Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Ed^Chigliak on June 07, 2005, 10:00:37
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I cleared my salad bed over the weekend ready for transplanting and infact got all the planting done. It would have been enjoyable except it was raining and I was up to my wrists in cat poo with my rubber gloves on. Yuck.
Anyway I sorted it out and built some pretty impressive cat defence with chicken wire. This morning I looked and a very determined cat had squeezed through a small gap and dug two dirt great big holes destroying no less than one whole row of land cress whilst simultaneously burying the adjacent row of lettuce.
Cat lovers! What's that all about then?
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I LOVE CATS XXXXX, theres loads of cats around here, but ive never once come across a cat truffle in my veggie patch garden, probably because my own cat is so protective over my garden he wont let any other cat in!!! .If one happens to enter, you can gaurantee a huge cat riot.
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Same as squirrels -rats with good PR
Jeremy
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:) put a couple of empty pop bottles upside down on sticks in the ground around your rows, they are not keen on the noise the bottles make rattling in the wind ;D ;D I like cats but not when they use my place as a loo !!! :o I am told old cats are lazy & don't bury it >:( >:(
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I've bought some plants (can't remember what they're called though) from a local garden centre which is supposed to deter cats. Have them planted in my front garden at home which is quite an active moggie lavatory. Too early to tell if they work yet. I've read that wormwood is also supposed to be a good animal deterrent.
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I've bought some plants (can't remember what they're called though) from a local garden centre which is supposed to deter cats. Have them planted in my front garden at home which is quite an active moggie lavatory. Too early to tell if they work yet. I've read that wormwood is also supposed to be a good animal deterrent.
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There is a product called ROAR, which is Lion Poo from the ZOO. It scares the little bu**ers Sh**less.
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Which defeats the whole object of it surely? ;D
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toxoplasmosis, cats carry it, pregnant women lose babies because of it! Big rats basically.
My father used to hose them with hot water at 1st sight. Then used to cut strips of metal coathanger or thick wire and insert into the soil around vunerable plants, they would not risk setting their ar**s down on those.
They are also responsible for the deaths of thousands of our native songbirds every year, nice. Do i like them, oh yeah, love em ;D
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There is a product called ROAR, which is Lion Poo from the ZOO. It scares the little bu**ers Sh**less.
Lions Roar really works well I had cats cacking in me herb wheel back along and this prduct stopped it all... mahn no wee cat is gonna cack in a place where they think a much bigger cat is cacking.. and i did see some very worried looking cats in me garden who was thinking about it, but then decided against it lol so a HUGE THUMBS UP for Lions Roar
Oz
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Meant to add I strew holly, Pyracantha and any other prickly clippings as a deterrent -although this can have drawbacks at weeding time.
Jeremy
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quote from david r Today at 11:31:11.
toxoplasmosis, cats carry it, pregnant women lose babies because of it! Big rats basically.
Cats dont carry it, If they are wormed regularly by responsible owners!!
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:) Quite right Pregnant women beware >:(
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Ed - Northern Exposure fan?
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Well I have a lettuce bed full of cat poo, and dug up plants because of them >:(
I also went up the plot the other day and saw something moving under my fleece, yup a cat had got in, and it was something like Tom and Jerry watching it trying to get out when it heard me!
Of course it had squished stuff where it had been laying waiting for birds! :'(
When we llived overseas the Tiger people Sigfried and Roy visited a local hotel where feral cats were in abundance, they used to take the tigers walkies around the back of the hotel to do their bit, the hotel was free of cats for months afterwards! ;D ;D ;D
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the only thing that repels my cats is tea tree oil, they run a mile. although i love cats i totally understand why some people don't - that's why mine are housecats.
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Ed - Northern Exposure fan?
Every once in a while some interesting non sci fi comes along. My red & yellow chards have grown in to light sabers. Not the straightest light saber you've ever seen but good enough to jedi swipe the next cat that comes along. Ordering may sith overalls from darth fashionable and turning to the dark side.
That's a yes in case you were wondering.
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i spotted my own cat mark his territory on one of my sprouting plants, However wasnt that bothered about it, better than the crap they spray on shop brought stuff anyway!!!!
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gb- & I bet your cat uses someone else's patch.
We have at least 3 neighbouring cats use ours. Shame about the gun law!
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Cats use our garden, which really upsets Mrs Ptennisnet - she hates them with a passio...We found that ultrasonic deterrants worked, until some b******* nicked it >:(
Everything else we've tried hasn't including anti cat smelly sticks, anti cat smelly gels, pepper and the thistly looking plant that supposed to deter them.
