East End/EaDo Real Estate

[samagon]

I'm of two minds on this.

On the one hand, I love all the little cats that I see running around, but I hate that most will live short lives fraught with pain, on the other hand, any 'pet' class animal (cat, dog, bird, fish, etc) that you let outside is subject to disease and other stuff.

Most cats and dogs that are stray that die do not die of starvation, they will die of diseases passed on from other critters in their food chain. Typically this is birds.

Birds are some of the most disgustingly foul (har) disease carriers, especially when there are large quantities of them confined to small areas. Having any pets that are unsupervised outside dwellers not only makes them potential targets for cars and kids with a penchant for smashing their brains in, but any time they hunt and bring you a present of a bird, they are at risk of catching some nasty disease.

That being said, cats offer natural control for pest populations, while I'm no fan of seeing stray cats multiply by the 10s and 20s, I agree with Niche, that they are a necessary part of the food chain.

Sure I feel bad when an animal hurts, but where does it end? We can see the emotion that a cat, or a dog shows because we are around them, or see them quite often, so sensing their emotion is easy, but other animals, even those insects that crawl around and eat the leaves on my jalapeno plants, they feel and show emotion as well, but sure as hell, I'm gonna kill every one I see.

If I were a cat I'd certainly take a life of chance and possible death in exchange for having my twig and berries stripped. I feel more sorry for the cats who are forced into a life of impotency than those that are killed through disease or starvation.

[LTAWACS]

I have owned property in the East End for several years and lived here for well over a year, and among the most striking things about this community is the number of stray cats. Honest to goodness, I could just about go for a walk with my camera and come back with enough photos of cats to make a calendar for neighborhood groups to fund-raise with.

It is a bizarre but endearing quality about the neighborhood. Case in point: one evening this summer I was walking home from Kroger and saw something dart about from the corner of my eye. I kept walking, but only briefly, as two orange kittens lunged at each of my legs simultaneously and clung on, seeking attention. I obliged. Friendly encounters with strays happen with some frequency, and I enjoy them.

This is why, when some neighborhood activist (and of course she had to be blonde, middle-aged, and wearing designer glasses) co-opted a mailman on Saturday to distribute her literature promoting the capture, spaying/neutering, and release of the neighborhood's feline population, I was incensed.

The cats probably do more to keep varmints at bay than anybody realizes, and the hungrier they get, the better a job they'll do. Also, many people feed them and enjoy feeding them because they like the company of cats; there's nothing wrong with that, and no reason to go diminishing the feline population.

Besides... On net, I'm way more in favor of reproductive rights for cats than I am for wayward humans. Think about it. When you get a crappy human in a crappy environment, the outcome can be a Tookie Williams or an Adolf Hitler, sociopaths that lash out against all of humanity on an ongoing basis. But can you point to a feline Crip or Blood, or a kitty Hitler? I'm not saying that cats aren't (frequently) violent, but they don't tend to commit genocide or organized warfare, their attacks tend to be targeted and defensive, and kitty sociopathy manifests itself as generally-harmless schizoid behavior. Compare to humans, which have been breeding beyond their natural environment's carrying capacity and then killing one another for resources for tens of thousands of years.

So, I'll conclude this rant by pointing out what I usually do in other threads lately. Live and let live. And stop hating on the poor of any species; just because they're another species (or brown-skinned) (or make only twice the poverty-level income and have multiple kids) and needy doesn't mean that you should disenfranchise them (or clip off their nuts).

/rant

I like the pic of you as your av.

[ricco67]

I'm of two minds on this.

On the one hand, I love all the little cats that I see running around, but I hate that most will live short lives fraught with pain, on the other hand, any 'pet' class animal (cat, dog, bird, fish, etc) that you let outside is subject to disease and other stuff.

Most cats and dogs that are stray that die do not die of starvation, they will die of diseases passed on from other critters in their food chain. Typically this is birds.

Birds are some of the most disgustingly foul (har) disease carriers, especially when there are large quantities of them confined to small areas. Having any pets that are unsupervised outside dwellers not only makes them potential targets for cars and kids with a penchant for smashing their brains in, but any time they hunt and bring you a present of a bird, they are at risk of catching some nasty disease.

