The Fraud Files Blog is a blog dedicated to the topics of fraud and identity theft, but recently, I was taken aback by this provocative question from Tracy (the blog’s author): “Why Cant I Pee On My Neighbor’s Lawn?” She laments the fact that her neighbors’ dogs have taken a liking to her lawn, and not in a nice way.
I know how she feels as I’ve got several neighbors whose dogs just love to do a number on our lovely flower bushes. It is a major annoyance for me since this leads to extra expenses, with us having to pay to replace damaged plants at some point.
It’s also one reason I don’t have a dog, even though I love dogs — the smaller, the better. They’re certainly harder to care for than a cat or goldfish (for example), and depending on their disposition, can cause an untold amount of damage on slippers, furniture or plant beds.
Instead, we’ve got an easy-going outdoor cat, one that is very amiable and low-maintenance. A wonderful pet that doesn’t do unmentionable things on other people’s yards, that’s never any trouble, keeps to itself and likes the simple pleasure of napping under our bushes most of the time. I wasn’t a cat lover until I ended up with this fellow.
So what’s your perfect pet?
You can take your mind off your neighbors’ dogs for a moment by taking a peek at some interesting finance articles:
Recommended Personal Finance Reads
- Five Cent Nickel: What happens to CDs when a bank fails?
- Free Money Finance has a guest post about the first steps to take in order to escape debt.
- Consumerism Commentary talks about the practice of passing the envelope around at work to collect contributions. Do you give in?
- Lazy Man and Money reveals how being “jobless” (or being self-employed?) impacts his personal finances.
- Money Smart Life reflects on the topic of currency ETFs. I’ve been mulling over the possibility of buying an ETF, but one that represents a global currency index.
- Gen X Finance discusses asset class correlations. To achieve good portfolio diversification, you’ll want less correlation among your asset classes.
- The Sun’s Financial Diary echoes the opinion that many other bloggers and financial advisers have, that the 401k debit card is not a good idea.
- Mighty Bargain Hunter: Say what? Some people are now saying that to retire early is selfish and unpatriotic? And here I was thinking how unselfish we’d all be by having the younger generation inherit our jobs!
- No Credit Needed offers a great monthly checklist to help speed up your debt reduction and increase your savings.
- Million Dollar Journey asks his readers: “How have higher gas prices affected you?” Personally, my family has seen less travel — higher commute costs was one of the reasons why I quit my job. And our vacation plans have been limited by the higher cost of travel.
- Brip Blap’s wife, Bubelah, reflects on the wonders of having a great job.
- My Dollar Plan brings up an unconventional Roth IRA strategy to lower your tax bill. Madison really thinks outside of the box on this one!
- Money Ning was quite generous about giving away free gas gift cards and also offers some great recommendations for gas rewards cards.
- Everything Finance reviews the book “It’s Not About The Money: Unlock Your Money Type to Achieve Spiritual and Financial Abundance”. It’s a book that marries psychology and finance quite seamlessly.
- Phoenix Real Estate Guy passes on some advice on picking a property broker. Well here’s how I’d hire a real estate agent.
Additional Financial Articles I Enjoyed
- Prosper Blog: Starting Your Own Business
- Rich Credit Debt Loan: Are You Managing Your Debt Correctly?
- Ask Mr Credit Card Blog: What is a Good Mix of Credit?
- Fabulously Broke In The City: Back on Le Market
Recent Carnivals
- Women Bloggers of Personal Finance at Wise Bread
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Thanks for mentioning my post
Mr Credit Card
How do you know your cat isn’t doing things in other people’s lawns if it’s outdoors?
I personally have 2 dogs and while they might occasionally pee in someone’s yard on our walks, I don’t believe that does any damage. And I always clean up #2. They are fenced in when they are outside in our yard, so there’s no opportunity to damage neighbor’s property. It’s just inconsiderate to let your pets run around free, not to mention unsafe for the pets.
We’ve got a lot of outdoor cats moving around — we live in what can be described as rural suburbia. A well forested place. So the cats blend in well and it feels like a natural environment for them to roam around in.
I am actually more of a dog lover, as I grew up with dogs. It was only over the last several years that we got a cat. And I’ve seen the difference in how these pets behave and are cared for.
