Should cats be allowed to roam free

Should cats be allowed to roam free?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

Huron

Nominee Member
Dec 30, 2004
51
0
6
This seems to be a real concern for some, so it probably deserves its own thread.

So, are municipal laws which prohibit free roaming cats required?
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
RE: Should cats be allowe

I picked no.

Only because there's always 1 bad apple. Well actually currently theres 13 bad apples.
 

Hard-Luck Henry

Council Member
Feb 19, 2005
2,194
0
36
Wow. I'm putting two and two together, here, and the five that I've come up with is that Canada is currently being terrorised by gangs of rampaging felines. I know a woman who has two "housecats" which she never allows to go outdoors. She says they won't come back if she does, although how she knows this is a mystery, and personally I consider her to be quite mad. Keeping hamsters caged is bad enough, but the free spirited felix domesticus? That's potty, if not cruel. Surely in a country of three and a half million+ square miles, there's room for a few kitties? And anyway, don't you need them to help contain those Hanta virus-ridden rodents?
Having said that, I fail to see the reason that city people feel the need to keep medium to large sized mammals in their homes in this day and age; as far as the UK is concerned, I think banning domestic animals, coupled with a spaying/neutering programme, would be no bad thing (but only 'cos woolly human rights laws stops us from neutering the f*cking morons who think owning, then badly training, vicious, many toothed 'fighting' dogs makes them look tough).
So, what's the beef in Canada? (And don't say "cows").
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
RE: Should cats be allowe

Cows. ;-)

The problem with cats in Canada is twofold...people who don't get their animals spayed and neutered and people who hate cats. Bad owners and bad non-owners.

My area is semi-rural so our cats do perform a real service by keeping the mice down in the shed and garage and keeping the birds and rabbits out of the garden. It's too bad they aren't big enough to keep the deer out of the Saskatoons.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
RE: Should cats be allowe

Cats do exceedingly well when kept indoors. They don't need large territory. In fact a house or apartment is the perfect amount of "territory" for them. Mine "patrol" the house. Making sure no one has entered unannouced!

This mad lady who thinks her cats won't come back might be surprised to learn that they will. IF they've been treated right.

My 2 former ferals have "escaped" and come back. Course I didn't know they'd escaped until they climbed back in through the window!

I've always had cats that were both indoor and outdoor. Meaning they went out when they wanted and came back in when they wanted. This was in Victoria though. No Coyotes there.

It wasn't till I moved to mainland that I lost my Meeno to coyotes and decided not to risk it anymore.

There are some distinct advantages to cats remaining indoors. Those involve no fleas. No disease. No getting hit by cars. No accidental poisoning. No weirdo's using leghold traps. No cat fights. No neighbours complaining cause your cat mistook their garden for a potty. and such.

Although indoor cats require more care. I clean the litter box every day. I provide cat grass for them and lots of toys (they have their own toybox!) and multiple scatching posts. I love cats. Find them fascinating. So I enjoy playing with them. Mine play fetch. We're working on the bringing it back part though. Currently it's me throwing the toy. them chasing it until it's dead. me getting up and throwing it again.
 

no1important

Time Out
Jan 9, 2003
4,125
0
36
57
Vancouver
members.shaw.ca
RE: Should cats be allowe

When I live on an acreage (when I lived up north) I used to have cats and they came and went through the doggy door and had there own little room to eat and sleep in(when know one was home, otherwise they came in house). But there was lots of deer mice up there. The one I have in the city now is very lazy and does not like going outside. Strange, but he likes people(always likes to sleep with the kids) and was easy to train. The worst he does is sit and stare at the Aquarium but has yet to actually try to climb in, yet. ha ha

It is hard to say what to do about some cats, cats cannot be contained in a back yard like dogs.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
RE: Should cats be allowe

Actually. You can build a run for them. the top has to be inclosed though. And it can be quit expensive. Worse if you have coyotes cause they can dig. and then the cat can't run.
 

