Conference misery::feline

    
    >especially in a town where some homes cost in 7 figures....
    
    What's that supposed to mean? The poeple of lesser financial 
    means are more likely to be cruel to animals?
    
    Shaw 

    
    Shaw,
    
    	>What's that supposed to mean? The poeple of lesser financial
        >means are more likely to be cruel to animals?
    
    	That means people would more likely not show their dislike
    in public, ie. they care too much about their reputations.
    
    	> -< So who's prejudice >-
    
    	Will you just chill out? I am not in the mood to deal with
    your problems.
    
    
    Eva

    Eva...some people are really sick and get a kick out
    of hurting animals.  It makes me so sick to think 
    anyone could harm a cat.
    
    If I was you...I would do everthing possible to try
    to keep your kitties indoors (since your missing one
    and one got shot) until the jerks can be found.  Of
    course...most police will figure it's ONLY a cat
    and not even try to find the culprit!  I know your
    cats won't be happy and will probably drive you
    crazy (I do understand...I also have cats who
    are indoor/outdoor), but my guess is this person
    is out to do harm to all animals in the area.
    
    this world is truly full of sicko's!
    
    Sandy
    
     

    I second (or is it a hundred and second?!) the suggestion that you keep
    your "kids" inside when you arn't home.  I sit here just about worried
    sick, because I couldn't locate Barney, my Siamese before I left for
    work this morning.  In fact I called and called went around the circle
    twice, went and got gas, came back to the house called again, nothing.
    
    His is my one who will not be kept inside completely, but his habits as
    I've said in other notes are that my husband lets him out early in the
    morning, he does his "thing" and comes back, this is repeated at night
    when I get home.  I worry since there is a new development under
    construction right beside the house, the jerk next door also has a
    pellet gun, and I've seen him radomly shooting off of his back deck
    during the day (this tub'olard is mid twenties and as far as I can see
    doesn't do much for a living) plus today is trash day, and the trucker
    is not the safest driver.
    
    I may call my other neighbor and ask her to look out for him, and if
    she sees him to grab him, and put him inside the house.(I left the back
    door open today because of this).  When he pulls this disapearing act,
    which isn't often thankfully I worry.  Guess the neighbors don't
    appreciate me calling him starting at 6:30 a.m. or 9:30 at night, but
    that's too bad, it MY baby!  We have also had a couple of animal
    cruelty incidents in the woods behind our house, but I'm hoping with
    the construction of the development these teens have lost their private
    hiding (read drinking etc) place in the woods.  The access road is
    (was?) within feet of the shack they constructed.  Our cops tend to use
    an attitude of "so what it's just a few teens camping out" and look the
    other way!  Great little town I live in!
    
    Lyn
    (thanks for venting)
    Barney, Bandit and Fluffy

    I would definitely push the police to look for whoever has a pellet gun
    in the area.  They may not get excited that your cat was shot, but they
    should have it pointed out to them that maybe next time it will be
    someone's kid who gets it.  I understand your frustration and keep my
    cats (all seven) inside.  My brother makes fun of me for being so
    protective, but I can't handle the cruelty that some really sick people
    like to hand out.  Good luck with your pursuit!
    
    Donna
    

    
    There are inside today. The older cat, the one who got shot at,
    does not mind the indoors, he basically an indoor cat in the
    winter. The 7 month old kitten was climbing the walls this morning.
    She was kept indoors until she was neutered 2 months ago, so 
    hopefully she wouldn't go too crazy. ;-(
    
    re. .4
    
    I hope everything is ok with Barney. My older cats used to pull
    these disappear-for-a-day-two tricks. Drove us humans crazy. The 
    kitten has stayed out at night a couple of times and I don't
    think she likes it that much - she prefers to sleep with my daughter.
       
    It just irks me that cats, who are not prone to destroy property
    or hurt people, cannot enjoy the outdoors without being harrassed.
    
    
    Eva
    

    I can't help myself...
    
    Score a big one for indoors only!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    My contract requires that any cat I place is kept as indoors only.
    If not, I can reclaim said cat and fine the owner.
    