That being said, cats offer natural control for pest populations, while I'm no fan of seeing stray cats multiply by the 10s and 20s, I agree with Niche, that they are a necessary part of the food chain.

Sure I feel bad when an animal hurts, but where does it end? We can see the emotion that a cat, or a dog shows because we are around them, or see them quite often, so sensing their emotion is easy, but other animals, even those insects that crawl around and eat the leaves on my jalapeno plants, they feel and show emotion as well, but sure as hell, I'm gonna kill every one I see.

If I were a cat I'd certainly take a life of chance and possible death in exchange for having my twig and berries stripped. I feel more sorry for the cats who are forced into a life of impotency than those that are killed through disease or starvation.

To be honest, I see plenty of evidence everyday that some humans need to be spayed and neutered, or at least their parents should have been.

[samagon]

To be honest, I see plenty of evidence everyday that some humans need to be spayed and neutered, or at least their parents should have been.

Ha, that's just the movie Idiocracy playing out in real-time

[LTAWACS]

Yes. My worst fears come true.

[marmer]

I agree with a lot of what samagon said. In addition to the dangers of cars, dogs, cruel kids, and disease, highly inbred populations of feral cats are prone to genetic weaknesses which can lead to premature organ failure. This is a well known heartbreaker for softhearted cat lovers who rescue feral cats. (been there, done that. She was a beauty, too. :-( )

They are also not part of the natural ecosystem (unlike bobcats); depending on the situation they can devastate a local songbird population. And they can spread diseases to pets into which they come in contact. Rabies, while uncommon, is very dangerous even to humans.

The ASPCA published a cover story in their national magazine about this last year. Basically, the level of care shown to "pet" cats, as defined by spay/neuter, immunization, registration, and providing shelter from the elements, is significantly below that of dogs. The uncomfortable implication (I don't remember the data off the top of my head) was that cats seemed to be considered relatively "disposable" or needing less care even by their "owners." The definition of cat ownership was rather fluid to say the least.

Any cat which spends a significant amount of time outdoors will probably be infested with fleas. And feral cats who are friendly to humans have probably been socialized or abandoned. My experience with feral cats born in the wild who have never been socialized is that they are very afraid of humans and very difficult to catch.

[LTAWACS]

Just leave them alone. They will be fine. Eventually. They've been ok long before humans.

[marmer]

Just leave them alone. They will be fine. Eventually. They've been ok long before humans.

I understand the sentiment, and I even agree that there are a lot worse problems facing the city than feral cats. But I do take exception to the idea that the domestic shorthair cat and its relatives are some kind of naturally occurring wild animal. They are the result of centuries of breeding for domestication and they are not well suited to "wild" life. Some adapt and live comparatively longer than others, but they are not and have never been a naturally occurring part of this or any other ecosystem (except maybe that of ancient Egypt.)

[samagon]

I agree in part, part of being a domesticated animal is that they do something for us (provide companionship, protect our houses, etc) but the other part of the domestication process is that they have become reliant on us to take care of them in whole or in part.

This is how cats know to poop in your bed when they are angry with you.

Cats though are a very strange breed of domestic animal. one of their domesticated uses through the centuries has been to control pest populations, and they are very independent animals on their own, and I believe that companionship was a secondary feature.

stray dogs hunt for scraps and discarded food, cats can be much more sufficient in caring for themselves. stray fish are another subject altogether.

Edited November 10, 2010 by samagon

[TheNiche]

I understand the sentiment, and I even agree that there are a lot worse problems facing the city than feral cats. But I do take exception to the idea that the domestic shorthair cat and its relatives are some kind of naturally occurring wild animal. They are the result of centuries of breeding for domestication and they are not well suited to "wild" life. Some adapt and live comparatively longer than others, but they are not and have never been a naturally occurring part of this or any other ecosystem (except maybe that of ancient Egypt.)

