cmdridq Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I recently ran across this law that was passed in Cook County two years. I am a cat person, but for the life of me I can't see how this is a good idea. Basically, people can have feral cat colonies at their homes by following a few guidelines. They are supposed to neuter, clip the ears for identification purposes, give rabies inoculations, feed, and provide shelter for any number of "wild" cats that may happen to show up for a free meal. There is no limit on the number of cats, nor any provision for being responsible for any property damage, or injuries inflicted on other pets or people by these cats. I find it hard to believe that people are going to do much more than feed and provide shelter to these animals. Feral cats are dangerous, the average person would have their hands full trying to catch, treat, and release these animals. Also, how would you like two dozen wild cats living in your neighbor's garage and using your backyard as their bathroom and hunting preserve? I think the politicians have screwed up again. Explanation of program: http://www.pawschicago.org/animalwelfare/trap_neuter_return.htm#TNROrdinance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Thats crazy....But I better tell you that I am certainly NOT a cat person, what I am is a gardening person, and those two things do not go hand in hand. I do have a racoon trap and I have got the problem down to a manageable number, there are a few neighbours wondering where their Kitties are. Maybe they should have wondered before letting them roam. I hope they are enjoying life at their new "home" and not finding it to much of a hardship hunting for their food and missing their "Whiskas" on a plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 that is a weird one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmdridq Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 OE, you trap their cats and drop them off somewhere else? Do they bother your garden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Thats crazy....But I better tell you that I am certainly NOT a cat person, what I am is a gardening person, and those two things do not go hand in hand. I do have a racoon trap and I have got the problem down to a manageable number, there are a few neighbours wondering where their Kitties are. Maybe they should have wondered before letting them roam. I hope they are enjoying life at their new "home" and not finding it to much of a hardship hunting for their food and missing their "Whiskas" on a plate. Do you realize the number of pests and rodents that those cats were keeping out of your garden? Rats, mice, and rabbits are all kept in check thanks to outdoor cats. Rabbits are more of a problem to a garden than any cat. The rat population would literally explode if not for the domestic cat. Even raccoons and opossums are driven away by the mere presence of a cat. A raccoon could easily kill a cat, but it rather open garbage cans in another yard that has no cat to deal with... probably yours [] Squirrels are another pain (especially if you've ever had them in your attic!) that cats help alleviate. I feel bad for your neighbors who are heartbroken over the loss of their pet... and I feel even worse if children are involved. There are no laws I know of restricting cats (at least in my town), so long as they are registered and tagged. So in this case, the lawbreaker was you. Did you try speaking to the owners of the cats first and explaining your position? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Here, cats are considered "wild animals" and as such have no rights to protections that are given pets. If you hit a dog with your car, you must stop and try to find the owner but if you hit a cat, you can just keep on going. There are no tags for cats and the cities do not regester them. Where I live (in the country) house cats might as well be painted red and white checkerboard with "Purina" labeled on top. They don't last more than a few days if left to roam due to the mountian lions, snakes, and mostly the coyotes roaming the land. They better not enter my fenced yard either. So far this year, my youngest dog has killed 3 ground squirls and a cat, ..... that I know of. I am sorry that the Fluffies of the world go missing but I don't cry much over them either. Dogs are loyal and want to be part of your pack, cats just want to eat your food, sleep and use the litter box. