Cat who boarded same bus every day for four years killed

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't say this if it was your cat.

CBR600-RR

Dude, you have no idea how many "pets" I've killed through negligence, and they haunt my dreams every single night.

I've likely murdered more pets than you could ever dream of, so stop acting as if you know me. I WOULD say this if it was my cat. I DID say this when it was my cat. And it didn't stop with one cat. I'm a lonely man who has spent decades getting temporary pets as a substitute for friendship, and I've murdered more animals than you could possibly imagine.

[QUOTE="CBR600-RR"]

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't say this if it was your cat.

MrGeezer

Dude, you have no idea how many "pets" I've killed through negligence, and they haunt my dreams every single night.

I've likely murdered more pets than you could ever dream of, so stop acting as if you know me. I WOULD say this if it was my cat. I DID say this when it was my cat. And it didn't stop with one cat. I'm a lonely man who has spent decades getting temporary pets as a substitute for friendship, and I've murdered more animals than you could possibly imagine.

Dude, you have no idea how many "pets" I've killed through negligence, and they haunt my dreams every single night.

I've likely murdered more pets than you could ever dream of, so stop acting as if you know me. I WOULD say this if it was my cat. I DID say this when it was my cat. And it didn't stop with one cat. I'm a lonely man who has spent decades getting temporary pets as a substitute for friendship, and I've murdered more animals than you could possibly imagine.MrGeezer

Well, that's somewhat disconcerting info right there.

Why on earth would you murder your pets?

Dude, you have no idea how many "pets" I've killed through negligence, and they haunt my dreams every single night.

I've likely murdered more pets than you could ever dream of, so stop acting as if you know me. I WOULD say this if it was my cat. I DID say this when it was my cat. And it didn't stop with one cat. I'm a lonely man who has spent decades getting temporary pets as a substitute for friendship, and I've murdered more animals than you could possibly imagine.

MrGeezer

Tell me, how do you train a cat to be road safe? It just seems absurd.

How the heck am I supposed to train my cat to look out for cars? I let her go out on her own and she does what she wants, I can't control her. But I can control my dog.

Tell me, how do you train a cat to be road safe? It just seems absurd.

How the heck am I supposed to train my cat to look out for cars? I let her go out on her own and she does what she wants, I can't control her. But I can control my dog.

CBR600-RR

In which case you're NO different than me, and don't give a **** about your cat.

How do you train your cat to stay out of traffic? You DON'T. You CAN'T. Because it's not a ****ing dog. If you're unable to care for your cat without letting it run around like a wild animal, then you are not ready to own a cat. Take that animal to the pound and it'll get a humane death after a week or two. In any case, that's better than it getting killed in the street. Then you can stop getting cats.

OMG, a insanely long and You-Have-Too-Much-Time-On-Your-Hands essayMrGeezer

In which case you're NO different than me, and don't give a **** about your cat.

How do you train your cat to stay out of traffic? You DON'T. You CAN'T. Because it's not a ****ing dog. If you're unable to care for your cat without letting it run around like a wild animal, then you are not ready to own a cat. Take that animal to the pound and it'll get a humane death after a week or two. In any case, that's better than it getting killed in the street. Then you can stop getting cats.

MrGeezer

Cats are lovely though, I do care for her, I took her in when she needed a home because her previous owners abandoned her. She gets her injections every few months and regular check ups, that's not caring?

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]Dude, you have no idea how many "pets" I've killed through negligence, and they haunt my dreams every single night.

I've likely murdered more pets than you could ever dream of, so stop acting as if you know me. I WOULD say this if it was my cat. I DID say this when it was my cat. And it didn't stop with one cat. I'm a lonely man who has spent decades getting temporary pets as a substitute for friendship, and I've murdered more animals than you could possibly imagine.BiancaDK

Why on earth would you murder your pets?

For the same reason that the woman in the article murdered her cat. Bottom line is that she just plain didn't give a flying **** about her cat.

I'm sure she THOUGHT she cared about her cat when she first adopted it. But...that often doesn't last very long. She then spent the next 4 years letting her cat play in the street, and the cat is lucky as hell to have even lasted that long.