However, the other weekend I was busting after too much wine. Remembering Hugh from River Cottage deterring foxes, I went on their favourite spot - a part of the garden where nothing grows succesfully. The next morning they'd left their evidence in the flower bed instead >:( I don't know if it was me or coincidence. There're now prickly branches laid onto that flowerbed!
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If you really dislike cats I may have you're answer.Try planting some stargazer lillies.. :o
This story appeared in the Daily Telegraph on Friday
quote:
Cat owners warned over killer flowers
By David Sapsted
(Filed: 06/05/2005)
A national alert has been issued to pet owners after pollen from a bunch of supermarket flowers killed a cat.
When John Hartnett bought his wife oriental stargazer lilies, he was unaware that he was passing a death sentence on the family's 13-year-old Siamese, Catalina.
The cat brushed against the flowers then licked the pollen from its fur. Within minutes she started being sick and, within hours, had died after going blind, suffering renal failure and becoming virtually paralysed.
The RSPCA, which is reporting an increase in such cases, is to launch a campaign to alert people to the dangers and lobby for warnings on the flowers.
The RSPCA said: "The problem of lilies isn't widely known and we are seeing an increase in the number of cases we come across. This is because the flowers are becoming more readily available in Britain.
"All lilies are poisonous to cats, with just one leaf eaten possibly leading to death. We will now be urging both manufacturers and producers to issue warnings on their goods so that consumers have an informed choice.
"We also hope to work with the Royal College for Veterinary Surgeons' poison department to produce information fact sheets and figures on this awful matter."
Mr Hartnett, 51, a computer engineer from Folkestone, Kent, said: "Catalina was a curious, fastidious animal and would have investigated the new flowers. But this proved absolutely fatal.
"She endured a vile death. She was suffering terribly. I blame myself but the vet we rushed her to said there was just no chance to save her.
"We have seen the flowers in many places, all with no warnings at all. In America, I have discovered that there is immense coverage on this subject warning people of the dangers but, here, there is nothing.
"I can't believe something so simple as a flower can kill pets in such a terrible, terrible way, and there is absolutely no way of knowing about it."
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals singles out the Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum), tiger lily (Lilium tigrinum), rubrum lily (Lilium speciosum), Japanese show lily (Lilium lancifolium) and some species of the day lily (Hemerocallis) as liable to cause kidney failure in cats.
The Feline Advisory Bureau, a charity based in Tisbury, Wilts, said: "Symptoms of poisoning from these plants include protracted vomiting, anorexia and depression and ingestion can cause severe, possibly fatal, kidney damage."
Cats can survive if taken to a vet within six hours but the chances of survival decrease rapidly after that. After 18 hours, the kidneys stop working.
Alex Campbell, a toxicologist and managing director of the Poison Advisory Service for vets, said: "When we recieve a call about cats coming into contact with any of the lilium flower family we treat it very seriously indeed. It is one of the worst reactions an animal can come across and it needs highly aggressive management. All parts of a lily are extremely toxic.
"A cat that comes into contact with a lily deteriorates very rapidly. I have even heard of a cat being given human dialysis in an attempt to overcome the effects of toxins in the kidneys."
The danger to cats only began to emerge in 1990 when the first incident was reported in America. Last year, the poison control centre at the ASPCA handled 275 cases.
John Cushnie, a panellist on Gardeners' Question Time, advised gardeners who wanted to avoid harm to cats to select tall lilies and stake those that need support.
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Such a sensitive subject which we have been over from time to time before. Cat lovers can only sing their praises and confirm that their cats never poop in their gardens, but of course, some cats roam far and wide and do what comes natural wherever they please. People affected by the piles of disgusting stinking cat poops loathe cats and get angrier and angrier about it. I am not a cat lover, no-siree and can get extremely angry when our neighbours cat relieves itself in our garden, but fortunately the foxes keep the cat off the allotment, and my kids are proving excellent cat scarers in the garden, chasing them out as soon as they see them or hear their bell tinkling. oooooooooooooooo, I can sense my soap box is just around the corner so will quietly leave now...
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And I suppose you'd exterminate any other animal that doesn't use a flushing toilet as well would you, what about Horses, they do it in the middle of the road for goodness sake. I'm glad that I don't have such a serious problem to whinge about ::) ??? >:( :-\ :'(
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A problem shared is a problem halved. I'm just partaking of some apre cat pooping therapy instead of getting angry. I was always taught that if sombody punches you in face it's your own fault for not moving out of the way. A classic case indeed. Doh!