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Around these parts the Neuter Scooter will spay or neuter as many feral cats as can be caught for $20 a cat. But if you don't get 'em all it seems there would just get more and more of 'em and I'm sure it's not possible to catch 'em all so who in there right minds really wants herds of feral cats running amok in Cook County.... Isn't that Chicago? They're difficult enough to control on the open range, but in the big city? Trust me folks. You don't want a feral cat in your garage. We had a feral cat and a stray cat move into the loft in our garage. Both males. Not a pretty sight. The stray met his fate in the road. Took me a month to trap the feral cat.... trust me, he was huge and not at all happy. A lot more bad attitude than the raccoon I recently trapped when I was trying to catch an opossum in the garage in case we hadn't chased 'em all off. A whole herd of feral cats sound's dangerous as all get out to me. I think all feral cat colonies in Cook County should be relocated to the neighborhood, preferably next door to the dufi who passed this legislation. They love 'em so much, let them live next door to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 cats just want to eat your food, sleep and use the litter box. Dogs will wake your sorry bottom up in a fire to save it. Cats might but only because they want to be fed or let out. Trust me. Not all cats, domestic pets, or feral understand the concept of the litter box, sand, or dirt. Some think snow works just as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Another cat herding video link.... this one I can get to at work... http://www.jugglingcats.com/video/cat_herding.htm But I like the name of the site.... www.jugglingcats.com there's also a litter box cam link. Why would anyone want to see that? Cat Soccer anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Dogs are loyal and want to be part of your pack, cats just want to eat your food, sleep and use the litter box. Dogs also smell, need to be groomed, walked and fed. A cat is capable of feeding itself, grooming itself and sh!tting by itself, thus the reason there are feral cats and very few wild dogs. Dogs depend on man, whereas cats are capable of being independent. The love they give is no different than that of dogs I've had. Not sure where the hatred for cats begins... or ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Cat Soccer anyone? I'm sure this is a photo shop creation... looks like more of the cat's body should be showing. I forget where I found this but those purple and white shorts and socks look very similar to the one our girls' high school boys team have worn. The girls team has worn light blue socks with their purple and white uniforms for the past several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 A cat is capable of feeding itself, grooming itself and sh!tting by itself, thus the reason there are feral cats and very few wild dogs But some cats don't catch onto the litter box concept ... most likely because some moronic human took the cute little kitten from it's mother before the mother taught it the finer points of being a cat. I'm not sure feral cats always bother with burying their doo doo. It may depend on their environment and I'm sure as with people there are slobs in the cat world... I think our garage says home for wayward, developmentally challenged cats on it that only cats can see. I'm not sure about numbers, but wild dogs can survive quite well but they do so in packs and usually become very destructive, attacking livestock for meals for example. Not sure feral cat colonies attack anything other than rodents. Come on Jim. You've never had a cat that wasn't at least a little bit aloof? Want all kinds of attention now! But get lost later? Of course that's what makes them so much fun. We've had a couple that were just totally insane. One would run and litterally climb up my wife's leg / back and lay on her shoulders. I think he even wetn for bike rides up there. Another one as a kitten strutted out to the dog when he first arrived, looks at the dog, struts in to the dog house and eats the dog's food. They were best buds. Poor Bowser was depressed for weeks when the cat (forget it's name) got hit in the road or mysteriously disappeared. I don't remember which. Most of the problem with either is due to irresponsible pet owners. I think we've had at least a couple of dozen cats where we live now. Went and got 2 some guy had rescured from a trash can when we first moved to where we were at. Ricky and Lucy. Ricky was the nutcase. Lucy was more aloof but a good mouser. Both were "fixed" and eventually met their fates in the road. A 3rd showed up that was a very jealous kitty and somewhat litterbox challenged but eventually caught on... and I can't prove it but I'm not so sure she didn't coerce the other 2 to run into the road where they met there fate. She finally just disappeared a few months ago after > 14 years. Alaura / Laura was also known as Queen Furby as she ruled the rest of the cats. Our big stupid yellow lab Bridget showed up one day and never left. Her cat arrived a day or two later (we're not sure which). Her cat met it's fate in the road, and tootsie, the 3rd cat we actually went and got from some guy who claimed she was fully litter trained but she wasn't and still treats the ltter box as optional. Tootsie was so flea infested the vet said she'd probably not have survived had we not gotten her. Mostly black but looked dark brown like a tootsie roll when we got her. But at times more black, and at times more grey and not nearly as brown. Long haired. Go figure. Tootsie as now taken over the roll of Bridget's cat and queen of the cats. Within the last few weeks, Dexter moved in. Skittish as all get out to begin