From Catie G

Wednesday, 14 January 2015

I always have thought that cat owners should be under the same constraints as dog owners and clear up after them.

No doubt these cat owners would cry out and say my cat has rights and should be allowed where ever it wants to go. But children and adults have or should have more rights than animals to have safe clean spaces without fear of getting covered in dog or cat mess.

I get really fed up with cat mess in my vegetable garden it is so off putting wondering if there is any around before starting to dig. I do feel so sorry for parents with young children who get covered in this disgusting mess.

Yes I know there are responsible pet owners out there who do clean up but it is the pet owners who dont care that should be heavily fined or made to clear up every last bit of dog or cat mess that is around maybe then they would learn and have some respect for others

From Jack Hughes

Wednesday, 14 January 2015

An excellent point well made, Catie. If only more cat owners would keep an eye on their pets whilst walking them - particularly when off the lead - we could avoid this kind of messy nastiness. Incidentally, does anyone know who owns the ducks and geese that regularly befoul the riverside walk?

From Dave G

Thursday, 15 January 2015

I used to have a cat but no matter how hard I tried it would not walk to heel, and would insist on climbing up trees and fences, chase mice, fight other cats and run across the roads and fields. I enquired to the Council about going to cat training classes but they only laughed.

If anyone has any advice as to how you stop a cat roaming or you could herd them together into a safe zone in the park perhaps they can post it here.

Obviously having your own garden they can claim as territory and using cat litter is reasonable, but short of having an electrified enclosure you are inevitably stuck with the menace of cats breaking loose, forming gangs, drinking from the canal and roaming the town causing trouble.

P.S. was the cat poo tested it could be the dreaded geese!

From Rick Holden

Thursday, 15 January 2015

Come on Jack, surely you can not be sticking up for our furry friends who decide a young child's play area would make a good spot for a toilet?

If you were not aware that dog faeces can cause blindness in children.

I think comparing wild ducks and geese that poop on or near a river is a little ridiculous.

Maybe it's time to make it illegal for cats to roam free. Many parts of the world have already embraced this philosophy. It's just pure laziness by the owners who simply just open their door and usurer the cat out.

I do believe that the problem on the Park is one of cats. There is a spring loaded gate with fencing all around so unless it's either a very intelligent dog or one that's been allowed to do its business there in view of its owner. Hopefully not the latter...

Jack do you own a cat? ;)

From Jack Hughes

Thursday, 15 January 2015

As far as I know, cats are defined in law as 'wild' animals - hence one is not obliged to report accidentally killing one, whereas anyone running over a dog has to report the incident.

As a lifelong catlover, I know only too well that they are wilful creatures, somewhat prone to roaming. I am thus intrigued by the suggestion that the local feline population have 'decided' to use the park as a latrine. Maybe this is an example of the hive mind in operation; maybe one individual cat (some kind of uberkatze, or 'Top Cat', if you will) has decreed that this should be so.

I suggest that some alsatian-shaped scarecrow-type figures, or possibly a low-set electric fence, could be used to safeguard our children from these marauding moggies.

From Jack R

Thursday, 15 January 2015

Can't we all just love cats?

From Catie G

Thursday, 15 January 2015

I knew my previous post would cause derision over keeping cats under control but they should be kept under some sort of control other than messing where they want they are also responsible for the death of countless birds I much prefer birds and wildlife to cats any time.

I have also previously owned a dog and know full well if my dog had ever got into neighbour's gardens (he never did as he was kept under control at all times) and messed there then i would have been held responsible for cleaning the mess up so why shouldnt cat owners do the same. After all we are talking about the play area for children and children should have more rights than any pampered pet.

Here is a previous report on the damage cats do to the wildlife. Yes it may be from previous years and a different country but it still holds true.

From Tim B

Friday, 16 January 2015

The law of trespass as determined by the 1971 Animals Act does not apply to cats.

This is why cat owners are not responsible for leaning up after them.

From John Greenwood

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Going off the theme of cat poo in the park, I think it should be law that all cats must wear a bell. This would cut the number of birds, mice and other wildlife killed for fun.

From Andy M

Thursday, 22 January 2015

It might well reduce the number of bird and/rodents killed but it wouldn't be for 'fun', as you put it. That's just an anthropogenic extension - it's just something cats and other predators do perfectly naturally.

From Myra James

Thursday, 22 January 2015

I've had cats with collars and bells in the past, and have fitted two bells to the keenest hunters to try and minimise the carnage, but to little discernible effect. Now I prefer to have my cat microchipped but left free of a collar, which can present risks to cats when climbing trees etc. If a cat is a keen and efficient hunter, it will catch wildlife. As mentioned elsewhere, this is not "for fun" it is just what they do. Certainly unfortunate, and I don't minimise the impact of cats on wildlife. However, the solution is not to attempt impose impossible restrictions on cats' movements but to keep the cat population down by neutering. Far too many unwanted litters are born. Meanwhile, can't we just enjoy these beautiful and fascinating creatures? Or, for those who do not share my feelings about our feline friends, just live and let live?

From Dai Hallgarth

Friday, 23 January 2015

I've been following this and can no longer resist adding my twopenorth; since I moved to Hebden Bridge 38 years ago, cats have become almost anathema to me. I like them as individuals and and even care for them when friends are away. But please note with litter trays that they have been trained to use.

All my efforts to make beautiful gardens have been stymied, almost defeated, by neighbouring pets using my hard-won, freshly-dug veg and flower beds as a lavatory. I have also spent a lot of effort attempting to make habitats suitable to attract birds and other wildlife.

In my present garden, some non-garden-owning neighbours happily release their animals and then call them back in when they have had time to do their business - also having maybe also slaughtered mice, frogs, toads and fledgling birds, the little ragged corpses often found by myself and grandchildren, obviously killed not for sustenance but fun as an earlier poster suggests.

I invariably find cat excrement under my finger nails or on my grandchildren's hands when attempting to plant things or simply enjoy this hard-won, well-fenced space. If we miss it on our shoes, we often find we have walked catshit into our home. I feel that the cat population has greatly increased since 1976 and that many owners no longer can be bothered to ensure their pet has defaceted before allowing it to roam free.

Almost not worth posting this! Pretty sure we are stuck with the catpoo situation.

From Felicia J

Friday, 23 January 2015

Whenever my kids were small we always covered the sandpit when not in use and had no problems. Couldnt the council provide a cover that could be hinged back or laid to one side when the pit is in use? Assuming cats are the sole problem that is, I've walked past several times and seen that dog owners have ignored the sign on the gate and taken their dog into the playground, so not hygenic or safe from that point either.

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