Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Once and for all, Keep your cat off my lawn
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July 28, 2009 at 8:09 pm #591713
vincentMembertake that kitty lovers, let the vitrol begin!
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/174500.asp
Do cats and small pets have to stay on owner’s property?
Q: I dearly love my neighbors. However, I’m not so fond of my neighbor’s cats. They seem to spend most of their time in my yard rather than the yards of their owners.
The problem is two-fold: I don’t want to encourage native birds and other critters into my garden if they’re going to fall prey to the marauding cats. Second, my dog is fond of digging up their waste, eating it, then throwing it up later. On my living room carpet. Yuck.
My question is this: Are there any laws regarding small pets that require owners to keep them confined or within their own property limits? I’m aware of the leash and scoop laws for canine owners, but what about the pesky cats?
A: The answer comes from Seattle Animal Shelter Enforcement Supervisor Don Baxter:
You are correct in that there is not a leash law against cats. That said, if the cat is just walking through a neighbors yard there is no violation. If the cat defecates, digs up plants, scratches cars, etc. on the neighbor’s property these would be violations for which the cat could be trapped and impounded.
If they live in Seattle, they would need to call the dispatch number and request to be put on the trapping list. There is no fee for our traps but with that there is also a waiting list. The waiting list is about a month long and at times can be longer.
If someone cannot wait, they can rent or purchase a humane live trap to set on their property. Before they set it though they would need to get authorization from us. We would send an officer out to inspect the trap and listen to the reason they are setting a trap.
If the only reason for setting a trap is the roaming cats then it would not be authorized as there has to be some type of property damage. If they set the trap without authorization they could face criminal prosecution.
July 28, 2009 at 8:17 pm #673116
charlabobParticipantMy cats are all indoors, and I don’t have a lot of vitriol BUT your headline doesn’t exactly match the answer to the question, does it? I do have a bit of an obsession about truthiness.
The specific question was about how the very presence of cats might intimidate birds. That didn’t appear to be on the list of good reasons to trap.
You may have a future in talk radio :-)
July 28, 2009 at 8:57 pm #673117
KBearParticipantVincent was complaining about cats on his lawn. The article speaks to that point. While the answer doesn’t address the questioner’s concern about songbirds, I don’t see anything “untruthy” about it.
And I agree with Vincent. There’s a reason it’s called a “house cat”, not a “neighbor’s yard cat”.
July 28, 2009 at 10:31 pm #673118
hammerheadParticipantvitriol – abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will
wow cats must make you really mad:)
July 28, 2009 at 11:01 pm #673119
JanSParticipantlol, hammerhead…love it :)
July 28, 2009 at 11:31 pm #673120
HomerParticipantLet’s get back to the issue, Vincent has a point. Why are cats not controlled like dogs? Cats have very sharp claws and teeth just like dogs, and many are aggressive, like some dogs. We dont’ let dogs pooh in our neighbor’s yard, why would we allow cats to? Maybe it’s time to start something to make it illegal to have cats off-leash when not on their owner’s yard?
July 29, 2009 at 12:07 am #673121
PDieterParticipantI just can’t take a rant seriously that is based in the hallmark pet eating poo and throwing it up indoors. This can’t be a real dog.
July 29, 2009 at 12:39 am #673122
JoBParticipantthe same people who allow their cats to roam will also allow their dogs to roam.
it’s a people problem.. not a cat problem.
July 29, 2009 at 2:08 am #673123
hammerheadParticipantCats are NOT aggressive. They do not chase you down like a dog, even ferals don’t do that unless cornered just like any other wild animal(lion, tigers and bears). Dogs and cats are apples and oranges. I am not going to debate whether cats should be kept inside. I just want to make it clear cats are NOT aggressive.
July 29, 2009 at 2:57 pm #673124
JoBParticipantJuly 29, 2009 at 3:38 pm #673125
KBearParticipantAggressive or not, other people’s pets do not belong in my yard unless I invite them.
July 29, 2009 at 3:46 pm #673126
JenVMemberI would rather have someone’s cat in my yard than someone’s dog. I have never found cat poopie in the yard…can’t say the same for the former neighbor’s dog and the frequent treats he left for me. cats at least have the good sense to bury their waste.
July 29, 2009 at 4:32 pm #673127
TammiWSMemberWhat Jenv said!