And if she cared that ****ing little about her pet's safety, then she didn't give a **** about her cat.

Cats are lovely though, I do care for her, I took her in when she needed a home because her previous owners abandoned her. She gets her injections every few months and regular check ups, that's not caring?

CBR600-RR

Do you let her leave your property while unattended by you?

Poor cat.:cry:

[QUOTE="CBR600-RR"]

Cats are lovely though, I do care for her, I took her in when she needed a home because her previous owners abandoned her. She gets her injections every few months and regular check ups, that's not caring?

MrGeezer

Do you let her leave your property while unattended by you?

Of course, she likes to run about and patrol her territory. I can't keep her on a leash. She'll go out, climb things, chase things, come back in, sleep for hours and hours. Surely that's healthy enough for her.

[QUOTE="BiancaDK"]

Why on earth would you murder your pets?

MrGeezer

For the same reason that the woman in the article murdered her cat. Bottom line is that she just plain didn't give a flying **** about her cat.

I'm sure she THOUGHT she cared about her cat when she first adopted it. But...that often doesn't last very long. She then spent the next 4 years letting her cat play in the street, and the cat is lucky as hell to have even lasted that long.

And if she cared that ****ing little about her pet's safety, then she didn't give a **** about her cat.

First off, she did not murder her cat, what the hell are you on about? Murder ischaracterized by deliberation or premeditation, what -- you think she planned for this to happen? Planned by not planning for this even to occur? That doesen't even make sense, so stop saying she murdered her cat, that's a horrible thing to say when she is grieving the loss of her friend.

The rest of your reasoning is completely one-dimensional. She probably got used to the thought of the cat being able to handle his own safety, and the cat actually seemed to do quite good, given it managed to practice this behaviour for a number of years before someone finally ran it over.

Maybe she showed she cared for her cat, by letting it roam free, believing it was the lesser evil, as opposed to having it locked up inside all day. I mean, you are disregarding her intentions completely, and substituting them with your own, it's complete bull****, dude. Sorry.

[QUOTE="CBR600-RR"]

Cats are lovely though, I do care for her, I took her in when she needed a home because her previous owners abandoned her. She gets her injections every few months and regular check ups, that's not caring?

MrGeezer

Do you let her leave your property unattended?

Of course, she likes to run about and patrol her territory. I can't keep her on a leash. She'll go out, climb things, chase things, come back in, sleep for hours and hours. Surely that's healthy enough for her.

CBR600-RR

Untill I smear her across the street because she ran in front of my car.

This happens ALL THE TIME, and it is the owner's responsibility to keep that from happening. Your Fluffy Kitten ISN'T a wild animal, it is a PET. And it is your job to keep this from happening. If you are unable to do so, then don't get cats.

Untill I smear her across the street because she ran in front of my car.

This happens ALL THE TIME, and it is the owner's responsibility to keep that from happening. Your Fluffy Kitten ISN'T a wild animal, it is a PET. And it is your job to keep this from happening. If you are unable to do so, then don't get cats.

MrGeezer

What do you want me to do, keep her in the house all day? That's evil. I can't go outside with her, she'll disappear or something, she'll WANT to do her own things. Cats probably have a higher chance of surviving with owners rather than in the wild anyway. My area is also rather quiet, it's not busy.

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

[QUOTE="BiancaDK"]

Why on earth would you murder your pets?

BiancaDK

For the same reason that the woman in the article murdered her cat. Bottom line is that she just plain didn't give a flying **** about her cat.

I'm sure she THOUGHT she cared about her cat when she first adopted it. But...that often doesn't last very long. She then spent the next 4 years letting her cat play in the street, and the cat is lucky as hell to have even lasted that long.

And if she cared that ****ing little about her pet's safety, then she didn't give a **** about her cat.

First off, she did not murder her cat, what the hell are you on about? Murder ischaracterized by deliberation or premeditation, what -- you think she planned for this to happen? Planned by not planning for this even to occur? That doesen't even make sense, so stop saying she murdered her cat, that's a horrible thing to say when she is grieving the loss of her friend.

