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05 Dec 12 - 10:08 PM (#3447822) Subject: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Bobert We have 3 cats... Two live outside or in the garage... One is an inside cat and he thinks he owns the joint so... ...he thinks that any door that is closed at night while we sleep is game for clawing at the carpet in front of that door and so claw he does... We started with holding his nose in the torn up carpet and then pounding him with newspaper... His response??? "Big deal, ya'll... Ya'll need anger management"... So this time we tried squirting him with water... Yeah, he's pissed right now... Who cares??? The main thing is changing his behavior... Any additional ideas??? B~ |
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05 Dec 12 - 10:53 PM (#3447836) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: katlaughing does he have a carpeted cat "tree" to climb and play on? If so, he may think any and all carpet is a big scratching post. Can't put that genie back in the bottle. swatting won't do much, but water squirting should. thing is it has to be when he is doing it or VERY shortly after. I'd get some repellent treatment for the carpet from Drs Foster and Mith, online, or from a local pet store. |
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06 Dec 12 - 02:14 AM (#3447878) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: ragdall The cat does own the joint. He will not change. You may be able to keep him away from the door when you are armed and dangerous and on the same side as he is, but when you are on the other side of the door, forget it. He isn't scratching there because it's carpet like his scratching post, he's scratching because he wants to get through that door, dammit! Put mats on the carpet, against the door, on the cat side of any door that you plan to close. If the cat scratches the dickens out of a mat, you can toss it and get another one. It's much cheaper than replacing a carpet. Vigorous scratching may move the mats away from the door and expose the carpet. Pin the mats down if you have to. rags |
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06 Dec 12 - 03:55 AM (#3447893) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Peter The scent glands in the cat's paws will now have marked those patches of carpet so the cat will return to them. |
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06 Dec 12 - 04:08 AM (#3447895) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: gnu I stopped cats from unwanted behaviour by growling and, if requires, letting out a deep toned (growl-like) yell and chasing them. When they hid, usually under a bed, I scolded them loudly and ended with stomping my foot. Then, complete calm but I gave them the silent treatment for as long as I figured was necessary. Worked for two of them and all I had to do with the last one was simply voice my disapproval but *I* trained it from the day it was brought home as a kitten and it was the only pet we had at time so that doesn't apply to most situations. |
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06 Dec 12 - 04:12 AM (#3447897) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Henry Krinkle Just ignore it. Don't make it an issue and it won't be. =(:-( )) |
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06 Dec 12 - 05:20 AM (#3447920) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Leadfingers Bobert - Alwways remember that Dogs have owners , Cats have Staff ! |
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06 Dec 12 - 08:25 AM (#3447976) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Becca72 Gnu - you didn't "train" them, you scared the shit out of them. What you were doing was not normal cat behaviour. I would suggest either a repellent spray or a sticky mat in front of those doors. You may even be able to get away with putting down tin foil for a couple of weeks - cats don't like things that feel strange on their paws. |
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06 Dec 12 - 09:02 AM (#3447985) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Bobert We're never around when he does this stuff... He knows not to do it in front of us... It seems that he thinks if he claws at the door it will open??? B~ |
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06 Dec 12 - 09:28 AM (#3448002) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,CS "NO" stated calmly in a *low voice", rather than shouting, usually successfully registers disapproval with our two without scaring them. They're smart enough to understand that a serious disapproving low tone means "not allowed". If repeated often enough, they get to learn to not do the thing we disapprove of. So they understand for example, not to walk on my lap top when it's on a desk. To avoid hot cups of coffee placed near a seat when jumping up on the sofa. To stop crying to ask to go out after "lockdown" (they have a kitty tray in the bathroom for night visits). It's important to offer them an alternative scratching place though. If he knows not to do it, but he's being naughty, I'd put a plastic or rubber backed mat in front of the door, and a wet tea towel on that. He'll get used to avoiding the damp. |
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06 Dec 12 - 10:09 AM (#3448023) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Jack Campin He probably won't scratch the doormat if you crap on it first. |
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06 Dec 12 - 10:17 AM (#3448025) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: katlaughing I also use a low, gruff voice and sometimes will hiss at them, like a cat, if they really aren't listening. Foster and smith have sticky mats, electric mat and noisy mats. |
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06 Dec 12 - 11:12 AM (#3448050) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: SINSULL Open the damn door! That's what he wants. Damn, what a bunch of... SINS, whose cats rule the roost. |