Hey... I think the £40 visit to the vets and course of anti-biotics have cured my cat of the infected bite to the head. It's his own fault you know for not moving out of the way. I was going to buy him lilies and a get well card... but I've changed my mind. I'm just getting the lilies as cards these days are so overpriced.
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By the way, my cats do crap in their own garden
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Crap to ya, cats are predetors, yes, but as a responsible pet owner as a am i always put my cat on curfue when there are young fledglings in our garden, he is only allowed out at certain times of the day, AND he wears a bell, He hasnt brought a bird back all this year at all, i always make sure his stomach is full before i let him out, the only thing he has brought back this year is a bloody mouse or two.................... Its like people with aggresive dogs, you have to be responsible for them, Its the owners , Not the pets.
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Gunnerbee has it exactly right - pet ownership, like parenthood, is a matter of responsibility.
You might be interested to know that cats, like many other creatures, including children, can be trained if you care enough to put in the effort.
Here are some other interesting facts:
The three main reasons for an old cat not to cover its crap are: sight problems, mobility/ balance problems and plain old forgetfulness. Recognise any of these?
Old does not equal lazy. Otherwise surely we'd be emptying all the care homes in Britain to combat the labour shortage.
With regard to the killing of songbirds, that is certainly a valid point, but let's level the playing field here. Other creatures prey on songbirds too, so you would have to apply the same preventative measures to them. Perhaps we could, for example, shoot all predatory birds who also feed on songbirds, and any creature who feeds on birds' eggs and young...
...oh, and the population of Malta, whose unofficial national sport is the trapping and killing of vast numbers of songbirds for sale to posh continental restaurants.
Cats, on their days off from the annihilation of songbirds, keep the disease-carrying rodent population, such as rats and pigeons at bay.
And just to dispel that ridiculous notion that all cat owners sing their praises and confirm that their cats never poop in their garden, here is an unequivocal statement from this cat owner: Cats, including mine, can be a pain in the a*se, and my cats poop in my garden.
Now, here are some non-violent methods of cat deterrent, some of which have been mentioned already:
Tea tree oil
The urine (or other waste matter) of another creature such as a dog or human - if you don't own either of these, perhaps a kindly neighbour will lend you one of theirs.
Plant catnip where the cats usually poo - they'll be too stoned to sh*t.
I also had one very violent method involving nothing more outrageous than an ordinary over-the-counter medication, but I've cut it from this posting because, as I mentioned earlier, responsible ownership is the issue here - besides, I doubt you'd have had the stomach for it.
Finally, I must say I'm a little puzzled that those of you who spend many a productive hour up to your elbows in horse manure, cow dung and chicken sh*t can become so defensive about cat poo.
Blimeyiiaaooww!
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But I know when I cam dealing with the manure heap and wear gloves. When I am weeding the shallot bed or seed beds I don't expect to literally end up wrist deep in cat S H I T!
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even though i clean the litter tray daily, i'm still a bit squeamish about cat poo, it seems different to large animal manure (and i've seen a lot of poo, i used to muck out elephants)
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Phew Legless, thats a lot of POO :o
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I was listening to 5 Live earlier this week and the same discussion about cats eating birds was being discussed. Being a cat owner myself, the following comment made me smile - 'I love my cat dearly, but I know that if it was big enough it would eat me'. Sums it up really :) :)
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Yesterday, I saw a black cat run up the side of the garden, then up the fence and into another garden, with something that had a tail hanging out of its mouth.
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Ive never had a cat sh*t on my washing yet birds have.
Ive never been walking through my local park or down a nearby street and stepped in a massive cat turd yet some dog owners let thier dogs crap all over the place without clearing it up.And yes I have stepped in it also.
Ive never been cycling along a country lane and had to swerve to miss a cat poo but Ive had to get out the way of a horse pile on more than one occasion.
At the end of the day they are all animals and are not conscious that where they are doing there business is causing inconvenience to us and as an animal lover it doesn't annoy me (apart from the irrisponsible dog owner bit).Im sure that the cat that craps on your allotment is not doing it deliberately, it is only following its instincts to go to the loo on a nice soft bit of earth.I know my two make a b-line straight for anything I have recently planted or dug over.I usually put down some sticks or twigs cut from my old raspberrys untill the soil becomes less appealing to them.I also leave a few hidden bits of earth bare for them to get on with doing the do and as long as I hoe it over now and again they seem to stick to it.....pretty much.
