grannybunz

I saw the request for a dog cage earlier.

Do you think, that, on the whole Brits take pet ownership more seriously than our French neighbours?

I ask because we have found ourselves dealing with numbers of cats which have been either abandonned or are not looked after, while one of our own, dearly loved cats was poisoned because of a rat problem at the next-door farm.

The SPA do a fairly good job and over the last 2 or 3 years we have taken several cats who were clearly lost or abandonned to them for re-homing. However a pregnant cat that was dumped in the garden of a friend who was dying of cancer ended up, unbekown to us, with 4 kittens. Our friend died and we were left with the problem.

No vet in France will put down a healthy animal apparently. The SPA wouldn't take them but issued authority to a local vet to neuter them. Fine but it took us several weeks to round them up, one at a time, and take them there.

So now we feed them all but make sure that after they have eaten the food is removed. Two other cats - one a neighbours and the other from the next hameau turn up regularly, steal from inside, break things and wreck the garden. Neither are neutered and we know that one is "owned" by a family with 3 other cats and 2 dogs none of which is neutered. The water pistol treatment works with one but the other seems to love it! We have spoken to both owners several times but they just shrug and say "They are cats, you can't control them!"

I won't go on but I do get fed up sometimes. I have been a (I hope) responsible cat owner all my life and I know not beeing responsible is not confined to the French but in the coutryside not many seem to bother.

capricorn2013

I feel for you.

I have 2 cats myself and after looking at several properties in rural areas in France have decided that rural is not for us.

One property I looked at had English neighbours who have set up an informal "sanctuary" with 9 feral cats and other assorted animals as they couldn't ignore animals in need. Several of the cats followed me into the house and had to be forcibly removed when I left. My cats have been indoor cats in UK due to busy roads but I was looking forward to allowing them access to the outside in France but they would not be happy with their territory being invaded all the time.

I was also rather concerned about them being shot by hunters if they went further afield so have decided that we need to be in a more urban area.

I think that in rural areas dogs and cats are not seen as pets but as working livestock and so they are not viewed in the same way. I think that this is common across Europe, not just in France.

I love animals and could not stand by and see any animal mistreated or neglected so I understand how you have found yourself in this situation - I am sure there are many like you.

EuroTrash

Definitely I think the French tend to be less sentimental about animals in general than the Brits. They do seem to love their own pooches, but there seem to be far fewer French people who want to make it their personal mission to rescue all the ill-treated animals in France, as compared to the numbers of Brits who move here and become almost obsessive about saving horses, rehoming cats and dogs. That said, I know volunteer SPA workers (French) who feed feral cats every single day.

bigglesworth

For 'less sentimental' - try Spain!

But yes - our French neighbour feeds all the stray cats, but does nothing about the processionary caterpillars in his trees - despite having a mother nearly 90 years old.
few of our French neighbours walk their dogs.
But it was an English van I saw outside Lidl last week in temperatures of 30 degrees with two large dogs locked in the back. And no-one owned up when the manageress tannoyed.


All our dogs are rescues. But there are an awful lot of dogs in the rescue centres that used to belong to English owners who have gone back to the UK.

So I do not think its is a straightforward comparison.

EuroTrash

I couldn't get over how thin Spanish cats are. All of them. I assumed it was because the poor things weren't properly fed. But when I mentioned it to somebody, they went into a long explanation about it being something to do with the heat. So I don't know what the truth of the matter is.

bigglesworth

Well they surely don't live long.

And the way many Spanish treat dogs and horses ... well!

grannybunz

When we took the "wild" cats to the vets to be sterilised they said not to worry too much because they wouldn'nt be around long.

Three years later they are all present and correct and I wonder why on earth they didn't eat the poison my cat ate.

Don't start me on dogs. There is a rule here that all dogs should be on a leash. Not the so-called hunting dog whose owner works at the Marie. It is always loose and c**** everywhere, or the other person ( a registered child minder) who has a huge dog that completely scares kids, cats and me.

jvc

Our neighbour has a farm, and she doesn't feed their cats, they hunt rats and mice to keep vermin down. They used to think it was christmas when they used our cat flap to eat out cats food...not any more! Also they have outdoor dogs, which are left out in all weathers. They are not hunting dogs. One of them kocked their little boy over and now she won't let him in the house, and the other is left outside all the time (for whatever reason), and is so pleased to see us when we walk past. Unfortunately, I think these dogs are beond rescuing, but it breaks my heart to see them outside when it is -15 outside. How daft I felt when I took my cat to the vet last year to be put to sleep and lubbered like mad. I do not understand how the french can treat their animals as they do.

wetwang

There does seem to be a dividing line between lap dogs and working dogs. The former are pampered and the latter treated more pragmatically.
As for feral cats they are perceived almost as vermin in some towns. They are lucky they look cute and know how to seduce.

grannybunz

I agree that there seems to be a big difference between urban and country owners - especially for small lap dogs. We are highly amused at the Parisians who flock here each summer with their pampered pooches on designer leads or in personalised carrying bags.

We were greeting family from the TGV recently when one such rat (sorry, dog) on a sparkly lead was being lead from the train by owner who spotted the frightfully darling friends they hadn't seen since last summer and forgot the attached dog that fell between train and platform and amidst much screaming was yanked to safety.

Novocastrian

I wish I'd seen that. I'm back in Normandy as of this afternoon and can testify that the locals are much more welcoming to proper foreigners than they are to Parisians.

Domino

YES !!
regularly see dogs with rope lead broken off (or perhaps gnawed off) wandering around.
also dogs get dumped at the main road roundabout and wander around looking lost and forlorn, approaching the bus queue trying to find their master.
Not happy sights.

As you say, some - but not all, are from expats that have just dumped them on going back to the UK.

But just remember the old advert "A dog is for life, not just for Christmas"
and if it comes down to having another baby or kicking out the dog because you can't afford the food - choose the dog.

`

Chatter Static

But to be fair how many signs do you see in the park telling you to pick baby poo up

Domino

none - they just leave the disposable nappies for the cleaners in the morning, who are social security cleaners employed by the town hall for a couple of months.

but then dogs can't read so why bother with signs ??

jvc

Have just been to an amzing waterfall "cascade" in a beautiful village 20 mins away from home. What spoilt it? A poor feral cat which was in need of food and a cosy home, and dog poo strewn all around the car park, and the most awful smell of wee.....human or dogs I wasn't sure!!!!! Disgusting