July 29, 2009 at 4:40 pm #673128
sam-cParticipantJenV- you must not have a child sandbox…..lol
there’s a cat that wanders into our yard from time to time.
not usually a hassle.
but, I disagree that cats are not aggressive. stopped by to chat with our neighbors one time. had a few pieces of recently cut grass on my ankle that I did not want to track through their house. so, I bent over to pick the grass blades off my foot. for some strange reason, that set their cat off, who attacked, drew blood…
July 29, 2009 at 4:41 pm #673129
KBearParticipantSomeone’s cat came on my front porch and peed on my dog’s bed, which I had just washed and left out to dry. (And no, it wasn’t my dog that did it. She did not have access to it.) So I don’t care who’d rather have cats than dogs. If it doesn’t live there, it doesn’t belong there.
July 29, 2009 at 5:04 pm #673130
JenVMember@ samC: you are correct – and I suspect I would have a different attitude if I did, and my sandbox was used as a cat box.
@KBear: THAT sucks. you can’t get cat-pee smell out of anything.
in a perfect world, everyone would stay behind their fences and keep their animals with them. Unfortunately, this is not that world. I just moved to a neighborhood with cats a-plenty roaming around – but they do me no harm other than annoying the hell out of my indoor cat who wants out to attack them or play with them – not sure which but I am sure it’s the former.
July 29, 2009 at 5:11 pm #673131
austinMemberI can always tell when the neighbor cats are in the backyard because I’ll hear my boy cat attacking the hell out of the back door when they come up on the deck. Good stuff.
July 29, 2009 at 5:34 pm #673132
KBearParticipantA few years ago, our neighbor’s cat got into our house through the dog door and sprayed inside our house. Another time, I was out for a walk and witnessed a cat being run over by a car. It was dark; the cat darted out from behind a parked car, and the driver had no chance to see it. So I have my reasons for disliking people who don’t keep their cats indoors.
July 29, 2009 at 7:07 pm #673133
furryfacesParticipantBefore trapping/turning the neighbor into Seattle Animal Shelter, thus creating even harder feelings, a few thoughts and suggestions:
1) Try working out a solution(s) with your neighbor, such as:
a) Asking them to installing motion sprinklers along their property lines.
b) Offering to help build an outdoor cat enclosure –I have two and will soon be adding elevated tunnels to it–my cats love it! My cats are safe from outdoor hazards and don’t bother my neighbors. BTW: 1.5 million cats are killed a year by cars. The cost of cat enclosures is far less expensive than one emergency Vet visit or the pain of losing a furry friend.
c) Your neighbor could build a large, outdoor litter box and fill it with sand, plus add a little enticing catnip or mint to the sand—it will become the cats’ favorite place to ‘sit ‘n’ read the paper’. It’s easy and cheap—use a 12’L x 12″ W plank, cut into for equal parts and nail into a square. Can even add a plywood ‘carport’ cover for rainy day use.
2) When you see a cat in your yard, spray it with a hose, avoiding their face. A few sprays and the cat(s) will avoid your yard.
3) The number one killer of birds, especially migratory birds is the human population…our use of pesticides and herbicides; tall buildings that birds fly into; and destruction of birds’ natural habitat–especially detrimental for migratory birds.
4) Lastly, outdoor cats do offer a benefit to all of us from the perspective that they are natural rodent control…mice, rats, moles…are the main animal they kill.
July 29, 2009 at 7:16 pm #673134
KBearParticipant“3) The number one killer of birds, especially migratory birds is the human population…”
I would have to consider the presence of cats to be a human-related cause of bird deaths.
July 29, 2009 at 7:40 pm #673135
KimberleyParticipantA coworker recently discovered that her cat had died due a poisoned mouse (perhaps another reason to keep your cats indoors).
July 29, 2009 at 7:52 pm #673136
LindseyParticipant@Hammerhead – Cats can be aggressive, and I have scars on my calf to prove it. Pathetic, right? I was attacked by two different cats at two different times as a kid.
July 29, 2009 at 8:09 pm #673137
funkietooParticipantFurryfaces offerred up valid, solutions that might help save neighborhood relationships. Any positive comments how people might work together to resovle these types of issues?
Also, there have been past WSB postings where furryfaces provided serveral national research sources regarding Human Population Impacts being #1. The presence of cats is not considered to be a human-related cause of bird deaths—cats would be present even without humans.
July 29, 2009 at 8:20 pm #673138
shannonMemberJenV-
You are one lucky lady that no cats poop in your yard! I don’t have a cat or a dog and all the neighborhood cats use my yard, flower bed, garden, etc… as their personal poop patch. Is there any way to avoid this behavior? I heard that if you plant catnip, then the cats will not poop where they eat (so to speak). Anyone try this technique?
July 29, 2009 at 8:21 pm #673139
shannonMember…oh, and the cats don’t bury it or even attempt to cover it up…you can imagine how good it starts to smell in this kind of weather…sigh
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