Time for legislation regarding [I]Felis Catus[/I]

Felis Catus - The domestic cat

When are lawmakers going to try to ban them? Statistics say to me that we should, and I would even consider working for the legislation myself if I weren't positive that it would make it easier to ban snakes, as well.

http://www.motherjones.com/environme...nr-birds-feral

Seems legit, or AT LEAST people have to keep them in cages....people get more protective about their cats then their own childeren.:O

I don't think that there should be any legislation regarding what sorts of pets that you can have, aside from possibly calling for a licensing system for large carnivores, but cats are definitely the most destructive common pet that I can think of.
Don't get me wrong, I've had cats literally since birth, and I love them. However, the sheer number of critters that they kill and don't eat is incredible, and I'm hard pressed to think of a more successful predator. I can't really think of a solution to this, of course, but I look forward to reading the discussion this will spawn.

I saw where someone on yahoo answers had posted a question about poisoning cats. I think that at least a third of the replies were indirect threats against the poster's life. What the hell is wrong with people!?!? Also, they claim that killing cats is illegal in many posts. If I trap a cat on my property and kill it humanely is this actually illegal? I believe that I'll be looking into it once I get home.

I love PET cats that stay indoors and have had them most of my life. When I see a cat running around outside I want to kill it. Just my immediate response that arose from my time in combat zones surrounded by feral cats.

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Also, my suggestion to ban them was me being facetious, if for no other reason than it would never happen. I do support some form of pet legislation if it is solely to promote responsible ownership, and I feel the same way about guns. I would fully support mandatory classes before owning both pets and weapons, and also responsible keeping of both pets and firearms. What I would not support is the government telling people what types of pets and firearms they can own. That said, a civilian shouldn't be able to own an F22 Raptor with a GBU 38 strapped to the underside nor should someone be able to keep an elephant in their backyard.

I saw a special on the news regarding cats and how they are killers. A study was done where a lab strapped a bunch of cameras to owners' cats and recorded what they are doing on a daily basis. A lot of the owners were seriously disgusted and shocked by the amount of animals they killed. It doesnt surprise me as I have had a number of outdoor cats growing up and every other day we had some poor little creature laid to rest on our welcome mat outside the door...

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Originally Posted by gsarchie

F22 Raptor with a GBU 38

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Are you serious?! This is my daily commuter! ;)

My state(CA) has a terrible number of feral cat colonies and populations.
I grew up with cats and have no problems with people owning them. But I do think there needs to be such legislation that dictates mandatory spay/neuters for all pet-only(aka not intentional breeders) cats. And/or perhaps an indoor-cat only rule, which will actually benefit the cat as well. Cats who live outside have shorter life spans (average 3 years). Maybe this is extreme to some people, but drastic times call for drastic measures.
And in regards to ferals, I've participated in a few trap and release spay and neuter feral cat clinics. While it is helping, I don't think it's enough. Feral cats are a pest and should be regulated/eradicated just like any other invasive species.

Just my .02

I keep my cats in a rack system on newsprint

Cats kill way more prey than the burms down in FL. And they get to come back home for a treat afterwards.
With that said, I don't mind the alley cats because I find dead mice outside and not in my house.

So serious question - who would support talking to someone about going and trying to get legislation passed in regards to keeping cats indoors, where it be local, state or federal? It wouldn't have to incorporate a TNR doctrine or deal with feral populations at all, it would simply deal with responsible ownership of housecats.

I don't think I would ever make an effort to pass such a law but I wouldn't fight it.
I think way more time and energy needs to be put into stopping abuse and dog fighting. I hear about bait dogs being throw off bridges more than I should. We also have the new trend called "trunking" where you put 2 dogs in the trunk, turn up the bass, drive around for an hour. Who ever is left alive, wins.
If this can't be stopped. I don't see anyone slapping a fine on the little old lady who let's her cats out to roam the streets.

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Originally Posted by gsarchie

I saw where someone on yahoo answers had posted a question about poisoning cats. I think that at least a third of the replies were indirect threats against the poster's life. What the hell is wrong with people!?!? Also, they claim that killing cats is illegal in many posts. If I trap a cat on my property and kill it humanely is this actually illegal? I believe that I'll be looking into it once I get home.

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Depends on where you're at. Poisoning is considered inhumane/illegal here, but I don't recall there being anything against just outright shooting them.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

And/or perhaps an indoor-cat only rule, which will actually benefit the cat as well. Cats who live outside have shorter life spans (average 3 years). Maybe this is extreme to some people, but drastic times call for drastic measures.

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My outdoor cats would like to disagree. Squeak was an entirely outdoor cat that lived to be about 16 or 17 before needing to be euthanized due to health issues. Shawn was 10ish. Jules was about 13 when he was euthanized (we think; might have been older). Sable is about 8, Lichen is about 9, and Fraiser is a year or so old. An indoor only policy wouldn't work with cats that have been outdoors their entire life, nor would it work very well for cats that have been kicked out for behavior issues. Fraiser for example, started peeing outside the cat box/ in the ash bucket, and nothing could fix it. Brought him in some time later, and almost immediately, he started peeing everywhere.

Not to mention, I don't like the idea of having to rehome three cats, because there's already two indoor ones.