To the editor,
Re: Bylaw will lead to cat abandonment, Letters, Jan. 27.
The cat came back. Back to a loving home only. If your cat has to escape your home it doesn’t like you.
One good reason for the bylaw is cat feces can be dangerous to human health because it carries pathogens and parasites.
This bylaw will get Nanaimo in step with other Island and world communities that have it. After the shock, this bylaw has proven to be ‘the cat’s meow’ and working great in these other communities.
Kudos to mayor and council that vote yes for this bylaw.
Neil Saunders, Nanaimo
RELATED: Nanaimo city council passes three readings of animal bylaw that restricts roaming cats
To the editor,
How is it a burden to just keep your cat indoors? We have always had cats and they have always been indoor cats, and happy cats. None of them have been hit by cars or poisoned by a mad neighbour. It is not their right to hunt and kill. Some perspective, people, they are not tigers, just little domesticated cats. Their ‘right’ is to be kept safe. From dogs, poison, cars, wildlife, etc. You don’t like it if some dog craps in your yard but you think your neighbours should shut up about your cat doing it in their yard. I have cat poop all over my yard, not just in the garden, and they do not bury it all the time and if they do, dogs will dig it up, eat it and get sick. I hate having my hands in it when I garden and shouldn’t have to because someone doesn’t want to clean a litter box. Be responsible for your animals, no matter what they are, or don’t get them.
And if people are going to abandon their cats just because of this then they had no business committing to getting a pet in the first place. Stop making other people deal with your pets. We aren’t allowed to let our dogs roam anymore either and they are much safer for it. This is the right move for the city to make regarding cats and their safety. Owners can just adjust to it like we did for dogs.
Debbie Gunderson, Nanaimo
RELATED: Nanaimo councillors vote to recommend bylaw that would keep cats from roaming
To the editor,
I have had cats all my life, and they always roamed free – that is until 1972, when I lost two of them to unbelievably horrific deaths. The first cat got up inside the neighbour’s car engine which is quite a common practice for outside cats looking for a warm place to rest. The second cat was a victim of eating rat poison.
So, since that time, I have protected my cats by keeping them indoors. They live long lives – one lived to 19 years – and it gives me great peace of mind to know they are not being subjected to poisons, being shot at, getting up inside cars, killing birds or annoying neighbours. They themselves are protected from injury by fighting with other cats, catching diseases and parasites. As a result they are much cleaner and are welcome in my bed anytime. To me, it’s a win-win situation.
Diana Walker, Nanaimo
RELATED: ‘Voluminous’ public response prompts City of Nanaimo to delay animal responsibility bylaw
To the editor,
I grew up in England in the Second World War. In those days we never had tinned food for animals as we do today. All we could do was give them a small saucer of milk daily. Their only choice to eat was mice and rats, etc.
All our animals were our family. I believe that cats were always cleaner than dogs. When they went outside to their toilet they used the soil and their habit at all times was to cover it up.
Fifty-four years ago moving to northern B.C. every animal was totally in the wild. Years later on trips to Alberta, I saw wire tunnels stretched across the gardens. I was amazed to hear it was for cats because of a bylaw. It was the only place for them to go out to breathe fresh air. To me it was sheer cruelty. This world has animals that have been here before we came. They should have the freedom which we always seem to be asking for.
Patricia Cook, Nanaimo
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Pet bylaw an ‘anti-animal act’
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