Indeed. I guess some of my frustrations have resurfaced in the light of a recent episode, when killing an animal was deemed totally acceptable. Have mentioned it in a previous post. The fact that he (the prince) wouldn't have done it in his native country was physically painful (not in the least because he couldn't, bears are basically gone in WE). The cynicism, the double standards. Ah. Btw, why morals change when people cross the borders to somewhere poorer? And even their standards?

Anyway, I think I can understand even those folks I mentioned above, I have a friend who adopted two stray dogs. What's the equivalent of a crazy cat lady in canine terms?

Another friend here, whom I absolutely love, doesn't seem to see any problem with her pup biting kids and even adults. It's a small breed but still....

I really believe some animal owners or lovers are not always reasonable.

I think you're being overly polite

I think a bunch of folks suffer from too much entitlement and not giving any thought to folks around them, not just pet owners.

Among pet owners, especially dog ones, my rule of tumb prejudice says - the smaller the dog, the crazier dog and owner, so I generally avoid them.
Bigger dogs are oftentimes more trained to behave appropriately. Probably because in home if they make damage, it can be significant, so owners are more likely to be bothered by that so they'll train the dog.

I have two cats and I still wouldn't like to have foreign cats in my garden / balcony if/when I have one, because yes, I have no clue about diseases they might carry, nor I'd like them in conflict with mine nor them coming into my home.
Same with foreign dogs. Or other unwanted animals / pests.

So I totally understand when someone doesn't want them either.
However, there's appropriate way to deter them and then there's quite the opposite.

I like motion sensor sprinklers as a solution

Also, I prefer to walk my cats on a leash, we don't do that often because I'm lazy, hopefully when we move to CH we'll have better opportunities, but for now I just don't want my cats roam completely freely, I couldn't forgive myself if something happens to them when they're away without supervision.
I also plan to build a catio (cat patio) or something where they can hang around to watch birds and enjoy the sun without causing damage to anyone / anything.

Not to mention that I don't want dead mice in my bed or mud all over it. And I really like those living plush toys in our bed, so yeah, no going out on their own, they have to have time to clean up themselves before bedtime

I think I've read that in CH it's allowed to kill 'feral cat' by hunters if they see it too far away from the town, so I don't want to rely on someone's deduction skills

There was a thread about it, 8 years ago.

https://www.englishforum.ch/swiss-ne...-official.html

Thank you for linking to this youtube video. It provides an excellent solution that ticks all the boxes: won't hurt the cat, will keep the cat safe, will prevent trouble with the neighbours, materials won't cost a fortune, not too complex to erect (or get someone else to do).

Honestly, are people getting their knickers in a twist over shooting a cat with with water from a garden hose? That's a pretty mild form of deterrent. Never mind a cat far away up a tree, I've blasted my kids at point blank range with the garden hose just playing around for fun.

Get. A. Grip.

Why is everyone one getting their panties in a twist over wet pussy?

Tom

In ancient Egypt, cats were revered as God-like entities.
In my garden, they get the cold water treatment.
The greatest infestations of cats come from the buildings where every square millimeter of the plot has been concreted over. These animals simply have to go elsewhere to sh*t.
It is distressing to see how wild birds build their nests in the garden and attempt to rear their young only to have the nests destroyed or their chicks killed by marauding cats. It is equally distressing to see a piece of prepared garden, a seed bed for instance, rendered unusable because of its function as a cat latrine.
This cat worship has gone too far. Of course, don't harm them, but make them feel very unwelcome.

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Did you do that to your newborn which has 5kg or less?
In the face? I certainly hope not.

Also kitten has what, 1-2kg.

It's just not comparable.

Your post is just another one among few mentioning that 'OP is overreacting'.
I disagree.

And kitten from the first post had eye infection, which had to be treated, so it's definitely not comparable 'just a bit of water for fun'.

And no one said the kitten was 'far away in the tree', we actually don't know how the whole situation looked like.
We only know the neighbour isn't friendly nor wants to be and the cat had health issues which luckily were resolved.

OP should be concerned and take the situation seriously, definitely.

However, I'd point in the direction of training own kitten and even putting sprinklers inwards to deter from coming through the fence in any direction in the first place, and not hoping to make someone behave more appropriate.

Some people don't know better, some repeat what they've seen. Some just have short fuse and don't think much.

Job of each pet owner is to protect own pet and more often than not that means restricting area for free move, and not changing others, because we just can't, and you definitely don't want to provoke someone to become innovative in own measures against your pet.