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i love cats too - only two cat related 'acciddents' on the plot so far - cat had a stern talking to - until next time.
would like a kitty of my own but will have to make do with the allotment cat for the time being. only trouble is she doesn't purr :( however much i try
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With horse manure on the plot, they only eat green matter - well, pretty much, I am sure someone will shout now and say, hold on, horses eat anything that is put infront of them, but with cats and dogs, like humans, they eat meat and anything else that is offered, so their poop, like humans, reeks and is just yuck! I knew this posting would get people shouting, it has done in the past, and it will come up again, and people will all get defensive again. It is a big wide world full of alsorts of critters, and their poo. There is sod all any of us can do about it, so why don't we just get on with it!
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I agree with EJ, the cats are only doing what comes naturally, not to annoy us, it's up to us to use our ingenuity to dissuade them from doing it where it's most annoying! We don't have a cat of our own but our garden is regularly 'patrolled' by a neighbour's cat, who often leaves us either complete, or bits of, dead mice in prominent locations (like on the front doorstep or middle of the path) - once leaving two mice for us and three for her owners on the same day. Cats are creatures of habit and luckily, she has not chosen anywhere inconvenient or unpleasant for her toilet. Obviously a well-trained cat.
Having a cat of your own presumably reduces the problem, because your cat will defend its home turf against 'foreign' cats - all you've got to do then is to train your cat to have 'convenient' toilet habits (easier said than done).
Me, I'd love to have a cat but my OH is allergic to them - typical, since she love cats as do both our children. So I can theorise about cats without having to actually train them myself! (sorry...)
Dan.
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This is a varied and lively planet which we share with a multitude of species. And yet it seems so many humans are just far too intolerant. I mean if it was perfectly legal to stamp on a cat (or even a human), as it is a slug or caterpillar, just because they were hampering your produce then I'm sure many of you out there would go right ahead and STAMP.
Let's face it, all animals apart for man basically have two over-riding instincts. To mate and to live (both instincts leading to the common goal of passing on their genes). To live they have to eat. And what goes in one end must come out the other. If us gardeners provide habitats to allow animals to live and mate in, then they are going to use them freely. Simple as that.
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Cats, Dogs, Horses and any number of other inconvenient creatures were crapping all over this planet way before we Humans decided to put allotments on it, where do we get the right to dictate.
At the end of the day it's just an annoyance, I agree about dog owners though, I have poo bags tucked in all my coat pockets, I've even been known to offer one to a dog owner if I see them sneaking away from the scene of the crime, some of them seem almost offended ???
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:D Don't wish to get into the whole debate about cats - but can anyone tell me more about putting tea tree oil down as a deterrant? How much do you dilute it by (if any), how much do you need etc? Any help appreciated.
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How can anyone seriously dig and have cat Shite up to their elbows, Sorry i have to laugh!!!! thingy and bull story im afraid. We have lots of cats around here, and ive never ever dug it up to my elbows!!!! LOL, Im afraid we are on the CAT HATERS THREAD here, well for me, i dont mind picking up the odd cat turd in return for the rats and mice they bring back home, My guvnor brought back three large rats last year killed for us to see under our sideboard!!! lovely sight , no, but the Rat man from the council came out and found a huge nest of baby rats nearby in someone elses compost bin, So for me a bit of cat shite on my allotment is a small price to pay. P.s birds are thriving around here too. We all love birds too.
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I have a cat who is a prolific hunter - I tried feeding him more, not letting him out at night, putting a bell on his collar and it didn't make any difference. He still brings me water rats the size of a small dog. He's a cat - cat's hunt. It's true if I was a small furry animal he'd proably kill me and eat me head first too! I guess you either like cats or you don't but you can't blame the little mites for doing what comes natural.
Cat pepper works on gardens - I don't know about veg patches because I don't have a cat problem there.
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My cats go in their own garden. The thing that really gets me is the woman who walks her dog along our road and lets it go wherever it pleases - including our front lawns/gardens if that's where it pleases. At least, she used to until me and my neighbours saw it happening. At least most young cats usually bury it (the exception being one of my neighbours cats).
Gillian: Said just the other week that my cats are 12 now and so seem too old for catching mice/birds, etc. as they hadden done so for years. So, next day, the oldest one brings me a mouse... Hmm.
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My cats go in their own garden. The thing that really gets me is the woman who walks her dog along our road and lets it go wherever it pleases - including our front lawns/gardens if that's where it pleases. At least, she used to until me and my neighbours saw it happening. At least most young cats usually bury it (the exception being one of my neighbours cats).
