They are a disgrace anyone who hunts (or to humanity in general)! Thats disgusting!Originally Posted by jennyranson
I will keep mine in at weekends during the hunting season, as I have heard that some hunters will target cats deliberately, as some drivers will.
Huh...that's news to me too. I would have never even considered it as one of the reasons I keep them inside. Perhaps because where I live is very rural, it's not as much of an issue as in other areas. In fact, I worry about the owls and hawks getting the cats! I'm not quite sure what I'd have to say to a neighbor who asked me to keep my cats inside so they wouldn't bother the birds. Let's see, there's... "Hello, your crows just woke me up. Could you shut them up?" and then there's "Excuse me, but you're birds are eating my strawberries." And "Yo...a bird just pooped on my car and it's ruining the paint!"Originally Posted by TNR1
One of the biggest differences that I see is that bird groups aren't pushing for cats to be indoors as they are in the states:
It isn't just a campaign against TNR (although feral cats are the ones caught in the cross fire) but a bigger campaign to keep ALL cats indoors. Also, be aware that the "study" is one side of the issue...but there are plenty of individuals and TNR groups that would argue that loss of habitat is the number ONE reason for any decrease in bird numbers.Added...Okay, I just read part of the study. (It's 28 pages, hard to read without printing it out) Big point so far, even well fed cats kill birds and unfortunately they don't differenciate between threatened and plentiful ones, so TNR is not a popular concept with these people. (Hunting for the sport of it...hmm, that sounds familiar) I'll have to read more.
Epona, are these shelters no kill? Or would they possibly euthanize a cat before they would adopt it out to a home without a garden? I would find that disturbing.Although I would rather take a rescue, I cannot adopt a cat because I do not have a garden, so when I wanted a cat I bought a kitten. I love him dearly, but it angers me that there is a cat in a shelter somewhere that I could have taken, if they allowed me to keep him indoors, which they don't.
They are good places - while looking for a cat to adopt I tried the ones local to me, which are Celia Hammond Animal Trust, and Cats Protection League - neither will put a healthy cat to sleep, and they are good people who promote and offer low cost neuter/spay to people on state benefits or low income.Originally Posted by Cinder
Epona, are these shelters no kill? Or would they possibly euthanize a cat before they would adopt it out to a home without a garden? I would find that disturbing.