Al makes some very good points. Cats are a commitment and require time and
energy. Cats are intelligent and need stimulation, sunshine, toys to chase,
cat videos of mice, human interaction, etc.
We brought a cat home from my husband's warehouse many years ago and we
were able to condition her to enjoy living inside. Whenever the weather was
harsh - thunderstorms, snow and ice, muddy landscape, etc- I threw her out
into the elements and, of course, she ran right back into the house. We
conditioned her to think everthing on the other side of the door was just
plain scarry! She lived out her years as an indoor cat until she passed
away. She was a sweet old girl named Miss Kitty.
So, really, the general public just needs to be educated, (maybe not my
conditioning method) not lectured on cat ownership. A cat owner needs to be
given useful information on keeping a happy indoor pet. The ABC brochure
appeals to the cat owner and there are lots of other good ideas for giving
a pet lots of fresh air and sunshine, everything from a catio to building a
screened/chicken wire enclosure around the foundation of a house.
http://blog.nwf.org/2017/09/11-tips-to-keep-your-indoor-cat-happy/
<http://blog.nwf.org/2017/09/11-tips-to-keep-your-indoor-cat-happy/>
Audubon might consider doing a cat education week each year and get the
news agencies involved by doing interviews, offering information on how to
have a happy cat and educate cat owners. Offer statistics concerning
wildlife without lecturing and condeming cat owners. I found, after owning
a birding store for 15 years, that a soft approach to educating our
customers, who owned cats, was the best way to keep them from becoming
defensive.
So, anyway, my two cents worth for whatever it is worth :-)
Malinda
On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 9:48 AM, Al Warfield <warfield101@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
*Jim,*
*You are right that people should keep their cats in, but guess what? If
you have a cat that has gotten used to being outdoors they will always want
to go outdoors. Indoor cats and outdoor cats are two different animals.
It’s almost impossible to change an outdoor cat to an indoor one unless
they are less than a year old. The best thing we can do is convince people
to keep their cats indoors when they first get them, preferably as kittens.
And there is this: it’s a commitment to have an indoor cat. It’s a lot more
work. We have 2 of them so we know. You have to change the litter box at
least once a day. They tend to sleep more during the day than outdoor cats
so they get fat. You have to play with them to keep them entertained. So
don’t be like the people who say that Trump is great, but when that say why
they leave out why he’s not. Same thing applies to people who criticize
people who let their cats go out.*
*Al*
*From:* James Blowers <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Monday, January 22, 2018 3:38 PM
*To:* va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [va-richmond-general] Attitude towards cats in bird feeder
areas
Today I had three cats come onto my property. They are a threat to the
birds near our bird feeder, and we have actually seen a cat catch a bird
once. I have sent messages on Facebook about keeping cats indoors, but
instead of controlling their pets I get remarks like this one “There is
nothing to be done about cats. There are no county laws to prohibit them
from roaming. And cats chasing birds is just nature as it is designed to
work.”
No it is not as nature designed it. Cats are not native here. What do we
do about neighbors like this one?
Jim Blowers
