You just can't win!

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Dan

It's all very well saying 'Airsoft guns are harmless unless they hit you in the eye' - that's like saying 'minefields are perfectly safe, unless you walk in them'.

1) Designed to be non-lethal and to shoot your mates with for a laugh.
2) Designed to be a concealed remover of limbs to dissuade use of an area by infantry.

Bit of a naff simile there.

Originally Posted by missyorkie_chris

Oooo this could open up a whole can of worms...What about the poor defenceless birds that many cats find great pleasure in killing just for the sake of killing? Don't get me wrong I like cats, they're great. However, all pets have their pros and cons, to call them defenceless animals is a bit of an exaggeration. They have damn sharp claws and can run damn quick too, not really defenceless

Cats killing birds unfortunatly is part of the food chain, i hate it when my male cat kills birds, if i see him stalking a bird ill spray him with the hose.
Most animals as you know, have a predatory enemy so its not fair just use cats as an example.
Animals die from natural predators all the time, death by humans is not natural.
What right as human beings have we to kill another living thing if its no gain to us for food etc, i know this sounds a bit hypocritical as im a meat eater, but thats the way i feel.
The thing that pees me off is some people, inc people on here think its some kind of macho sh*t to talk about killing cats, but you never here about people 'dealing' with problem dogs in this way.
I personally wouldnt pick on a person ten sizes smaller than me and thats just the way i see it.
Phil

Originally Posted by specialone

but you never here about people 'dealing' with problem dogs in this way

Originally Posted by timwilky

As somebody that has shot a number of dogs I can tell you.

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=132183

OK, not quite the same, but an animal is an animal, including dogs.

Animals have been shot for causing a nuisance for years, just think about rabbits, foxes, etc. The only thing to my mind that makes shooting a domestic cat more distasteful is that it's somebody's pet and that person/family would be upset, but if those owners have been given plenty of opportunity to do something about it and have chosen to take the "no skin off my nose" attitude...

I have a cat as a pet and I'd be upset if somebody shot it, but then I would never knowingly allow my cat to cause a nuisance to my neighbours, and if he did I'd expect the neighbours to speak to me before contemplating such action. If they had done so on a number of occasions and I did nothing about it then I'd not be surprised if the cat didn't come home one day.

This is all hypothetical anyway as I'm not going to buy an air rifle just to kill the neighbours cat (YC says it wouldn't be powerful enough anyway) and to use a sack, a brick and a canal you've got to catch it first.

Question - in the spirit of not unnecessarily killing cats. If you drove a cat 10 miles away and let it go, would it find it's way home?

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=132183

OK, not quite the same, but an animal is an animal, including dogs.

Animals have been shot for causing a nuisance for years, just think about rabbits, foxes, etc. The only thing to my mind that makes shooting a domestic cat more distasteful is that it's somebody's pet and that person/family would be upset, but if those owners have been given plenty of opportunity to do something about it and have chosen to take the "no skin off my nose" attitude...

I have a cat as a pet and I'd be upset if somebody shot it, but then I would never knowingly allow my cat to cause a nuisance to my neighbours, and if he did I'd expect the neighbours to speak to me before contemplating such action. If they had done so on a number of occasions and I did nothing about it then I'd not be surprised if the cat didn't come home one day.

I agree, if i was approached by a neighbour about my cats' behaviour i would try and do something to correct it.
But regarding the dog thing, you hear of more cruelty to cats than you do dogs, i also back that up with info from a friend who is a RSPCA inspector who personally dealt with the cat being thrown from a balcony a couple of years ago.
People still see cats as easy targets IMO, they wouldnt try it with a pitbull.
The fact is most of us see our pets as part of the family and if anything happened to any of our pets in this way we would be devestated and annoyed and me personally i would want revenge not prosecution.
Phil

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Question - in the spirit of not unnecessarily killing cats. If you drove a cat 10 miles away and let it go, would it find it's way home?

Ralph, i do believe they would, i moved house when a kid only 2 miles away but our cat at the time got out of new place and went 'home'.
We found him lying on the grass outside old house sunning himself.
Phil

[Red Herring]

How about a paint ball gun? That should just about have the range, has a bit more "stopping power" with lower velocity than an airsoft pellet and would make identification of the culprit in the morning all the easier.....

Originally Posted by specialone

Ralph, i do believe they would, i moved house when a kid only 2 miles away but our cat at the time got out of new place and went 'home'.
We found him lying on the grass outside old house sunning himself.
Phil

20 miles?

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

1) Designed to be non-lethal and to shoot your mates with for a laugh.
2) Designed to be a concealed remover of limbs to dissuade use of an area by infantry.

Bit of a naff simile there.

But both illustrating the consequences of improper use.

Minefields ARE safe. If you don't walk in them.

Airsoft IS safe. If you don't shoot someone in the eye.

I'd say there's a lot of similarity.

All depends on how you use the item in question, doesn't it. The point is, your dog might be well controlled. Many are not.

My cats are not a nuisance to others. Many are.

None of these statements make it right for someone to whap out a weapon of any kind in the middle of the night and take a potshot at whatever's annoying them.

Cats killing birds is their instinct, it's part of the food chain. It's nature in action - I'm sure your OH will be able to reconcile these facts - in the same way, no matter how well trained any dog is, faced with the right situation its instincts will take over - protecting the pack leader (its master) will result in it attacking a threat, without doubt. I'm sure your dog would have no problem attacking another if it threatened you - once again, nature in action.

Instinct is instinct - broad-brush generalisations are poor means of fighting an argument in my opinion.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/b...re/8195156.stm

PC - just hope the cat you shot isnt one like this - cos it'll leave you to burn