    I would call the local newspaper or television station;
    some publicity might warn the nutcases away and would also
    give other pet owners notice about this so that they might
    choose to protect their animals by keeping them indoors.
    

Re .7 - wish I'd said it first!

That aside, I'm enraged right along with Eva.  If I could catch the jerks, 
I'd hold them down for her.  Several years ago, one of the Cosentino kids 
was caught shooting cats with a bow and arrow (painful, slow deaths) in 
Campbell, CA.  Cosentino is a well-known local family that owns a grocery 
chain so it was probably the combination of torture and money that made it
so newsworthy.  He was arrested, but I can't remember for how long.  My 
family absolutely refuses to do business with that store, but it doesn't seem
to have affected their profits.

When you talk with the police again, remind them that Jeffey Dahmer started
out hurting small animals.

			SQ
    

    I say *if* these low lifes are ever caught, they should be brought to
    full prosecution!  The ASPCA Can and DOES prosecute to the fullest
    extent of the law.  Oh and this also includes leaving critters in a hot
    car during the summer!  There ARE people in jail for just such stupid
    acts!!
    
    Oh and as an aside, if they are shooting in a residential neighborhood,
    could they be in violation of the law that says you can NOT discharge a
    gun within a certain number of feet of a dwelling?  I think it's either
    300 or 500 feet distance!
    
    These are times I feel like saying line 'em all up and take random
    shots at THEM!!
    
    Lyn

    I thought pellet guns were not considered 'firearms'?  Therefore they
    are exempt from the 'within 500 feet of a dwelling' and FID
    requirements?
    What is their purpose, anyway?  
    Sarah

    Cases of animal cruelty seem to be getting more visibility and 
    stiffer fines (although not as severe as they should be).  I
    think you should definitely report this to the police, ASPCA, and
    whoever else will listen.  Also, if you have neighbors who let their
    pets outside you may want to warn them as well.
    
    I hope your cat feels better soon.  I'm glad he knew enough to go 
    home after this happened. I'm also glad he's still alive -
    unfortunately his condition could have been worse.
    
    Sharon

    
    re .7 Indoors only...
    
    My cats have a choice - I have a pet door where they can come and go
    as they please - I don't just shut them out in the wild. If they want
    to stay in, they can. I try to provide them with a safe environment, 
    keep them well fed and medically sound. I agree that indoor cats *may* 
    live longer and healthier, but I believe *my* cats have more fun outdoors 
    - a plain simple fact that I can't change. Life is short, and I, as a 
    animal, cannot deny another animal's freedom to enjoy nature. I am the
    kind of person who cannot bear to have caged birds or tanked fish. For
    me, a short but exciting life is better than a long boring one. We've
    have pure breed kitties, some we got free from friends, one we paid
    good money for. We have always stick with breeds that enjoy an active
    environment, thus we don't have lap cats. Since we have basic differences 
    in our life philosophy, let's try to leave this indoor vs outdoor alone. 
    You could use this incident to further your cause, but it is not my cup of 
    tea. You choose what you want for your cats and I'll do the same for mine. 
    
    
    
    Eva
       

    
    Eva, I am very glad your kitty is okay, I pray for his speedy 
    recovery and your pursuit in finding out who did this.
    
    This note is a perfect example of us (the noters) not offering all
    our help and compashion.  Instead of Eva getting support, and maybe
    one of us offering to help out in her search for this person - alot
    of you are jumping in the band wagon and telling her to keep her cat
    inside - that advice is not going to help Eva.  
    
    We dont know Eve or her cats - we should not just assume she should
    keep her cats inside!
    
    Eva, you seem like a very nice and loving person who cares about her
    cats - let me be the first to ask you where you live and if I live
    near you, I would be glad to help you look for this person - this
    person needs to be stopped - he/she could hurt a person next time.
    If I can help you make flyers anything - you just let me know.
    
    You may write to me off line if you wish to set up a way I can 
    help you!  
    