with but now very friendly another unwanted cat most likely tossed out of a car by some moron who decided they didn't want it. He needs to visit the Neuter Scooter. Think cats are so clean, I've got all kinds of things in the garage Dexter has marked as his that says otherwise. We used to find a litter of kittens in our garage every spring. Seems one neighbors ho kitty would have a litter. Another neighbor would take 'em all in including the mother while they were young and cute. And then I guess lock 'em out of the house as we'd find them in our garage. Finding homes for a litter of kittens every year got old but the ho kitty apparantly met her fate and we've not had kittens since. Litterally a couple fell out of one of our trees one day. So cats / dogs. They're both cool but there's a lot of idiots who shoudn't have either. But cats are sometimes more interesting. Dogs usually love you or want to bite your leg off. Cats often go from wanting full attention to leave me alone. So for all you who love to hate cats, or cat lovers who have a good albeit sadistic sense of humor, I recommend: and there's a sequal I've yet to get: I'm not sure I'd recommend the much longer 101 Uses For A Dead Cat as to me at least it just wasn't nearly as funny. I think these also something like 101 More Uses For A Dead Cat And if you like Skip's twisted sense of humor, this one also looks like fun.... I thnk we've all had days like this... (also not in my library []) Apologies in advance if any cat lovers might be offended. Or if you've really had days like Don't Laugh You're Next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Feral cats are really bad news- this is insane. My best friend has a 19 year old cat which stayed inside mostly but like to eat his food out on the porch and sleep in the swing. A feral cat showed up and attacked and almost killed his older cat. 800.00 in vet bills. A pellet gun solved that problem when he came back for seconds. There are disease issues galore. Anybody who has a legitimate pet outdoor pet cat should be outraged. What a stupid idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Come on Jim. You've never had a cat that wasn't at least a little bit aloof? Want all kinds of attention now! But get lost later? Of course that's what makes them so much fun. Certainly, I never claimed they weren't aloof! [] In my experience... and I've only had cats from when they were kittens having never adopted or taken in a stray, most cats will respond to their owners attention or lack there of. Giving cats lots of attention and time when they are not only young, but keeping a daily 15-20 minutes a day set aside (minimum) for playtime or other attention will help the cat remain a social and lovable pet. You'll only get from a cat, what you give. Of course, it helps to have them from a very young age and their personalities are not all the same... some will remain aloof or independent. I guess I've been lucky with the ones I've had.Most of the problem with either is due to irresponsible pet owners. Exactly! A neighbor was kind enough to come and talk to me about my cats habit of preying on their bird feeder. I told them I would put some bells on the cats collar to hopefully eliminate bird kills. I asked them to stay in touch and let me know how things went, problem solved. Other neighbors are happy to know my cat because he is a successful mole and vole hunter. Around our area, moles and voles destroy beautiful lawns and they see my cat as a saviour. Some of our other neighbors feel free to let their dogs roam the street. These dogs urinate on lawns causing damage and even crap on driveways and sidewalks. So, yes it does depend on the individual owner. Some people shouldn't have pets... or children. Think cats are so clean, I've got all kinds of things in the garage Dexter has marked as his that says otherwise. If a male cat is not neutered in it's first year, it will start spraying and marking its territory... inside or out! Very critical for this reason to neuter cats early, and also make them less aggressive towards other cats. Feral cats are a whole 'nother issue for the reasons outlined here and I don't agree with letting people start a feral colony... not a good idea at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 If a male cat is not neutered in it's first year, it will start spraying and marking its territory... Well were probably screwed with Dexter then though he could be less than a year old.... he's not real big but could be full sized. Never had a problem with any of the male cats we got or Spike who we had for 5 years in Texas, 15 months in Illinois, but he got sick while staying with my Dad and brother in Northern IN while we moved to Kokomo with something strange that wasn't Feline Leukemia, for which he was vaccinated. My brouther said a couple of co-workers cats had the same symptoms. Seemed like some sort of neurological disorder and the vet said he'd (or she'd) never seen it. They actually were able to leash him up and tie him up like a dog.... not the Spike we knew and loved. He only crapped in the house like 3 times.... once as a kitten