[Kayos and Havoc]

I love cats!! I have 4. They stay indoors.

Unfortunately the rest of the neighborhood seems to let their cats out and they are multiplying. A typical morning walk now consists of dodging one cat after another. There are 2 Siamese that actually stalk us and agress at us. On average I see about 8 to 10 cats per walk.

This morning it got dangerous and my legs are bloody scrapes.

I left the house, got followed by the orange, gray tabby, and white cats from across the street. The dogs were okay with this even tho Havoc kept turning to look and barked once. Got across the highway and were walking on the back street of another subdivision which butts up against the desert. Got stalked by the Siamese but it was still okay.

We crossed the desert trail on the other end of the subdivision and as we came down the hill 2 more cats jumped at us from behind a big clump of sagebrush. That was it! Kayos jumped and Havoc followed. Unfortunately, we were going downhill, the trail was sandy and rocky. It was also an area where I allow the dogs to go out and sniff at the end of their leashes. I had no leverage and was yanked off balance and before I could recover I slipped in the gravel and sand. I ended up falling and really scraping up my legs as I had a pair of crops on. My knees are bloody and bruised and my left leg is scraped and raw from my knee to my ankle.

I let go of the leashes and let the dogs chase the cats or I would have been drug in the gravel. The cats ran under a car followed by Kayos and Havoc. They did not get the cats and came back when called but by then the damage was done. I was bleeding, my brand new pair of crops were torn and I still had to get home and get ready for work.

I got home, got my legs washed and cleaned and changed clothes and got to work. Hubby is pissed and is going to call code enforcement this morning. Not that they will do anything but we can register a complaint. Then we are going to start trapping them ourselves. Joe and I both have noticed the quail are disappearing, we enjoy watching the quail families in the spring and I think the cats are decimating them.

Very angering and it loos like I may have to walk dogs separately to insure I have better control even on bad surfaces.

My legs really hurt!! And I wish folks would take care of their animals.

 

[poochiesx8]

Hi, I'm sorry for your injury and bad time this am, and all before work! I agree that cats should be kept indoors, or, if outside, then confined with a kitty harness and leash or one of those cool kitty tunnels that I've seen for sale. Cats that roam are vectors for bringing diseases back to their homes. You are also correct that cats are responsible for decimating native bird populations, including songbirds and game birds. I am fortunate to own a large wildlife refuge where my seven dogs and I can walk off leash so when they see a big healthy fat housecat they can chase it up a tree without me getting dragged behind. No, I do not encourage them to go after any animals but sometimes the cats catch us by surprise. We have a feral cat group in our area that traps them and releases them after neutering them but all the cats I see on my property are someone's pets. If I let my dogs run loose like that, someone would call the sheriff right away! Good luck on resolving your serious cat issue. Prayers that your injuries heal quickly.

 

[Kayos and Havoc]

Thanks!! And welcome to you BTW!!

Code enforcement wants us to come down and pick up traps. If we catch them they will take them to pet rescue.

 

[Mandalay]

I had called animal control here where I live about the stray cats. I had caught one myself and wanted them to either come get it or let me bring it in and I was told that if I brought it in, the only way they would take it would be if I filled out papers that said that I was the cats owner and I was surrendering it...this came with a surrendering fee. The reason behind this is that there is no leash law for cats in this area...only for dogs. I think that is ridiculous. I think that cat owners (which I happen to be) should be required to be just as responsible as dog owners and should have to keep their cats on a leash while outside. The people who live across the street from us have 6 (SIX!!) cats that hang out at their house. I dont know if they are stray cats or if they are pets, but the cats let the people pet them and show up everyday to be fed.

 

[GSD07]

Oh Kathy, I'm sorry to hear about your morning! I can imagine how upset you were. I'm surprised there are so many cats running loose at your place. Don't you have coyotes? In our neighborhood if a cat is out the house it will make a nice dinner for a coyote.

 

[Kayos and Havoc]

Yeah we have coyotes too but the cats are still hanging around. The cats are almost running in packs this year. If you see one there are one or 2 more clsoe by. Maybe they scare the coyotes!

The owls also have been known to get the cats. I hate to see a family pet snatched by coyotes or owls or hawks but this morning I would have loved to seen that happen.

The police officer I spoke to that told me to come in and pick up a trap said it was too bad the dogs didn't get the cats. I guess they are really having problems with strays, ferals and just people leaving thier cats to run loose. Lot of complaints.

When I was going out this morning and was followed by the threesome I noticed my neighbor's mulch and several flowers were dug up and strung along her lawn. She is an avid gardner and will by very upset.

 

[Mandalay]

We have a lot of coyotes, too. But, like you, I notice that the cats do seem to run in packs. I think the coyotes are too busy getting small dogs that are tied up in peoples yards since that is an easier meal that having to hunt down a bunch of stray cats.

 

[dogs_dolls]

For years when we lived near Denver I walked the dogs (2 GSD's) about 3:30 a.m. every week day morning before I had to go to work. It was always dark of course and we saw lots of wildlife even in the city but what hassled us was.... FOXES!!!
The little creatures would shadow us on our walk sometimes coming within 6 feet of us! It was kind of spooky.. they were small little things and I had about 180# of German Shepherd just straining to get to them. You would think they would run from us!! but no... I even called animal control to ask what was going on. They said maybe someone was feeding them and they knew the dogs were on leash so felt safe. It was weird and uncomfortable so I can sympathize with the cat issue.