    Louisa

    
    Louisa,
    
    	Thanks for your offer to help. I have been "spying" around
    the past weekend, but to no end - probably because it was a 
    holiday weekend. I have spread the words with the neighorhood
    children (and adults), who will be on the watch out for strangers. 
    There is only one middle school and one high school in town, thus
    the kids kind of know "everyone". I think that once school
    starts in September, kids will talk. We kind of "suspected" that
    if we've gone into the woods, we would probably find the body
    of the missing cat and I don't know if I want to see it!
    
    	I live in Mass. and people need a firearm license to purchase
    a pellet gun. If I don't get too far with just the rumor mill,
    I will look into getting the names of firearm license holders in
    town and go from there.
    
    	I think most people suggested to keep the kitties inside out of 
    genuine concern for safety, I have no problem with that, I am
    glad that people care about them kitties. I also expected some of 
    the I-told-you-so response in here. It is a perfect scenario for some 
    people to capitalize on! My husband and I have been cat owners for years, 
    we are neither stupid nor naive, thus what they say will not make a
    difference long term. This is very similar to "Oh, my god, you are
    what? Fill-in-the-current-hot-topic your baby???" There are always
    gonna be folks who don't like things I do/how/when/why I do them, it is not 
    my job to please them ;-). I will explain to them my points of view,
    but I really do not care if they understand - bad attitude, I know! 
    
    	Thanks again for your note and I'll keep you in mind when I 
    need critical mass! 
    
    
    Eva
    

    Talk about sickos maiming and killing animals all you car owners out
    there are sickos like the rest. I rented a 4 wheel box for 2 days and
    drove 800 kms and man I cant believe the amount of dead animals on the
    road. It was like there is a war on to terminate the lives of
    everything that moved.
    
    My friends mother drove over her sleeping pussycat in the driveway of
    their home! Disgusting!
    
    A city bus ran over my first cat and I saw the whole thing, terrible!
    
    I've seen people swerve their metal killing machines to hit turtles,
    birds, cats, etc., maniacs!
    
    I guess my point is that Eva thinks the person who shot her cat is a
    maniac and I think Eva is a maniac for getting in her car to look for
    her cat. A gun is a weapon a car is a weapon both can be used
    responsibly or irresponsibly and I'm afraid that the latter is more
    common. 
    
    chris
    

    Sorry but I have to go off on you!  What exactly are you trying to
    say?  I'm sure Eva doesn't plan to go looking for another animal
    to run over, and you obviously have never drove behind me!  I would
    drive into a ditch,tree, etc. to avoid a living animal!  I will slam
    on my brakes to avoid a scurrying chipmunk, if someone is too close
    behind, well thats their problem.  As a matter of fact, last week
    on Pine hill Rd. in Hollis, I stopped quite abruptly for a cat with
    a pink collar, then not even 2 mins. later for a loose dog and
    then for a pheasant.  Please don't assume that people go around 
    hitting animals for pleasure, and the few who may do that will get
    whats coming to them in due time."What goes around, comes around"
    
    Maybe as a car owner I am a SICKO, cause if some idiot(not mentioning
    any names) was riding a bike down the middle of the street not obeying
    the traffic rules, who's to say I would stop in time!  Yet if it had
    fur and 4 legs I know I would stop in time!    Signing off! Sue

    RE: last couple

    My initial reaction was to set these notes hidden as the images
    portrayed were a bit disgusting, and in my opinion, written in a tone
    to get a reaction out of others. I could be wrong, but that is how it
    came across to me (and some one else as well). And in the conference
    guidelines, we ask people not to do that.

    However, I am aware that things are stressful all over. So, I'm going
    to warn everyone right now to please think about the words that you use to
    convey an idea. If you can only express idea in a way that is going to
    get a negative reaction from others, I suggest that you not post
    anything.

    Deb
    co-moderator (and responsible driver and gun owner)
     

    
    re .17
    
    Ah, maybe I should walk or run to work, it is roughly 40 miles one way.
    I can do a 8 minute mile, so, 320 minutes total, 60 minutes in one hours,
    except that one can't run along the highway, hmm, maybe I should learn how 
    to fly a plane...
    