Cats are unique among domesticated animals in that, until very recently, humans were content to allow the cat a freedom to come and go as they pleased. Consequently, cats frequently cross-bred with their wild and feral cousins. It shows up all throughout the genetic record of wildcat populations and elegantly explains their tendency to exhibit neurotic behavior around humans. It also explains how they can so easily 'go rogue' when displeased (or hungry).

From a strictly anthropological perspective, I don't think that it is any more accurate to say that we successfully domesticated cats than that we successfully domesticated rodents and vermin. We merely created an environment to which these species were attracted and thrived.

[LTAWACS]

I understand the sentiment, and I even agree that there are a lot worse problems facing the city than feral cats. But I do take exception to the idea that the domestic shorthair cat and its relatives are some kind of naturally occurring wild animal. They are the result of centuries of breeding for domestication and they are not well suited to "wild" life. Some adapt and live comparatively longer than others, but they are not and have never been a naturally occurring part of this or any other ecosystem (except maybe that of ancient Egypt.)

Let natural selection play out. The cats will be ok in the long run. Relax. We all have bigger fish to fry.

[samagon]

From a strictly anthropological perspective, I don't think that it is any more accurate to say that we successfully domesticated cats than that we were successfully domesticated by cats.

fixed.

[LTAWACS]

fixed.

lol

[samagon]

Just read that the railroad line that goes up from spur 5 towards downtown is going to become a quiet zone, so does anyone know about the other lines that cross the east end? The one that goes down Harrisburg? The one that crosses telephone and Lawndale?

They've done some improvements at the telephone crossing, and also at the Lawndale crossing. Is this part of the process for that line?

[frheard]

Not sure if the Quiet Zone has been implemented, but I have noticed a large DEcrease in the amount of train horns I've been hearing over here in the East End. It's been weeks, I would say, since I've been awakened at 3 or 5 am with a blaring train horn. Does anyone have news about this or am I just sleeping deeper than normal, as I get older??

[Tower26]

Over here on Antoine near the BNSF crossing there are signs that are still covered saying "NO TRAIN HORN". They would still blow the horn day and night . Your ears are getting accustomed to hearing the horns that it is routine and it doesn't bother your sleep patterns . I'm very much used to it . 

[txn4art]

Not sure if the Quiet Zone has been implemented, but I have noticed a large DEcrease in the amount of train horns I've been hearing over here in the East End. It's been weeks, I would say, since I've been awakened at 3 or 5 am with a blaring train horn. Does anyone have news about this or am I just sleeping deeper than normal, as I get older??

 

When I asked Councilman Gallegos about this several months ago, and he thought the Quiet Zone would be implemented "in a month or so"

 

Apparently this hasn't happened. I work at home and still hear the horns at the Lawndale Ave. and Telephone Road crossings during the day. For the past couple of hours this evening, they've been sounding long and often. Some nights, there are "dueling horns" between 1:00 and 2:30.

 

Any updates on East End's first Quiet Zone from our COH councilman or SuperNeighborhood leaders would be welcome.

 

[samagon]

It's amazing how the weather can affect what you can hear as well.

 

During the winter when the air is just a little bit more dense because it's cold, the noise travels farther, and it is louder and a bit more crisp to the ear, now that we're in the midst of summer the air is hot and damp, the hot air is not as dense, so the sound doesn't travel quite as far/well, the humidity factors into this as well, muffling the sound more. 

 

I know they are implementing the quiet zone, but last week I too heard a train faintly as I sat on my porch enjoying the mosquitoes and a cool drink.

 

Also, the longer you live around them, the less you notice them. 6 years ago, when I first moved into the neighborhood I heard every single horn, I would wake up at intervals through the night and listen to what I would swear was the operator just standing on his horn for what seemed like an hour straight. Now a days, when I'm in the house, I have to strain to hear it.

 

I imagine if I didn't know they were implementing a quiet zone, I'd not even notice they were missing.

[HoustonMidtown]

https://www.chron.com/news/politics/houston/article/East-End-residents-may-get-relief-from-train-13257481.php?utm_campaign=twitter

[Eastdwntwn]

Approved by the city counsel!