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There are some cats that cannot be kept indoors. We inherited a neighbor's cat (they both died within six months of each other) and so we take care of him, but no matter how hard we try he will not stay in the house 24/7. I was able to get him to come into the house to sleep at night or if it is raining he will come inside but otherwise, it just doesn't happen. He lets us know of his displeasure by peeing on everything, starting fights with our fosters, and destroying things. He is grumpy old 12 year old that had owners that thought it was okay for a cat to be outside. All of our neighbors know about him and the other neighborhood cats and they are all safe. If I lived in Coyote country would I have an outdoor cat? Nope. But, he is perfectly safe, well taken care of and loved as if he was just an indoor cat - he is a spoiled old guy. Not my ideal situation but it works here.
What works for you doesn't work for everyone...and I was on your side 100% until he came into our lives. Most of our outdoor strays end up loving indoor life and find great homes without the urge to go outside. But, this guy just likes to be difficult!
On your property, I have no rights to do anything to your cat. On my property, it's fair game.
You don't want your cats harmed by others, keep it on your property. Once its paws step off onto others property, you gave up your right to complain what happens to it.
A lot of this discussion isn;t about outside cats but about cats that wonder off your property. If your cat is on your property, no big deal. But if it goes onto others or onto roads, nobody has any responsbility to care for your animal but you. Whatever happens, happens and stop complaining when it does. You let it out, own up to your responsibility as the owner.
There are several ways for you to find out that this statement is not true. One way is for you to serve a few days in the local jail which is probably what would happen most of the time. The other way would be for you to spend a few days in the hospital recovering from your injuries if you happened to have harmed the wrong person's cat.
Another approach which you might consider is to call your local animal control officer and make your complaint.
I'll keep my cats indoors as soon as all the dog owners agree to do the same. If you are a cat and dog owner who believes in indoor only, do you keep your dog inside 24 hours a day?
Actually, I think taking a page from how we treat dogs makes perfect sense. Have you noticed how there has been a gradual but clear change in opinion of dogs staying outside, chained up or fenced in? This notion of an outdoor dog is now generally seen as cruel.
There are some little dogs that can and do stay inside 24 hours a day. But that most likely being the exception, here is what is not: the dog is always supervised, period. It's on a leash leading a person. It's at a specified off-leash area, WITH a human companion. It's not wandering around on its own. So why is it unreasonable to follow that same standard with a cat, if one insists upon having it go outside?
I don't personally have a dog, but I know if I did it wouldn't be unsupervised outside.
Do you let your kids drive at legal age? Play sports? OMG! They could get HURT! Cheerleaders can get paralyzed! Football players get concussions! College students get menengitis!
You terrible terrible parent!
firstly...try telling my kitty tempi that she should stay indoors...
i found her in a garbage can tied in a plastic bag at about 6 weeks old...
since bringing her home i TRIED to keep her indoors...
this was promptly thanked by mewing loud and frequent enough to shame a siamese, clawing of the furniture, even throwing herslef at the doors and windows...
shes not a wild cat in any sense of the word, loves to snuggle, loves the dogs, loves to purr (loves to eat lol) she just wants to be outside. it got to the point where keeping her in while trying to let my dogs in and out to potty became impossible...she slipped out (she is microchipped, up to date on shots, spayed and has a collar with tags) could i get her to come inside?! heck no...
once the dusk fell she was back at the door mewing to come in...
since that day she goes out when i let the dogs out in the morning, she comes back for lunch then back out, then comes back around dusk for bedtime which she spends snuggled at the end of my bed.
trying to keep this cat indoors would promptly result in insanity. shes got toys, 3 huge floor to ceiling climbing towars and posts, the dogs to play with...but no, shed rather be lounging in the sun, chasing bugs and making sure there are no mice neer the chickens...
my families cat has been an indoor cat all his life, neutered at 6 months, Never saw the outdoors...
toys, places to play and hide ect...lots of interaction
at 6 years old he started peeing...on everything, and has always been a very tempermental cat, he would attack (claws and teeth) simply for looking at him wrong.
