Why are cats allowed to roam neighborhoods but dogs aren't?

[Anonymous]

We have a little dog (about 8lbs) and we'll sometimes let him out. He'll roam the neighborhood, sniff around have a little fun, then comes home, barks and we let him in. How is that so different than people having "outdoor" cats where they are outside all day unleashed or supervised?

If it's because dogs bite....well cats scratch. And ours is so little, he's smaller than a regular cat.

[Anonymous]

If you don't understand the difference between how much damages aggressive dogs can do vs cats' scratch, I can't help you.

[Anonymous]

Dogs will approach and/or chase strangers, and cats usually won't. It's a safety thing.

Of course, there will be individual variances, but we can't make separate laws for each individual animal. Overall, the safety risks are much much much more from dogs.

[Anonymous]

I'd feel worse seeing dog road kill vs cat road kill.

[Anonymous]

Neither should be legal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a little dog (about 8lbs) and we'll sometimes let him out. He'll roam the neighborhood, sniff around have a little fun, then comes home, barks and we let him in. How is that so different than people having "outdoor" cats where they are outside all day unleashed or supervised?

If it's because dogs bite....well cats scratch. And ours is so little, he's smaller than a regular cat.

Do you think your neighbors appreciate your dog pooping everywhere?

[Anonymous]

How many house cats have killed and maimed people in the last year?

[Anonymous]

Cats tend not to attack people. Yes, even your little dog could attack a child. And cats are more likely to be litter box trained.

Personally I don't like outdoor cats or unleashed dogs. If you want a pet you need to take responsibility for it. Cleaning up after my dog is my responsibility, cleaning up after yours is not.

[Anonymous]

Outdoor cats aren’t legal many places, including DC. If you see sn outdoor cat in DC, it’s either a stray or someone is illegally letting their cat out without a leash.

We treat our cat lijj my e a small dog in this respect. We let him go out in our backyard under supervision, but otherwise he stays in with us. I’d definitely worry about him wandering the neighborhood on his own. I once saw a possum in our backyard that was probably 30 pounds. It’s really not safe to let your cats roam free in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Outdoor cats aren’t legal many places, including DC. If you see sn outdoor cat in DC, it’s either a stray or someone is illegally letting their cat out without a leash.

We treat our cat lijj my e a small dog in this respect. We let him go out in our backyard under supervision, but otherwise he stays in with us. I’d definitely worry about him wandering the neighborhood on his own. I once saw a possum in our backyard that was probably 30 pounds. It’s really not safe to let your cats roam free in the city.

Citation, please? Because that is not what I am seeing.
https://doh.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/publication/attachments/Animal%20Control.pdf

If you mean Montgomery County (and someone has been posting erroneously about that this morning, already), cats ARE allowed to roam "at large." If they go onto private property, they can be humanely trapped and returned to the owner or humanely transported to an animal shelter.

[Anonymous]

If your little dog wanders into my yard, he will likely be hurt by my larger dog. Cats are smarter and will not enter my backyard when the dog is out (invisa-fence to keep the dog in).

[Anonymous]

Cats are all one size and they rarely attack people or chase cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cats are all one size and they rarely attack people or chase cars.

[Anonymous]

Because you can't heard cats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cats are all one size and they rarely attack people or chase cars.

would you be scared if you saw that chonk off leash? yeah, me neither.