Hey. So… i live rural and my cats are pets but also are working cats to keep the rodents out of my house.

Just saw some saltiness going on in the comments and wanted to address it.

Didn’t make this post with the intention of making anyone upset and I apologize to those I did.

      • glimse@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Sounds like not cutting a cat’s life expectancy in half while contributing to the decline of local wildlife to me

          • glimse@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Don’t get a cat at all then? Leave them in the wild where you think they belong

        • lorez@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Still sounds like a prison to me. Leave em cats alone if you wanna keep them in a box. That’s no animal life.

          • glimse@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            They’re either domesticated or not. Letting your cats outside is deliberately introducing and invasive species into the wild.

            • lorez@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              They’ve always been outside since they started living with us. What the hell are you saying?

  • TheDoctorDonna@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My cats are not allowed past the catio because they will either destroy everything in sight or be destroyed. If you love your cats, don’t let them roam.

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Neither my previous (dead of cancer) nor current cat exhibit any sort of hunting behavior not even bugs. The previous cat was all of 6lbs. and didn’t have claws when I adopted her. Perhaps I should not have taken in the one-eyed starving cat that came to my door begging for food and a home? Keeping them inside was not an option. (See below.)

        My street is on the edge of town, a rung in a ladder. No traffic but people that live here, and there’s only a few.

        Both were fully vaxxed with a clean bill of health and regular vet visits.

        Now here’s the part where HamSwagwich@showeq.com explains that, none the less, I’m an asshole.

        If these people want to argue the morality of allowing cats outside, let’s hear them defend keeping them inside. Their cats are not behaving normally, but they think it’s cute and funny.

        “LOL, my cat’s so neurotic and weird! I love him so much!”

        Yeah, about that. Cats that allowed outdoors don’t do any of that weird shit. They’re content and calm.

        While we’re at it, I had an outdoor cat 25-years ago. Killing machine, barely ate his cat food. He caught all the mice in my house and hunted the industrial area out back for more rodents. Ya know, the whole reason we domesticated cats in the first place? (Never killed a bird for whatever reason. Dunno.)

        He was another rescue in dire straits. Hook, round and tape worms, fleas and ticks, blacked ears with mites and feline leukemia. Vet told me to kill him. I saved his life instead.

        And it’s not like I have a choice given the giant dog door for the pigs. But remember kids, I’m an immoral asshole, circumstances be damned. Enjoy your nervous, freaky, fucked up indoor cats.

        • Shizrak@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Yeah, mine is a stray that came from living outdoors and decided to adopt us. Now living the good life with clean blankets and lots of chicken.

          I’ve tried keeping him in, because the overwhelming opinion of people online is that it’s better for your cat and for local wildlife.

          He screamed at the door for roughly 12 hours a day for 6 weeks before I gave up. I’m just not capable of torturing my little furry friend like that. He just wants to sleep in the garden. Occasionally he kills a mouse or a chipmunk, and I thank him for it.

          There are plenty of cats that can be happy indoors. Mine cannot.

      • abbotsbury@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yikes, you know people that hurt other people often start with animals, right? I feel bad for your pets.

        • Shizrak@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          You can choose to sit idly by while someone wrongs you. Others of us will do something about it. I feel bad for your pets. You won’t protect them.

  • Papanca@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I mimic their sounds and am not ashamed of it :-) Whether cats, dogs, or birds, or the pair of wild crows i feed outside, it doesn’t matter. I even mimic the sound of danger that our wild doves make when they see a sparrow hawk. So, if i see one while hand feeding a dove, i point and make the sound and look up very obviously so they know there is one circling around our garden (but often they notice before i do).

  • emptyother@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    Not pets, but I greet the wild birds around here with “Gmorning, boids” or something. The reason is simple: I hate being a bother, even to animals, and the birds are less likely to be scared and fly away if I speak to them.

    Also when I lived with cats, no cat who was let out would ever forget to say “mrr”, which I interpreted as a “thank you”. Of course I responded to them like I would a human.

  • Curious Canid@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    I’ve been known to tell my husky-mix “Return with the survey results” when I let him out into our fenced yard. Every time he goes out he seems to do a systematic grid search of the entire area.

  • Demonmariner@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    When I take my dog outside and he shuffles around looking for the perfect spot to crap, I tell him to “get with the program.” He seems to understand that I’m becoming impatient.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My pig is 4-yo and I’ve never seen him poop, not once. He has his own spot of yard and packs that shit in like Teris bricks. Once an area is full, he moves on. LOL, you should see the plants out there!

    • Crackhappy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      We like to say that our dog is searching for their poop, then when they finally actually poop somewhere we congratulate them for finding it.

  • shandrakor@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    Hey man I feel you. I should have added that I live rural and they are working cats as well as pets.

    I’m sorry I caused you such anger.

    Be well.

  • Lorindól@sopuli.xyz
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    1 year ago

    When my cat comes in, I always say “All hail the Cat King!”

    EDIT: English not my native language. “Heil” was not intentional.