peapod

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 26, 2004
10,745
0
36
pumpkin pie bungalow
Well I voted yes, because I think critters belong outside, sure they can come once and while for a snuggle, and something to eat. (think husband :p ) but otherwise...off you go 8)
I with methitabel the cat on this one. She free and has a gay old time :p

this is the song of mehitabel
of mehitabel the alley cat
as i wrote you before boss
mehitabel is a believer
in the pythagorean
theory of the transmigration
of the soul and she claims
that formerly her spirit
was incarnated in the body
of cleopatra
that was a long time ago
and one must not be
surprised if mehitabel
has forgotten some of her
more regal manners

i have had my ups and downs
but wotthehell wotthehell
yesterday sceptres and crowns
fried oysters and velvet gowns
and today i herd with bums
but wotthehell wotthehell
i wake the world from sleep
as i caper and sing and leap
when i sing my wild free tune
wotthehell wotthehell
under the blear eyed moon
i am pelted with cast off shoon
but wotthehell wotthehell

do you think that i would change
my present freedom to range
for a castle or moated grange
wotthehell wotthehell
cage me and i d go frantic
my life is so romantic
capricious and corybantic
and i m toujours gai toujours gai

i know that i am bound
for a journey down the sound
in the midst of a refuse mound
but wotthehell wotthehell
oh i should worry and fret
death and i will coquette
there s a dance in the old dame yet
toujours gai toujours gai

i once was an innocent kit
wotthehell wotthehell
with a ribbon my neck to fit
and bells tied onto it
o wotthehell wotthehell
but a maltese cat came by
with a come hither look in his eye
and a song that soared to the sky
and wotthehell wotthehell
and i followed adown the street
the pad of his rhythmical feet
o permit me again to repeat
wotthehell wotthehell

my youth i shall never forget
but there s nothing i really regret
wotthehell wotthehell
there s a dance in the old dame yet
toujours gai toujours gai

the things that i had not ought to
i do because i ve gotto
wotthehell wotthehell
and i end with my favorite motto
toujours gai toujours gai

boss sometimes i think
that our friend mehitabel
is a trifle too gay
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
Actually. You can build a run for them. the top has to be inclosed though. And it can be quit expensive. Worse if you have coyotes cause they can dig. and then the cat can't run.

I built two of these in the Wolsley area...the part of Winnipeg usually referred to as the "Granola Belt." The first while we were building a deck and the second because somebody saw the first. They are an excellent idea.

It wasn't till I moved to mainland that I lost my Meeno to coyotes and decided not to risk it anymore.

Coyotes are a bitch for that. They are the reason why small pets on farms disappear so often. The only thing that seems to keep them away is llamas.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
RE: Should cats be allowe

The only thing that seems to keep them away is llamas.

Really? are you serious? Llamas? Wonder if I can get a lLama past strata?

I don't begrudge the coyotes killing and eating my Meeno. I'm actually glad that it was a coyote rather then a car or poisoning or something less......natural.
In a very twisted way it eases the loss I feel to know. Have I mentioned lately I'm a huge animal lover?
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
Really? are you serious? Llamas? Wonder if I can get a lLama past strata?

Really. They kick the crap out of the coyotes and the coyotes remember the smell. There are a couple of people in Saskatchewan who rent out llamas to farmers who have coyote problems...just toss them in with the livestock until the coyotes die off. Usually just a season.
 

Ten Packs

Council Member
Nov 21, 2004
1,505
5
38
Kamloops BC
Re: RE: Should cats be allowe

Twila said:
Really? are you serious? Llamas? Wonder if I can get a lLama past strata?

Twila, llamas (and camels, and kangaroos) are three animals you do NOT have to worry about, protecting what is "theirs"....

BADGERS and WOLVERINES, on the other hand - you should worry about until you have backed far enough away that you can no longer see them, or they you!
 

mrmom2

Senate Member
Mar 8, 2005
5,380
6
38
Kamloops BC
I say no both my cats are indoor cats and they are fine .I saw a real cat yesterday a bobcat walked out of the bush right in front of us while we sitting there on our sleds.It was agood looking specimen not to thin.It was sure nice to see :eek:
 

Reverend Blair

Council Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,238
1
38
Winnipeg
RE: Should cats be allowe

But do your cats perform a valuable service, Mr.Mom? To me it isn't whether they can be kept inside or not, ours hardly ever go out in the winter and they are perfectly happy. They like to be outside in the summer though, and they keep the vermin down to a reasonable level.
 

mrmom2

Senate Member
Mar 8, 2005
5,380
6
38
Kamloops BC
Yeah they do when we bought our house the home inspector said we had mice.A little work on my part and the cats no mice.I was told they give of a scent that keeps the little pests away .We have empty fields around us so theres lots of field mice around here.Now they stay outside.
 

Jay

Executive Branch Member
Jan 7, 2005
8,366
3
38
I say no. Cats are killing too many song birds, and other animals. Myself being a hunter, I'm required to have a hunting license to do what ppl are doing with their cats all day and any season. If I took my dog out for a walk in the mid-summer and the dog killed a pheasant while out in a field, I could get charged for poaching and it’s a serious offence.