Shudda reported her to the local dog warden, there are stiff penalties on our council for dogs fouling public pathways. >:(
PS if you know where they live pick it up in a bag and plonk it in their front garden with a note saying "This belongs to you" :o They will get the message in the package :o ;D
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Hi Roy,
I always have a plastic bag in my back pocket just in case our dog drops one, I get realy annoyed when other dog owners don't have the same consideration. >:(
If I see who is allowing their dog to poo outside our gate I follow them and rub the poo in right outside their gate and put a bit on the gate handle so they get the message. ;D ;D ;D
PREMTAL
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the cat poo thing is not very pleasant but is hardly serious enough to make me froth at the mouth. Sadly though, bird killing really is dreadful. Last year we had blackbirds nesting in our ivy but a cat killed the mother bird. As well as having to remove the dead chicks in the nest, we had to endure the male blackbird perching on our gate post, calling frantically for his mate. It was just heart-breaking. This year looked like being a repeat when the male blackbird was killed (by the same bloody cat). Steeling myself for confrontation, I went roaring round to the owner who was as horrified as I. She bought a large bell which has certainly worked and we are enjoying our mating pair about to embark on their third brood (our 'single parent' found a newpartner). Belling a cat does go some way to stopping cats predatory ways since the birds have some warning at least although vulnerable chicks have no chance. In truth, I am not fond of cats as they are essentially still wild animals with little need to refrain from enjoyable murder despite full stomachs.
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Around our way (and my mums 50 miles away) its the magpies that massacre the baby blackbirds - that's if they don't get their eggs first. The cats leave them alone, but the magpies are just relentless. It's actually scary if you see them to realise that they can be so bloodythirsty. Its the same with the crows and the baby goslings, although i could see they try to take them back as fod for their young - the magpies just kill for the sake of it it seems. However, one of the goslings was even beheaded by one of the crows this year. (sorry, did i put you off your lunch...). Nature is cruel.
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I've often seen grows finishing off sick pigeons. All corvids are predators.
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We have given up on the tunnels this year as our cats (well kittens) used them as a run hide and pounce tool. Get the odd poo but to be fair they go in the rested bed or on the compost or muck heap. With a farm we use the cats they are more ferral then pets, live outside, get spayed when caught, wormed when caught, get fed in th barn a couple of times a week and catch their own the rest of the time. The cats just about let us stroke them but only when they feel like it. They take on the foxes, ripped one of the foxes ears off, take on our dogs, are frightend of the chickens, sleep on the horses backs. Basically a law unto themselves. Personally would not have a cat in the house as they walk in and through everything then jump up on work surfaces ...... ;)
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Yes, there's obviously a big differece with near feral and domestc cats. Mine (domestic) are as daft as brushes - in an intelligent way . They love cuddles and brushes, and would no more jump on a work surface or table than swim the channel. Mine are here for company and comfort (mutual, i might add) rather than anything else. The odd poo that i may come across in the garden is nothing.
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Dawn, I'm so glad you posted about magpies and crows. I thought I was seeing things the other day - my cats were in the garden and were both (separately) 'buzzed' by a manic magpie. It swooped on them several times.
Now I reckon I know why.
We have a family of blackbirds who nest with us every year and which my cats don't go near (having been trained from very young) though they do give them a withering glare as only cats can. The cats were obviously stopping the magpie from investigating their nest.
This magpie and his equally mad mates went on to have a slanging match with a clutch of cantankerous crows... God, the noise!
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That's a behaviour called 'mobbing' which birds habitually indulge in with predators. It draws attention to the predator, as you noticed, and makes it harder for it to catch its prey. I doubt whether the cat was stopping the magpies doing anything particular; they would just have been reacting to its presence.
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I have tried very hard not to enter into this debate because I know basically people either love or hate cats. I admit I am an animal lover and in particular I love cats, my own and other peoples. I agree it isn’t very pleasant to dig up cat poo but then, as many others have already said, neither is it nice to walk in dog muck. But what about all the rubbish that we caring humans leave about the place. It’s everywhere, from broken glass to discarded food containers or even where someone on their way home from the pub and a Chinese has been sick. And don’t you just love it when you are standing in a queue and the person behind you sneezes or coughs all over you. Gone are the days it seems when we were taught ‘coughs and sneezes spread diseases’
And as for the bird population, yes it’s heart breaking when a cat catches and kills bird but have none of you killed a bird when you’ve been driving, if you haven’t you have been lucky. And do any of you eat meat, if yes, have you ever seen animals waiting to be slaughtered, it’s a lot more than heart breaking and they, more likely than not, had one hell of a long journey to get there, crammed together in lorries, terrified by the unknown. The way we transport chicken is far from humane, a lot die from suffocation on route to be slaughtered.