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06 Dec 12 - 11:19 AM (#3448061) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: catspaw49 Put in a cat door. Spaw |
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06 Dec 12 - 11:23 AM (#3448065) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,olddude my old solution was to put them in the basement, they love being outside but come inside when the weather is cold. Now they howl cause they want up stairs with the big people ... drives me nuts. gotta go down and play with them to shut them up ... ya can't own a cat they have their own way of doing stuff. When I had them at my office they had the run of the place .. now the basement ain't good enough |
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06 Dec 12 - 11:55 AM (#3448090) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Bobert A lot of folks are missing the story here... The cat ***never*** does this when we are around... It's always when we are either asleep or away... The cat understands "no" fully so this is not the issue here... B~ |
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06 Dec 12 - 12:19 PM (#3448103) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: katlaughing leave the doors open? |
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06 Dec 12 - 12:26 PM (#3448111) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: MGM·Lion Trouble with that ~~ we used to leave the doors open for Cleo ~ who would then affectionately bring us delightful gifts of eviscerated mice as a love token. Now we can see thru the glass door if she is carrying a rodent when she wants to come in, and has learnt to abandon them first if she wishes ingress. I felt a tad unappreciative in spurning her well-meant gifts like that, but Emma insisted on my sorting out my priorities! ~M~ |
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06 Dec 12 - 12:36 PM (#3448117) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: MGM·Lion ...or, even, bring them in alive & hunt them for our entertainment & delectation, prior to eviscerating them on the sitting room carpet...! |
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06 Dec 12 - 12:38 PM (#3448118) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: MGM·Lion ...& pigeons ~ wow the feathers. & recently she left a large rat corpse just outside on the patio. Glad we had taken to keeping the door pulled to before she found that one! |
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06 Dec 12 - 12:40 PM (#3448121) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,CS See rubber backed mats and wet tea towels or kitchen roll Bobert. |
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06 Dec 12 - 01:34 PM (#3448154) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Jack Campin Cat's don't like the smell of citrus. I have occasionally tried applying a few ml of industrial-strength concentrated grapefruit or lemon essence (as used in an ice cream factory) onto something the cats were getting too interested in. It worked reliably, but that quantity made the whole house smell of citrus for a month. |
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06 Dec 12 - 02:14 PM (#3448169) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza The poor cat. I feel very sorry for it. It wants and needs to go outside, so put in a catflap. Cats love to go out and explore, to feel the ground beneath their feet and to sniff about. The other two shouldn't be penned-up in a garage either. All three should be free to go outside at any time. If a cat brings in 'trophies', it's to be expected - it's what cats do. It's frantically scrabbling at the carpet in a vain attempt to have freedom. Please please let it go outside through a catflap. And never never hit a cat. It achieves nothing except fear and increases their stress. Oh dear, poor little soul. |
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06 Dec 12 - 02:18 PM (#3448171) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: gnu Becca... growling is not cat behaviour? It was for mine. The first one I trained would do as I said but growl such as when I wanted her to come in the house. When I would use a low, stern voice and say, "In the house, now." and motion her to get her arse in gear, she would comply, sloooowly and growl distinctively. She was a VERY intelligent cat and she was about 6 years old when I first met her and my ex. I still recall the first time I trained her. Kitchen, sitting, she sat in front of me and, whilst my head was turned, suddenly sank her claws into my leg just above the knee. There was no growling, yelling, chasing or foot stomping. Cheucie and I came to an understaning in less than two seconds. Dan... so the cats have you trained to play with them on command eh? >;-) |
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06 Dec 12 - 03:21 PM (#3448207) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Bobert This cat will paw at any door... Not necessarily the ones going outside... Bedroom door... Bathroom door... My office door... If I were to paint a fake door on the wall he would tear the carpet up under it, as well... Other than that he is a good cat... B;~( |
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06 Dec 12 - 03:53 PM (#3448219) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Becca72 Gnu - I was referring to your statement that you scolded them loudly, stomped your foot and then gave them the silent treatment...that is not normal cat behavior. |
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06 Dec 12 - 05:19 PM (#3448250) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: MGM·Lion I agree about trophies, Eliza, and what cats do. But you will know there are all kinds of things that creatures [& children too, for that matter] 'do', but have to be persuaded out of for the sake of society [= in this case the household] as a whole. ~M~ |
