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Said resident will want a rodent officer because they are tired of being a "victim in their own house" of rats, mice, squirrels and chipmunks that devour their plantings and chew their way into the walls, infringing on their personal freedoms.
I have yet to meet a "bird rights activist" type who isn't insane. Enthusiasts can be reasonable, but some are over the edge and around the bend. A friend of mine was pissed off at her neighbor who was using my friends then young sons as a pretense for demanding that a hawk that was killing songbirds and squirrels be somehow killed or removed from the area. "The violent sight of the hawk devouring prey on the deck surely must be traumatizing these poor gentle young children!". Traumatizing my ass - they were utterly fascinated!
Also, even if the cats are kept in...
Other animals prey on birds and chipmunks and squirrels. I'd much rather deal with housecats than fisher cats. Nastyass fisher cat don't care.
(I know they're not actually cats, but it works better this way for this comment.)
Cats are subsidized predators
Cats are subsidized predators. Either feed 'em and keep 'em in the house. Or, let 'em roam outside and fend for themselves.
I have cats.
Charles River Alley Cats!
Wonderful story.
This woman pisses me off
Uh, yeah...anyone who owns a cat knows they do EXACTLY what you ask them to do.
Someone taking my cats will most certainly lead us to a small war.
move to the country
If you want to have outdoor cats, move to the country. I don't want your cat peeing on the plants on my deck or fighting some other cat in the middle of the night. I don't like cats, but I've also had the heartbreaking task of whispering platitudes and petting a quickly dying housecat on the street after I saw it get hit by a car.
NO! DO NOT!
Cats are an invasive species that devastates North American bird populations when released in rural areas.
Better to have them run around the 'burbs, where the environment is already unfriendly to many bird species, and all to friendly to species that don't need protection.
There's a reason some rural residents kill cats that stray to their lands.
Already some applicants for the position
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8
Like Concord?
"If you want to have outdoor cats, move to the country."
Isn't Concord pretty much the country? :)
Full disclosure: We live in the middle of Boston; we have three cats, and they do not go outside, because they are too domesticated to survive more than twenty minutes out there.
Concord is not the country
As someone who grew up on a farm, is in Concord often and happily enjoys the city, I can tell you that Concord is not the country. It is a suburban area.
Just because there are more than 50 feet between houses, grass, trees and longer driveways doesn't make it the country. There is also an aspect of mentality. If you want the real country, go some place without a lot of people who spend time in the city, e.g., Orange and Ashfield, MA, Lyme, NH, etc.
Six words for you
Old Road to Nine Acre Corner.
I will grant you the Milldam, West Concord and the prison are not country.
Concord has farms
Verrill Farm is the best-known but I don't think it's the only one.
Farms
Yup, and the City of Boston has blades of grass and trees. There are even people growing food and (I guess) raising animals. Doesn't make it "the country" either.
I realize that I'm in the minority here.
For what it is worth, anon...
I live in Dedham. Dedham is also a suburb but it is not what one would consider country. Concord is a suburb and, in general, is a rural suburb. Yes, if you want country with a capital "C", the Northern Kingdom, Vermont is a good bet. But when I visit Concord, I consider it more "country" than where I live (Walden Pond and all).
It all is in the eye of the beholder.
Wildlife Feeding Ban
The real problem is that she herself is committing the highly unnatural act of making local wildlife dependent on her handouts. This should be prohibited, as it is an act of animal cruelty. She should be heavily fined for attracting vermin to the area, as all birdfeeders inevitably do.
My aunt had to get rid of her birdfeeders for these very reasons - fortunately, she is sane and understood that SHE was the problem, not the animals who were acting like animals. Don't like predators? Don't feed their prey.
I agree with the proposed regulations.
I understand that outdoor cats roam, but why should I have to put up with my neighbors' cats digging things up & making a mess in my yard?
I sympathize with this woman.
In my neighborhood the coyotes eat the roaming cats, so that has cut down on the problem.
Poorly written copy
"One petition calls for a bylaw that would require cat owners to license, vaccinate, spay or neuter, and regulate their pets. Under the proposed bylaw, cats would not be allowed to go onto other properties without the owner’s permission."
This reads as though cats can't go onto other properties without the CAT owner's permission. "But officer, I told Patches it was just fine to go wherever she wanted!"
That's kind of a cop out...
Cats' obedience, or lack thereof, isn't the issue. Imagine if somebody's child ran uncontrolled around a supermarket upending displays, and that when the child's parent was confronted about the damage, the parent explained nonchalantly to the store manager that "uh, yeah...anyone who has children knows they do EXACTLY what you ask them to do." The child, much like the cat, is not some independent being who can roam around and do what it pleases with impunity--it's something under your stewardship, and you should be responsible for it's actions. Legally speaking, you might be off the hook unless your cat has a history of biting/scratching people or vaguely-defined, known "mischievous tendencies," but letting a cat roam free while it leaves messes in other people's yards is an unambiguous middle finger to neighbors.
