Fleas and ticks - concern for cat on lanai?

[HarborRat]

Originally Posted by CSD610

You should always treat your animals monthly all year ...

I have to disagree. My old lab died right after being treated for the first time (Comfortis) from organ failure and a friends old cat did the same after neck drops. The stuff is poison and should be avoided if not 100% necessary, especially with older dogs and cats. The medicines today will kill fleas within minutes so a reactive approach may be better than a proactive approach in many cases....for indoor animals anyway.

[Macgregorsailor51]

My Thoughts as well.. for older pets..

Originally Posted by HarborRat

I have to disagree. My old lab died right after being treated for the first time (Comfortis) from organ failure and a friends old cat did the same after neck drops. The stuff is poison and should be avoided if not 100% necessary, especially with older dogs and cats. The medicines today will kill fleas within minutes so a reactive approach may be better than a proactive approach in many cases....for indoor animals anyway.

[03bluecoupe]

Originally Posted by MikMal

Our three cats, like yours, are strictly indoor cats. Our one cat, who sadly died back on March 1st, had kidney failure so we wouldn't chance giving him any Advantage (or other like treatments). We've been letting them out onto the lanai for three years now and haven't had any problems with ticks or fleas. Our biggest issue, if you can call it that, is that they like to catch the little lizards, bring them into the house, and drop them (alive, of course) amongst our shoes in the closet. We think the cats like the challenge of trying to catch them running in, under, and among our shoes.

LOL - yeah - they do like to bring ya "presents" don't they? Ours LOVES to play fetch with small "puff" balls. I get up in the morning and there's usually always one in front of, or on my chair. I just think it would be hysterical watching her try to catch 'em. (I know, I'm a sick pup... at least that's according to my wife. )

Thanks, another question then for ya MikMal, now that they've been out on the lanai, do they try and get REALLY outside? Currently, I can leave the front door to our house open and she'll sit down and look out but won't go out. I kinda like that and really don't want to ave to start worrying about her getting out for real.

[HarborRat]

Originally Posted by 03bluecoupe

.... now that they've been out on the lanai, do they try and get REALLY outside? Currently, I can leave the front door to our house open and she'll sit down and look out but won't go out. I kinda like that and really don't want to ave to start worrying about her getting out for real.

Cat #1 was always an inside cat and he has no interest in going out into that scary outside world. He's declawed.

Cat #2 was a stray cat from the Poconos and he's too lazy to want to go out in that scary outside world. He's declawed.

Cat #3 we found in a dumpster behind a bar in NJ....she ain't afraid of nuthin. Has claws and will be happy to go out if the door is left open long enough. She's the one that wants to attack the bobcats, panthers and raccoons. She's also the boss of our puppies, and my favorite.

All are older than 10 years. Usually they are just happy to look through the screen.

Sooo....depends on the cat I'd say.

[JollyOgre]

Originally Posted by HarborRat

Mine just eat the lizards if I don't catch them in time. Never woulda thought lizards make a crunching sound when chewed on....but they do

Well they still have bones.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6uLfermPU

[MikMal]

Originally Posted by 03bluecoupe

... now that they've been out on the lanai, do they try and get REALLY outside? ....

All three were rescue cats that we got as kittens. The only one who really knew the true "outside" was Buddy, who as a kitten was found in a drainage pipe, and was taken outside by his foster family before we got him. Once we had him, his only trips outside (the real outside) were in my arms. When he would start to get antsy, I'd bring him in. He loved the lanai but never made any attempts to get out beyond it.
The other two, brother and sister, have very different personalities from each other. The boy, big at 16 lbs., is perfectly content with the lanai. I do have some worry about him knocking out a screen going after a lizard but so far it hasn't happened. We have heavy duty "pet screen" installed in the lower panels since they all have their claws. He hasn't shown any interest in escaping. The girl, at about 12 lbs., on the other hand, is nicknamed, "the Bolter" because she loves to bolt out a door, any door. It could be a closet or the front door to the house. The only good thing is that the few times she has made it outside, she gets a few steps and freezes, probably thinking something along the lines of, "Whoa! I'm outside! Now what do I do??". That gives us enough time to grab her and put her back inside. She hasn't shown any signs of trying to get out beyond the lanai...seems she's content there as well.
We still won't let them on the lanai overnight or even if we're not home. We did, however, install a lockable cat door so that they can go in and out at their will during the day. Makes life easier for us all! At night, once it's dark it's time to come in. My rule of thumb is if it's too dark to see them if one got outside, it's too dark for them on the lanai. Just in case.

[03bluecoupe]

Thanks folks. We'll see how she does I guess. I may limit her to just watching out of the sliding glass doors.

[Virginia757]

she still has claws, right? I'd be more concerned with her racing up the screens trying to get lizards

[HarborRat]

Originally Posted by Virginia757

she still has claws, right? I'd be more concerned with her racing up the screens trying to get lizards

We were concerned about that too, but the screens are surprisingly resilient. Our clawed cat runs up the screens daily and never damaged them. They are just the cheapest screens from Lowes, not fancy/pricey pets screens.

Our cats have free roam out there at all times of day with the pet doors. At first we were worried about when we were sleeping or away but never had problems. They spend most of the day/night going in and out and would be pretty peeved if we limited their time out there!

[03bluecoupe]

Originally Posted by Virginia757

she still has claws, right? I'd be more concerned with her racing up the screens trying to get lizards

Only back ones. IF we let her out there and she does rip 'em, then I guess I'll be buying our friends new screens.