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06 Dec 12 - 05:31 PM (#3448256) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza I've always accepted my cats' behaviour, including bringing in dead/alive rats, mice or birds etc. Living in the countryside, I'm quite ok about dealing with these things. Rather than trying to train or punish them, I work around it. For instance, removing things from weeing range, covering food with a plate on the counter top, using disinfectant spray after they've walked on a surface etc. Cats do like and get used to a routine, so mine know, for example, that I have a nap in the afternoon and they have theirs too in their beds. I agree about children though, Michael, because you can at least talk and explain things to them. I've never hit or smacked a cat. Their bones are quite fragile and it only makes them nervous and/or vicious. Even if you shout, it startles and frightens them. Perhaps I spoil mine, but I've had cats all my life and have always had success in living happily with them. |
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06 Dec 12 - 06:31 PM (#3448299) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: gnu Becca... I thought it was clear that that was secondary if they didn't understand and respond to my my first "request". I would never go straight to such tactics with ANY animal except a human and, evean then, it would be measured upon the situation. gnus may become Wildebeestes instantaneously when dealing with trolls and bullies who represent themselves as intelligent humans here in Mudcat but cats can't even type. >;-) |
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06 Dec 12 - 08:18 PM (#3448347) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Dani Hot pepper on the carpet he shouldn't shred. Coupla good sneezes should do the trick. Dani |
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06 Dec 12 - 08:27 PM (#3448350) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Bobert Hot peppers??? Hmmmm??? Best idea yet... B~ |
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06 Dec 12 - 11:28 PM (#3448417) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: MGM·Lion Agree must never hit a cat with any force; but find a firm 'no' accompanied by a tap on the nose or just above the tail-joint with a forefinger will get the message home; as will pushing or lifting her gently off a surface where she is not supposed to go, again accompd by a 'no'. Cats can learn from such deterrents IME. ~M~ |
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07 Dec 12 - 09:24 AM (#3448567) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Becca72 :-) Gnu, my cat's may not be able to type (yet) but they CAN talk... Based on the original problem, though, the cat only does this when no one is around. Difficult to scold, swat, whatever if you are not there.... I still would suggest putting something on the carpet to make the cat not want to be there, be it a sticky mat, tin foil, static mat, or citrus spray. |
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07 Dec 12 - 09:31 AM (#3448573) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Bobert We have the spray... It's not 100%... The cat seems most interested with the sliding door that goes out of the bak of the house and I have put an old wood/metal milk box (the kind from the 50s) there and we leave it there... That's why he is now interested in other doors... I'm going to keep spraying and I'm gonna put some cyannne pepper down around the others and see if that works... B~ |
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07 Dec 12 - 10:13 AM (#3448591) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Newport Boy Bobert - I hope that was a mis-spelling of 'cayenne' and not 'cyanide'. Phil |
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07 Dec 12 - 10:18 AM (#3448596) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Don Wise My cat also displays a passion for flexing his claws on the carpet. However, doing this behind the entrance door revealed that the adhesive holding the carpet down was life-expired, resulting in a rucked up carpet and an almost shut out 'tin-opener'. You can buy metal strips to cover carpet joins, carpet ends etc which are screwed into the floor. I screwed such a strip over the offending piece of carpet....problem solved. |
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07 Dec 12 - 10:21 AM (#3448597) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Elmore We have our cats declawed and keep them inside. Vet says declawing is not cruel. They still scratch the furniture, but to no avail. |
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07 Dec 12 - 10:58 AM (#3448616) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Jack Campin Declawing is appallingly brutal (it's cutting the cat's toes off) and illegal in almost every country but the US. A British vet would get struck off for doing it. Cayenne pepper doesn't work. I've tried it. You just get chili pawprints all over the house. |
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07 Dec 12 - 11:07 AM (#3448624) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Becca72 Elmore - your vet is wrong. |
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07 Dec 12 - 11:26 AM (#3448640) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: MGM·Lion I had some friends whose vet would periodically trim their cats' claws so that scratches were less severe. This is probably no more serious than our cutting our nails. But I agree that declawing is a no-no. ~M~ |
