meds for it, but it still had seizures once in a while. Still it lived a few years after that, and still went outside sometimes, but not as often.
We had one cat that the next door neighbor said liked to do its business under the two small pine trees in her back yard. We were good friends with everyone in that house, but the mother of that house was an avid gardener and would complain about the cat about once every month. I never smelled anything when I was over there, and it may be that the cat just hung out under those trees in the shade, but I do not know for sure.
So if you want an outdoor / indoor cat, adopt one in your neighborhood. That is easy to do. Just put out some cat food and fresh water every day. If they eat it daily, and can be around people, then after a week or so they will be calm when you open the door while they are there. If they come in, then there is a good chance they will be a good indoor outdoor cat.
Do not lock an outdoor cat from going back outside. One we had jumped out an upstairs window to get out when no one opened the door, and that is a high area with cement all around below the window but it was not hurt. If they want out, and know what cars are, let them out.
We had one cat that would run out or in the front doors when someone else had the doors open. One day we found about two inches of the end of a cat tail in-between the front door, and the front screen door that closes fairly quickly by a spring.
We had one cat that figured out that the back porch screen door was usually not locked, and had a spring that closed it. When it wanted back in the house, it would stand on its back legs and put its claws in the screen, walk backwards, and then let the screen door slam shut, and repeat that a couple of times until someone heard it and opened the back door and let it in. Then it would open the screen door like that again and run it before it closed, if you were too slow to open the screen door for it.
We had one that figured out how to jump up and turn on or off the light switch on the wall, but it seldom did that. And that same cat knew how to open the lever on a screen door, but also it seldom did that. Sometimes they amaze you on what they can figure out.
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