Did one of your cats get killed Herbert?

If a neighbour did this - how?

The problem is they don't sniff around innocently. I used to get extremely annoyed with neighbours' cats on my property. At one time I had a lot of exotic birds and it was quite stressful seeing some cat climbing up the side of an aviary while the birds crashed all over the place in terror. One neighbour's cat used to climb onto my garage and hide under an overhanging bush then jump out suddenly and catch unsuspecting birds. She'd see me coming and run for her life.

Back then I might have considered killing these cats if I had something quick and painless to do the job. It's easier to be kinder to starving strays than fat, bored cats from good homes.

About ten minutes ago - I walked out to my back verandah and all I could smell was tom cat. Some male has just sneaked up and sprayed my garden chairs. The stench is horrible. 

Some people might find that a reason to kill.

mantra wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 5:28pm:


Good Lord no!

But I have had two of my cats killed in the past by neighbours.

mantra wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 5:28pm:


Sorry ... but cats are a fact of life, and if you have exotic birds in the backyard, then the cage should be up on stilts with a protective guard around it.

I personally could easily make a cage full of birds safe from straying cats.

mantra wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 5:28pm:


Sparrows, Indian Mynahs, and a whole host of other introduced birds are culled by domestic cats, giving the indigenous birds more nesting space and more food to eat.

mantra wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 5:28pm:


My old Italian neighbour happily told me she drowns her cat's kittens by the bucket-load. Saves on vet's fees...

mantra wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 5:28pm:


Solution: ~ Get yourself a 'Bombay' male like I have. (Half Burmese, half American Short-Hair). You won't see another male come onto the property for the rest of ...

My Sooty has been a Godsend. Before Sooty arrived, my other two were always being chased and beaten up by a neighbour's particularly vicious female cat.

mantra wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 5:28pm:


If there's no solution ~ then okay ~ warn the neighbour of the consequences if they don't restrain the cat, or else ...

Incidentally, Councils will act if you report a troublesome cat. They will personally visit the owners and explain the problem, and tell them that if it continues the cat will be confiscated.

Lord Herbert wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 6:54pm:


I agree, a national initiative to cull ferals is one thing, killing a cat in suburbia is just sociopathic. The people are to blame, not the cats, they are just being what they are.

Lord Herbert wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 6:54pm:


Wrong.  Cats are tolerated by most of society, and adored by the minority who love them. I have no problem with cats in general. I've owned many cats and even shed a tear or two over them. However, as a pet owner it is your responsibility to ensure you pet does not encroach on somebody else's property. I can't let my pit-bull into your yard, what makes you think your cat any different?

Lord Herbert wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 6:54pm:


sure, complain to your local council ... most councils have procedures in place to deal with noisy pets.

By the way, if that's your argument, you are a dam hypocrite. You had a go at me because I once said I didn't want my lounge furniture covered in cat hair, and yet a squaking bird stops you enjoying your lounge? Get real.

Lord Herbert wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 8:50pm:


Cat ownership is more of a juvenile cult than anything else, there is no sense to it at all and neighbours are well within their rights to be irate about the effects of cat ownership culture. That doesn't make the murdering of stray cats any more despicable by the sociopaths looking for excuses to do it.

Winston Smith wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 8:28pm:


How many people own a dog?

Lots.

That alone keeps the cats away.

How many own a male cat? Again ~ neighbourhood cats soon learn to stay away.

How many people keep caged birds chirping in the backyard that attract the local moggies? Only a very few people.

How many have their garden beds ruined by cats : Answer ~ Zero.
(Aerating and fertilising these beds is not 'ruining' them).

How many people have a culturally-inspired cruel-streak towards cats? Answer ~ A great many.

Male urine odour can be dealt with simply and effectively using a citronella spray bought at the local pet shop. Males soon lose interest in sniffing around your place.

**********

One solution I've employed to get rid of a neighbour's nuisance cat is to trap it in a cat-trap cage ($60 at your local hardware shop) ~ and take the cat to the vets, telling them it's a stray.

9 times out of 10 the cat owners haven't had it microchipped ... and so it gets collected by the council from the vets - or gets euthanized by the vets. (Didn't cost me a cent).

Problem solved.

People's hysteria about the occasional cat walking onto their property is little more than territorial aggression on the part of the home owner. It has nothing to do with being intelligent or reasonable ~ but everything to do with unleashing the bastard within.

Most people live their lives as subordinates to bosses, and laws, and rules, and other people, and schedules, and job requirements, and discipline, etc... so when a cat comes strolling onto their property they jump at the opportunity to play the role of GOD ALMIGHTY so far as the poor hapless cat is concerned.

I've got a little Arab guy who lives around the corner who gets his jollies by throwing bricks at any cats that come onto his property.

Sad little people with monumental inferiority complexes that get momentarily salved by beating up on neighbourhood cats.

I'm sure you're not one of them, are you John Smith?   

Winston Smith wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 11:10pm:


Wrong! Cat ownership is far less 'juvenile' than owning a dog that's going to make you feel appreciated and important all the time.

Generally speaking cats are selfish little buggers who will cuddle up to you only when they feel like it.