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07 Dec 12 - 12:13 PM (#3448683) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza One can and should trim claws, especially if the cat is old and not very active; if you don't, the claws become curled over, very thick and cause problems walking. I trim just a smidgeon off our cats' claws (the very sharp bit) It's quite true that it's illegal here in UK to de-claw a cat, rightly so. I feel that if one has animals (of any kind) one has to learn about their needs and habits and adapt to them. Dogs are more trainable, but cats are not. I hate for instance to see dogs shut in a cage for most of the day, barking their heads off. They need to go out for a long walk. Cats need to go out to explore, mark their territory and sniff about. Any restriction on these needs is unkind. |
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07 Dec 12 - 04:02 PM (#3448875) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Elmore Okay, after hearing strong disapproval out there, I've reconsidered my position on the declawing issue. Please don't report me to the ASPCA, or my cat Raven who loves me. I disagree that letting cats outdoors is a necessity, and feel that sending them out to be hit by a car or devoured by a wild beast is the ultimate cruelty. |
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07 Dec 12 - 11:44 PM (#3449067) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: katlaughing Drs Foster and Smith have toenail caps one can put over their cat's claws. It saves the furniture and they come pretty colours, almost like getting one's nails done at the salon, though it would have to be a patient cat to get them on. Elmore, I lost one too many furpersons when they were let out. Since then, 1983, all of our cats have lived happy, long and safe lives being kept inside. The only way they go out is in their chicken coop...a structure out my office window in which they have a balcony, ar amp, and plenty of dirt for scratching, etc. They love it! |
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08 Dec 12 - 01:33 AM (#3449081) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Elmore We're moving pretty soon to a house with a screened in porch. I expect the cats will enjoy that. Not the moving, the porch. Sorry to have committed thread drift. |
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08 Dec 12 - 04:19 AM (#3449105) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza Well, I've lived in the countryside for over forty years now, so our cats aren't at risk from traffic. The only 'wild animal' predator type is the fox, and I've seen dozens, but none has ever attacked my cats. However, it's different in the city, I know. And perhaps in America, there are wild beasts out there that might enjoy a cat sandwich! |
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08 Dec 12 - 07:01 AM (#3449153) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Richard Bridge Medium-voltage expanded metal grid - turned on when you go to bed/out. Not enough to be dangerous but a lively tingle... |
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08 Dec 12 - 09:46 AM (#3449211) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Charmion Is the carpet a permanent fixture? We have hardwood floors. Rugs go in places where softness and warmth are desired, such as the sitting room in front of the sofa, not in high-traffic areas such as doorways. The cats do exercise their claws on the rugs, but not enough to do them any harm. (They are sturdy Afghan knotted rugs.) Furniture is another story -- our green leather Lazy Boy settee was severely shredded within its first year. Our problem is preventing the old tomcat from pissing on bookcases when we don't move fast enough to get the back door open for him. In our next house, the library will have a door that shuts. |
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08 Dec 12 - 11:27 AM (#3449252) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: katlaughing Eliza, when we lived on a mini-ranch (25 acres in Wyoming) I did let our cats go out at will. There was always a risk of eagles hunting them. We had a darling cairn terrier who just disappeared. One cat went missing for over a week, came home in the middle of the night. he was emaciated and weak, obviosly having been locked in somewhere. He left after we went to sleep. I assume he went to die alone. We found him again. We later found out he'd accidently been shut up in a neighbour's qounset hut with no way out until they happened to open it and saw him run out. So, yes, there are birds of prey and other dangers out of town, too. Getting back to the original posting, see DRS FOSTER & SMITH Cat Training Aids. |
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08 Dec 12 - 11:29 AM (#3449253) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Jack Campin We've had maybe 20 cats over the last 20-something years. Half that time was in a top-floor flat in central Edinburgh and the later half was in a village out of town with the cats free to come and go through a catflap. We only lost cats from the city flat. Cats are very good at sneaking out any time a door or window is open, and a cat that doesn't know the neighbourhood is much less likely to find its way back home. |
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08 Dec 12 - 11:38 AM (#3449258) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Patsy He may keep on doing this because he does get a reaction. I think I would try the not making an issue and installing a cat door or flap. Out of interest does he ever have contact with the other cats at any time, do they get along or just tolerate each other? |
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08 Dec 12 - 01:26 PM (#3449308) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza Well, I may have an accident in my little Fiesta car, I may be attacked in the street, I may fall under a bus, but I still like to go out and would go bonkers if shut in constantly. And I'm only a human! |
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08 Dec 12 - 06:04 PM (#3449499) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Elmore Eliza
