Threatening cat poster

[Catherine]

Cat owners in a South West Calgary community are understandably concerned. Someone has posted pictures of their cats with a warning that something will happen if they are caught on someone else's property.


https://globalnews.ca/news/3904153/threa...pet-owner/


The police and animal services are taking the view that there is not a stated direct threat to the cats. 
I am not sure I agree. The poster says the cats will not be coming home. It doesn't say they will be turned over to animal services or the owner will have to pay a fine. It says they "will not be coming home
I would be concerned.

Of course the cats should not be out roaming. Bird populations  are very vulnerable and one cat can deplete their numbers significantly. I wouldn't be happy to have a threatening neighbour like that, but I wouldn't be happy to have a neighbour who carelessly lets her cat roam and kill birds. Cats are an introduced species and they can do a lot of harm. The only way to really protect the cats and the birds is to keep the cats indoors from now on. it is too cold for a cat to be outside anyhow.

[Tobi]

It does seem that those posters ARE a direct threat to the cats!
Some people hate cats because they dig holes (to do their business) and kill wild things. Well, Sally is an indoor/outdoor cat and spends a lot of time outside, and I always see evidence of what she has killed. She has killed two birds this entire year, but about a dozen or more mice. And that is it. Any kill, she brings back to the room or nearby. She is more of a threat to mice than to birds.

I have seen more bird deaths caused by other birds (such as Buzzards) and by cars in my particular area. I find so many tiny birds as roadkill here.

However I do know that some cats can be far more dangerous for birds. And for someone who has planted a nice garden or who grows vegetables, they won't like it when a cat has pooped there. This can make some people angry and full of hate.

I would think that anyone in that area ought to start to use a light harness for their cat and supervise it being outside. This will be interminably boring but better than having their cat poisoned or shot.

[Catherine]

I think, the posters are a threat and should be taken seriously.
Harnessing the cats would be a good idea. I am sure the cats will get used to it. 

Sally would have so many more mice to catch in her world. She would have no need to go after a bird. Calgary has less wildlife and birds are the easier target. There are fewer trees and less shelter for the birds. The impact of a cat on the bird population could be quite bad. I would hope people would keep their cats in at least at certain times of the year. I can understand the frustration of watching birds being killed when there are so few of them.

I hope that a poster is all the man does.