Of course I'm not telling you that you SHOULD accept it. But I can't see any realistic way of preventing it. Like my pigeon poo, there's not much point getting wound up about it.
‘Not forcing people…’ would be lovely … not forcing them to drive within speed limits, pay their taxes, educate their children, not get drunk and beat their spouses … it would be lovely wouldn’t it? … but society’s experience shows that legislation is what works.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
@Posy, it's very easy to prevent with a pet animal, stop it leaving your property unless it's under your direct control. That's what I do with my dog, I am directly responsible for all of her actions. It's no different for a cat, other than their owners reluctance to do it . I've just watched a guy from Australia zoo take a tiger for a leash walk, so a pet cat should be no problem .
If roaming is banned then feral cats are treated as strays and come under the same restrictions as stray dogs so it wouldn't take decades to eradicate them.
What is the difference now between the way stray cats and feral cats are treated?
I've caught cats that were 'living rough' and taken them to the Cats Protection League or the Blue Cross. They didn't make any distinction between whether they were stray or feral apart from the observation that ferals are much harder to rehome, but they didn't say they wouldn't take them in. Either way they were neutered and found a secure home. That's much kinder treatment than many - most? - stray dogs, who can be tasered to be caught and are routinely euthanised
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
but nobody OWNS the rats, therefore nobody can be expected to be responsible for them. The same can not be said about cats and their owner. Nobody is forced to have a pet.
I'm at a loss to understand why folk want to share their homes with a different species,be it cat, dog, tarantula, python, budgie or whatever .
If roaming is banned then feral cats are treated as strays and come under the same restrictions as stray dogs so it wouldn't take decades to eradicate them.
What is the difference now between the way stray cats and feral cats are treated?
I've caught cats that were 'living rough' and taken them to the Cats Protection League or the Blue Cross. They didn't make any distinction between whether they were stray or feral apart from the observation that ferals are much harder to rehome, but they didn't say they wouldn't take them in. Either way they were neutered and found a secure home. That's much kinder treatment than many - most? - stray dogs, who can be tasered to be caught and are routinely euthanised
That isn't my experience, I know many dog charities that re-home abandoned and stray dogs. The difference is that there are far fewer stray dogs than cats because of the ' right to roam'. Remove that and the problem becomes more manageable, simply apply the rules that apply to dogs to cats.
About 10 yards behind my house and fence is a shed in which is stored straw, hay and pony feed. Rats breed there - you can't blame them. My cats do not tackle adult rats. Life is often short for those that do. But they find out the nests and take the babies as they emerge.
They are not on my property. Obviously, the rats do not belong to me but I consider that the cats are providing an essential service to me and my neighbours.
If we could turn the clock back 10 ... 50 ... 100 ... 500 years there are so many things we would do differently, if only we knew then what we know now. Our relationship with pet cats is one of them.
But will governments enact legislation to control the free roaming of cats? Not a chance. The evidence of the irreversible harm they do to British wildlife is not certain. The pressure for change from the general public is weak. Any attempt to put cat roaming restrictions into a manifesto would be political suicide.
It seems to me that the only way forward is education about the dangers of free roaming to the cats themselves, to wildlife and the annoyance to neighbours. It is likely to take a generation or more for it to happen but I think, wash by swash, the tide will turn. In USA about 2/3 of cats are house cats only, here the figure is nearer to 1/3. And we must do more to rehome and neuter strays.
Who, in 1972, foresaw what current day attitudes would be to smoking, gay marriage, climate change etc? Major changes can happen but forcing change is counter productive. Legislation to control cats would be extremely unpopular and unenforceable. Quiet persuasion is the way ahead, not bossy hectoring.
Posts
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I've caught cats that were 'living rough' and taken them to the Cats Protection League or the Blue Cross. They didn't make any distinction between whether they were stray or feral apart from the observation that ferals are much harder to rehome, but they didn't say they wouldn't take them in. Either way they were neutered and found a secure home. That's much kinder treatment than many - most? - stray dogs, who can be tasered to be caught and are routinely euthanised
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
The same can not be said about cats and their owner. Nobody is forced to have a pet.
I'm at a loss to understand why folk want to share their homes with a different species,be it cat, dog, tarantula, python, budgie or whatever .
My cats do not tackle adult rats. Life is often short for those that do. But they find out the nests and take the babies as they emerge.
They are not on my property. Obviously, the rats do not belong to me but I consider that the cats are providing an essential service to me and my neighbours.
But will governments enact legislation to control the free roaming of cats? Not a chance. The evidence of the irreversible harm they do to British wildlife is not certain. The pressure for change from the general public is weak. Any attempt to put cat roaming restrictions into a manifesto would be political suicide.
It seems to me that the only way forward is education about the dangers of free roaming to the cats themselves, to wildlife and the annoyance to neighbours. It is likely to take a generation or more for it to happen but I think, wash by swash, the tide will turn. In USA about 2/3 of cats are house cats only, here the figure is nearer to 1/3. And we must do more to rehome and neuter strays.
Who, in 1972, foresaw what current day attitudes would be to smoking, gay marriage, climate change etc? Major changes can happen but forcing change is counter productive. Legislation to control cats would be extremely unpopular and unenforceable. Quiet persuasion is the way ahead, not bossy hectoring.