Let's talk about CATS!!!!

[Dr_Liszt]

I've never owned cats, I've always been a dog person because they actually understand you and do what they're told, also the fact that my brother is allergic to them made me give up one kitten I had for like a day. So never owned them.

I do thinkt hey are adorable and I assume they can be quite smart.



BUT.... I'm having a problem lately and it is that they are left to wander around in the middle of the night. So I'm wondering if that is necessary, if cats do need to go out at night doing stuff or can their owners just lock them up? Because what is happening is this: I have a big garden so they like to come over to my garden have a party and all the dogs surrounding my house start barking so they wake me up. And that is annoying as fuck. The other thing is, they are scratching our cars. After the accident, they gave me back my car flawlessly looking, all polished and shiny, and in a matter of two days. TWO DAYS, it had kitty paws all over it and scratches all over the new bumper. I wouldn't mind so much, but come on! My car looked new and it was fucked in less than 48 hours.

So in my opinion, this IS a lack of respect, my dog doesn't go in people's houses and ruining stuff, they don't go teasing other people's pets and waking everybody up. Why should I tolerate people doing that with their cats?

Should I push for a regulation that will force people to lock their cats up? Would the kitties get depressed? Why people don't have common sense?

[Ptolemy_Banana]

Millions of people own cats and keep them indoors at all times. Cats are amazing predators and exist in numbers orders of magnitude greater than they would if humans did not breed them as pets, so they have a pretty devastating effect on wildlife. People who own them should keep them inside.

[sikax]

See, cats don't give a fuck about anything. Not your car, not your garden, not your sleep. Nothing.

[Gendo]

We keep all 4 of our cats indoors.

[CashRules]

[Dr_Liszt]

That video is SO cute.

[aels]

I assume they can be quite smart.

My cat is as stupid as ham but I think cats are reasonably intelligent. The fact that they don't learn tricks like a dog would was always held as a sign that they weren't as smart but I think recent studies have found that cats can learn really well if they have the right incentive, they just don't consider human approval to be a motivator in the same way as dogs. CAT FACTS.

BUT.... I'm having a problem lately and it is that they are left to wander around in the middle of the night. So I'm wondering if that is necessary, if cats do need to go out at night doing stuff or can their owners just lock them up?

They don't have to go out. We've always had indoor cats because when we got them, we lived in an area with a really aggressive feral tom who used to beat up every cat he came across (he was actually reasonably nice to people). It might be different if cats are used to going outside at night, they may get frustrated at not being allowed to any more, but as long as they're trained to do their business in a litter tray, they'd probably be fine. Indoor cats actually live longer, I think.

Cats don't need company as much as dogs do so I think they're generally okay with being home on their own during the day or when people are asleep but they *do* need toys to keep them from getting bored. A lot of destructive behaviour is bad training, territorial, or just boredom. My cat doesn't scratch anything so long as we remember to clip his claws regularly. He's got a scratching post but he doesn't use it much.


The real question is why do you hate cats

[Dr_Liszt]

It's either my neighbors forcing their cats to stay indoor or I start racumining all the surrounding dogs.

[thesalmonofdoubt]

I've got kinda a love hate thing going on with cats.

Most just don't like me -I generally like all animals but have different feelings around wanting them as pets. Dogs are useful, they protect the house and provide excellent company, cats don't protect the house and given most hate me - don't provide me with company.

My brother has two cats and has been living with me for the past year - so now I have two cats, both are actually really aggressively affectionate (will actively push you with their nose in your face until you pat them). So, I'm prepared to concede they can be decent companion pets I just generally still don't really warm to them as much as I would a dog.

I always leave the backdoor open of a night so the dogs can go outside to do their business given my bedroom is miles away from where the dogs sleep and its a pain in the arse to be woken up of a night to let them out, which means the cats also go outside of a night.
This is good and bad. Good in that we also get quite a lot of rats here so the cats are pretty effective in finding and killing them. Bad in that we also get quite a lot of possums here which the cats are less good at catching, but still reasonably effective. So far they have only killed one possum but several rats so, on balance it seems they are generally a positive factor in my life

[Monk]

My cats are indoor only. One in particular actually listens to me most of the time, and comes when I call her.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

My friend's sister has a cat and I'm one of a select few that's earned its respect.