The rest of your reasoning is completely one-dimensional. She probably got used to the thought of the cat being able to handle his own safety, and the cat actually seemed to do quite good, given it managed to practice this behaviour for a number of years before someone finally ran it over.

Maybe she showed she cared for her cat, by letting it roam free, believing it was the lesser evil, as opposed to having it locked up inside all day. I mean, you are disregarding her intentions completely, and substituting them with your own, it's complete bull****, dude. Sorry.

did you even read the article? She describes HER OWN PET as not having any street sense.

She named it after A GHOST.

And despite knowing that her cat had no street sense, she STILL continually let it run around FOR FOUR ****ING YEARS because she really didn't give a flying **** whether or not the animal died.

[QUOTE="CBR600-RR"]

Of course, she likes to run about and patrol her territory. I can't keep her on a leash. She'll go out, climb things, chase things, come back in, sleep for hours and hours. Surely that's healthy enough for her.

MrGeezer

Untill I smear her across the street because she ran in front of my car.

This happens ALL THE TIME, and it is the owner's responsibility to keep that from happening. Your Fluffy Kitten ISN'T a wild animal, it is a PET. And it is your job to keep this from happening. If you are unable to do so, then don't get cats.

How do we keep this from happening? Either we let our cats outside, in which case there is an inescapable possibility of this happening, or we never let our cats outside, in which case there is a 0% possibility but our cats are now cooped up in a house 24/7. Of course you would want to keep your cat inside until he or she figures out that where you live is home, but after that point I would quite frankly consider it animal cruelty to keep your cat always indoors, especially if you only have one.

Death is a fact of life. I would much prefer my cat have a happy life than as long a life as possible, if I must choose between the two.

That's like someone saying "I love my 16 year old daughter, we adopted her when she was five to take her away from her abusive father. Me and my wife go away often to the store so we can feed ourselves, oh and, of course, her too." For someone then to say: "You love her yet you LEAVE HER UNATTENDED AT HOME!! OMFG, You horrible people!"

AzzoLovesBirdy

That's assuming that your 16 year old daghter is too stupid too learn how to walk around the streets without getting hit by a car.

But we're not talking about a 16 year old girl, we're talking about a CAT. The fact that you'd even compare a 16 year old girl to a ****ing cat just further indicates that you have no ****ing idea what I'm talking about.

Cats are not 16 year old girls.

Cats are not dogs.

Dogs are not salamanders.

Snakes are not fish.

Go ahead and treat your cat the same way that you'd treat a 16 year old girl, but that's about as ****ed up as treating a fish the same way as a cactus. YOUR CAT IS NOT A 16 YEAR OLD GIRL. You can't treat an iguana as if it were Lassie.

And yeah...if my 16 year old daughter didn't have any more sense than a housecat, then you're ****ing right that I wouldn't let her run around in traffic. She'd be on a short leash. As in, I'd have her in a facility for children who are severely mentally disabled.

did you even read the article? She describes HER OWN PET as not having any street sense.MrGeezer

What's your point? Most cats dont have any street sense, they just dart right before they get hit, that's their street sense. She was pointing it out because one would think the cat had acquired some kind of street sense since it commuted as much as it did.

She named it after A GHOST.MrGeezer

What's your point? She named it after a ghost because Casper always vanished. Cats like to wander, it's a perfectly reasonable name to give a cat.

And despite knowing that her cat had no street sense, she STILL continually let it run around FOR FOUR ****ING YEARS because she really didn't give a flying **** whether or not the animal died.

MrGeezer

She let it run around for four ****ing years because that's what she believed that made Casper happy.

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

[QUOTE="CBR600-RR"]

Of course, she likes to run about and patrol her territory. I can't keep her on a leash. She'll go out, climb things, chase things, come back in, sleep for hours and hours. Surely that's healthy enough for her.

GabuEx

Untill I smear her across the street because she ran in front of my car.

This happens ALL THE TIME, and it is the owner's responsibility to keep that from happening. Your Fluffy Kitten ISN'T a wild animal, it is a PET. And it is your job to keep this from happening. If you are unable to do so, then don't get cats.

