V
Vinyl Turnip
Guest
Really their fault for losing their looks, isn't it?
Really their fault for losing their looks, isn't it?
C
Contrapuntal
Guest
No, the dog probably won't eat the cat, only tear it to shreds. Cold comfort for the cat.
Using cats as bait animals is common practice in dog fighting circles, a practice that is apparently just fine with Chessic Sense, our resident sociopath.
J
Jackmannii
Guest
Besides, it's recycling.
F
Freudian Slit
Guest
But would a dog who's not trained for fighting react to a strange kitten by tearing it apart? It seems a strange assumption.
C
Contrapuntal
Guest
A dog with a strong prey drive would. My Jack Russell will kill a cat (or possum, or snake, or groundhog, etc.) in a Miami minute, although by snapping it's neck, not by shredding it. My two other dogs could not care less about cats who are indoors, but if a stray animal gets in the back yard and the Jack goes for it, the pack mentality takes over and they all go for the kill.
I didn't want to get sidetracked, so I said "dogs" instead of "pit bulls," which is what the asshole in the OP said. I have no idea if they were trained for fighting, but I would never risk a kitten's life by throwing it to a pack of dogs, especially ones left to their own devices outdoors.
F
Freudian Slit
Guest
Yeah, fair enough. Either way I think the OP lady should probably drop it off at the shelter. At the very least, you'd think she could phone animal control and have someone pick it up if she doesn't want to do anything. If she hates cats that much, I'd assume she'd be happy to have it gone.
T
Tahssa
Guest
Yeah and that's why I get a new kitten every three months or so but I don't take them back to the pound because that is mean. I just toss them into random peoples yards and then it's their problem.
Yikes.
S
Shot From Guns
Guest
B
begbert2
Guest
Phewie! Looks like I better not admit that if I had a house with stray animals wandering around outside of it, I would ignore the things as completely as I currently ignore the cats wandering around outside my apartment complex. Strays are simply not my problem, no matter how cute other people think they are.
Er, oops.
Er, oops.
R
Rex Goliath
Guest
I can't blame someone for not wanting to feed stray cats (even cute widdle kittens). Stray cats carry disease and a food bowl intended for one cat rarely remains so. I've taken a lot of kittens to the pound to be euthanized, and never felt guilty about it. Kittens are cute, but they are a nuisance on the environment and should be taken to the pound. Letting it mew and starve in your own backyard without even taking it to the pound seems needlessly cruel, though. It's not like there's a real cost in properly disposing of it.
R
rhubarbarin
Guest
Freudian Slit said:
It's hard to describe the personality difference. In general intact males just seem more intense. They have a masculine 'energy' so to speak. And they are much easier to keep slim and muscular.
I'm not really interested in dog bite statistics. The information is mostly based on information the victims report which I don't consider to be reliable (how many hysterical parents of children bitten by a strange dog know the difference between an American Pit Bull Terrier and a Rottweiler mix?), and correlation isn't causation, etc. I only worry about what I see myself.
None of my dogs have ever bitten a person. I assume they never will, but I take what I consider reasonable precautions. For instance I don't let young kids come near my dogs, because unlike my dogs, I don't trust the kids and know what I can expect from them. I've had kids run up to my leashed dogs and smack them in the face before... it's my job to protect my dogs from all the dumb things people do, plenty of which deserve a swift bite.
IME the main factor in dog bites is the owner. Every single dog is capable of tooth contact with a human in the right circumstances, although I've met a few where I'm pretty certain you would have to start sawing their leg off before they would. Furthermore a snap, a hard sideways blow with their teeth, a light bite that bruises, a deep bite that draws blood, or tearing your leg half off- are all distinct and separate ways the dog is communicating with you (from 'knock it off before I actually smack you with my teeth' to 'DIE!!!') and the dog doing whatever it is means to do just that (unless you're getting in between him and someone else he's trying to do it to). The dog who snapped at you lighting-fast and missed by a fraction of an inch didn't intend to sink his teeth into you and somehow miss - he was telling you to get the fuck away from him before he had to go there.
Anyway, it's up to the owner to know their dog well enough to understand where that threshold is and recognize signs that the dog is nearing it, and keep their dog from biting people. Whether that dog is constantly aggressive or has never shown one sign of aggression doesn't make much difference.
