It is unfortunate the Courier-Islander has closed its door as we would have liked to speak to the reporter who we feel did not do a decent job of investigating all the facts.
Not once did she come to hear our side of the story. She just took the word of the cat owner. Well, they say there are two sides to every story. You have heard one. Now here is the other.
We have always been respectful of other people’s property and never impose on them. We try to be good neighbours but, unfortunately, not everyone is like that. We work hard to beautify our yard but, so far, we have had to dig up all our shrubs and flowers in our front and replace them with stones, at considerable cost and energy. The area was so full of cat poop we could no longer stand it. It is unsanitary and in the summer it smells. We will not work in a cat litter box.
As for being inhumane, we have never harmed an animal. We have owned animals in the past and they all died from old age. We have taken cats to the SPCA and even donated money towards the upkeep.
We did not put out a cat trap happily but it was the last resort. We needed to do something since town hall won’t. It seems cat owners have everything going for them but other homeowners have no recourse. There are bylaws for dogs. Why not for cats? We have been told Campbell River is the cat capital of Vancouver Island.
A cat trap is not inhumane and, as we understand it, is legal. The note on the cat’s collar stated an “unpleasant” night. Of course it was unpleasant as it wasn’t free to roam. It was not hurt in any way. In fact, when we took it out, we held it and petted it. It was not at all nervous or upset. When we released it thinking it would dart for home, we had to encourage it to go. Finally, it went into another neighbour’s yard.
As for us being inhumane, we fail to see who is the inhumane party. A cat allowed to run wild is subject to being hit by a car, taken by a predator – eagles have been known to catch cats. In fact, there is an eagle nest a few yards away from this cat owner’s house. There are chicks that will need to be fed. Now that would be “unpleasant.”
Finally, in response to the scathing article in the Courier’s Roses & Thorns, we don’t know you. We have never met. You must be someone with very little else to do but jump on any bandwagon to smear others even though you have never met them. How did you arrive at such a conclusion that we are such horrible people? You simply read one side of a story which was a little exaggerated and never bothered to think that maybe there is another side to this story. Perhaps in the future, you should check all the facts before you become judge, jury and executioner.
Too bad it couldn’t have been dealt with between the two parties involved instead of splashing it across the front page of a newspaper. No doubt to gain sympathy.
So, after all this hue and cry, guess what? The cat is back, still roaming through our yard and on our deck.
We rest our case.
Ron McKeever
Campbell River