    For the record, I have *never* run over any animal, who is not already
    dead. I take my driving very seriously, since I drive for sport, as
    well as for transportation. I don't daydream in my car, I don't chow
    down in my car, I don't have a car phone, I don't talk to nobody, I am 
    110% aware of what goes on in front, behind and next to me. While I am
    driving, that's the only thing I am doing. I own a car that handles
    very well in normal as well as in emergency situations, and have lot of
    power to get out of potential accidents, and superb 4 wheel disk brakes
    to stop in short order. When I am behind the wheel, the car becomes a part 
    of me. I stop for every visible animal (sorry ants) who crosses my path. 
    In the spring, I put all the earthworms back in the lawn before I back out 
    of my garage. 
    
    I understand your concern for road kills, but I am afraid you are talking 
    to the wrong person. Try someone else. 
    
    
    Eva
    

    re .14
    
    I wish I had a choice of indoors or outdoors.  Chris is a LARGE cat
    and will not stay indoors.  When someone in the neighbourhood said they
    had seen a wild cat I think what they really saw was Chris in his
    winter coat.  He looks a lot like one. I would have to have him put down if
    it came to forcing him to stay indoors.  I wish I could keep them in.
    I never come over the rise before my driveway without expecting to see
    a scrap of fur beside the road.  Luckly I haven't yet.
    
    When next doors dogs were attacking and killing my cats I had to keep
    them in.  I had to have two door frames replaced where my tiny cat Flea
    ripped deep valleys into the wood, and they ripped the back off the
    sofa.  I think cats belong, at least some of the time, outdoors.  At
    least the boys.  The two girls don't stray far from the back door and
    seem very content to be mostly indoor kitties.
    
    You just have to do your best I guess.  

>    re .14
>    
>    I wish I had a choice of indoors or outdoors.  Chris is a LARGE cat

I have a friend who lives in the mountains where it is relatively safe for 
her cat to go outdoors.  I hope you all take this with the sense of humor
that sparked it.  I still vote for indoor kitties where necessary, but I 
know Ms. Penny would be miserable (the bunnies, etc would be happier though).

			SQ

PS.  Please excuse her typos -- bad terminal connections cause problems.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Susan, 

This pet parenting thing is sometimes worse than the real
parenting thing (says she who is merely a stepmom to grown kids
who don't need much).  I do keep reminding myself that these are 
all signs that our Penny is a healthy and normal, albeit 
bloodthirsty kitty.  I swear I do feed her.  regularly. 

The month of June-blurred-into-July:  

The day after we return from the UK she wants to show that altho 
she has been left inside for nearly two weeks, she is still a 
real cat.  We hear a slightly noisy ascent to the upper deck 
where Father and I are having breakfast.  The noise is the 
screaming of a smallish cottontail.  I grab killer-kitty by 
scruff, order her to drop the wannabe-bunny, toss cat indoors and 
shut sliding door, turning around to hear the screaming bunny 
tear back across the length of the deck and run off the edge.  
that is the upstairs deck.  I am told by the local physicist that 
the bunny mass was too small to be hurt by the fall as long as 
they landed in grass.  I looked down to verify that the bench and 
ladder are free of splattered bitsobunny.  Whew.  maybe if the 
heart calmed down that one lived. 

The next bunnie had a heart attack before I could get to her. 

The following week, it was Penny 2, squirrels 0.   Penny notices 
that I am not appreciative of her skillful work as 
hunter-gatherer. 

the next bunny was initially mistaken for something from Alien.  
In the house. In my office.  

