cats - moving to Lakeland area (Atlanta: insurance, motel, house)

[theProals]

We are moving to Southern Georgia - the Lakeland area.

Some folks have told us its best to keep a domestic cat inside the house.
Currently our cat is an indoor/outdoor cat. We understand the reasoning
is because of sand fleas.

Any truth to this? What is best?

Our cat is a Maine Coon Mix and is about 10 years old.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Padgett2]

If you are anywhere close to wooded areas, there might be a problem with raccoons. They will try to kill a cat and they carry rabies. There probably wouldn't be a problem during the day, but I certainly wouldn't let it out after dark.

[theProals]

Thanks.

Even where we live now we do not let her out when it gets dark. We have raccoons, deer, fox etc. We live in a very rural area and our property is half cleared and half woods.

She actually is pretty good stays in the cleared area -- takes a walk around and back to the deck to stay or comes back in.

[Mobark]

Dear theProals:
Cats don't last long outside near ponds in south Georgia, as they are considered delicacies by Coyotes, Hawks, Alligators and large Catfish. Buid her a nice screened-in back porch, get her a little sand garden with plants to nibble on, and keep her safe inside. If she just has to be the adventurous outdoor girl, then she better have one of those new Pet Insurance policies, because Maine Coons are pricey these days.

[clawson26]

Just my opinion but I would never let my cat outside especially an elderly one like yours. Check out this article

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/ca...ign/index.html

My parents live in the country and have always taken in strays but the ones that live outside just don't make it as long as the inside ones. I have a 13 indoor only cat and the thought of him getting outside makes me cringe. It can be hard to convert them to inside only but lots of window seats will help. Also I thought this looked cool if you had a cat that WANTED to go outside. (Mine thinks he is a person and it quite happy to stay inside)

http://www.catsplay.com/kittywalk_lawn.php3

http://midnightpass.com/kittywalk-sy...-products.html

I'm glad you love your cat enough to ask!! Give him/her a scratch from me!!

[atlantagreg30127]

Also you may want to check the laws in that area. While it is common for people to allow their cats to roam freely outdoors, there ARE leash laws in many counties that include cats.

For example, I'm in Cobb (west of Atlanta). We have a leash law here that includes cats, meaning, you are not supposed to allow your cat to roam outdoors uncontained or unrestrained. Many still do, but due to that law, if the cat jumps on a car and scratches it, or scratches a kid, the penalty and fine is harsher because that law is on the books.

So from a safety standpoint it's not a good idea for the cat to let it roam outdoors, but if that county has a leash law that includes them, then from a liability standpoint it isn't good for the owner.

[theProals]

Thank you all for your informative posts. We love our cat dearly and only want to be careful about her and her environment.

Our cat, Anastasia is never left outside unsupervised. In Massachusetts, she was outdoors on the deck when we were right there.

We have read the articles and they are very informative.

We are now in Georgia - house hunting. I have to tell you by reading the tips, the advice you all gave, and internet sites we had a very comfortable trip down with her. We travelled 1400 hundred miles down and she did fabulous.

We stayed one night in a motel in South Carolina which caters to pet and they were absolutely wonderful.

Thanks again!

[theProals]

Your link about a safe way to let a cat outdoors is awesome...! Catsplay.com
is very neat.

We have window seats for Anastasia and she loves them. The great thing is they are portable.

Thanks again -- and we will be really careful with her. I think she is learning now to become an indoor cat.