Eliza: would you let your children run wild simply because you enjoy running wild? Respectfully, Elmore. |
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08 Dec 12 - 06:09 PM (#3449504) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Richard Bridge It is generally a mistake to treat pet animals as human children - although I can see some merit in the converse. |
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08 Dec 12 - 06:18 PM (#3449508) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: gnu "And perhaps in America, there are wild beasts out there that might enjoy a cat sandwich!" You got birds of prey? I inspected a NEW (2 months) roof on a large building in Port-aux-Basques, NF. At least thirty cat heads and guess how many paws on the roof? Few small dog heads and paws. Newfies ain't into yappers so much, eh b'y? Cats do a much better job of controlling rats and squirrels and such. Not the indoor cats, mind you. |
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09 Dec 12 - 05:02 AM (#3449644) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza Heavens, gnu, how awful. I can quite see why those people in USA are a bit wary of letting any pets out. We have small predators such as kestrels and sparrowhawks, but they only take little birds. Golden eagles up in Scotland are quite rare and never seen here in Norfolk. Elmore, I never had children, but as a child I did 'run wild', but life then was much safer, and we children were never at home in daylight hours. (Perhaps that's why I value freedom so much!) My three Siamese are cuddled up in their basket in the kitchen at this moment, and the counter tops are covered in mud, so they've obviously been out during the night. I see their mate Alfie from next door has been in, as he likes to puke on the floor after eating their leftovers. (He has a gippy tummy) I don't mind any of this, I'm fairly relaxed and just clean it up in a jiffy. |
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09 Dec 12 - 09:03 AM (#3449718) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Richard Bridge British birds of prey (raptors) - some quite large and readily capable of taking a small cat or a toy dog. http://raptortrust.org.uk/what-is-a-raptor/british-raptors/ |
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09 Dec 12 - 09:40 AM (#3449736) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: greg stephens Bobert: you want an animal in your house that lives the way you want it to? Get a dog.You want to run an establishment for the benefit of an animal? Get a cat. We have a cat. We do what we are told. |
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09 Dec 12 - 10:12 AM (#3449743) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Charmion Greg Stephens has it right, as I realize anew every time I leap up to provide porter services to the felines. A loud baritone meow from any part of the house brings me on trot for fear that Old Bill will find something fragile to piss on if I don't boost him ontothe bed or the sofa while he's still focussed on the notion of a snooze. How did it come to this? |
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09 Dec 12 - 01:22 PM (#3449811) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza I agree Richard, there are some superb, large raptors in Britain, but not anywhere near us in Norfolk! |
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09 Dec 12 - 08:39 PM (#3449950) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Elmore Eliza: When I was a kid we used to run wild too. These days we have to keep a close watch on our pets and our kids. Sad in a way, but there's no help for it. |
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10 Dec 12 - 08:11 AM (#3450078) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza We were lucky in those days weren't we Elmore? |
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10 Dec 12 - 09:21 AM (#3450100) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Charmion I grew up in a village on the Rideau River south of Ottawa, Ontario. Many people remember the 1950s and early '60s as an idyllic time of free-range kids romping in the fields and forests with their friends and the family dog, and I do remember plenty of that in long-ago Manotick. But I also remember plenty of routine hazards, especially the river itself, and Highway 16, which ran through the village, down Main Street past our house, carrying a high volume of commuter traffic and heavy trucks between Ottawa and Prescott, where you took the bridge over the St. Lawrence River to the United States. Our neighbours the MacEvoys always had a dog, and the dog's name was Happy. Over the 13 years our family lived in the village, the MacEvoys went through about five dogs named Happy. By the time I was a fully sentient being, say circa 1959, Mrs MacEvoy was in the habit of tying the least controllable and most vulnerable members of the family -- Happy the dog and whoever was the youngest kid at the time -- to the tree in front of the house. It never seemed to occur to Mr MacEvoy to build a fence around the yard -- our Dad's solution -- but different strokes do for different folks. We were cat people (devoted, doting cat people at that), and my parents never managed to keep a cat alive for more than five years until the highway was diverted to bypass the village. Free-range kids find their own fun, of course. In Manotick, for some reason, that meant a lot of sliding, in summer down the steep banks of the Rideau into the excitingly frothy waters below the dam that powered Watson's grist mill, and in winter just about anywhere a kid with a toboggan could find a slope. The enormous snowbanks thrown up by the highway plows were particularly appealing, and thus one small boy, the younger brother of a classmate, met his doom when he made the