Should Leash Laws Apply to Cats?

[hrhdhd]

Being a good neighbor involves keeping your animal off my property.

A woman in my 'hood has the open garage door to feed any number of feral cats, which then congregate in my yard, urinate in my plant beds, track through my yard and leave dead grass (now dirt) in their wake, fight in my driveway, and so on. Local law says if you feed an animal for more than 30 days, it's yours. So they're her cats. I wish she cared about neighborliness.

 

[SteveH]

@Lumpy1106 you keep assuming that I wasn't the good neighbor. Unlike your neighbor I talked with that neighbor over a dozen times, the last few times I was making clear I was going to do something. I even caged the one cat and let her take it out of the cage as my final "I really mean this" warning. I didn't like doing it but I was sick of it of cat cr*p in my back yard. That same house has turned over 4 times in my 21 years here, I have had good relationships all the other owners. It's not a cat thing either - we had 3 cats and 5 dogs in our family.

 

[SteveH]

@hrhdhd check out the Orbit 62100 Yard Enforcer Motion Activated Pest Deterrent Sprinkler.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

We had a family in next neighborhood that did walk their cat on a leash. While some folks snickered I thought how smart are they. Their cat gets to enjoy outside without the fear it will get hurt, eaten or do any damage.

This is us! Our cat is 10 now and has walked on a harness/leash since he was a kitten. We went through 3 harnesses until he was full grown. He gets walked twice a day. In the wintertime, it's just once a day. We love him way too much to let him roam free.

OP, I'm a huge cat lover, but I would be ticked if I was in your situation!! I wouldn't be happy to have a neighbor's cat pooping and peeing in my yard and eating the birds. Good luck to you.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Where I lived in California, cats roamed freely all the time, and disappeared too. Hawks, coyotes, mountain lions...I never understood why someone would let their cat out all day (and night). We had a problem with one particular neighbor. Their cat was always in our backyard and I'm sure others as well. Would always be after a bird. One day while doing yardwork/outside work to house, we'd have the garage door up. My husband had a 1969 convertible corvette completely restored. When done outside, closed the door and went out for dinner. When we got home, the cat as in our garage. Lucikly, an thankfully, it did no damage to the car. My husband was moving the cat along gently with his foot. Not kicking it or anything and the neighbors who own the cat just happen to be driving by. The husband yelled at my husband and words were exchanged. I ended up calling animal control to see what our rights were. The said that the cat is allowed to roam but we have the right that the cat stays off our property.

 

[Lumpy1106]

@Lumpy1106 you keep assuming that I wasn't the good neighbor. Unlike your neighbor I talked with that neighbor over a dozen times, the last few times I was making clear I was going to do something. I even caged the one cat and let her take it out of the cage as my final "I really mean this" warning. I didn't like doing it but I was sick of it of cat cr*p in my back yard. That same house has turned over 4 times in my 21 years here, I have had good relationships all the other owners. It's not a cat thing either - we had 3 cats and 5 dogs in our family.

Honest question, just trying to understand - what was your damage? Some cat poop in a planter? Why does this bother you so much? How is that any different than if a raccoon, squirrel, skunk or opossum pooped in your yard? Just trying to understand why you would go to so much trouble to escalate the matter. Every neighbors' (or feral) cat I've ever had in my yard has either been friendly or instantly runs away when they see me. It doesn't bother me in the least.

OTOH, you can see why the neighbor would be upset seeing their pet trapped in a cage, right?

 

[Lumpy1106]

Just a little reality check you may not have thought about. If you don't have cats in your yard, you DO have mice and rats. Absolutely, 100%, and it doesn't matter where you live. I would take the cats every day, but, rules are rules...

 

[Magical2017]

I don't want cat poop all over my yard, but I don't feel like cats need to be leashed.

Every day our dog goes nuts becuase there is a fox, rabbits, and deer that come in our yard each day. There is a black cat that roams around. We have a ton of squirrels and some chipmunks. There is a lot of poop in our fenced-in yard.

 

[lanejudy]

There are a few neighborhood cats who roam through our yard but it's never been a problem. Occasionally I find one sitting on the back deck or in the yard, but usually it will run before I even get out the door. I've never once run across cat poop in my yard; I always thought cats are generally tidy about where and how they go, unlike dogs who will stop to poop almost anywhere. We definitely have field mice so I'm sure having the cats around helps with that. The raccoon who was getting into my trash and compost this summer was much more of a concern for me than the cats. The darn squirrels leave nut/seed shells around every fall.

 

[mom2rtk]

Cats have been leash trained. But it's not a reasonable expectation for all cats.

I am a very firm believer in keeping your cats indoors. But sometimes it just doesn't work out. We did everything to get our calico to use a box. We finally had to compromise and let her become indoor/outdoor. It was that or take her to the pound. And who adopts a cat who won't use a box?

Thankfully the only time a neighbor trapped her was to shave the matted fur we had been struggling with on her neck. We still laugh at her coming home cleanly shaved in that one area.

I'm still grateful for her expert mole hunting skills. She was just a week shy of 20 when we lost her.