Only if they want to be, cats are and always have been fiercely independant(but they are also bribable)
Our dog has been jumped quite a few times by "properly trained" dogs.
No dog, no matter how well trained, is completely predictable. I support fenced in dog parks for unleashed dogs, but out and about, a leash is not too much to ask for.
Exactly, cats are an invasive species who have no business interacting with nature in much of the world.
Thankfully the tide is starting to turn.
At the state level, declawing is illegal in NY and MD. Legislation is working it's way through the state systems in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut, Nevada, California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Many cities have banned the practice as well, including: Austin, Denver, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Madison, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Santa Monica, and Burbank.
Also many professional organizations are working to stop the practice. The American Association of Feline Practitioners, and the American Animal Hospital Association officially oppose declawing. The largest U.S. veterinary hospital systems, VCA, Banfield and Blue Pearl, do not perform elective declaw procedures on cats.
And on an individual practice level, many vets refuse to declaw. In fact, the practice I used to go to in Chicago 25 years ago had already stopped the practice.
Still a long way to go, though. Declawing is abuse, and needs to be banned everywhere.
Slowly...
In New Hampshire they recently voted against a bill to ban de-clawing.
Don't get me started.....
Many years ago we rented an apartment with a large terrace. It was open to the neighbours terrace and we asked if we could close that off (verbally). Yes, no problem.
We moved in and discovered the neighbours had two cats and they thought nothing of coming into our apartment because the previous tenants had fed them. Problem was, our son was allergic to them. We asked the neighbours not to let the cats come across our terrace (where they also enjoyed digging up and destroying our plant pots). They refused as the block was on a slope and our terrace (which had the front near the road) was the only way the cats could access "terra firma". So we tried to block it in many ways, even using super-soakers in the dead of night ( when I look back...).
We finally got a letter from a high-flying lawyer telling us to stop trying to prevent the cats from accessing the road. The lawyer, by the way, lived over the road and had peacocks in his garden. He also had a Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig that his son took for a walk every day on a leash! (Did we really live in a place like that??? ). We also got a nasty letter from the animal protection people.
When I spoke to the neighbour again, she said to me "What would you do if your children wanted to leave the apartment and go outside?" My answer to that was "Give them a key!" It was clear we weren't going to win this one, so we did a deal with the Verwaltung to be able to give them 30 days notice to the end of any month if we found somewhere else to live.
I have to say, it was one of the most f***ed up buildings I have ever lived in and has made me eternally averse to apartment living. Neighbours....the 11th plague.
Back to Europe and cats. Is Iceland Europe?
Please take a look at the photo with caption:
Back when I used to rescue dogs and cats, we would do everything we could to make sure the adopting family would not declaw the cats.
I get it, I don't want a cat wrecking my furniture and the like either, but if you're worried about that, don't get a cat.
Perhaps a pet rock instead - pet rocks don't do anything destructive, and they do a great job letting you know when they need to go for a walk, need food and water, and need attention. Vet bills are quite low as well.
Or become your own
"Japanese man spends $15,700 on dog costume to fulfill lifelong dream of transforming into an animal"
I see a collie, I click - that's how I roll.
How I wish I could unsee that.
Yikes.
We adopted our first ever cat last year, and decided she would be an indoor cat. I’d be too worried never knowing where my cat is, considering there are cars around and so on. My dogs get out on leash, and are never far from my sight!
Moreover, our cat is a Bengal, which means that not only she could get stolen (this is an expensive breed) but also she would break havoc on the local fauna.
I agree LOL, but have to say the costume is well made.