I think some of you out there should put this cat poo problem into perspective.
Having got that off my chest, I’ll get off my soapbox.
MM
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Someone said "if you don't like cats, you don't understand them", dead right in my expert opinion
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gb- & I bet your cat uses someone else's patch.
We have at least 3 neighbouring cats use ours. Shame about the gun law!
How good are you with a catapult Tim.........? 8)
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How good are you with a catapult Tim
You'd better hope I don't catch you
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Dawn, I'm so glad you posted about magpies and crows. I thought I was seeing things the other day - my cats were in the garden and were both (separately) 'buzzed' by a manic magpie. It swooped on them several times.
Now I reckon I know why.
Crows and magpies will still have young around now and are fierce defenders against all predators which includes the domestic moggie, so a bit of buzzing is a natural reaction. A pair of crows or maggies will sort out a cat that gets too near their offspring and can be most amusing.
The comments on other posts about cats not being responsible for large numbers of bird deaths are wide of the mark. Domestic cats with full stomachs hunt for sport not food and are content to wait long periods to spring their trap by which time the hungry predator has long moved on to find some food.
Cats are not nice neighbours and as a dog owner, I feel greatly annoyed when I come across dog waste left uncleared by anti-social owners after dilligently carrying a little smelly bag of poo to the nearest dog waste bin.
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How good are you with a catapult Tim
You'd better hope I don't catch you
But isn't that what a catapult is for MT......? ::) ::) ::)
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No ::) ::) ::) ::)
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How about a small trebuchet then MT, so the little furry blighters can be air-lifted back to where they came from.......? ;D ;D ;D
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I suppose you could use it to launch the poo back to where it came from :-[
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I'd rather leave it in it's original package to avoid offending the neighbours should I miss the target.... ???
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From the RSPB website
"Despite the large numbers of birds killed, there is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK wide. This may be surprising, but many millions of birds die naturally every year, mainly through starvation, disease, or other forms of predation. There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds. We also know that of the millions of baby birds hatched each year, most will die before they reach breeding age. This is also quite natural, and each pair needs only to rear two young that survive to breeding age to replace themselves and maintain the population. It is likely that most of the birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations. If their predation was additional to these other causes of mortality, this might have a serious impact on bird populations."
http://www.rspb.org.uk/gardens/advice/cats/copy_of_index.asp
to read more
MM
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How about a small trebuchet then MT, so the little furry blighters can be air-lifted back to where they came from.......? ;D ;D ;D
Or you could load the catapult / trebuchet with snails.... making the best of both worlds and dealing with two pests at once. The more advanced marksmen can have a go shooting slugs at squirrels and the real top guns can try shooting squirrels at cats.....
Now what to do about noisy neighbours.... ;D
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Fire cats at them.
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i'd rather have a thousand cats for one b****y human anyday. :(
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my sentiments entirely kitty. let me think now, what is the biggest pest? one thing's for sure it doesn't have 4 legs!
MM
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Hi Kitty - long time no see. Hope you are alright.
Just have to say that I am not a cat lover - more of a dog bloke, but we have three of them, and the last two are mine. I am a big sucker for an animal that needs a home.
Anyway here are two photos of the latest acquisition Danu -
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y173/redclanger/danu.jpg)
and one of her getting comfy.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y173/redclanger/danu1.jpg)
Unfortunately cat number 2, Juno (also mine) does not like her. Cat number 1, old bloke Nelsom, tolerates her and the dog (Alfie) adores her.
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oh redclanger, she's a little darling.
MM
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She's a little minx ;D
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that's cos she's a p u s s y cat. bet you hadn't guessed I'm very much a cat person like our kitty :)
I'm going to be meeting her brood in a little while. It'll be great.
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Cats are good for grapevines..Jim
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Cats are good for grapevines..Jim
Under them Jim? >:( >:( >:(
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wotcha clanger!
yes-long time no post.....
ooooooh!
a mini betty shop cat!gorgeous!
dont get me wrong-'kitty by name kitty by nature'- but i like dawgs too!
owt furry 's okay by me.....
i shall now remove the keys from mm's back and mine to prevent us being wound up by c.hopper esq,ahem ::)
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Couldn't eat a whole one.
going by previous comments I am complete b'stard.
