There is a cat lady in my home town that feeds all of the strays at the grain elevator. Everyday she comes and dumps half a bag of cat food on the ground (fortunately she does it at the same time every day). As soon as she leaves, I go out and sweep up all the cat food and put it in a tight container to be discarded.
A friend told me I shouldn't do this, but I don't want 1000 cats running around, and the food will also be providing for vermin. Fewer cats living and breeding now will mean fewer cats starving and dying in the future. Utilitarianism?
What do you think... am I a meanie or in the moral right (I know I'm in the legal right and the guy that operates the elevator thanked me for doing it)
2007-02-19 07:10:50 · 18 answers · asked by Ecofreako 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
actually it is illegal to leave food outdoors for strays here. Because it attracts vermin. The cats also do alot of damage to the natural animals in this ecosystem.
In addition to this I'm trapping cats and taking them to the authorities. The problem is she is providing for a large wild cat population. If you saw these cats you'd want to shoot most of them to put them out of their misery (honestly).
2007-02-19 07:27:03 · update #1
I don't want "survival wise" kittens... I want NO cats here... and I will do anything within my legal rights to eliminate as many stray cats as possible.
2007-02-19 07:28:41 · update #2
You might contact the local humane society and the local news reporters and see if they will do a story on it . Public awareness might help with a solution . She is not helping the cats, just adding to the problem .The humane society can set live traps and capture the cats . If they are adoptable they could find homes for them but if they are diseased, then they need to be put down . That is the kind thing to do .
2007-02-19 07:41:16 · answer #1 · answered by darsow@sbcglobal.net 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you really don't want the cats there, did you ever talk to the lady to stop feeding them? How about telling her to feed them elsewhere -perhaps there is some other farmer or business owner who wouldn't mind some strays. If it's your property, then you can tell her not to come there to feed the cats. If you can try to think of an alternate location, you have a better chance of convincing her than if you just tell her to stop altogether!
Personally I agree with Jo, if you trap them, get them fixed and put them back (many times local animal groups will do this at little or no cost to you) you'll not get as many more cats 'cause those that are there will hold their territory. If you trap them and only carry them off, new ones will keep showing up as long as there are any people in town who don't have theirs spayed & neutered. :P
2007-02-19 12:13:49 · answer #2 · answered by Sheriam 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you are being a bit mean, would you rather have food or dead cats? Maybe talk to the woman and suggest using a dish and taking it up after a certain time to prevent other unwanted vermin. Calling animal control may help the situation by being able to pick up some of the stray cats and finding them a good home.
2007-02-19 07:28:46 · answer #3 · answered by catmomiam 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is a place for people like you...called HELL!
People (yes, men feed ferals too!) like that use their hard earned money to give those ferals a halfway decent life by taking them to the vet for spay/neutering, vaccinations, and to feed them. They cannot afford to get them all done so it takes time.
When you trap-neuter-return the cats you will NOT have problems with unwanted kittens, fighting and spraying and the colony is maintained until they die off.
You need to get a life and leave those poor kitties alone. Those kitties are victims of irresponsible owners that have abandoned them and they have reverted to the wild. And to top it off other irresponsible owners that do not sterilize their cats will allow them to roam free to get more ferals pregnant.
Ferals have a rough life and some starve slowly to death and you just contribute to that. You make me sick.
THIS GUY IS NOTHING BUT A CAT HATER!
2007-02-19 07:54:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'd think that cats around a grain elevator would be a good thing, but can understand why you don't want too many of them. The thing to do (I think they do this in Arizona somewhere) is catch the cats, spay/neuter them and then take them back to where they came from. They'll do the job they are intended to do, but won't be reproducing. If you just catch the cats and take them away, more cats will come in their place.
2007-02-19 09:55:03 · answer #5 · answered by Jo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think you are in the right. I agree that the food would not only attract vermin and stray cats, but may also attract cats that do have homes and then may become lost.
My advice is to catch her when she there, since you seem to know her schedule, and tell her your concerns, as well as the owner of the grain elevator. I'm guessing that she's doing this because she would like to help these cats. I would let her know that cats that are in the wild are used to eating things that are grown/living in the wild and that cat food would probably make them sick. Perhaps you could suggest that she seeks out a local shelter to volunteer at. Or, she could just donate the food to the shelter. Good luck!
2007-02-19 07:21:07 · answer #6 · answered by AmandaR 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
I think what you should do is call animal control and tell them about the situation. Tell them the time that the woman feeds the cat, and when the cats usually come to feed. That way these cats can be spayed/neutered and maybe find some good homes.
Personally, I think what you're doing is selfish.
2007-02-19 07:16:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Cat Lady is trying to help but she is definitely misguided. And you aren't making you situation any better either. The best control for feline population is to spay or neuter. If it bothers you that much, you need to capture the feral cats and take them to a facility that specializes in feral animals. Go to http://www.animalliberationfront.com they have a complete list of assistance programs in the U.S. Believe me, only some of the animals will starve, others will survive and produce more survival wise kittens...
2007-02-19 07:24:57 · answer #8 · answered by Cher 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
i think you are mean person and the lady is better than all people in your hometown. okay she feed the stray cats, good for her, i think she is kind hearted. if the brooming is the problems, talk to her and tell her since she is feeding the cats, after feeding she should clean the place where she threw the cat food, but it is not necessary that worry a lot for this silly reason. its not wrong to feed cats.
2007-02-19 07:22:03 · answer #9 · answered by zagi 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
ok grain elevator could mean rats and mice. so go ahead and sweep up the cat food, make the cats leave, don't come back yeowling afterward that you now have the "vermin" in your house
2007-02-19 08:02:14 · answer #10 · answered by ♥ cat furrever ♥ 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