The day after, before I have completed tha carpet cleaning, she 
furtively enters the house with a live one and heads straight for 
the same spot.  Mom went hysterical.  again.  for the 2nd time 
24-hours.  locked kitty up in the cat-pokey and returned to deal 
with hysterical minute bunny.  said bunny is tearing around the 
corner of the room behind the door, up the wall (this is an 
amazing amount of energy expended by a creature the size of a 
tennis ball including ears and tail).  I realize if I can grab 
it, a heart attack is likely (thanks alot for rescuing me you 
stupid human), so I grab a cardboard box and eventually get it to 
scamper inside, close the flaps and hand it to my husband who has 
made it to the head of the stairs (his back was severely OUT).  
he heads barefoot down the driveway to find a safe spot (out the 
gravel section).   releases the bunny who freezes under the 
gladiola for a while.  kitty is housebound for the evening to 
give the bunny a chance. 

yesterday as we were leaving for dinner I notice the cat chewing 
on something crunchy (did I forget to mention the lizard kill 
rate?) by the front door.  my voice now has not problem with 
serious decibel levels.  husband reports half a female lizard.  
half I can understand.  how do you know it is female?  oh,  that 
is what lizard eggs look like.  that many??   more on the porch?

today as we drive up to the garage Penny greets us with something 
in her mouth,  something with a long tail.  I jump out to 
inspect/intervene.  it is a chipmonk.  she is meowing thru the 
chipmonk to please open the door.  no bloody way.  I grab her by 
the scruff of the neck, she releases the critter who eventually 
makes it off the porch (while I continue to rstrain the cat), 
gets stalled on the sideing for awhile, and eventually run all 
over the driveway and under the car (I yell so no-one steps on 
her getting out), and looks like out of control hot wheels.  
eventually the shipmonk scoots over the burm and down the hill.  
Penny is restricted to the house for an hour to calm down.  

another summer day of cat parenting. 

ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

/s/irene_the_killer's_mother

------------
permission granted to forward

That poor cat!

	.22

	I found that whole piece hysterical !
	Been there, done that....and, it's much
	funnier reading about it !

	dotty

    I just had several people stop and look at me, giggling like some
    insane person who has finally, totally LOST IT!  (well I have, but
    shhhh don't tell anyone!)
    
    I could only sit here and picture Barney,(aka the dumb one, where's
    stupid, such and airhead!)  My muscular, manley man of a Siamese, who
    is just a big baby who forgot he grew up! doing all that was mentioned, 
    and me in hot pursuit.  (usually in a short niteshirt and probably 
    bearfootin!) As someone else said, been there, done that, it's more fun to
    read about it!
    
    Thank you, I needed a lift!  And Barney and the other furfaces will get
    a big hug tonite just for being who they are!
    
    Lyn

    Eva,
    
    Have you found your kitty yet?  Hoping......
    
    Eloise

	Wow... hadn't been in here for ages. This is not a good thing to have
happen to an animal. If kids with a bb gun are involved, then I don't think it
matters if you live in a 7 figure home, or in a 5-6. Kids will be kids. (I
think I know what .1 was getting at) If an adult is at it, again, anyone who
would shoot helpless animals isn't all there to begin with. But of course it
doesn't mean they can't own a 7 figure house....


Glen

    
    Nope, I haven't seen my cat and haven't heard anything about
    anything either. At this point, I emotionally have to let him go. 
    He was a good cat, really friendly, would go up to anybody and
    rub them (could have been his fault, too!). So, I'm down to 2 cats
    now. I try to keep them in during the day when we are not home, it 
    is so hard though, since summer is so short around here and before
    we know it would be snowing... 
    
    
    re. 27
    
    I knew what .1 was getting at, too. I was just annoyed that all
    he had to say to my bad-day story was "What is that supposed to 
    mean?" like he was more concerned about how my perceived values 
    than what happened to the cats. Out of I don't know how many lines
    I bambled off in my rage, all this person wanted to do was to 
    make sure that I knew he was irate about my correlation of neighbor
    hoods and animal treatment. Pretty amazing to me.
    
    
    Eva 
    
                                  

I'm sorry to hear you haven't found your cat Eva, I remember how crazy I
used to go when mine didn't show up for just a couple of hours.  