How do we keep this from happening? Either we let our cats outside, in which case there is an inescapable possibility of this happening, or we never let our cats outside, in which case there is a 0% possibility but our cats are now cooped up in a house 24/7. Of course you would want to keep your cat inside until he or she figures out that where you live is home, but after that point I would quite frankly consider it animal cruelty to keep your cat always indoors, especially if you only have one.

Death is a fact of life. I would much prefer my cat have a happy life than as long a life as possible, if I must choose between the two.

How do you keep that from happening? BY NOT GETTING CATS.

If you lack the means to give them a nurturing and exciting environment without letting them run out into the streets, then you are not fit to own cats. Same way that I'm not fit to own large snakes and lizards.

How do you keep that from happening? BY NOT GETTING CATS. Let them get a humane lethal injection, and then fewer cats will have to get lethal injections since the demand for cats goes down.

Again, this is no different than iguanas in a pet store. People buy iguanas for ten bucks. Then a couple of years later when they're releasing their pets into southern Florida, they say "well, what else am I supposed to do? I lack the means to care for it." THEN STOP ****ING GETTING IGUANAS.

We're not talking about wild animals. If we were talking about wild animals, then it'd be okay for me to kick my pet puppy onto the streets the second that it pees on the carpet. But we're NOT talking about wild animals. We're talking about PETS. And if you EVER have to justify neglecting your pet, then you should stop getting that kind of animal as a pet. The second that your cat or your tarantula ever ends up getting ****ed over because you don't have the time or means to care for it, is the second that you realize that you need to ****ing stop getting cats and tarantulas as pets.

We're not talking about a bald eagle or a native tadpole. We're not talking about something that's only enduring a short period of captivity in order that it can SURVIVE once it's released into the wild. We're talking about PETS. And if you can't own a pet without letting it run as wild as a rat, THEN YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS OWNING THAT PET.

[QUOTE="AzzoLovesBirdy"]That's like someone saying "I love my 16 year old daughter, we adopted her when she was five to take her away from her abusive father. Me and my wife go away often to the store so we can feed ourselves, oh and, of course, her too." For someone then to say: "You love her yet you LEAVE HER UNATTENDED AT HOME!! OMFG, You horrible people!"

MrGeezer

That's assuming that your 16 year old daghter is too stupid too learn how to walk around the streets without getting hit by a car.

But we're not talking about a 16 year old girl, we're talking about a CAT. The fact that you'd even compare a 16 year old girl to a ****ing cat just further indicates that you have no ****ing idea what I'm talking about.

Cats are not 16 year old girls.

Cats are not dogs.

Dogs are not salamanders.

Snakes are not fish.

Go ahead and treat your cat the same way that you'd treat a 16 year old girl, but that's about as ****ed up as treating a fish the same way as a cactus. YOUR CAT IS NOT A 16 YEAR OLD GIRL. You can't treat an iguana as if it were Lassie.

And yeah...if my 16 year old daughter didn't have any more sense than a housecat, then you're ****ing right that I wouldn't let her run around in traffic. She'd be on a short leash. As in, I'd have her in a facility for children who are severely mentally disabled.

It's a cat that can ride a freakin' bus. A normal cat can wonder the streets and be perfectly fine, but this one would know how to get to the local superstore providing it was on the bus route.

AzzoLovesBirdy

It's a cat that couldn't cross the street without getting run over by a car.

A "normal" cat would get smeared across 50 feet of road, and no one would give a **** since it didn't make the "cute" headlines by riding a bus. That doesn't make THIS cat any more qualified to be roaming around free in the streets.

Keep in mind that we're NOT talking about this because someone ran over a cat. That happens all the time. The ONLY reason we're talking about this is because the cat managed to be cute by riding a bus. And it still got run over, exactly the same as the random roadkill that most people drive by on the way to work.

It's not a person, it's a cat. And it died like "a normal cat" because it got neglected like "a normal cat." The owner knew this was going to happen, and there was PLENTY of time to put a ****ing stop to the cat's behavior.

[QUOTE="AzzoLovesBirdy"]It's a cat that can ride a freakin' bus. A normal cat can wonder the streets and be perfectly fine, but this one would know how to get to the local superstore providing it was on the bus route.

MrGeezer

It's a cat that couldn't cross the street without getting run over by a car.

A "normal" cat would get smeared across 50 feet of road, and no one would give a **** since it didn't make the "cute" headlines by riding a bus. That doesn't make THIS cat any more qualified to be roaming around free in the streets.

Keep in mind that we're NOT talking about this because someone ran over a cat. That happens all the time. The ONLY reason we're talking about this is because the cat managed to be cute by riding a bus. And it still got run over, exactly the same as the random roadkill that most people drive by on the way to work.

It's not a person, it's a cat. And it died like "a normal cat" because it got neglected like "a normal cat." The owner knew this was going to happen, and there was PLENTY of time to put a ****ing stop to the cat's behavior.

How do you keep that from happening? BY NOT GETTING CATS.

If you lack the means to give them a nurturing and exciting environment without letting them run out into the streets, then you are not fit to own cats. Same way that I'm not fit to own large snakes and lizards.

How do you keep that from happening? BY NOT GETTING CATS. Let them get a humane lethal injection, and then fewer cats will have to get lethal injections since the demand for cats goes down.

Again, this is no different than iguanas in a pet store. People buy iguanas for ten bucks. Then a couple of years later when they're releasing their pets into southern Florida, they say "well, what else am I supposed to do? I lack the means to care for it." THEN STOP ****ING GETTING IGUANAS.

We're not talking about wild animals. If we were talking about wild animals, then it'd be okay for me to kick my pet puppy onto the streets the second that it pees on the carpet. But we're NOT talking about wild animals. We're talking about PETS. And if you EVER have to justify neglecting your pet, then you should stop getting that kind of animal as a pet. The second that your cat or your tarantula ever ends up getting ****ed over because you don't have the time or means to care for it, is the second that you realize that you need to ****ing stop getting cats and tarantulas as pets.

We're not talking about a bald eagle or a native tadpole. We're not talking about something that's only enduring a short period of captivity in order that it can SURVIVE once it's released into the wild. We're talking about PETS. And if you can't own a pet without letting it run as wild as a rat, THEN YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS OWNING THAT PET.

MrGeezer

Do you have any idea what my cat would do if I tried to keep it indoors all day? It would sit at the door meowing and meowing and would be unhappy as hell, because that's what cats naturally do: they roam and prowl and survey their territory. Keeping a cat indoors will guarantee that it won't die, sure... but, really, what kind of life is that? When one lives in perpetual fear of death, one is quite simply incapable of actually living.

You obviously have had bad experiences with pets in the past, for which I am sorry... but quite frankly you seem to be basically taking that out on us by projecting onto us the idea that by allowing our cats to go outside we are being neglectful and that we don't love our cats unless we either put it down (huh?) or keep it locked up in our houses permanently. Like I already said, death is a fact of life. If you want to never, ever, ever have a pet die on you, then the only way you're going to possibly accomplish that is by never getting a pet, because everything dies eventually. The meaning of life is not simply its endless maintenance. Raise your pets however you wish, but don't tell me that I don't love my cat just because my approach is different.

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

How do you keep that from happening? BY NOT GETTING CATS.

If you lack the means to give them a nurturing and exciting environment without letting them run out into the streets, then you are not fit to own cats. Same way that I'm not fit to own large snakes and lizards.

How do you keep that from happening? BY NOT GETTING CATS. Let them get a humane lethal injection, and then fewer cats will have to get lethal injections since the demand for cats goes down.

Again, this is no different than iguanas in a pet store. People buy iguanas for ten bucks. Then a couple of years later when they're releasing their pets into southern Florida, they say "well, what else am I supposed to do? I lack the means to care for it." THEN STOP ****ING GETTING IGUANAS.

We're not talking about wild animals. If we were talking about wild animals, then it'd be okay for me to kick my pet puppy onto the streets the second that it pees on the carpet. But we're NOT talking about wild animals. We're talking about PETS. And if you EVER have to justify neglecting your pet, then you should stop getting that kind of animal as a pet. The second that your cat or your tarantula ever ends up getting ****ed over because you don't have the time or means to care for it, is the second that you realize that you need to ****ing stop getting cats and tarantulas as pets.

We're not talking about a bald eagle or a native tadpole. We're not talking about something that's only enduring a short period of captivity in order that it can SURVIVE once it's released into the wild. We're talking about PETS. And if you can't own a pet without letting it run as wild as a rat, THEN YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS OWNING THAT PET.

magicalclick

Do you have any idea what my cat would do if I tried to keep it indoors all day? It would sit at the door meowing and meowing and would be unhappy as hell, because that's what cats naturally do: they roam and prowl and survey their territory. Keeping a cat indoors will guarantee that it won't die, sure... but, really, what kind of life is that? When one lives in perpetual fear of death, one is quite simply incapable of actually living.

You obviously have had bad experiences with pets in the past, for which I am sorry... but quite frankly you seem to be basically taking that out on us by projecting onto us the idea that by allowing our cats to go outside we are being neglectful and that we don't love our cats unless we either put it down (huh?) or keep it locked up in our houses permanently. Like I already said, death is a fact of life. If you want to never, ever, ever have a pet die on you, then the only way you're going to possibly accomplish that is by never getting a pet, because everything dies eventually. The meaning of life is not simply its endless maintenance. Raise your pets however you wish, but don't tell me that I don't love my cat just because my approach is different.

I think he has a point though. I mean, would you let your kid run toward a car? If he run across street like an idiot, what are you going to do? Educate him. And cat can be educated.magicalclick

Of course - like I said above, by all means keep your cat inside as a kitten so that he or she learns that that place is home and such like. But to never let your cat outside... I would call that nothing short of animal cruelty. If you live right next to the freeway or something like that such that it'd be impossible for your cat to go outside without getting run over, then I would consider it better to just not get a cat, period, than to get one and then keep it locked up all its life.

Do you have any idea what my cat would do if I tried to keep it indoors all day? It would sit at the door meowing and meowing and would be unhappy as hell, because that's what cats naturally do: they roam and prowl and survey their territory. Keeping a cat indoors will guarantee that it won't die, sure... but, really, what kind of life is that? When one lives in perpetual fear of death, one is quite simply incapable of actually living.

GabuEx

So...have you ever even considered that maybe you're not fit to own cats?

I mean, if your means limit you to having a pet that's either likely to be unhappy or likely to die very soon, did it ever even cross your mind that maybe this kind of pet is not for you? That maybe you'd be better off sticking with dogs? That maybe you'd be better off not having ANY pets? Have you tried making any effort to find a SAFE and happy home for the cats in your possession?

Dude, not every pet is suitable for everyone. There is absolutely no reason that any of us needs to get a pet dog, cat, snake, or parrot. If you ever have to decide between safety and happiness for a pet, if you ever realize that you can't provide both safety AND happiness for a pet, then it's probably time to consider the possibility that you have no business owning that kind of pet.

Oh come on, MrGeezer. Really? Really?

I have to question two things: 1) whether or not you're trolling 2) whether or not you've ever owned a cat.

Cats go outside. Not all cats, some cats. Some cats are content to stay inside. But a lot of cats--most of the cats I've ever owned in my life (and that's quite a few)--love to go outside. They don't HAVE to go outside, but they like to go outside. Their natural urge says "run to the door and meow until I get outside". So you know what millions of owners do when their cats want to go outside? They let them outside.

Just because a cat wants to go outside, and something dangerous can happen, doesn't mean the cat is a bad pet for that person. YOU go outside every day, YOU could die, does that mean outside is bad for you? Hell, you could die INSIDE too. So now you can die INSIDE, and OUTSIDE.

Maybe life just isn't for you? Maybe your parents shouldn't have had you if they can't take responsilbity for you.

But that's a stupid argument. Isn't it?

Oh, wait...

