Snow Day

[FamilyWiggs]

Given the mess they cause in an urban environment and the environmental impact (cue Biff) that producing dog & cat food presumably has, perhaps we should ban pet ownership in urban areas? The exceptions being hearing/seeing dogs.

The keeping of animals should be reserved for those living in country areas. Keeping animals in urban areas is clearly cruel.

 

[Feltwell]

Well I don't like that I've had to spend £350 on electric fencing because of damned dogs breaking in and worrying, and killing, my hens, and they're lucky they weren't shot. That is another of my New Year's Resolutions - buy gun and learn how to use it. And I hate sharing our track with badly behaved dogs (which is 90% of them) and the ensuing mess.

Lion poo can be purchased to prevent unwanted cat poo in the garden*, I'm sure most cat owners would be only to happy to pacify, unlike most dog owners who seem to think that foul jumping defecating dogs are a pleasant experience for others.

* http://www.primrose.co.uk/silent-roar-cat-repellent-05kg-p-791.html??source=googleads&gclid=CITo4L-h_p4CFR9o4wodF1rtIQ

Now that's bad owners - I too would also not be happy to spend £350 on electric fences, of course. But then neither do I really want to spread poo to prevent poo, nor do I want to pay for poo!

Nigel, agreed that dog fouling is abhorrent, and chewing gum is disgusting stuff. It costs Councils a huge amount to clean it up off pavements, if they do at all.

 

[Flyfisher]

Isn't all the criticism regarding dogs really a reflection on the owners? One could make a similar argument for children/adolescents (with the possible exception of defecating in the street). But cats are not really controllable in the same way (with the exception of neutering); they can only be domesticated to the extent that they will tolerate people enough to accept their food and shelter but otherwise continue with their natural tendency to roam, hunt, kill and maim.

 

[Feltwell]

Couldn't agree more FF.

 

[ilona73]

Isn't all the criticism regarding dogs really a reflection on the owners? One could make a similar argument for children/adolescents (with the possible exception of defecating in the street). But cats are not really controllable in the same way (with the exception of neutering); they can only be domesticated to the extent that they will tolerate people enough to accept their food and shelter but otherwise continue with their natural tendency to roam, hunt, kill and maim.

I have to agree here and i until recently had both a cat and a dog..I live rurally with just neighbours in what were the old out buildings to what is now my home... namely the old pig stys and barns that were renovated into dwellings... one is a cattery the other is just a sweet elderly couple.
I only have a cavlier King charles spaniel who is very well trained very obedient and will only do his business in a designated area of our garden.. heck he doesnt even like getting his feet wet let alone anything else! the cat however was merely a kitten when we moved here freshly neutered chipped and jabbed....although we live down a quiet lane you always get the odd idiot who thinks any road is a race track and killed my poor kitty ages 10 months and just left him to die in the road.... I think cats and dogs will always be a pain to those who aren't great lovers of them and i do blame most inconsiderate owners for most of the problems with dogs... cats however are a little harder to control in that they just have natural wanderlust.... unless they are declawed and neutered and kept in ... they will always wander and do their business where they fancy.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Ilona73 - how lovely to have you back here! How is Simonswood Hall? You must have had an incredibly busy few months, and I'm terribly sorry to read about your poor kitty as well, that's just awful.

I hope, though, you mean trim claws lightly- not declaw - to declaw a cat is a bit like pulling off a child's fingernails.

I'm afraid an awful lot of what is written above just proves that many of you do not have the first clue about cats. They are not an animal you can, or should, generalise about. The cat is a highly adaptive, intelligent animal that contrary to popular belief is immensely responsive and trainable - some breeds more so than others. The Siamese and Burmese, for example, can be easily lead-trained and can travel. The Turkish Van will swim. The Bengal is half-leopard and will look incredible in your trees. The British Shorthair is an extremely loving, doting pet that can be socialised with other animals, and can understand and respond to an awful lot of commands and conversation.

My British Shorthair lived very happily in our one-bed garden flat in Highgate for seven years. When we moved him here he spent the first month under the duvet, emerging at night to warily explore the interior and kill mice. He hadn't ever seen the countryside, or such a big house. I began to move his feeding station further and further away until he was comfortable with the whole upstairs/downstairs thing. Eventually, he began to explore the outside, running out and running in again in short excited bursts. One evening, he looked at me and miaowed loudly to be let out - I did so and he took me on a walk right outside the perimeter - his boundary exactly matching the holly hedge all round us, but on the field side (which was a great relief as I had been concerned about him disappearing into the fields and looking for London). He was about 2 metres ahead, and he kept looking back at me all the way round to make sure I was following - is this right? he was asking - it was the most amazing, bonding experience. How could he go so smoothly from a tiny garden to an acre, from 4 rooms to 15? But he did. After that, he begged to be let in and out of every window - he had to explore the whole thing and work out all the entrance and exit points, how the roof void works, where all the hiding places are - and that stupid science thing says cats don't solve problems- pah!

The neighbours in London miss this cat and have begun to suffer with mice. The one person who complained about poo solved the problem with a few harsh words and thrown shoes in Lord R's direction. I'm only too glad that my tenants have taken on two resue cats so that the mice can be kept down once more. To have dogs there, on the other hand, would be cruelty and wouldn't be tolerated.

 

[ilona73]

no i meant declaw... its not something i would ever do for the reasons you stated... but when i got Tallulah she was a british blue cat and a house cat... the vet asked if she was going to be a house cat did i want her declawing??? i was horrified.... needless to say she got cancer and i had to have her put down after lots of vet bills and soulsearching we got freddie.... we have always had cats and dogs..... ... and now 4 months after the event we are just beginning to think about maybe tentatively getting another one...
simonswood hall... is coming along nicely..... all structurals are sound.... and i have a few rooms almost at completion and will post piccies soon i promise x

 

[JohnB]

To get back on topic (well sort of ), here's my cuddly little bundle of hair enjoying the recent snow:

He got his nose swiped by a cat the other day, when he took too much interest in it. Little does he know that said pussy will be living in his garden for six months soon :?.

 

[LadyArowana]

Is it me, or do others think that Her Ladyship may have been over-indulging in the liquid food groups?

All content is guaranteed free from chemical enhancement and other potentially hamful additives. Although I am not averse to indescriminate use of the :lol: icon which some viewers may find offensive. :lol: :lol: :lol:

If there is anything close to getting dog turd on your shoe it is chewing gum. Mastictors of this disgusting substance who do not excrete their waste products responsibly should be hunted down like dogs and .....I feel my blood pressure rising so I had better stop here.

It is a prohibited substance in Singapore. Too expensive to deal with cleaning it up, so it was banned in 92. They relaxed the law slightly in 2004 to allow medicinal varieties which are available at pharmacies, I presume this refers to nicotine replacement therapy.

Come on Lady A, don't be shy!! :lol: :twisted:

Not too shy to come out and play, just operating with an 8hr time difference at the moment. That's why I know about the chewing gum rules and have a user name related to a species of tropical fish. Good sleuthing on that Joce, came about because one of my earliest jade purchases was a piece that was a dragonfish. I was told the legend that if a fish can leap the obstacles of the yellow river it will be magically transformed into a dragon. At the time I assumed it was merely a creative sales pitch, but further research revealed it is a traditional Chinese story. That lead to an ongoing interest in jade, eastern art, design and philosophy. None of which is much use when renovating a period property, and has some people thinking I have been at the happy pills.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

And this is why the cats win it: