Letter: Forshee grossly misinformed on cats and coyotes

Posted 12/15/17

To the editor:For the woman who has written letters about coyote vs cat and thinks the cat should not be preyed upon due to her neglegence, should get themselves educated on being a responsible pet …

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Letter: Forshee grossly misinformed on cats and coyotes

Posted

To the editor:
For the woman who has written letters about coyote vs cat and thinks the cat should not be preyed upon due to her neglegence, should get themselves educated on being a responsible pet owner. Go to the Audubon Center in Bristol and speak to some of the educators there and get informed before you say/think paying taxes gives you more rights than your neighbors having to deal with you being a roaming cat owner. I do not hate cats...matter of fact I love cats, all cats. Still I don't like gardening and finding cat feces in MY yard that I pay taxes for. Unless you own a farm and you need that cat to do a job by catching mice or chasing rats from the feed bins then you should be a responsible pet owner and keep them indoors.  
1. Domestic cats are not native to the US. So actually the coyote was here before them. So who has more right?
2. Do you realize there are 1.4 to 3.7 billion native birds and 6.9 to 20.7 billion mammals are killed by both domestic and feral cats each year. Look it up, it's a fact. That's BILLION! Not to mention the diseases they can carry. Feline leukemia, feline aids, deer ticks that promote Lyme disease, and if a small child gets scratched or bitten by a cat they can also catch a disease.
3. Coyotes are "wild" animals and the fact that they are born in the wild and must hunt to survive is natural to all "wild" animals. Lions, tigers, wolves, bears, raptors. It's not their fault that houses were built in the Laurel Park area. All wild animals hunt, and they are not picky what they hunt for. That is what God intended...rabbit, possum, cat...survival of the fittest...they are not picky, so stop blaming them. That same cat can be hunted by an owl or a hawk.
4. I pay taxes, I also pay for a license for my dog, and he must have a rabies vacination to get it, so I have a vet bill to go along with that license. Why not cats? I have feral cats up here also, and plenty of irresponsible cat owners. And when the cats roam down near the river in the woods is it the coyotes fault that cat is roaming? You say yes because you pay taxes? Have you ever heard a cat being attacked on a calm summer night. It's deafening and so, so heart breaking. Just because that cat had an owner that is irresonsible. I have had coyotes in my driveway, but I don't have pet food outside nor do I let my pets roam.
I know a family with three cats. Unless you went in their house or saw their cats laying on their windowsill you would never know they have them because they are all indoor cats. They are responsible pet owners with their cats and their dogs. 
YOU pay taxes to the town, not your cat. YOU are responsible for your cat not the town or the DEM. Personally I think all towns should tighten the laws on all free roaming cats just like the restrictions on dogs. 
So stop complaining about what the DEM will or will not do for your hard tax paying dollars. They have other issues to deal with before yours. Maybe those tax dollars should be spent on license requirements for cat owners not just dog owners. 

Debbie Richmond
Brittney Lane

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