Hugs,
Laura

    I have agonized over the in/outdoor decision for years.  I have lost
    cats to cars and 'outdoor' diseases. I have never had one shot. (knock
    on wood)  One noter said in effect which is better.... a long boring
    life, or a short exciting one?  I think a long exciting one is best
    but that seems inconsistent with either extreme...only indoor or
    outdoor at will.  I compromise now. All cats stay in by default. 
    (i.e. the cat door is set for IN only) they have to be manually let
    out by a human but can get in at will. (Staywell makes a cat door you
    can set for in only, out only, locked, or in and out). At night I
    keep all cats IN. Most of these accidents etc. seem to happen at night
    I have noticed.  But, obviously your cat wasn't shot at night... an
    exception to the rule. 
    
    By the way, the jerks that shot your cat deserve the maximum the law
    can dish out... and more. 
    
    The attitude you found at the police station, unfortunately doesn't
    suprise me.
    
    Jeff

    Re: a few back on road killed animals.  I agree the number of animals
    killed on the roads is shocking... mostly squirrels and wild animals.
    I for one will ALWAYS try and avoid hitting an animal on the road. If
    it comes down to causing an accident by hitting another car or tree in 
    order to avoid the animal and THERE WAS NO OTHER CHOICE, I would 
    unfortunately, hit the animal rather than possibly kill a human. 
    In my 30 years of driving I have hit an killed two cats. Both were
    'suicide dashes' by the cats, I didn't even have a chance to hit the
    brakes in either case. I stopped both times and tracked down the
    owners. It was a HORRIBLE experience for me. It still bugs me, but
    short of not having been there they were unavoidable accidents.  So,
    I do see how animals can get hit and killed. Animals have not evolved
    to avoid cars and trucks.  To the noter who said that the noter was
    wrong to be driving a car at all: Come on, get REAL, what are we going
    to do... go back to the stone age?
    
    Jeff

    my main point is that it is difficult to see a small furry creature
    from the confines of a car. it is also dangerous to drive to a car
    around without 100% concentration on driving. people who hop in their
    car to look for an animal are not thinking. they cant hear if an animal
    is whining, they wont hear ruffles in a bush, in short you probably
    wont find anything you are looking for unless it is another human or a
    car.

    
    re .32
    
    >my main point is that it is difficult to see a small furry creature
    >from the confines of a car.
    
    I never said I did that. If you read .0 a bit more carefully, you'd
    realized that "I drove around to the other sides of the woods and
    *talked* to the folks." I would be an idiot to look for my cat in
    a car.
    
    
    Eva

    
    >I would be an idiot to look for my cat in a car.
    
    I don't think so - lots of cats hide in cars...
    
    ;^)
    
    len.
    

    
    len,
    
    	Yes, my cats love to get in our cars, which is something I
    absolutely dislike, because of all the hair they leave behind
    (I am allergic). One time, one cat sneaked into the garage and
    into my husband's car. Well, my husband didn't know the cat was
    in the back seat and started to leave for work the next morning. 
    Freaked out, the cat flew right out of the car, fortunately onto 
    the yard. Well, the cat never got into my husband's car again and 
    we make sure we know where every cat is every night.
    
    	Wonder they like cars so much...
    
    Eva
    
    
    

    
    I think they just like to be anywhere you don't want them to go!
    
    It's the closed door thing.  They can't stand closed doors.  Of course,
    once they're on the other side of the closed door, they want to come
    back through.  Drives me nuts 8^).  My cats will spend ages pushing
    and/or pulling at a closed door, and then once they have it open, they 
    peek in briefly and walk away.
    

    My neightbors have a huge, gorgous black and white "tuxedo" Maine Coon 
    apparent named "Mickey". I have a bright blue metalic 95 Mustang. Once
    day this summer I had left the window open. Mickey was in the cat,
    standing up in the drivers seat with his paws on the steering wheel,
    and looked very "at home". He gave me a look as if to say, I look good in
    in it but I'd prefer a convertable. I wish I'd have gotten a picture.
    