You are overprotective though. Might as well lock your kids indoor away from all the germs.magicalclick

As I said before, pets are not children.

For starters, children can understand human language. While pets CAN'T. But aside from that, pets are intended to be pets for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, children are NOT intended to be children for the rest of their lives. Children grow in a way that pets DON'T, which is why we do not treat them the same.

Children are not the same as pets, so you don't treat pets the same way that you treat children.

Similarly, dogs are not the same as fish, which is why you don't treat fish the same way that you treat dogs.

My kids can exhibit a degree of learning that pet's CAN'T. I can let my kids cross the street, because I can TEACH them to do it safely. That's NOT the case with cats.

And if this woman DID have the ability to teach her cat to cross the street safely, then that brings up the question of why she DIDN'T teach her cat to do just that, even though her cat had been wandering the streets for four years.

Oh come on, MrGeezer. Really? Really?

I have to question two things: 1) whether or not you're trolling 2) whether or not you've ever owned a cat.

Cats go outside. Not all cats, some cats. Some cats are content to stay inside. But a lot of cats--most of the cats I've ever owned in my life (and that's quite a few)--love to go outside. They don't HAVE to go outside, but they like to go outside. Their natural urge says "run to the door and meow until I get outside". So you know what millions of owners do when their cats want to go outside? They let them outside.

Just because a cat wants to go outside, and something dangerous can happen, doesn't mean the cat is a bad pet for that person. YOU go outside every day, YOU could die, does that mean outside is bad for you? Hell, you could die INSIDE too. So now you can die INSIDE, and OUTSIDE.

Maybe life just isn't for you? Maybe your parents shouldn't have had you if they can't take responsilbity for you.

But that's a stupid argument. Isn't it?

Oh, wait...

DigitalExile

Yeah, and I know how to cross the ****ing street without getting hit by a car.

Again, not comparable. You and I are smart enough to walk around in the streets without dying. While cats generally AREN'T.

K-kitty. ; - ;

Yeah, and I know how to cross the ****ing street without getting hit by a car.

Again, not comparable. You and I are smart enough to walk around in the streets without dying. While cats generally AREN'T.

MrGeezer

And yet people get hit by cars all the time.

Hurpa durpa, stupid humans can't even cross the road properly either. In fact, humans KNOW the risk, and they're stupid enough to try anyway.

So...have you ever even considered that maybe you're not fit to own cats?

I mean, if your means limit you to having a pet that's either likely to be unhappy or likely to die very soon, did it ever even cross your mind that maybe this kind of pet is not for you? That maybe you'd be better off sticking with dogs? That maybe you'd be better off not having ANY pets? Have you tried making any effort to find a SAFE and happy home for the cats in your possession?

MrGeezer

There is practically nowhere on Earth where you can let your cat outside and have it have a 0% chance of getting killed by something. If you live in suburbia, it might get killed by a car; if you live in the country, it might get killed by a wild animal. The only two options are what I already said: either you keep it cooped up in your house for its entire life, or you let it outside and acknowledge the possibility that something might happen to it. As I have already said, I would consider the former to be nigh animal cruelty, which leaves the latter as quite frankly the only tenable option in my mind. Heck, every time I go outside I'm leaving myself open to some freak accident while walking down the sidewalk... but I take that risk every day because the alternative is much worse. Of course there are places where a cat who is let outdoors is nearly guaranteed to get killed, in which case I already said that I would say someone should not get a cat, but I do not believe there even exists a place on Earth where a cat can be both completely safe and completely happy.

I have taken care of five cats in suburbia over the course of more than ten years now. And in the interest of full disclosure, yes, one did get hit by a car and died. The other four did not, and are still happy and well to this day. If you wish to continue to assert that I don't love my cats, or that I am neglecting them, or that I am not fit to own cats, then you are more than welcome to; I will not offer any further reply to such assertions.

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

Yeah, and I know how to cross the ****ing street without getting hit by a car.

Again, not comparable. You and I are smart enough to walk around in the streets without dying. While cats generally AREN'T.

DigitalExile

And yet people get hit by cars all the time.

