Let not forget as well that hight fences already have a negative impact on wildlife (hedgehog for example) So when I read comments from people who pretend to be wildlife advocates asking for all cat owners to barricade their garden it really does not make much sense to me.
Barricading a garden where a cat lives and it risks being predated can only be better for wildlife surely? Cats kill baby hedgehogs so its a win-win.
The problem is that gardens are often linked so that they create a corridor for wildlife. If you block one off it can stop wildlife being able to move around the area safely. Not always the case but you see what I mean. Hedgehogs of course go under fences so the height doesn't matter and for 99% of wildlife a fence is not a barrier at all. The problem is allowing cat sized animals into gardens without allowing actual cats out.
I note when people state all the problems with containing a cat though that none of them seem to consider just not owning a cat in the first place. I would have thought that step one in cat ownership would be to check if you can keep a cat in a responsible way in the first place. I'll freely admit that it is our current culture that makes people think it's ok to let cats roam, which is probably the main factor in thinking you can have a cat, but as times change I think people will have to start thinking about whether they can contain their pet. It might mean rescuing an older cat rather than buying a young kitten or selecting breeds that are less inclined to roam.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Having a cat or any pet is a privilege and not a right. If your personal circumstances don't allow you to keep a cat, that's a shame but not a social crisis. It would be far better for cats, never mind everyone else, if there were far fewer domestic cats and if only those willing and with the resources to care for them properly were able to have them. As someone who cares very much for animal welfare I think making it harder for people to keep pets on a whim is universally A Good Thing, be they cats, dogs, goldfish, turtles or budgerigars.
And with regard to their 'need' to hunt. My cat is called Sam. He's 10 years old now. He was brought up living outside and bred specifically to keep pests down. He got injured, and the people where he lived couldn't afford to keep him if he wasn't able to 'work', so he was rehomed and ended up with me. He's the 4th such cat I've taken on and the second who was bred to hunt in this way. The other two were both just surplus kittens and thrown away ending up in the stray pound from where I took them on. All have been tricky to keep safe. They all have been very good at escaping - Sam can get over a 6 foot fence no trouble, so we've had to extend them all to keep him in. He hunts inside the garden, I let him. He catches the odd rabbit, one of the others caught a pigeon. Generally though he's well fed now, so he doesn't bother much and I've seen him stand next to a pheasant, just watching it until it looked up so could go 'boo' and laugh as it flew away. I exercise him, play with him, feed him well and keep him safely at home. I am lucky to have my own home with a big garden. A few years ago, when I didn't have a house and a garden, I didn't have a cat. I waited until I could afford one, much as I would have loved one before. He doesn't have all the freedoms he did when he was a kitten, but he's safer, healthier and seems, as far as I can tell, perfectly content in his stress free prison.
The only thing is he's a dog, not a cat. And I really don't see why that makes a difference.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Jellyfire I do not think that there is a simple solution to the problem. I strongly continue to believe that keeping all cats indoors or erecting prison fences all over Britain is not the right option. If there was another way, that is one that do not impede on the wellbeing of cats or does not have such a dramatic visual impact on properties (like my neighbor's 1640 cottage) I would certainly explore it. Now I wish I had an easy solution to the problem but I don't and I am humble enough to recognise it and wish other people would to.
erecting prison fences all over Britain is not the right option. If there was another way, that is one that do not impede on the wellbeing of cats or does not have such a dramatic visual impact on properties.
But that is exactly what IS happening - it's just that it's the people WITHOUT cats that are putting up the razor wire fences There are more homes without cats than with, so visually, it would be less intrusive if the cat homes had the fences.
Having to have planning permission to keep a cat is definitely a thought......
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Jellyfire I do not think that there is a simple solution to the problem. I strongly continue to believe that keeping all cats indoors or erecting prison fences all over Britain is not the right option. If there was another way, that is one that do not impede on the wellbeing of cats or does not have such a dramatic visual impact on properties (like my neighbor's 1640 cottage) I would certainly explore it. Now I wish I had an easy solution to the problem but I don't and I am humble enough to recognise it and wish other people would to.
Without wishing to start needless conflict, whilst accusing others of inflammatory language, you use phrases like 'pretend to be wildlife advocates', and 'erecting prison fences all over Britain'. Its unhelpful and unnecessary.
I agree with some of the other posters. Owning a pet is a privilege and a choice, if you cant be responsible for it then Im afraid you just shouldn't be able to have it.
I'd very much like a Lion but unfortunately I dont have a safari park, so I dont have one. (A ridiculous comparison but exactly the same principle).
I wouldnt propose the introduction of laws that meant all cat owners had to fence their cats in, they didnt get them originally on that basis and it would be unfair. But I see no reason why some more stringent laws couldn't be passed regarding collars, cats on public or private property and licensing ,for the purchase or acquisition of cats after a certain date in the future. That way everyone knows what they are signing up to. That will never happen, far too controversial, but an attitude change to how we perceive cat ownership would be just as powerful.
Oh and for what its worth, cat proof fencing doesnt need to be barbed wire and razor wire, it can be perfectly attractive and not look like Stangeways. Unfortunately they only work to keep cats in, not out, so they are of no use to those of us who down own cats.
Posts
I note when people state all the problems with containing a cat though that none of them seem to consider just not owning a cat in the first place. I would have thought that step one in cat ownership would be to check if you can keep a cat in a responsible way in the first place. I'll freely admit that it is our current culture that makes people think it's ok to let cats roam, which is probably the main factor in thinking you can have a cat, but as times change I think people will have to start thinking about whether they can contain their pet. It might mean rescuing an older cat rather than buying a young kitten or selecting breeds that are less inclined to roam.
And with regard to their 'need' to hunt. My cat is called Sam. He's 10 years old now. He was brought up living outside and bred specifically to keep pests down. He got injured, and the people where he lived couldn't afford to keep him if he wasn't able to 'work', so he was rehomed and ended up with me. He's the 4th such cat I've taken on and the second who was bred to hunt in this way. The other two were both just surplus kittens and thrown away ending up in the stray pound from where I took them on.
All have been tricky to keep safe. They all have been very good at escaping - Sam can get over a 6 foot fence no trouble, so we've had to extend them all to keep him in. He hunts inside the garden, I let him. He catches the odd rabbit, one of the others caught a pigeon. Generally though he's well fed now, so he doesn't bother much and I've seen him stand next to a pheasant, just watching it until it looked up so could go 'boo' and laugh as it flew away.
I exercise him, play with him, feed him well and keep him safely at home. I am lucky to have my own home with a big garden. A few years ago, when I didn't have a house and a garden, I didn't have a cat. I waited until I could afford one, much as I would have loved one before.
He doesn't have all the freedoms he did when he was a kitten, but he's safer, healthier and seems, as far as I can tell, perfectly content in his stress free prison.
The only thing is he's a dog, not a cat. And I really don't see why that makes a difference.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Having to have planning permission to keep a cat is definitely a thought......
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I agree with some of the other posters. Owning a pet is a privilege and a choice, if you cant be responsible for it then Im afraid you just shouldn't be able to have it.
I'd very much like a Lion but unfortunately I dont have a safari park, so I dont have one. (A ridiculous comparison but exactly the same principle).
I wouldnt propose the introduction of laws that meant all cat owners had to fence their cats in, they didnt get them originally on that basis and it would be unfair. But I see no reason why some more stringent laws couldn't be passed regarding collars, cats on public or private property and licensing ,for the purchase or acquisition of cats after a certain date in the future. That way everyone knows what they are signing up to. That will never happen, far too controversial, but an attitude change to how we perceive cat ownership would be just as powerful.
Haha.. I loved your plot twist.