    Deb

	Re: cats who like to go into cars.  When I had Tiki he loved to nap in
	cars, they get so nice and warm inside.  My neighbors had company over
	and Tiki jumped in their car through the window.  Luckily they saw him
	before they pulled away, dozing on a blanket in the back seat.  If they
	had gone off with him I might never have seen him again, they lived a 
	couple of hundred miles away.  Another thing I don't have to worry about
	now that my kitties don't go out.

	Laura

I poked through this topic, because its title caught my eye.  In the
neighborhood where I now live, our first (buy) house, we've lost three cats.
The house is on a circle that is at the end of two short streets that
lead to the nearest main road.  This is Central Mass.  We had a cat for three
years in an urban section of Newton, before we moved, with the cat, to
Marlborough, where I think a dog got him as he slept in the woods.

Anyway, we've never seen any of these three cats dead in the street from contact
with a car.  We've never been horrified by finding one dead from a bullet or
hanging, either. All three just vanished.  I swore there was a cat hater in the
neighborhood, who probably snagged the cats while they were roaming around, and
took them for a ride, far enough away so that the cats couldn't feel their way
back home. Or else he or she poisoned and dumped them.

Now I'm pretty sure I was right about the cat hater.  Flakey Jake (Jake) - the
cat I have now - went amiss one day about four months after we got him.  He
reappeared three days later, slimmed down, haggard, and without his flea collar.
Someone had him for a few days.  I have an idea where these cats, Jake included,
got into trouble. Jake's over three years-old now, and there is one
direction he NEVER takes when he leaves the house.

I've thought about it, and I think that cats, like all other animals, including
people, have varying intensities of survival instinct.  Jake is a case study 
in survival.  One of the neighbors who feeds birds HATES Jake, not cats, just
Jake.  Even with
a bell on his collar, a rabies tag, and a name tag, if he draws a bead on
a bird, he gets it.  And he's old enough now to pick and choose birds.  He
kills only those he likes to eat.  I got up at 3AM to let him out when I
spotted a skunk eating something on the edge of the lawn.  I observed how
Jake got rid of the scavenger without getting sprayed. I couldn't go back to bed
till I saw what he'd do with that skunk.

My point?  I always thought it unnatural to have an indoor-only cat.  But,
I'd have to say that anyone who loves cats as cuddly pets should maybe keep
them inside.  I love cats because their nature facinates me.  I have to
let them outside to appreciate the nature of cats.  The perversity of it
is, I feel about as attached to Jake as any cat I've owned.  And if he got
killed, I'd be very sad.  But it's a trade-off.  And it is nature.  

-Steve 

    
    Living near woodsy areas in NE there is a danger of Coydogs. We lost a 
    cat to one (in Hapmstead NH area) a few years back. Coydogs love 
    cats and small dogs and are quiter and faster than the cats. 
    
    Shaw

-.1 What's a coydog, a stray? 

I wouldn't want to test it, but Flakey
could probably outrun/climb anything that was out to kill him.

    Coydog is like a smaller version of coyote. They are very quite and 
    secrative, they also dare to get quite close to civilization. They 
    usaully hunt nighttime to early mornings. 
    
    Shaw

Sounds like copydogs would be a great reason to keep a shotgun available.

    A 'coy dog' is the result of a domestic dog breeding with a coyote.
    Both coyotes and coy dogs are common throughout New England, and both
    will take cats and other small animals for meal - they are very
    opportunistic animals.  They are also, however, (unless rabid) no
    threat to humans, preferring to avoid human contact if at all possible.
    We live in an area with a considerable coyote population - I hear their
    howls almost nightly, but we only rarely catch a glimpse of one and
    have never lost a domestic cat.  I will keep to myself my opinion of the 
    past noter's feeling that they need to be shot: it is legal to since it's 
    always open hunting season on them, but remember, owls are an equal 
    threat to outdoor cats, make sure you're eliminating the right target! 
                                                               

    
    As much as I like cats, I would not shot another animal who is
    just looking for a meal, which could be a cat or what not.
    If I feel that my cats may be threatened, I'll keep them inside.
    
    Eva