Doesn't have anything to do with being trained for fighting, just on whether the dog knows how to kill animals. It's largely natural instinct, for dogs that have the opportunity to learn how to use it. Most pet dogs these days don't. A hundred years ago 90% of American dogs probably knew how to kill rats/rabbits/kittens, and ate them too.
My oldest dog (a 20-lb white, fuzzy Tibetan Terrier - the breed is not known for having a strong prey drive) has killed a shitload of small animals in her time - by shaking them hard as soon as she catches them, not by tearing them limb from limb - including several kittens. My other two will chase animals, but don't have that killing instinct once they catch them. They just hold them in their mouth and look confused. If they had more opportunity to catch animals and were around dogs that knew how to kill (my oldest dog is 14 and has bad eyesight now, she hasn't killed anything in years), I'm sure they'd learn to kill and eat small animals. Dogs are predators and there are few that would be physically incapable of killing for a living.
L
lazybratsche
Guest
I can't summon much hate for someone who decides not to feed a feral cat. There are always starving cute furry things around. You can't feed all of 'em... when was the last time you ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING to make sure the local raccoon pups or skunk kits were taken care of? How about the mouse pups that will starve because you cleaned up your pantry?
If you're that worried about the kitten, take it to a local shelter. It'll be well fed and taken care of, and most likely adopted out in short order. And even if they end up euthanizing it because nobody adopts it, the kitten still will be better off than if starved in someone's backyard. All you have to do is drive to your bosses' house, get the kitten, and drop it off at a shelter. Are you willing to spend an hour of your time and a few bucks worth of gas to do something productive?
If you're that worried about the kitten, take it to a local shelter. It'll be well fed and taken care of, and most likely adopted out in short order. And even if they end up euthanizing it because nobody adopts it, the kitten still will be better off than if starved in someone's backyard. All you have to do is drive to your bosses' house, get the kitten, and drop it off at a shelter. Are you willing to spend an hour of your time and a few bucks worth of gas to do something productive?
I've owned four different dogs in my life. Never been licked by any of them.
R
Really Not All That Bright
Guest
Won't somebody please think of the kittenless children?
R
rhubarbarin
Guest
Really? I think the British and American fancies have done a great job with the breed; the dogs have lovely personalities and are very healthy on average with great care being taken to health-test dogs to prevent proliferation of the issues they are prone to. They are dwarfed because a dwarfed dog of their type was considered functionally useful for herding [everything but sheep], driving, ratting, guarding, and hunting in the mountains of Wales for the last 3000 years or so; not because someone thought it was cute and inbred a bunch of dogs to look that way.
She's got a lot to say about 'the victims of human breeding programs for purebred dogs', too (pertaining especially to the sensationalist, anti-purebred special Pedigree Dogs Exposed which got so many people excited). Most of which I strongly agree with.
A
Audrey Levins
Guest
Didn't mean to abandon my thread...my computer went down and now I'm heading off to work shortly, so I haven't read all the responses yet, but...
UPDATE ON THE KITTEN:
I found her a foster home where she's fed and safe and happy until I can find her a permanent home.
UPDATE ON THE KITTEN:
I found her a foster home where she's fed and safe and happy until I can find her a permanent home.
R
Rilchiam
Guest
Are you sure you can't add one more cat to your household? Initially, you said you couldn't support even one cat, but you have two now. Perfectly understandable if you really can't, but are you sure you can't?
R
rhubarbarin
Guest
That's so nice of you Audrey. She sounds like she'll make a lovely pet for someone.
C
cochrane
Guest
Slobber? Yes, many do. Some breeds are notorious for slobbering. Some don't. My black Lab does not slobber.
Stink? Some dogs can if they're left outside all the time and never properly groomed. Dogs pick up odors from their environments. If you take care of them, they don't have offensive odors. A bad odor on a well-taken care of dog can be a sign of illness. Not a problem with my dog or any other dog I've had in the past. They've all been indoor dogs and have had regular grooming. Regular brushing for the short-haired ones and professional grooming for the long-haired ones. It's my experience if you keep a clean home and the dog spends most of its time in the home, neither the dog nor the home will stink.
Dogs do shit. All living beings excrete. My dogs have had proper training however. Dogs can be trained to only urinate and defecate outside and signal their owner when they need to do so. My present dog has not had an accident inside the house in nearly five years. I leave it up to him most times to let me know when he has to go outside and don't think twice about it. I only have to deal with the shit when I go outside to clean it up.
And all of my dogs have been spayed or neutered. I firmly believe in it.