I am not a fan of stray cats - they poop all over my lawn and in my garden and rip me out of a sound sleep with their wailing at 2am, they damage the paint on my car and dirty my windshield. I don't understand why dog owners have to licence their dog when we rarely have a loose dog and we are limited to the number of dogs owned, but cat owners can have as many as they want running all over the neighbourhood and don't have to pay a dang thing. Case in point, one neighbour has 9 outdoor cats and apparently she's not feeding them well enough so another neighbour (whom I'm friends with) started to feed them. Before she left for a 2 week vacation she asked me to feed the outdoor cats. I said 'yes' because there was no one else she could ask and she's my friend, but to me it was like asking me to feed the squirrels or wild rats.
I don't like feeding these cats but they've become dependant on this food and I promised my friend I would do it. But then Jp found out what I was doing, and well you can imagine how that went.
I suppose I should have told my friend 'no' although she would never have understood my rationale and now I'm stuck with the task until she returns. So tell me - what would you do? How do you feel about stray cats in your neighbourhood?
3 comments:
I don't like them either- and we have a cat! He's too old and rickety to jump the fence so we let him out in the fenced backyard, but he got a lovely absess (and we got a lovely vet bill) from another cat who was in our yard.
I think they should absolutely have licences like dogs- seeing as they wander more and are more of a nuisance in general if they are outdoor cats.
I caught one trying to poop in my planter the other day so I let Starr go nuts & chase it away!
And feeding them is probably not the answer- calling the spca might be a better thing if the woman who is "taking care" of them isn't capable, so at least they can be spayed/neutered and go to better homes where they'll be loved. We lived in an apartment bldg where there was a herd- literally- of wild cats that people were feeding. Eventually the manager called the spca and they all got caught, spayed/neutered and relocated. It's not fair on the animal to be left like that either.
Difficult situation with your friend being involved too.
Thank you for your reply Cynthia - I think I'll place a call to animal control, as you're right, it's not fair to the cats either.
Cats pooping in the yard is the worst. We got Donner at Katie's place - a no kill cat shelter in Maple Ridge. Maybe they can help/make some suggestions - http://members.petfinder.org/~BC136/contact_info.html
What crappy neighbours you have. Well, that one person, anyway.
Oscar and Donner are indoor cats only. They never go outside - too many coyotes and traffic and other awful things to worry about. Plus I don't want them pooping in my garden.
Post a Comment