Abandoned pets

[jzmtl]

I'm no fan of roaming cats, consider the damage they do to the local small animal population. Still, it's sad to see them around, especially one up close.

Last night I ran down to the kitchen for a quick drink, and saw something sitting on the deck stairs. I sneaked to the door, and it was a cat. I've never seen one getting so close, so I turned on the light. It was a small tabby. I got curious, opened the door and stuck my head out, it turned around and looked at me, but didn't move away.

I went to get some cat food (left over from sitting a friend's cat), crouched down to not appear threatening and scooched over. Cat didn't even move, just looked at me and meowed. I poured some cat food on the deck, and the little guy moved next to me and started munching. I petted him and he just kept eating. There was no collar, he's missing part of his right ear, and pretty darn skinny. It also looks like there's something wrong with his eyes, very wet secretion running down to nose with reddish color. Given it's poor condition and tameness, it gotta be somebody's pet at some point.

After done eating, it meowed a bit more and walked away. Pretty sad to see it surviving outdoors, it's below freezing and will drop down to -20 next week (-4F for the metrically challenged  )

And just now, I saw another dark colored cat roaming in the yard, didn't come up the deck though.

[Chako]

Dang. I have a rule. If a cat comes up and looks abandoned...it never walks away. I grab it and hand it over to the local Animal Assistance Group. Not the Human Society as they are a little kill happy in this town. Mind you, we have a major coyote/fox problem in this city.There was a time when there were a lot of stray cats. These days, I don't see them all that much. If by the condition of the cat, he/she does belong to someone...tough. The cat would be better off with a group that loves animals than to a careless and thoughtless owner who can't take care of it.

[Grant Lamontagne]

City council here has tried to come up with ways to try and control the feral cat population but it's a fool's errand here.  Yes it gets cold and yes that can be bad for some.  Domesticated animals left outside suffer horribly, but feral cats know where they can go to stay warm and don't suffer much if at all.  If we did away with them here, being a port city, we'd be overrun with rats.  Our feral cat population is very healthy and strong and we need it to be.

Indoor cats, or pets that are allowed to wander are a different story.  With not enough outdoor experience they are the ones that get run over or freeze to death after getting disoriented and not being able to find their way home.

I do like Dan and take them in and call animal control.  Mostly I do that for dogs though as with numerous large dog scents here domesticated cats don't spend a lot of time in our yard.

Def

Sent from a digital multitool

[jzmtl]

I guess there are situations when cats are necessary evil, like when mice are abound. But I feed birds and cats eat them, so I'm biased. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Last spring we had a robin build a nest and lay four little eggs just outside my kitchen window, and I'd peek in on them from time to time until they hatched and I could watch them while doing dishes or cooking.  There are a lot of cats in my neighborhood as I said, and when I'd see one come in the yard and start eying the nest I'd take my dogs out for a quick pee.  Those were probably the safest little robins in the city! 

I didn't feel bad about denying the cats an easy meal of baby birds since there's a lot of construction on the section of waterfront a few hundred yards from my house, so I am assuming the rats are spreading out somewhat.  We haven't seen them here yet, and I believe that's because the cats are keeping them in check.

huge difference between feral cats and house cats though.  The rats here will eat a domestic cat that doesn't know how to hunt them properly, which is why I'd be terrified to let my cats wander if I had any.

Def

[dks]

Because of the nice weather here even house cats are semi-wild meaning that they will wander in the area most of the day and come to their main area or in the house when they feel so. I have about 10 semiadopted cats that were too cute to let go. A few more belong to the whole area and are fed by lots of people.

[gregozedobe]

Feral and roaming cats are a serious problem in Australia. The native wildlife hasn't adapted to their ruthless hunting efficiency, and (along with foxes) they have decimated many populations of birds and smaller mammals, lizards etc (although a large goanna could probably see off a cat).

In some newer housing developments that are near high quality wildlife reserves there are restrictions on the movement of cats (curfews, only allowed outside in runs etc).  In the longer term I think it will be unacceptable to allow cats to roam freely in most areas of Australia (dogs are already restricted pretty well everywhere in developed areas now).

[ironraven]

People who abandon a dependent animal go to the extra special hell.

Growing up "in the country", more than a few dumped dogs and cats wandered over my way. The dogs were a major problem with the deer and people with sheep and goats. Saw one lab that tried to mess with clydesdales that were part of a logging team- dog lost hard, had to be awfully hungry or crazy to tangle with those horses.

[derekmac]

I remember back when I was either just about out of elementary school, or just in junior high, a buddy and I were walking on an overpass, and we could hear a meowing sound.  We couldn't see anything, but a couple of hours later when we were walking back, we could still hear it.  We went down to the highway, and under the overpass was a box with a kitten in it.  We took it back to his place, and it looked to be in good shape, and healthy.  His aunt adopted it, and she had it for close to 15 years.

I just want to smash people into little bits that would do that to an animal! 

[Chako]

I hear you. The main problem with my city, the local wildlife does not recognize city boundaries. I can remember a time when there were plenty of cats and dogs. In fact, we had a special breed of rough and tough cat that we would call Algoma Steel cats as they lived in the steel factory yards. I am sure their life was brutal but they did keep down the rat population. Lately though, too many things like foxes, coyotees, and wolves eat the local strays, that to see a cat running outside is a rare thing these days. I live in the city and sometimes I see wolf tracks outside my door in the snow. I know when something is around as my 2 Cats are on guard and watchful inside the house. So if I didn't save them whenever I saw them, they would just end up as someones pray sooner or later.