When they say they're ready to hurt your cat / repeat bad thing that happened, don't ignore that.

When I was a kid, my mum threw a broom across the courtyard after a cat which sneaked into her bedroom. That's how it was done 30+ years ago. Shoo loudly and throw something, usually aiming to miss, just to frighten. But I guess sometimes people didn't miss.

However, if she'd even thought about raising voice towards my cats now, she'd leave the flat.
But, she changed and learned how cats behave and react, and is willing to learn from me, so I have zero worries that she'd even think about hurting them.
Granted, she sees mine as different ones since they're indoor cats which sleep in our bed vs that 'mice hunter' from 30+ years ago.
But when I first told her we're getting cats, her immediate reaction was 'why would you want those things?!'
So yeah, she learned about how nice they can be through me. But she had incentive. She's my mum and she saw how those cats make us happy.

Random neighbour has zero incentive to learn how to handle some specific cat.
Yes, they shouldn't throw anything at them or make harm, but we don't have any influence what other people can or will do to our pets.

In short, I'd put energy in making secure area inside my own garden, and do leash training and take them on longer walks under supervision. Leash training kittens is easier than older cats, so, starting early is worth the effort

I get soooo tired of this. I have only had small dogs my whole life (I've always wanted a big one too, but we moved around a lot and with our life style, a small one fit better) but we've never baby'd them, and NONE of them were yappy. It is not the breed nor the size, and it all comes down to how you train them.
I've experienced many instances where a medium/big dog would bark like mad and my little one kept quiet. But then, you don't hear people say "look at that big dog barking" - but if it were the opposite.....you get the whole cynical deal.

Also, in the days that coats for dogs were not a thing yet...we would have a sweater/coat (nothing cutesy) for our little one because he was tiny, very close to the ground, and COLD. OMG the comments and laughs I got from people or friends (here in the west) "you're dressing up an animal???" "a dog doesn't need that!". Now you see large dogs with a coat too in the winter....and no one says a thing.

I get sick and tired of comments like "that's not a real dog" "it's a hamster" from big dog owners. Now those are the types of people I stay away from.

How would you react if someone blasted your baby in the eye with a full pressure garden hose?

It really is crazy that people are allowed to just let their cats roam free here. They are a huge nuisance and killing machines. I couldn't just let my dog wander the streets free but somehow it's ok for cats?


"Keep pet cats indoors, say researchers who found they kill 230m native Australian animals each year"

"We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually."

Citations:
Cite
Cite.

A cat in a tree will not get full pressure.

Pressure is reduced by the height of the cat in the tree, basic physics.

Tom

So you wouldn't mind if I blasted you in the face with a hose so hard it damaged your eye? Or maybe a member of your family? Which is how the OP and many of us view our pets.

Do yourself a favour and learn some compassion,or maybe just don't deliberately wind people up on this forum!!

I just said what's my personal experience. And that was an example of entitled owners btw.

So far I can remember two small dogs which weren't nervously yapping and even trying to bite. In my whole life. So if I forget a few, we're up to 5, max. And I definitely met a bunch of them one way or another.
Also, when I say small dog, I mean those which are (oftentimes much) smaller than cats.

Those sized similarly as cats vary in their behaviour much more.

Yes I'm totally aware it's about owners, it always is.

I just think many folks get small dogs because they see them as a toy/convenience and invest zero effort in ensuring dog appropriate care and training. And then they have fearful / frustrated / unsocialised animal.

And they often start yapping from far away, so it's not hard to get that prejudice kick in.

Have seen this only one or two times here and was very surprised....

And another time someone was walking with their cat in the forest, it was a superb animal whom I thought it's a wild cat in the beginning.. I'm no specialist, don't know the breeds but I assume it was a Bengal cat.
But seriously, not really done here i.e. the leash thing I mean, at least not in my experience. Cats enjoy a lot of freedom here.

exactly. once you account for distance, decollimation and gravity, it's at worst just like heavy rain. although i expect a few people are imaging that the neighbour is some kind of evil bond villian that strapped down the helpless kitten and blasted it with a water jet cutter.

Meow!

Perhaps a Bengal or Savannah? Both breeds absolutely magnificent. There is even a breed called a Toyger now but they are pretty rare.

We have frequently used the hose to get balls out of trees, there is still quite a force from it and if sprayed directly in a cat’s face could easily cause eye damage.

If OP's neighbor can't deal with silly kittens in a normal way, I bet he'll hose down the OP instead next time. I wouldn't talk to him anymore and keep my animals safe on my property.