Totally agree - our cats are either house-cats or allowed out by day in a
fenced backyard when we are in. When we had an open yard, it was on a very
quiet cul-de-sac where cats never got farther than the next-door neighbours'
house. They were also discouraged from hunting birds - one of the best tricks
is to let them think they are bringing a live gift to you, so you can release
it discreetly (done that with birds and mice...). Tree collars also help the
birds, just give enough height for a cat to get away from an aggressive dog.
The only nuisance we had was, predictably, aggressive roaming dogs (much worse
when not alone). Single dogs were usually well-behaved and only occasionally
strayed, the invisible fence helping.
One easy way to discourage roaming would be to mandate catch-and-release
spaying for uncontrolled pets. I suspect many roaming animals are not spayed.
Their 'owners' might not like to see them returned to them fixed courtesy of a
neighbor. As to ferals, that allows their populations to die out without
cruelty for lack of reproduction. And if you really like that backyard visitor,
just try to adopt the darn critter and look after it properly! Every single one
of our cats in the past 10 years urgently needed a home. We don't buy pets... -
PLZ
On 11:08, Scott Gomez wrote:
>It must be responsible
>ownership, however, and that means, IMO, not allowing one's pets to
>freely roam in urban/suburban areas.
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