on an ugly green carpet scrap he was trying to cover up his doo-doo. Once behind my recliner when we brought our first daughter home. Again behind the climber when we brought Bowser home. He also lost a lot of weight when we got the dog as we normally fed him on the counter opposite the kitchen window under the covered patio enough that the vet was kind of worried as he went from 17 to 11 lbs. Somewhat gradual we didn't notice. He still wanted to play and his lap time and to go out when he wanted to go out. He often would run and duck into the storm sewers outside in Plano a suburb of Dallas. Well, he wouldn't go out to eat as much when we got the dog even though he was 3 times as big as the dog as a puppy. Go figure. That cat could've owned the dog. The cat was terrified of the dog, the poor dog just wanted to play. I Illinois he stayed in the house or garage most of the time but don't think he ever made a mess. Bowser spent a lot more time in the garage, and house even, as even though he was an outdoor dog in Texas it was just too brutally cold in the Chicago area (Bolingbrook)... -20 or -25 or so for 5 stragiht days - longest such cold streak on record in Chicagoland. And quite a bit of snow. Not a lot of fun shoveling a foot of snow out of the drive so I could drive 30.5 miles downtown to work though I'm not sure I ever drove to work but rather drove to catch the last bus out of town to catch the last express (non-stop) train to Chicago in the local "village" that had a train station. Kind of missed Texas that first winter. 15 to 16 years later, mostly in Indiana I'm almost used to it again.... well maybe 20 degrees and sunny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brac Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Man, you cat people can be long winded, I can't imagine having more than a few words to say about cats. The ones my neighbor has likes to kill song birds, but lives the rodents alone. (I think Jimmy Carter layed out a peace plan for them). As for dogs not going feral, I used to work at a rock quarry, and there was a group of about 20! Being near a city (Miami) every now and again someone would dump an unwanted pet so it would either join the pack and attack cars people and animals, or they would kill it. When I say attack cars I don't mean chase cars I mean try to bite you through the window. They seemed to do less of this after the leader was dispatched in the act! Anyway one of the animals that got dumped who we named pete, and were trying to find a home for, was attacked and injured so bad he had to be put down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Cats are cool. Anyone who's been by here knows that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Hey Michael, I wish you lived closer...I will have a couple more to "drop off" over the next few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 If those are people's pets I would hope that you have heart enough to make a search for the owners or at least to inform the neighborhood of your practice. Having a pet just 'disappear' is tragic to pet lovers. It is an act of cruelty to dispose of a neighbor's pet regardless of the circumstances. I lost one a couple of years back and never knew what happened to her although I posted all over the neighborhood. Maybe you could inform them of your 'policy' and the fear of loss might scare them into keeping their bothersome pets closer to home. Yes mine run a bit loose during the day, but I bought a two acre yard so they have plenty of their own room to play. I don't think they cause any trouble.In fact they manage to bring me a mole or chipmonk on a pretty regular basis, leave my birds alone for the most part. But they're scared of the squirrels, with all the oak trees around here the squirrels are pretty formidable. Please be a kind neighbor. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Now Michael, not trying to be heartless but this has been an on-going issue in this area for a long time. The people who own the cats know the problems THEY are causing, and it's not only me. We are not talking one or two cats, more like twenty. "Please be a kind neighbour".... I couldn't agree more. When you get to the point where it is impossible to open your back door because of the rancid stench of cat piss, and hundreds of dollars of plants are destroyed and dug-up, now you have to re-plant them while trying to avoid getting a handful of "Fluffies" $h!t.....when this happens to you on a regular basis, only then can you understand the problem that these little $h!t machines are capable of. And NO I am not going to waste any more of my time to search out the these irresponsible owners, they know the problems they are causing, and have been told by others on numerous occassions, only to receive verbal abuse in return. It seems stealth and a covert operation is by far the best remedy. The strange thing is the owners of these cats don't have a "cat problem", seems there is an unwritten rule amongst cats "Don't $h!t in Your Own Yard".[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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