If my cat were digging in my yard and killing my plants, I’d know about it, and wouldn’t be happy either. But that’s not how cats behave. My only negative experience has been with a few neighborhood dogs that are aggressive and always seem to figure out a way to escape from their yards. Strangely, I have never seen a neighborhood cat in my yard, maybe because the area has been marked by our cat. Interesting how these animals live and work!
At any rate, a well-trained pet is always a pleasure, no matter what it is.
I just found your blog through a link from WiseBread!
My husband and I just adopted two kittens (a brother and a sister) and with our older cat that’s three wonderful animals. The thing I like about kittens as opposed to puppies (I love dogs, mind you, just not puppies) is that our kittens were potty trained within 48 hours of being home. Puppies are lucky if you can get them trained in six months.
Some of our neighbors have outdoor cats, and they only bug me if they poop in my garden (which happens regularly). We, however, live in a more urban setting with lots of concrete so our garden, which is heavily over run with plants, must look like the only safe place to poop for the poor urban kitties.
In general I think that so long as you clean up after your animals so that others don’t have to, it’s a good thing.
Thanks for the cute pic of your adorable baby!
Hi Suz!
Thanks for stopping by from Wise Bread! I’m having a great time in their Q & A at the forums. For those of you interested, you can join me at the Wise Bread forums, where I’m answering your questions on personal finance and blogging!
I was going to say that what’s so cool about cats is that they try to clean up and bury their droppings after they do their business. They at least make an effort to clean up after themselves….lol!
Small dogs are cute though — I enjoy them, but my husband says that yappers drives him batty! One day perhaps I’ll have such a pet — a Bison Friche maybe, or a Maltese Terrier? I love long-haired creatures.
I just wondered since we have at least 2 “stray” cats that I’m pretty sure belong to my neighbor - at least they like to lay on her back porch quite a bit. But they roam the neighborhood quite a bit and a few mornings I’ve noticed little stains near the tires of my car - which I’m pretty sure are urine “markings”. I haven’t caught them in the act yet or I would say something to the neighbor, but I’ve seen them napping under my car, so put 2 and 2 together and…
@Kevin,
Hmmmmm… yes, I’d be annoyed by urine stains from cats too! Maybe a solution is to get your own cat because they tend to fend off other cats…, especially when they move around freely!
I asked my landscaper friend about the dog pee and he told me that the urine of female dogs can kill and damage plants. I asked why this Marigold bush I had kept turning yellow and dying out in parts and it’s the bush that is in the corner of our yard, where I see dogs take a leak. My friend suspected the dogs. Interestingly, he said that male dogs don’t have that effect on plants. First time I heard of that!
SVB -
That is interesting. I have both a male and female dog so it’s hard to tell for me. My grass doesn’t usually start showing problems until around this time of year when the heat gets really bad and there’s not as much rain. So I unfortunately have a few brown spots in the yard. I will have to keep an eye on where my female does her thing and maybe water it a little more often. Thanks for pointing it out though.
We’re thinking about getting a pet dog… there are so many total cost of ownership of pets posts out there it’s crazy.
I am thinking of getting a pet as well, and I’m leaning towards a friendly basset hound. I’m also planning to have this dog attend obedience school to ensure that I remain the good neighbor I always try to be. Not sure about cats though, as I find them to be somewhat aloof for my taste. But yeah, I’m sure I’ll be less of a curmudgeon once I become a dog owner
.
“They’re certainly harder to care for than a cat….”
I find that to be a generalization. My wife and I got a cat about three years ago because she grew up with cats and I wanted her to have “her” pet since I had a dog when we started dating.
That has been the worst decision we’ve ever made as that cat basically destroyed everything it could get its mouth on. Also, a warning for dog people out there: if you get a cat, be prepared for it to be “on” everything. The kitchen counter, the kitchen table, the tops of the furniture….basically everything in your house, this after it has gotten finished walking around in its own waste. This is not the cat’s fault, but I was not prepared for any of that and it drove me crazy.
So now its a full time outside cat and life is happier for everyone. We originally had it living on the screen porch, but it eventually barrelled its way through the screen so now it goes back and forth to the yard as it pleases.
I’ll take dogs any day.
Hi Silicon Valley Blogger, I appreciate you view and also like your recommended Personal Finance Reads. It’s really very interesting and useful for me.
Thanks a lot!