tactical error of sliding down the road side of the snowbank, right into the path of a homeward-bound commuter. I don't remember parents being at all casual or accepting of such incidents. In fact, it was about the time Tommy Bracken died that the wee pupils of Manotick Public School first made the acquaintance of Elmer the Safety Elephant. Our fascination with the aforementioned frothy waters of the Rideau River brought the Canadian Red Cross Society into our lives, along with its irritating patron saint of swimming lessons, one Walter Safety. Grudgingly, we learned never to swim alone (who did that?) or to dive headfirst into unknown waters. Humans and cats learn caution the hard way, through trial and error. Humans are large and reasonably intelligent, and they have the Highway Traffic Act and the Criminal Code on their side; cats not so much. Cats are small and vulnerable, and the first time they encounter a moving car or an interested predator can easily be the last time. Old Bill is our last outdoor cat. He came to us off the street, having survived an entire winter as a stray, and goes frantic when denied exeat. Rosie, the new cat, is a purebred Siamese who has never felt natural ground under her paws -- and that's just as well. She's not smart enough to avoid the hazards, as Bill obviously is, and she would be both terrified and in grave danger the whole time. And any cat who comes into our lives in future will likewise become an indoor cat if s/he isn't already. |
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10 Dec 12 - 10:13 AM (#3450110) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Elmore Eliza: I feel that we were luckier than kids are today for a number of reasons. Charmion: Our last outdoor cat, Murray, was a really great cat, but used to come home looking like something the cat dragged in (sorry} due to fights, love matches etc. Never again. |
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10 Dec 12 - 01:18 PM (#3450188) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: katlaughing nicely said, Charmion. |
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10 Dec 12 - 02:04 PM (#3450205) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: gnu Nice post, Charmion. |
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11 Dec 12 - 11:53 AM (#3450522) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Charmion's brother Andrew To compound the safety challenges in Manotick, there was an open, unfenced flooded quarry about 100 metres from our house, close enough that a snapping turtle once tried to lay her clutch of eggs in our front yard. Surprisingly, none of our number of free-range kids managed to drown in the quarry. |
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11 Dec 12 - 12:02 PM (#3450525) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Eliza Thread drift, but we did the most hair-raising and highly dangerous things as children. Our parents never knew, and never asked. We all survived, had enjoyed enormous freedom and learned how to handle dodgy situations. Sigh, how times have changed. |
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11 Dec 12 - 02:13 PM (#3450577) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Elmore Thread drift continued. I was brought up by my great-grandmother in a working class city. I did pretty much what I wanted. On Friday nights we used to go to dances at the Y.M.C.A. We walked home, way across town at 11 p.m. We were about 12 years old. These days you would want an ak-47 to get across town. Glad we moved. |
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11 Dec 12 - 03:23 PM (#3450599) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Charmion Hi, Andrew -- Remember when one of the Scharf girls lost a toe to a snapper? That would have been about 1962 ... She was swimming in the quarry, of course. |
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12 Dec 12 - 06:51 PM (#3451131) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: GUEST,Charmion's brother Andrew Can't say I do, Charmion. I am surprised, given how lore easily spread in the place. |
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13 Dec 12 - 09:59 AM (#3451360) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Raptor As a wild bird lover you can list me as one of the keep the cats indoors people. Those who let unspayed or unnutered cats outdoors are responsible for thousands of ferel cat deaths each year. And they claim to be cat lovers. It makes me Sick. |
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13 Dec 12 - 10:24 AM (#3451372) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Elmore Raptor: I totally agree. Used to let the cats out when I was young and stupid. |
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13 Dec 12 - 10:29 AM (#3451373) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Charmion Until very recently, a surprising number of Canadians thought of cats essentially as disposable animals -- useful in a limited way to people with rodent problems, but otherwise not valued. A good mouser would be tolerated, but just barely. Organized cat fancy is quite a modern phenomenon, and until very recently focussed on exotic types, Siameses and the like, rather than the local rat-bashers. I think many of our attitudes toward the much-loved moggies in our lives are affected by those centuries of disdain. We assume, first of all, that cats are not trainable. Next, we think of cats as capable enough to take care of themselves to the extent that we just let them out and assume they will be okay. It isn't just the songbirds and shy woodland creatures who deserve protection -- the cats do, too! It's nice to see you back on the board, Raptor. How's it goin', eh? |
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13 Dec 12 - 11:37 AM (#3451392) Subject: RE: BS: Cat Issue Advice Needed... From: Raptor Great how are you guys? |