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I have friends who let their cat out, and in fact, they lock him out when they go on vacation. They have a very long driveway, far away from the road. One year they came back, no cat. Three days after they got home the cat showed up, he managed to drag himself home, at deaths door with injuries sustained from a car hitting him. He's alive, with a pin in his hip joint, his jaw wired together, and no teeth. They still grumble about the bill...and they still let him out.
They're still your friends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by catsmom21
I belong to a UK based cat forum. Most of the members keep their cats inside, or have cat proof gardens. The ones who don't: there are threads almost every day of cats being killed on the road, or seriously injured with extreme suffering, or cats going missing. The ones who are killed by cars, the people say "she never went in the road before" (not that they saw anyway) or "there is so little traffic I never thought this would happen" and so on and so forth.
And always the odd post about a cat killed by the neighbors dog, tortured by the creep down the road, shot by the neighbor who tired of the cat toileting in the neighbor's garden, or poisoned by same.
Yeah, the UK is the country I think of most when I think of people who know much about cats who are nevertheless stuck on the idea that their cats MUST be able to go outside. But it just doesn't have any basis in anything but tradition and supposition. There are, in most cases (not all, I do understand there are some behavior cases like foxywench's, but most) no particular health arguments for a cat to go outside. There are in addition a number of arguments for them not to go outside, most of which apply even in England. I think they may be coming around to this realization but perhaps a bit slower than some other places.
Yes. Their cat(s) (present and past) need my influence and running interference, even if most of it doesn't make an impression, they have learned some things at least, to the cats' benefit.
When they do finally adopt a suggestion of mine, it becomes something they figured out on their own (aren't they smart, don'tcha know), but I don't care about that. I just care about the cat.
Can't put an actual screen door in as this is a rented house but the pet gate sounds like a workable solution, I shall have a look if they sell them here and if not I can order one as there's plenty of time til summer. There also might be screen panels that are used for keeping mosquitoes out. The windows are fine though, they have mosquito netting in so the cat can't get out through them.
you could always do an "air lock" solution which would also give kitty a safe outside space.
build a simple "box" out of 2x2's it doesn't need to be super strong as long as its sturdy, cover roof and sides in metal screening (the fabric/plastic tears too easily) youll need 3 sides and a roof as the 4ft side buts against your back door (or make one that can attatch to a window (secure into the ground with some hammered in posts that can be easily pulled out when you move)
tada a safe way to leave a door/window open for a breeze, a safe space for kitty to go outside and get sun and air, and its copletly removable when you leave
Also you mentioned you may have seen some people walking cats on leashes. That's not a bad idea, although it can take some time for a cat to get used to it, some do it more readily than others. If you want to try this, make sure you get a harness and not just a collar like you'd use with a dog. Cats are talented at escaping collars.
There is this one kind of harness that I absolutely LOVE. The velcro fastened "cat jacket."
My cat though, he just doesn't want to go outside. He gets really scared when he's in an unfamiliar environment and just wants to hide. He's not very brave at all. If this means he lives 100% inside and doesn't try to escape, I am fine with that. We do still put him in a room (a bedroom or bathroom with the door shut) when we bring in groceries or something...just in case.
Can't put an actual screen door in as this is a rented house but the pet gate sounds like a workable solution, I shall have a look if they sell them here and if not I can order one as there's plenty of time til summer. There also might be screen panels that are used for keeping mosquitoes out. The windows are fine though, they have mosquito netting in so the cat can't get out through them.
How is the mosquito netting attached to the windows?
Sounds like normal window screens to me too. When you said mosquito netting, it sounded like flimsy stuff attached with Velcro. I was worried she'd be able to push against it and it would give way.
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They're still your friends? 