As to animal control impounding cats left to roam, given how dangerous it is for the roaming cats themselves (I've seen my share of wounded cats and of cats killed by car traffic), I would argue that anybody who has left a cat to roam is at least an unfit cat owner given the risks involved to the cat, and, at worst, guily of out-and-out abandonment.
Laughed so hard I shot snot out of my nose.
http://www.universalhub.com/2012/concord-consider-...
^
One of the best arguments on this whole thread.
This woman is inviting animals into her yard, and inviting trouble. If the store is putting a display of candy, ice cream, or some other child bait out in the open, then they need to expect it to be knocked over. Kids do do things like this, and anyone who has kids needs to expect things like this to happen from time to time. Are you going to suggest we start locking up kids who knock over store displays?
You don't know how these cat owners take care of their cats. I'd say any cat with enough energy and desire to chase prey, is a healthy cat. How can you say someone abandons their cat for letting it outside? Animals, including people, greatly enjoy fresh air. Just because of the danger of someone's cat getting run over, they're abandoning their cats? Are we then to say people who let their kids walk to school are also guilty? What if that kid gets hit by a car, or falls off of a playground structure? The parent isn't there, they must be guilty of abandonment, right?
Kids do do things like this,
That's a strawman if ever there was one. Yes, children knock things over in stores. But, bear in mind that 1) the children's parents could be held responsible for any damage, and 2) if a parent's child is unattended and habitually demolishing displays and ruining merchandise, the store will most likely ask them to shop somewere else. Locking up kids? Really? A better analogy would involve not habitually leaving one's children unattended to cause damage, even after complaints from others. Also, equating keeping a cat indoors to sending children to jail? That's a bit of a leap, don't you think? Jail is punishment, while, according to the people at the MSPCA (whom you must know better than) it's actually cruel to let cats roam freely.
Why, yes I do, in at least one important way. They routinely put their cats outside contrary to MSPCA guidelines.
Well, call DCF and ask them what would happen to a child's parents if a child was found wandering a highway at 3:00 am or eating out of a trashcan. To look at it another way, you're also confusing the actions of a child, who at least has some ability to reason/function without supervision under certain, limited circumstances with the actions of a cat, an unreasoning animal that you yourself admit is hard to control. The less capacity/individual agency people have, because of age, incompetence, etc., the more supervision they live under so they don't harm themselves or others. By that rationale, since a cat isn't responsible for it's own actions, it should remain supervised.
Basically, your cat = your stuff. Keep your stuff out of my yard.
Responsible parents
Don't let their children roam around all night mating and fighting and trespassing. If they did their kids would be taken away.
You're right this is a great analogy.
Keep your cats on your property.
Their desire to roam doesn't outweigh my desire to keep pets off my property.
Legislation is the easy way.
Trapping and bringing em to the pound is the harder way.
I fully agree with you that
I fully agree with you that feeding wildlife is, generally, not a great idea. As far as I'm concerned, the woman attacting an armada of birds, chipmunks, and squirrels onto her property is every bit as much of an entitled goof as the folks who leave others to clean up after their cats.
Consider This
Not every cat you see outside is somebody's pet. In fact, an old farming community like Concord very well may have a historical feral population. Without trap-spay-neuter programs, these populations can grow to fill the niche.
Meaning, they will take advantage of "bird feeders" feeding birds (and squirrels and rats and chipmunks and mice and rabbits ...) to make more of them.
Consider as well that there is a cost to removing them from the environment - rodent explosions.
We never domesticated cats, really ... we just created a lot of rodent food and they noticed! Create a lot of bird and rodent food, and the ferals will notice. Take out the cats and get plague ... well, get different predators eating those same special precious tweeties.
She should just stop feeding the birds and other prey in her yard. I'm sure it is far more satisfying to bray on about "peaceful and compassionate environments for all creatures yak yak baaaa derp" rather than admit that she can't decide and control what species visit her property.
Cats on the Loose
So who owns my property? Is it the cat, its owner or myself? Shouldn't I have the right to enjoy my property without unwanted domesticated animals using it to do what comes natural. Responsible people are not neglecting and putting their pets in danger by letting them wander.
What if there was a law on the books that allowed individuals to treat animals on their property as a nuisance or as a food source? Wouldn't a pet owner then keep their precious pet close and protected?
Animal lovers sometimes will not wear a fur coat or even eat meat. That's ok if they do not impose their views on myself. Likewise, to tell me that a cat has more rights on my property than myself is twisted thinking.
An animal is precious and is a creation of God, but it is not more important than my family or myself. I do not want diseases that cats carry (especially if they roam and pick up problems), so I do not want them in my vegetable garden and I do not want their feces or urine on my porch.
"Diseases cats carry"
Cat flu?
Please explain, and differentiate these diseases from the diseases carried by creatures that cats tend to control, like rats, mice, snakes, and birds.
There was a reason that old women who kept cats didn't get the plague, and that rats carried plague through Europe so quickly after cats were exterminated.
