Quote:
Originally Posted by BookCat
I so desperately wanted to avoid this indoor/outdoor cat debate and stay on the subject of DOGS. The reason being that I'm in the UK, where the norm is to let cats out (city and country) during the day, but keep them in at night.
I've had heated debates on other areas of the internet: youtube, US cat sites etc in which it's clear that the hazards, norms and fears are different in the UK and US. We have far fewer predator animals here, and cats hunt far less than many people think. In the UK most cats die from illnesses such as kidney failure, FLV (especially in unvaccinated cats) and cancer, rather than the dangers of outside. But I do understand that coyotes and the attitudes of people present a greater danger in the US.
Let's get back to the dogs. Generally, dogs are not free-roaming animals, so can only be "taken from the streets of Chicago" if there is no person there to protect them. City dogs are always on leashes, so how can this "dognap" occur in the novel? The plot confuses me. And dogs can be dangerous to anyone they don't like. Puzzling.
Sorry to hear of your experience, Hitch. In my experience, if cats become feral they form colonies based around a dominant female. They provide well for each other. Their main enemy is cold weather and mankind, though I've seen cases where people have been feeding the local ferals. But generally, they raid bins.
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I actually had a dog kidnapped. Matter of fact every dog that was in a fenced yard right off of highway 50 from McClave, CO to at least Holly CO were kidnapped one morning. Including 2 dogs that had just been let outside to do their business. The earliest was taken around 6 and the last one reported missing was before 730. Those were the two let outside dogs and the people lived on the opposite ends. We never did find out if the dognappings went farther.
Some people in the US have outside dogs. Some are in fences. Others are allowed to free roam. A few just escape. Not many outside dogs (at least not where I live are kept chained up when they are in a fenced yard.
Even if a dog was on a chain or tether, how hard do you think it would be to unhook the tether or unhook a collar? They aren't locked.
Don't get me wrong. I have seen or heard of dogs being padlocked. Their owners usually wind up in cages.
Although with some dogs, you do have to make sure the ring holding the leash cannot be straightened. Otherwise they might straighten it, escape and decide to try to catch their own turkey dinner. He also had a harness not a collar because when he was younger, he would fly out the door, hit the end of his leash and jerk up.
So to me the story is very plausible.
Must ask, where did you get the idea that city dogs are always on leashes? Most are when they are attached to a human. Some aren't.
As to your comment about dangerous dogs, sometimes.
Fritzi didn't like dad but she was never violent towards him. Of course, she might have figured out the cat can inflict more pain and get away easier.
As to other people, if you came through the house, Fritzi would leave you alone, but don't leave your beer on the fence rail or it would be gone. If you tried to go through the gate leading to the backyard, Fritzi would attack. It didn't matter how many times you had been over or if we were in the backyard.
Of course, on that one some humans had to learn the hard way because "you children don't know what you are talking about". Then the whispers were which one of us goes and finds a parent while the other makes sure Fritzi doesn’t actually hurt this guy.