Encourage dog to chase cats (for the exercise) cats run deceptively quickly, can jump up and over gates and walls and fences, can take care of themselves when confronted (doggy has marks on nose to prove it). Make great attempts to distract doggy from noticing aging puttycats when out, don't pick up my dog's do do, have walked in dog do do,
When our dog lived with my father, dog was trained via force of habit to do his do on grass, so as we live by a canal with a big grassy verge I endeavor to get her to do her do do there. On occasion goes in a garden and I scoot off down the road, guiltily. Have on occasion come across dog do do in my own garden, horrible.
Horse/cow/sheep etc herbivores, dogs and cats carnivores etc etc. Otherwise would compost it. When a young boy, was sent out by mother to street to scoop up horse dung when rag and bone man/coal man went by!! (is there an emoticon for pure unadulterated embarrassment?) [when I'm out cycling around the place and come across horse dung, the first instantaneous thought in my head is "could I sneak back later under cover of darkness to get that?"]
What else, in 7 years have never ever ever seen evidence of rats near the house till about two weeks ago found one dead in the garden. Disgusting. But a case for the defence in my efforts to get the wife NOT have the dog sleep in or on the bed!!! An adjacent new neighbour keeps pigeons, my mother reckons it's bringing rats in...
There are lots of cats around, and have dog proofed my hedge lined garden as much as possible. They don't come in as much now, though am sure they do as in the season I don't cut the grass, there's a path worn along the hedge where they come in!!! And when it snows you can see their footiprints...
So, dogs chase cats, cats chase birds, yada yada yada.
In my defence, I did rescue a kitten from our dog a couple of weeks ago...
Cats are very fleet of foot and always get away squeezing through gaps the mutt can't fit through..
What's the phrase? A dog will live with you, a cat tolerates you...
Ciaran
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wotcha clanger!
yes-long time no post.....
i shall now remove the keys from mm's back and mine to prevent us being wound up by c.hopper esq,ahem ::)
Don't some people take all the fun out of life....... ::) ::) ::)
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wotcha clanger!
yes-long time no post.....
ooooooh!
a mini betty shop cat!gorgeous!
dont get me wrong-'kitty by name kitty by nature'- but i like dawgs too!
owt furry 's okay by me.....
i shall now remove the keys from mm's back and mine to prevent us being wound up by c.hopper esq,ahem ::)
Hi - I've become a God in your absence ;D
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Anyone who fails to pick up their dogs c r a p and gets caught should be forced to eat it.
Cats on the other hand should just do it where they want 8)
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I LOST THE SIGHT IN ONE EYE AS A CHILD BECAUSE OF SOME BAS*ARD CAT OR DOG, SO I THINK THEY ARE A WASTE OF SPACE, AND THE ONLY GOOD PLACE IN THE GARDEN FOR THEM IS UNDER A ROSE BUSH. PLANT LILLIES, THEY ARE SOMETIMES FATAL TO CATS.
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Anyone who fails to pick up their dogs c r a p and gets caught should be forced to eat it.
Cats on the other hand should just do it where they want 8)
What do you mean 'should' ? - The bu**ers do that anyway. Any cat that fouls outside it's owner's premises should be marinated and fed to homeless dogs.................. ;D ;D ;D
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I like cats and had a wonderful little moggy right the way through my childhood... The whole time we had him may parents never once had any cat poo in the beds as a cat will never enter another cats territory. Oh and a cat also never soils his own patch, i.e. one clean poo-free garden...
Now my wife and I don't have any pets whereas pretty much every neighbour has a cat... :-\ For ages I tried to fight the battle putting all manner of repelent out for them, nothing worked and so now I have got metal cages over ever one of my beds............. It's like bleeting fort Knocks in my back garden... >:(
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Got to go with the cat lovers on this one - probably because I had a cat for 17 years who always used his litter tray and savagely defended our garden from any neighbouring cats who decided to pay a visit so we never had a problems with little parcels in the flower beds etc.
Now have two german shepherds - has to be the best cat deterrant ever :). both dogs like cats but I've never yet seen one venture into the garden to test just how much they like them :)
On a more serious note - so sorry to hear your bad experience GArdenantics, thats got to be a lesson for pet owners to be responsible and get their pets wormed, collect doggy-doos from parks, paths etc
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Thanks Clairenpaul,
I would propose that all pet food be pre-treated with wormer, and taxed at 50% so that pet owners pay into a fund that can be used to compensate people such as myself who never owned a cat or dog, but suffered the loss of sight in one eye as a result of others wanting 'pets'. I saw a scale of compensation pay-outs for industrial injury about 20 years ago when my father in law lost the end of his thumb, Thumb tip value £3000. Loss of one eye £30,000, so I think with inflation I am owed £100,000, Put your money where your mouth is Pet-Lovers, all major credit cards accepted, but would prefer cash.
