Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!dinorah!mary
From: mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: wandering domestic cats
Message-ID: <1043@dinorah.wustl.edu>
Date: 30 Nov 89 17:38:20 GMT
References: <853@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM>
Organization: Washington University (St. Louis)
Lines: 72
In-reply-to: denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM's message of 29 Nov 89 18:25:26 GMT


denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM (Denise Caire) writes:

>In article <1041@dinorah.wustl.edu> mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) writes:
>>She
>>has an outdoor run in her yard.  It consists of a cord up high
>>stretched from the house to a tree on the other side of the yard, with
>>a leash extending down.  With this contraption, the cat can freely
>>roam her pet human's property, but not outside it.  She gets to play

>My first response to this is, is the cat declawed?  How does she keep
>it from climbing the tree and getting all tangled up (such as
>strangled)?

I don't know.  I have never seen her climb up a tree.  Of course, she
is supervised when she is out to keep her out of mischief.

>>This is a really happy
>>and loved cat. 

>Perhaps. (Purely conjecture.)

Having seen her play on the floor with her humans and play with leaves
and bugs outside, I am pretty sure she is happy.

>>She does not have to worry about getting run over by
> ^^^  ?the cat? ?the owner?

The CAT!  Humans usually don't have to worry about getting in a fight
with other cats.

>Boy will he be thrilled.  The first cat on the block with a tether.

The thrill will be more one of safety, than of prestige.

>Okay.  But remember, someone talking about shooting cats to keep them
>away from a bird feeder started the discussion.  I have had enough and
>I will no longer respond.  My cat will remain outside where he likes it
>when the weather permits.  Bells are worthless and taking the chance
>of strangling the cat by tethering it is an incredulous suggestion.

I meant take the discussion of ways to keep your pet in your yard is a
better topic for rec.pets, not the discussion as a whole.  If
tethering a cat would risk strangling him or her (which I would NOT
want) then the people in rec.pets would know better ways than that.
It was the only way I have seen or heard of to safely keep your cat in
your yard, which as I recall, was what you were asking.  

>>Putting a cat to sleep that has been badly
>>mangled isn't exactly our idea of fun!!!

>My idea of fun is putting a mangled Blake's Bird to sleep.  
>What a hoot!!!  (Sheesh.  It's just a joke, okay :-)

You have a very sick, disgusting, cruel and insulting sense of humor.
The cat in question belonged to my ex-stepfather.  I had known him, and
loved him since birth.  I had played with him when he was a kitten.  I
had seen him eat his first solid food.  His owner let his cats roam
the neighborhood.  One day the cat came back and hid under the bed.
My ex-step-father pulled him out from under it to discover he was
badly hurt.  The cat had to be put to sleep.  To wish such a horrible
fate on someone else's pet, even as a joke, is just plain cruel.  No,
it is not okay.  It is inexcusable.  I believe you owe five birds,
myself, and the net a big apology.  Smileys don't count.

	-Mary

????: "Natural leaders are rarely encumbered with intelligence.  Greed, 
       egotism, animal cunning, and viciousness are the important attributes --
       qualities I detect in you in admirably full measure."
Avon: "I didn't come here to be flattered."
		BLAKE'S 7: "Orbit"


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