Brickbat: Leashed Fury

The Toronto City Council is expected to vote on a measure that would bar cat owners from allowing their felines to roam "at large" in the city. Cats would be required to be on a leash if they are outdoors. Supporters of the measure said that cats have a devastating impact on songbirds and other wildlife. The law has already been approved by the city's economic and community development committee.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The true north, strong and free.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Just like a house cat on a leash.

[Vernon Depner]

Coming soon: medical "transitioning" for pets. Don't be the last prog at the cocktail party without a transcat!

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Actual LOL. Thanks.

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[rbike]

I identify my cat as a dog. They are much cheaper to obtain and easier take care of. He absolutely hates any harness/leash. You can see his anger when he has them on. And he can get out of all of them. So I let him out on his own at times as he continually begs to go out. He is afraid of the street so he is limited in where he goes. And he always comes home.

[Brandybuck]

I've got a fish named Eric!

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Was he born as a bee?

[MatthewSlyfield]

My neighbor's house cat identifies as a mountain lion.

[Longtobefree]

Please tell me that cat is not giving a Nazi salute.

[Lebah188]

why why why ?

[MatthewSlyfield]

Because we said so. Because we said so. Because we said so.

[Crackers Boy]

Busy bodies gonna' be busy.

CB

[speedylee]

This is how you get a rat problem.

[croaker]

This is how you get the plague.

[speedylee]

Yes.

[Ajsloss]

Exactly. Not to mention bird shit all over cars and sidewalks.

[Gozer the Gozarian]

Fuck cats.

[GroundTruth]

All cats, everywhere.

Never met one who didn't finish getting his head scratched by returning the favor with claws fully extended.

[Ajsloss]

Quid pro quo.

[GroundTruth]

Hey, the cats seem to come to me looking for attention.

[mad.casual]

Seriously, just put out a few saucers of poisoned milk and the roaming cat problem solves itself.

[Ajsloss]

Should they be roasted in the depths of the Slor?

[Gozer the Gozarian]

Too good for them.

[MatthewSlyfield]

That is illegal in most jurisdictions.

[In Canis Credimus]

Hating a small virtually harmless animal with hate says a lot more about the human than the cat...

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

This is going to make things harder at the local Chinese restaurant.

[GroundTruth]

Overheard at a Chinese restaurant
"Waiter, this dish is wonderful, what do you call it?"
"Thank you, Sir. Until this morning, we call it 'Fluffy' "?

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Q. What do you call a Vietnamese walking a dog?
A. A vegetarian.

Q. What do you call a Vietnamese walking two dogs?
A. A rancher.

[GroundTruth]

What is a Chinese dog name?

Stir-fry

[mad.casual]

Supporters of the measure said that cats have a devastating impact on songbirds and other wildlife.

So, what, 5 yrs. before Toronto can no longer refuse to deal with its rodent problem? I'm sure the songbirds are just fine with the gigatons of concrete and asphalt, 24/7 lighting, and 200,000 vehicle horns and other noise drowning them out and, really, it's the feral cats that are the problem.

[Rossami]

You are correct that it's feral cats that are the problem - which a leash law will do precisely nothing to stop.

[croaker]

It's not about solving a problem.

It's about government control over the people.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Today, leashes on cats. Tomorrow...

[MatthewSlyfield]

It's about inventing a "problem" to not solve so they can control people.

[mad.casual]

It should be clear that I'm being sarcastic. it's been repeatedly demonstrated over more than a century that, while a well-selected and motivated cat may keep rodents out of a select area, cats broadly act more like a parasite of the rodent population rather than an extinguishing predator of it. They are territorial enough among themselves relative to rodent populations and too intellectually similar to their prey that they have and will virtually never extinguish a rodent population.

Moreover, they aren't chasing away the wildlife. They're chasing the other feral creatures that people like to pretend are wildlife. The fox, deer, opossum, raccoon, skunk, ground-nesting birds, falcons, etc. are largely gone already. The populations the cats are 'devastating' are the massive squirrel, chipmunk, rabbit, and rodent populations that have sprung up in the absence of the other competitors and predators and the ability to live off human scraps/garbage (arguably domesticating them).

[But SkyNet is a Private Company]

Where do you live that the foxes, deer, possums, and raccoons are gone? The foxes only disappear when the coyotes take over

[mad.casual]

Where do you live that the foxes, deer, possums, and raccoons are gone? The foxes only disappear when the coyotes take over

The Midwest. Which city do you live in that deer and fox are more numerous within city limits than in the forest preserves and suburbs and countryside around it? Is it Toronto?

I said *largely* gone and, more cogently, largely gone/diminished relative to chipmunks and squirrels. Seriously, you can Google it, in the mid-19th century there was a squirrel craze and cities and park planners around the world imported squirrels into parks because they were virtually unknown in man-made parks and urban centers and it was felt they got people more into touch with nature. Now, the inverse is true, squirrels are more dense and more numerous in cities than in the wild. To call the things that cats kill in the cities and suburbs of Toronto "other wildlife" is generous to the point that they might as well refer to rats and pigeons in NYC as "other wildlife".

[Brandybuck]

> Cats would be required to be on a leash ...

I'm still laughing over this!

Feral cats are indeed a problem for wildlife, but we're not talking about feral cats here. We're talking about putting leashes on house cats. WTF?

[Dillinger]

beauty. those hosers have never tried to leash a cat.

[Will Nonya]

When pets are all on leashed and "songbirds and other wildlife" continue to be devastated due to stray populations then what's next?

It's like this law was written by the same types advocating restrictions on gun purchases in the US. They want to curb illegal or unwanted activities by imposing restrictions on the people who actually follow the rules.

[Stuck in California]

To be honest, most cat people don't follow the rules.

Cats here, for example, shouldn't leave your own property without being on a leash (the law is pet agnostic --it's not just dogs) and yet housecats are everywhere. I know because a handful of them hang out in my yard. Only one of the group is feral, I know where the others are from.

That said, so what? As you said, there are strays and ferals as well. And I don't mind the neighborhood cats here because a couple of them take out the rodents in my yard. I always have mouse and rat problems and when it's like live action Neko Atsume out back the problems are greatly reduced.

[Dillinger]

my indoor/outdoor kitty patrols basically a city block for rodents and brings them all to my back door lol.

[Stuck in California]

Probably never saw you kill a gopher and wants to make sure you're OK.

Cats do that because they think you're too dumb to hunt for yourself. Same as bringing a wounded mouse to their kittens to learn how to finish the job.

My cat used to bring me bugs. Very proud of herself when she'd drop them on my chair, too. She wasn't the brightest, but she made up for it by being mean to everyone but me.

[mad.casual]

While I've got no problem with the entertainment aspect (personally, dogs with bunnies are way more tragically hilarious), the cats don't actually drive off or eliminate the rodents. The rodents just get more secretive about their movements.

[Agammamon]

You know what would be more effective? Removing protections for pets on other people's property.

Your cat roaming down the street to fuck with my duck? Get shot.

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