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Still waiting for the cash to come rolling in!
Brian
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Oh and a cat also never soils his own patch
Wrong I'm afraid, we have 3 cats and they regularly poo in our garden, it's no problem though as our dog eats it
taxed at 50% so that pet owners pay into a fund that can be used to compensate people such as myself who never owned a cat or dog
Is it only me who is sick of this Amercan style "blame culture"? Accidents happen, tough
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I am afraid I am going to get cynical.....
Cats are fine...there are just too darn many of them.
A friend of my wife has eighteen....EIGHTEEN!...if she had to take 'em for a walk twice a day would she still have eighteen?......doubt it.
May I suggest the main reason for the popularity of cats is that, in the main, they take care of themselves...
Derek
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Dear Merry Tiller,
So It's just tough on me that I'm blind in one eye, thanks.
"Accidents happen". Is it an accident that some of the posts suggest that cat owners think more of cats that human beings! Next time you are dishing out a nice big plate of food for your cat, think of how greatful an African child would be for that same food, and I mean that very same tin of cat food.
Brian
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Don't preach to me.
Some of the "people" I've met make a piranha fish look preferable, as to sending tins of catfood to Africa, grow up.
As far as I'm aware this is still a free-ish country and I make no apology for being a pet owner, you obviously blame every cat and it's owner for your disability, I suppose you blame every car driver for any road death.
I'm not surprised at your anger, just don't direct it at someone you know nothing about
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Stop it, you two, we'll have a flame war breaking out at this rate.
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::) Time to lock the catflap methinks ::)
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After the sermon, It's the psycho-analysis. I'll book a therepy session right now, thanks for putting it in perspective for me.
"I will stop hating cats", "I will stop hating cats", "I will stop hating cats"..................................................................
Brian
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Just finished 12 hour night shift, a bit ratty in the morning as my missus puts it :-[
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horrible things them 12 hour night shifts, when i get in from one the whole family keep well out of my way :).
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This debate has been a little heated while I've been away... :o
I personally feel that there are too many cats these days. Still, I would never suggest that people shouldn't have a pet knowing how much joy and friendship they can offer.
However, I do feel that people should be limited to say one or two large pets (cat/dog) per home if they live in a heavily built up residental area. My only reason for suggesting this is that the animals habbits do have a direct impact on other peoples lives.
The lady across the way has three dogs which try and 'out-bark' each other until 11pm at night when the owner finally gets them in. There are also at least 6 cats within my culdisac that constantly fight all night and that had poo'ed all over my garden until I put chicken wire over every bed to fend them off... Now, as a person that doesn't own a pet I do feel a little put-out that my family and I have to suffer the noise and poo from other peoples pets...
Once I watched my neighbours cat poo in one of my beds, I then went outside and picked the poo up and droped it over the fence into my neighbours garden. Well, she came flying out of the kitchen asking me what on earth I was doing... I simply said that I was putting her cats poo in her garden.... She was not ammused but what could she say, after all I was calm a ever so polite. ;)
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i used to absolutely love cats, i mean totally adore them...until i lived next door to 2. as my husband says, would my neighbours like it if he pulled down his pants and sh*t on their doorstep? and lets not forget the array of dead animals left lying around. i think what cat owners don't realise is that when they have a cat, the whole street has a cat, whether they want one or not!
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I call for all Cat owners to HAVE to have an indoor/outdoor litter tray for their cats and that they must train them to use it before allowing them outside for exercise... The owners will soon get sick of the rechid smell of cat poo and wee.... ;D
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Methinks we are getting rather personal and presumtive.You either like cats or You hate em...
Personally I dislike them but I dislike Magpies and wood pigeons too...
I think Roy is right"Time to shut the catflap " on this one...
Lets not let slanging matches spoil a great bulletin board..Cheers Jim
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I was joking Jim but you're right that these types of debate can go nowhere... ;)
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...............................I will stamp on hated cats, I will stamp on hated cats. No sorry it didn't work! I will just have to live with the fact that I hate cats.
Brian
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Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, however stupid it is ;D
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Aren't they just MT
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Absolutely old son
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~THE END~
:-X