When people don't want their dogs/puppies or cats/kittens why do they think us in the country will take them?

because they are lazy and ignorant.. its the same people who do't clean up after their animals. should shoot the people not the cats

ps. dont shoot people

The US has affected us here in Oz in just about every way that an average person affects their cousin, neice or nephew, aunt or uncle. We're not immediate family, like the way the US seems to treat states like Hawaii, Alaska, and close neighbours like Mexico and Canada, but about the same amount as their old parent (UK), their source of oil (Saudi Arabia), or their (and everyone else's) source of cheap labour (China). We on this Earth are all connected, intrinsically, fundamentally, and eternally connected to each other. If we choose to continue to live, we must learn to live with each other in a long term sense. If we fail our survival as a species, and/or our only home, could be destroyed. Everything is at stake, and the solution is so simple, so insignificant, as having tolerance, love, and compassion for your fellow human beings. Question 2: In my country the US lifestyle invasion has a far stronger influence, because most of your foreign policy would probably have been chosen by our politicians too, US influence or not. Question 3: Same as question 2, because the majority of Australians try desparately to keep up with you, "the Jones's", and it has been like that all my life.

I don't think people dump their unwanted pets in the country thinking that people will take them in, I think they dump them out in the country with the expectation that they can forage and survive on their own. People that abandon pets are cowards because they can't even face the kind and non-judging people at humane shelters around the country.

Humane shelters have one purpose - animal welfare. While we were building our house in an exurban community we found several stray cats IN the house - there were no other houses nearby and I knew immediately the first cat was dumped there and looked for shelter. None of the cats we found were healthy and all were excited to see people. There is no humane shelter nearby. It was an arduous process each time, but we collected the poor things and contacted the county police to place them in a humane shelter and each time was a positive experience. The humane shelter workers followed up with us - virtual strangers - to let us know what happened with the cats. Each Christmas I send them a token donation due to their kindness; we have several pets of our own and I know if one of our pets was lost the shelter workers would provide assistance.

I live in the country as well, on a dead end, and I can not even begin to count how many cats have been dropped out here. We have never had a problem with them eating any of our chickens including the show chickens though. I'm sorry that happened to you.

You shot the cat and you're still concerned about the poor helpless animals that get dumped? Seriously? Why didn't you bring her to a shelter where she'd actually have a chance at a home? You're complaining about the people, but kill the animals like it's their fault. Sure you need to protect your own animals, but why ask this question if you've already thought out your own plan to control the unwanted animals on your property?

well, my biggest question to you is, after trapping the cat, why didn't you just take it to a shelter? Telling people on here you've illegally destroyed an animal is NOT a good idea... if I were you, I'd remove your question now.

I live in the country and share your feelings & experience..

We have lost several pet chickens to stray dogs...

you.. are... REVOLTING..!!!..

im prepared to bet that it hasnt occured to you you left your chickens in a place without wire fencing?

you're heartless!!!. how could you shoot the cat???... and maybe it wasnt "dumped on you" .. it could have been a poor stray cat wandering miles from the city, looking for some shelter. guess he made some pretty bad judgement of human character. take it to a shelter next time..if you care a bit for your chickens.

QUOTE : " Each animal has it's place and it's own personaility and I love and care for each and everyone of them. "

YEAH RIGHT

We had the same problem when we lived in the country--not dogs so much as cats. We had two cats of our own that were neutered, given their shots, and wormed regularly. And that is all of the cats we could afford to care for at the time. My father was retired from the military and attending school full time. That money didn't go far when it came to raising 4 kids, keeping farm vehicles running, taking care of our own animals, and paying a mortgage on both the house and the land.

The local shelter wanted 10 bucks a head to accept the stray cats we trapped, and some of them couldn't be trapped. We scraped it together for a while then we couldn't afford it.

People in town who have pet cats don't understand the problem of feral cats in the country. We bought 100 chicks and put them in our chicken coup, but cats climb woven wire easily. The next day we went out and over half of them were dead and most of them were not even eaten. The cats killed them and left most of them to lie. And yes, I know it was cats. I know what cat track looks like and it doesn't look like coon track, possum, or weasels.

These cats also went in the barn and crapped all over the hay making it unfit to feed to the horses and cows. They weren't neutered or spayed, of course, so they bred and bred and bred some more. Many of them starved, of course, but many did not. At one time we had over 40 ferals running on our farm. None of them were vaccinated to our knowledge. And rabies was a problem in our county.

One night I saw my little brother quietly crying as he held one of our baby ducks which was ripped to shreds. Out of 12 ducklings the cats had killed all but 2. And these were ducklings we had played with and hand fed and were raising for pets on our farm pond because we liked ducks--there's nothing prettier than looking out on your pond in the morning and seeing a small flock of ducks swimming.

At this point the cat shooting commenced. We shot 30+ in the first week.

I don't think that people dump their animals because they think the farmer will take them in. I believe that they dump their cats because they no longer want the responsiblity of caring for them or because they were too ignorant or didn't care enough about them to keep them inside or spay them so they wouldn't get pregnant. They don't care if their animals starve or not, they just don't want to deal with the expense and trouble of dealing with problems they created through neglect and irresponsiblilty.

It's really easy to condemn people for shooting strays. And I'll bet most of the folks who do it have never had their animals killed by strays and lost a bunch of hay or had their horses get sick from eating cat crap. I'll bet that most of them wouldn't have a problem killing roaches or rats if they were destroying their food, but when the cats kill the farmer's chickens that he relies upon for meat and eggs and he shoots them, ooh, how mean. I'll bet that most of them have never raised a litter of hunting pups and lost all of them because a stray dog with distemper infected them and they died--yeah, that happened to us too back when there were no vaccinations available for many dog diseases. I'll bet they haven't seen turkey poults die from banging themselves into the wire of the fenced pen either trying to run from the cats.

I've seen the economic and emotional damage that feral animals do to farmers. Dogs that run livestock till they drop. Dogs and cats that kill chickens and turkeys and guineas and ducks. Having dogs rip the wire off of your pet rabbit's hutches and kill them. I've been there, done that, and got the T shirt. No farmer enjoys shooting cats and dogs. But when it comes down to having food on the table and keeping your own animals safe, you have to do what you have to do. It's sad, and it's sickening, and it makes you angry as hell that people dump their unwanted animals on you. They don't want to deal with the fruits of their own laziness, and because you want to keep your own stock alive, you shoot the ferals. A chicken or duck here or there lost to a coon or a weasel, a few eggs the possum eats--this loss you can afford to absorb. But you can't have a farm and shell out 10 bucks a pop to trap cats and hand them over to a shelter to destroy, and that is exactly what they will do because feral cats do not make good pets. An animal raised in the wild will almost never adjust to being someone's buddy.

because they are lazy and stupid