I believe pet ownership develops maturity of character and generosity of spirit in children. Their attention is removed from themselves onto a defenceless creature in their care. They learn love from this.

Cat-ownership is a tool of learning for children in the family home.

Winston Smith wrote on Aug 24^th, 2013 at 11:10pm:


On a list of what can annoy you about your neighbours ~ your cat occasionally straying onto their property would rate around 5 or 6 in the annoyance ratings.

Having to suffer routine and persistent loud and intrusive noise coming across from the neighbours would rate right up there at the top of the list.

Then there's the smoke and the stink from backyard burning in which oil rags and god-knows-what-else has been tossed onto the fire.

Then we have the charmers who use treated timbers for their house-warming wood-burners ~ stinking the neighbourhood out.

Then there's the arsehole with his noisy power-tools who spends hours each week making wooden benches and whatever for sale to a contracted buyer. For hours each week you sit in your home listening to the high-pitched sounds of his blades and orbital sanders working on the wood.

Then there's the sociopath who enjoys his dog barking loudly, aggressively, and persistently at every sound and movement in the street.

And of course, there's the household that can't live without a 100Watt Sound System pumping out Ghetto rap all ... day .... long.

Then there's the neighbour with the squawking parrot in the backyard ... screeching all ... day ... long.

Then there's the neighbours whose kids play soccer in the backyard ~ with the ball crashing against the sheet-metal colorbond fencing fit to make you jump in your seat.

And the kid who bounces a basket-ball on his concrete driveway ... hour ... after hour ... after hour ...

Let's not forget the neighbour with the backyard swimming pool who pays for the pool's treatments by leasing it out to the public whose small children scream and shriek in it all day long on Saturdays and Sundays when its open to them.

The truckie in your street? We used to have a pig who ran the refrigeration unit on his enormous 14-wheeler for hours each evening ~ a constant humming sound as you sat in your lounge room.

Someone's beautiful little cat quietly tippy-toeing onto a neighbour's property ~ a big deal? Are you kidding me?

I have a neighbour opposite me who runs an ancient airconditioner until the early hours of the morning. Sometimes I wear ear-plugs to get to sleep.

And then we have the arseholes who take off in their cars in the early morning dark with a roar of the engine. Also had a guy do this every morning with his motorbike. And the moron who used to beep his car horn every morning in the dark to say "Bye!" to his wife standing at the front door.

Generally speaking, people are inconsiderate pigs.

freediver wrote on Aug 25^th, 2013 at 8:23am:


I used the term 'hysterical' to describe the gross over-reaction of certain home-owners to finding a cat on their property. The reaction is like the cartoon of a woman standing on a chair with a cute little mouse running around the floor.

Or finding a Wolfman spider in the bedroom. Shrieks of panic and hysteria.

I did not say anything about killing a cat in a hysterical manner.

The vets told me that only the sick ones get put down ~ or those too feral to be given a home. Otherwise they're all taken to the council pound for re-homing, or getting the chop.

Killing cats by throwing bricks at them is not something I approve off. Nor is drowning them.

Shooting them, I can live with ... but then I'll also support any reciprocal action of a violent or fatal kind.

I once worked with a guy who got his friend to come at night to shoot a neighbour's backyard dog that was a 'nuisance' barker.

Lord Herbert wrote on Aug 25^th, 2013 at 8:49am:


Putting it like that - of course it sounds unreasonable to be upset about a neighbour's cat trespassing on your property, but it depends what is important to you.

Lizards, birds and frogs are important to me and local cats love my garden. It's like a giant killing field for them. Acquiring a cat has helped to get rid of other cats. She's a tough territorial little thing, but she's under constant surveillance. She can now sit on a chair next to the pet lorikeet and ignore her even when her tail is getting pecked.

Neighbours generally are a nuisance, but you can leave notes in their mailbox which usually shuts them up - temporarily at least.

The local council will act only if a cat has been caught killing two birds or more, but if I know who the cat belongs to - I'll complain to the owner first - then I'll lodge a complaint with the council. Usually a warning from a ranger is effective enough for the owner to be more vigilant in restraining their cat.

Lord Herbert wrote on Aug 25^th, 2013 at 12:30pm:


Most of the contact with neighbours has been by an anonymous note, although I have approached a few people personally and always hoped no-one would take revenge. Those were the days when I had a couple of large, aggressive dogs - so I felt safe. I wouldn't do it today.

I did have some psycho come to my front porch once and throw a few plant pots at the house. That was a bit worrying.

Lord Herbert wrote on Aug 25^th, 2013 at 12:30pm:


What if you accidentally hit it in the eye? Those BB guns used to be sold over the counter when I was a child. My brother had one he used for shooting water rats when he was only about 8. The laws were slack then and nobody cared whether a kid lost an eye or got shot in the ear by one of those things.

I doubt you could import one, but you could possibly buy one on the black market if your neighbour has some contacts for illegal weapons.

Herbert .. you need one of these .... stop annoying your neighbours

http://www.catsafe.com.au/

Lord Herbert wrote on Aug 26^th, 2013 at 8:21am:


you can seek help for that you know .....