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We rescued our cats last fall from the parking lot of a nearby shopping center (still don't know whether to thank or cause bodily injury to the people who dumped them, should I ever find out who they were ... ), and they never showed any interest in the outside until this summer, when they "discovered" the kitchen windowsill that looks out onto the back yard, their former domain. They didn't care when they sat only in the windows that looked out to the front or the side. We have a mud room off our kitchen, so we use the double-door procedure as well.
First of all: everyone who ownes a cat knows that you never own a cat.
We have an indoor/outdoor cat as well. No chance to make him an indoor cat here but if we had to move we'd definitely do it. I think that an outdoor cat better accepts being indoors when moving to another place.
Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
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We have two cats that were indoor/outdoor before we moved. I honestly don't think we could have converted them before moving. However, they have been indoor only for 6 months and don't try to go out. I think the stress of the move helped a lot. And a lot of opening doors with your foot coming in first (not to kick the cat, but to block).
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustSayNo
Honestly, indoor kittys DO live longer, have less trips to the vets (cat fights, other critters, dogs, humans, anti-freeze in others' garages etc.)
I've heard this many, many times, and I know its anecdotal and probably a coincidence, but my personal experience has been different. One of my cats had never been to the vet for anything but the annual checkup. In the past 6 month I've had to take her in about 6 times. She developed an allergy, but all we knew was she was coughing (and thats very hard to diagnose). Turns out, she is allergic to litter! Seriously! She coughs when she is near the litter box. We finally found once that makes her cough less. And she has gained a lot of weight and seems really depressed
We have two cats that were indoor/outdoor before we moved. I honestly don't think we could have converted them before moving. However, they have been indoor only for 6 months and don't try to go out. I think the stress of the move helped a lot. And a lot of opening doors with your foot coming in first (not to kick the cat, but to block).
I've heard this many, many times, and I know its anecdotal and probably a coincidence, but my personal experience has been different. One of my cats had never been to the vet for anything but the annual checkup. In the past 6 month I've had to take her in about 6 times. She developed an allergy, but all we knew was she was coughing (and thats very hard to diagnose). Turns out, she is allergic to litter! Seriously! She coughs when she is near the litter box. We finally found once that makes her cough less. And she has gained a lot of weight and seems really depressed
Just a thought, but the house you moved into was it new or owner occupied? You might need to get your ducts cleaned. It can make you and your animals very sick and that could be why he is coughing. After we bought our new house we forgot to have our ducts cleaned....after we finally did it, I felt so much better and no longer needed my allergy medicine and my cats stopped sneezing!
I just LOVE it when you guys post pictures of your kitties. They are my favorite animals and if I were there, I would have to scoop them up and kiss them on their nose...mine have learned to tolerate my displays of affection.
I recommend a scratching post and some aerosole catnip spray to attract your cat to it.
I also used to have a window seat for my kitties when I lived in Texas...they used to play king of the mountain on it to see who would get to stay on it.
You might also check out the link below, they make some interesting products that will allow your cats to have some outside time safely. We have the double decker stroller that we take the cats out for a walk in. Two of my three are BIG boys so when I have to take them to the vet, I also use the stroller for that. The cat run things that you can connect look like they would be pretty cool for kitties.
Friends of mine have their 3+ acres lot completely fenced in ca. 7 feet high. They have 12 cats (all adopted from shelters) and can let them roam freely.
That's my dream. Having indoor-outdoor cats, yet knowing they are safe.
Friends of mine have their 3+ acres lot completely fenced in ca. 7 feet high. They have 12 cats (all adopted from shelters) and can let them roam freely.
That's my dream. Having indoor-outdoor cats, yet knowing they are safe.
That would be awesome...I had a fenced in backyard that was a solid metal fence in Texas and my cats couldn't get out and it was made so nothing could dig under...they LOVED going out and frolicking.
Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Torrie
Just a thought, but the house you moved into was it new or owner occupied? You might need to get your ducts cleaned. It can make you and your animals very sick and that could be why he is coughing. After we bought our new house we forgot to have our ducts cleaned....after we finally did it, I felt so much better and no longer needed my allergy medicine and my cats stopped sneezing!
We've actually been in two different places. One was a rental apartment, where the coughing started after we tried a new litter (also right around the pet food scare and she had other problems, so I didn't even notice the correlation). Then we moved to the house (and changed back to our original brand) and it stopped. DH bought the new kind again and the coughing started back up. So the good news its there is quiet a bit less coughing with Tidy Cat, but the newer one we found was cheaper, clumped better, and stank less
We have two rescued cats Ella and Toby, who were always indoor cats. We used to live in Florida and our house had a wonky back door that always had to be double-checked to be sure it "caught" when we closed it.
Well, you guessed it... one morning I got up, went to the room where the door was and it was wide open. I mean WIDE open. And there was Ella, laying on her side, head up, front legs crossed, just looking outside. Just outside on the cement step was Toby, just sitting and looking around. Who knows how long they had been there?
My heart pounded for a second till I realized they really didn't want to go outside... "There are things out there...." Then my heart pounded harder... what about the things that could have come inside...?
Anyway, they DID get fleas, but when I think what COULD have happened...
I had the oppisite problem. I had one that for the winter was an indoor cat.. that had anger management issues.. (he would get mad when I went out of town and mess somewhere I didn't want him to). Also I was having problems with allergys and hair. He had to learn how to stay outside with the other cats that have adopted me as one of their own. Pumpkin will still run in on occasion... but it is to the pantry (for food) and right out the front door... I guess I am rewarding bad behavior.. but it doesn't happen too much.
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We have a mud room off our kitchen, so we use the double-door procedure as well.
that could have come inside...?
