"Mikesndbs" wrote in message
ups.com...
My petition was made deliberately vague!
The idea behind that was that I did not know what the answer is and
wanted those in a better position to make the choices.

Although that sounds like a good idea, if you do not provide details it will
be ignored and disregarded as nonsense by the council (as I initially
disregarded it). It's a bit like someone starting a petition to solve the
problems in Iraq by just saying "we need to solve all the problems in Iraq".
I'm sure you'd get many more people signing that petition, and yet you'd
still be in the same situation, that is, still asking the question "How?"

The agreed bell that I refer to would of course be one approved by the
RSPCA.
At one time they recommended a particular type that would release
itself if the cat became trapped by the associated collar.
Such a device does exits but the RSPCA had to stop recommending it as
it was seen as a commercial interest which they could not be
associated with.

The bell is OK for birds, but you will still be finding dead frogs, mice,
and various small rodents in your garden that can't get away as quickly as a
bird. Yes, it is a step forward.

I paid attention to the other petitions regarding cats and found them
to be 'extreme' in many cases! Many demanding all sorts of controls
and abuses.
I did not want to be associated with any of that so stuck to the
basics in that I wanted non cat owners to have some redress upon the
cat owner if they were inconvenienced by an animal that roams free.

The main problem is, you appear to be under the delusion that a cat can be
trained in the same way as a dog. I'm guessing you don't own a dog, but
perhaps did own one at some point, and you have never owned a cat (or if you
did, it was for a short period)?
/DerrenBrown
If your pet dog wanders into the neighbour's garden, you can angrily call
them back and tell them off. After doing this a couple of times they won't
do it again. Cat's do not respond in the same way. If you did the same to a
cat, the first thing they would do would be to run into the neighbour's
garden and hide.

Maybe this law needs to be changed.
If it was it would have advantages for the cat owners as well!
The reason being if a cat was hit by a car the car owner would have to
stop and check and try to find the owner.
But from my point of view I could then ask my neighbour to keep his
animals out of my garden and the onus would be on them to take
reasonable steps.
Such a fencing, or buying me a cat scare.

Personally, if my neighbour complained about my cats in their garden, I
would be considerate enough to buy them some repellant to keep them out of
their flowerbeds. Not everyone would be as accomodating though, and
introducing a law like this would cause an increase in neighbour disputes,
and a subsequent reduction in housing values (as you are by law obliged to
disclose any disputes). Cheaper or subsidised repellants would be better.

26 other people seem to think my petition is a good one.
And I hope that by the close I will have at least 100 so that the
government will be obliged to look at it and then at least know its a
concern!

This is my main problem, and the reaon for my 'idiots' comment. Just because
a number of people have signed a petition, does not make the points valid.
Take the example of the kid in America who managed to convince 84% of the
people he spoke to to ban the chemical 'Dihydrogen Monoxide' (water) by
using generalised arguments, or the TV prank show that got loads of women to
sign a petition to 'Stop women suffring'. We could even take it one step
further and look at the National American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA)
who have far more people signing their petition than you trying to make it
legal for a fully grown man to have sex with a small boy!! I'm obviously not
equating your petition to any of the examples I give, but my point is that
people will sign anything.

But here and in many areas the domestic cat population has exploded
due to in the main 'families' moving away from what they see as high
maintenance dogs to low maintenance cats!

I hate it when people buy pets and don't look after them. My first cat was
found as a few-day-old kitten dumped in a roadside ditch. I do wonder what
happened to the rest of the litter. Perhaps it would be better to impose
heftier fines on households who are not responsible with neutering their
cats or leaving them out for prolonged periods of time?

I hope this enlightens as to my views?

Indeed. I appreciate the amicable (and rational) response and hope you can
see my point of view also.