If they want to save money in Concord...
They can hire a combo cat officer/bottled water officer.
Post a sign...
Post a sign notifying your neighbors that you keep bowls of poisoned meat in your back yard.
Also, keep bowls of poisoned meat in your back yard.
I don't do this to me malicious. It's just that my job requires poisoned meat.
I'm a Meat Poisoner.
Better yet
If you want to create a "sanctuary" in your back yard, and enforce it with something less passive-aggressive than a town bylaw urged for the sake of "providing a gentle environment (where one is hostile to one's neighbors ...)", put up a fracking fence already!
Oh that'd work great..
because everyone knows that cats NEVER climb or jump fences!
Razor wire on top...
or slant the fence made out of chicken wire or some type of netting. Cats won't attempt to climb anything that unstable.
"I hear that Chinese Needle Snakes like to eat cats. They may breed out of control then you have to bring in these snake eating gorrillas to reduce the population. The gorillas may get a little out of control though but no worries since they won't survive the winter" - Animal Control Officer H. Simpson
Wicked mis-quote, lol
I believe it goes more like this (yes I copied and pasted from a Simpsons fan site):
Skinner: No problem. We simply release wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!
Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.
----------------
Now on a serious note, would a prison-type of fence like that get zoning approval in Concord?
Ever seen the prison in Concord? ;-)
Sorry, that's a weak joke......
Touche' !
Good one!
Oh to be.... one of the chosen few....
Poor people of Concord. Oh to be so rich.
coyotes
To control the roaming cats, the government should introduce coyotes to the neighborhood. And if the coyotes get out of control, we can allow hunters in to harvest them.
This series of events will save the birdies, plus raise revenues in the form of hunting licenses. Plus it helps get coyotes off of the endangered species lists, and helps US Arms manufacturers and gun shops. Win-win-win!
And then we introduce the Chinese needle snakes
And when we get overrun by them, we bring in the gorillas that feast on snake meat. And then, the best part, when winter rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.
I don't blame her
When I first saw the article, I thought "here we go again, another whacko from the town that wants to ban bottled water". After I read it, I think she has a valid argument. She just doesn't want other people's cats in her yard. Is that asking too much? Years ago, dogs roamed around freely, people complained and now we have leash laws. I don't see the difference.
Personally, I really don't care. Being an animal lover, I have no problem with a cat roaming around the neighborhood. In my condo complex, my next door neighbor's cat is outside most of the time, and does an excellent job controlling the chipmunks and mice. We have a board member that absolutely hated that cat until someone filled him in on the cat's hunting abilities. Amazingly, the cat has managed to dodge all the coyotes and foxes around here.
As for the Concord woman, I don't blame her. It's her yard and she shouldn't have to deal with someone else's cat.
dogs vs cats
The difference here is that dogs can chase people, bite them, and (in the worst case) even spread rabies through the bites. That's why they need to be on leashes in public places. Cats don't cause these problems.
That makes no sense
Cats can be territorial and attack people. Plenty of cats bite. Cats can carry rabies as easily as dogs.
OK, my statement was too cat-egorical
but still ... if you are chased by a barking dog (while walking, running, or cycling), doesn't that instill a bit more fear than if you are chased by a cat?
Minor point
Sorry guys, but my point about dogs and leash laws was a very minor point. My argument is that somebody else's cat is roaming around in her yard, she doesn't like it, and I agree with her point. Again, a cat or any other animal on my property is welcome.
city cats
i had lots of cats growing up in the city. of all of them only two were the unfortunate victims of automobiles. now i live in what i consider the country and my cat is a "stay inside" cat because we were worried that he would be eaten by one of the wild things. guess what? no wild things. since ive moved out of the city i have not seen a racoon, possum or skunk. ive heard rumors about coyotes but never seen one. i saw more animals on harvard ave. i guess its all the trash. go figure.
p.s. our street signs are perfectly fonted.
Cats at Large
Completely agree that this woman is irrational, and has no grip on how the ecosystem works. We have several cats. During a period when my husband and I were living elsewhere, our neighbors back here complained about the drastic rise in the rodent population!! Birdfeeders are a huge attraction for mice, rats, chipmunks, etc. I've had many cats over the years; only one of mine ever caught birds on a regular basis; I was able to train her not to do so. Appears the yards in this woman's neighborhood are fairly small, and divided by fences (we have 3 acres here). I suggest simply spraying unwanted felines with a little water when they are on her property. They'll get the hint pretty quickly! Option B: move to an area with stricter zoning.
Why, oh why do so many people feel the need to burden local, state or federal governments with more laws? Ever wonder why your taxes are so high, but the towns and cities are crying poormouth? Look no further than residents like Lodynsky. BTW, we have come around to keeping our cats indoors now, since the 25mph speed limit in our neighborhood is rarely enforced. My neighbors will have to deal with their rodent problems some other way. I suggest Lodynsky think of some creative solutions to her "problem", rather than burdening the town and the taxpayers.