Hurpa durpa, stupid humans can't even cross the road properly either. In fact, humans KNOW the risk, and they're stupid enough to try anyway.

And there are also more than six and a half billion people on the planet.

When was the last time you've seen human roadkill on the road?

Now compare that with the number of times you've seen dead cats in the street.

Cats can be kept AWAY from streets. But that's sort of hard for humans, considering that humans consume a lot more resources and have to generally earn a living by getting JOBS.

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

So...have you ever even considered that maybe you're not fit to own cats?

I mean, if your means limit you to having a pet that's either likely to be unhappy or likely to die very soon, did it ever even cross your mind that maybe this kind of pet is not for you? That maybe you'd be better off sticking with dogs? That maybe you'd be better off not having ANY pets? Have you tried making any effort to find a SAFE and happy home for the cats in your possession?

GabuEx

There is practically nowhere on Earth where you can let your cat outside and have it have a 0% chance of getting killed by something. If you live in suburbia, it might get killed by a car; if you live in the country, it might get killed by a wild animal. The only two options are what I already said: either you keep it cooped up in your house for its entire life, or you let it outside and acknowledge the possibility that something might happen to it. As I have already said, I would consider the former to be nigh animal cruelty, which leaves the latter as quite frankly the only tenable option in my mind. Heck, every time I go outside I'm leaving myself open to some freak accident while walking down the sidewalk... but I take that risk every day because the alternative is much worse. Of course there are places where a cat who is let outdoors is nearly guaranteed to get killed, in which case I already said that I would say someone should not get a cat, but I do not believe there even exists a place on Earth where a cat can be both completely safe and completely happy.

I have taken care of five cats in suburbia over the course of more than ten years now. And in the interest of full disclosure, yes, one did get hit by a car and died. The other four did not, and are still happy and well to this day. If you wish to continue to assert that I don't love my cats, or that I am neglecting them, or that I am not fit to own cats, then you are more than welcome to; I will not offer any further reply to such assertions.

Cat can be trained. Some cats got hurt by cars and survived are totally scared of cars. The point is you have to let them know that car = pain. It is same as kids. You yell at tell them say that's dangerous. I don't see people yelling at their cats when cats are doing dangerous stuff. The problem is, you don't believe they can be trained. While they don't speak human language, they can be trained or at least understand what is a threat and what is not.magicalclick

To a certain extent, cats can be trained. Obviously the four cats who are still alive understand that "cars = bad", as they wouldn't have survived several years of living next to a road (a fairly quiet road, but a road nonetheless) without figuring that out. But even with that, there's never any guarantee. For example, cats can dart out from behind parked cars, not seeing an oncoming car, and by that time it's too late. The fifth cat I had who was hit by a car was raised alongside one of the four cats who is still alive today, so I think it's reasonable to say that he wasn't stupid either. Things happen. It's unavoidable. Our only choice really is either to accept that these things can and do happen, or to deprive ourselves of the ability to enjoy life.

Cat can be trained. Some cats got hurt by cars and survived are totally scared of cars. The point is you have to let them know that car = pain. It is same as kids. You yell at tell them say that's dangerous. I don't see people yelling at their cats when cats are doing dangerous stuff. The problem is, you don't believe they can be trained. While they don't speak human language, they can be trained or at least understand what is a threat and what is not.magicalclick

Uh...WTF?!

Sorry, but I intend on teaching my kids that cars are dangerous BEFORE they get hit by a car.

Cats get "trained" to avoid cars by getting hit by cars and realizing "wow, this really ****ing hurts". Then, if they're lucky enough to survive, they pay more attention to the ****ing cars.

You CAN'T train cats like you train kids. Kids know what you're saying, cat's DON'T. So...not having the ability to preemptively tell cats that cars are dangerous leaves really only one option: trusting that they learn from experience, and manage to be lucky enough to survive the experience. And if that's your attitude on teaching kids, then all I have to say is "wow".

I have a question for you........ Have your cats ever leaped at your television while you were playing a final fantasy trying to eat a chocobo?CoolSkAGuy

I... can't say that that's ever happened, no. :P