Help me before I commit a crime!

[Cheri]

Yes, that will be fine until the one day when she doesn't stay in the yard. It doesn't take much to keep your animals safe...all the time.

Cheri

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Some cats are miserable being indoors all the time. Some aren't. If you can see past your own nose, it's easy to tell what type of cat you have.

[Cheri]

Feral cats are a different story, but allowing a pet cat to run loose outdoors is just as bad as allowing a child to run loose. Oops, lots of lazy parents do that too these days.

Cheri

[maradcliff]

I'll agree with this, but being a farmer, I have had feral dogs and neighbors dogs coming here and killing my chickens and ducks. I finally gave up on the chickens and ducks because of the damn dogs. I cant shoot a dog, but several have left here in a sheriffs squad. One neighbors dog killed one of my farm cats, and that dog was returned to the neighbor, in a wooden crate, and I told him if the #%^!&)* thing ever comes here again, it's dead. Oddly enough, the neighbor told me to feel free to shoot it if it comes here again. ?????

Either way, I just am not a dog person. My favorite animals are horses, but I love my barn cats too, and have 14 of them. They keep the mice population down too, and one of them also kills rats. I have had dogs, and I have even tried to force myself to enjoy them, but I just dont care for em. The last dog I had, (puppy) drove me nuts with it's 24/7 barking. I gave it to a guy who wanted a dog, and the dog saved his life by barking when a house fire started during the night. I guess there's a reason for everything.....

[Cheri]

I don't have cats, but if I did, I know it's very easy to get a large portable kennel enclosure to place in your yard, so your cat has a place to play etc., and still be safe. I know this because both of my sisters have them for their cats. I could say that it's easy to tell what type of cat owner you are too, but it serves no purpose.

Cheri

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Those kennels are of no use for a cat which wants to hunt. And, don't tell me certain types of toys will make that kind of cat happy.

[maradcliff]

Barn cats on farms are always loose, but they stay around the buildings. It's the stray dogs that COME HERE that cause the problems. My barn cats follow me around all the time when I am outside and they get lots of attention from me. Of course a few of them tend to get under my feet and sooner or later they learn that they WILL get stepped on. Especially when I am carrying hay bales, I cant see them down there. They always survive though, and hopefully learn their lesson. I did have one get kille when a horse stepped on it though. There is little I can do to stop that. Sometimes I think cats and dogs are suicidal. I had a cat dart out in front of my car the other night, on a back country gravel road. I was probably the only car that used that road in hours. I swear that cat was trying to get killed. I missed it by a couple feet when I slammed on my brakes. Really pissed me off too.....

[Dan Espen]

Oh boy, not this thread again.

I've seen cats that want to go out. They get near the door and then try to run out between your legs.

But how do you recognize a miserable cat?

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Pawing the windows when they see birds or dogs they'd like to sink their teeth into. Racing from one window sill to the other to get a better look at their prey. Yelling by the door, once they learn that's the way out. All sorts of stuff.

[Cheri]

I totally understand. Lots of people aren't dog people, and that's fine. It's the people that insist on having them and not taking proper care of them that are the problem. When I was young we lived on a ranch and we had barn cats too, but they were truly feral. No way was anyone getting close enough to pet them or anything like that, and they were never fed "cat food."

Cheri

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Even the so-called "good dog owners" are often slime. Tell me what's wrong with this conversation, which I've had with numerous people walking their dogs. I've enclosed the conversation in plus signs so you know where it begins and ends:

+++++++++++++++++++++++ Me: Could you please not let your dog stop in my lawn in the future? Dog Criminal: Why? +++++++++++++++++++++++

[Cheri]

LOL, I'm with you there. Seems like we just had this thread a couple of months ago, with pretty much the same responses, so I am out of it. :-)

Cheri

[Cheri]

I do not consider a dog owner who walks their dog past anothers house, allowing the dog to urinate or defecate on someone elses property, a "good dog owner." They are slime IMO, and should be publicly caned. :-)

Cheri

[JoeSpareBedroom]

99.9% of people with dogs will let those dogs stop when they want to. It doesn't matter that many of them clean it up.

By the way, the correct answer was "It doesn't matter why I don't want your dog stopping here". Civil trespass, in other words.

[Pete C.]

Take pictures and turn over to the police so they get fined.

Pete C.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Better: Follow them around the neighborhood, about 50 steps behind. Stop when they stop, walk when they walk. Very strange. :-)

[Cheri]

99.9% of RUDE dog owners do that. There is no way to clean up the dog urine, or to stop it from leaving a nasty brown spot on the lawn of another. These dog owners don't want it in their own yard, that's why they walk them to other yards. I have a specified place in my back yard for my dog to do her business, and she goes to the dog park to run around daily, rain or shine. I know some cities don't have parks, but luckily we do.

Cheri

[JoeSpareBedroom]

We have no official dog parks, but we have a park which used to be beautiful, but is now ruined by dogs. Great place for people with coprophilia, though.

[Oren]

Steve B, please update us. This thread has gone to shit.

-- Oren

"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."

[limeylew]

Why don't you bring them into your house, feed them and let them have a warm place to stay?

Dogs are inherently friendly animals and want to be loved.

Lewis.

*****