took him to the vet, blood work and everything, nothing wrong with him...nothing medical anyway.
my parents delt with it for a year, they changed his litterboxes, changed litter brands ect, did everything they could safely and sanely do...
eventually my dad got sick of it and let him out... about 6 months ago.
since then...he no longer attaks people randomly and actually enjoys petting and attention, he no longer attacks the dogs, and all urinating on literally naything and everything has stopped
he goes out in the morning, and comes back around 3pm...hes always in for the night with no issues...
the personality change in that cat has done a 180, he is a much more content cat now that he goes out.
now all that being said...we dont live close to a road, the cats both have their claws, we only have 1/4 of an acre but its very rare for them to not be within veiwing distance at any point (my dogs anrt on a schedual and go out frequently, and when i let them out to pee both cats are always somewhere in the garden sunbathing or hunting mice...they stay close to home.
i do understand the risks of letting your cat out, and i think those that live neer busy roads are taking a huge risk...
but cats are not domesticated like dogs are, unlike most dogs they dont NEED us and they know it...
and keeping a cat indoors when it seriously doesnt want to be is torture not only to you...but to the cat too...
you cant bubble wrap a cat...(though it would be funny to see someone try!)
(and no, declawing the cat so he wouldnt do damage when tearing into us is NOT and never will be an option, as we find declawing barbaric...)
now if youve got a cat thats happy to be indoors thats great! if the cat is happy the cat is happy!
but some cats simply are NOT happy as indoor pets...
Your mother was right, so why don't you listen to her? I am really tired of the sanctimonious attitude I see from some of the people who advocate keeping cats indoors only. Have you considered that cats can be poisoned indoors as well by household chemicals, rat poison, etc? Keeping your cat inside will do nothing to change that one time it gets out and gets run over by a car.
If people are negligent enough to leave out chemicals and rat poison for a cat or dog to get into, then yes, this is a hazard as well...but most of us have brains enough to know better. And "that one time" has never happened to me because I'm careful. If workers, cable guys, etc. need to come into my home for any reason, the cats go into a room with a closed door, catnip, treats, toys, beds and litterboxes until the work is done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zitsky
I have lost two outdoor cats, one that was hit by a car, another from a dog attack. Those were some of the worst days of my life, but I don't hesitate to let my cats outside now. That includes my 19 year old who has already used up a few of her 9 lives.
This is very sad to me...even though you've lost 2 of your cats to painful and violent deaths, you continue to let your present cats out there and risk them having the same ugly fate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zitsky
I'll keep my cats indoors as soon as all the dog owners agree to do the same. If you are a cat and dog owner who believes in indoor only, do you keep your dog inside 24 hours a day?
Unfortunately, dogs don't use litterboxes, so unless we want them pooping and peeing inside the house they have to go outside...but only on a leash, or in my fenced-in backyard. My cats could easily escape my yard by going over the fence, so this isn't an option for them. My mom's yard has very high stone walls so her cat gets to go outside if he wants to...he's 15 and has no interest in escaping the yard or being more than a few steps behind my mom anyway.
Do you let your kids drive at legal age? Play sports? OMG! They could get HURT! Cheerleaders can get paralyzed! Football players get concussions! College students get menengitis!
You terrible terrible parent!
Obviously, you can't explain to a cat that it's dangerous to run in the streets or that it's best to stay away from strangers and stray animals. Why does this issue always have to turn into a debate about parenting humans? NEWSFLASH: Children and cats are two VASTLY different creatures !
but cats are not domesticated like dogs are, unlike most dogs they dont NEED us and they know it...
You know, more than people letting their cats out, it is citing this as the reason that truly bothers me. It's demonstrably not true, not just with some pet cats but with the vast majority of them. You might argue this about a true feral cat, but then you're talking about a feral cat not exactly a pet cat.
The vast majority of pet cats love and need the companionship of their human caretakers.
You know, more than people letting their cats out, it is citing this as the reason that truly bothers me. It's demonstrably not true, not just with some pet cats but with the vast majority of them. You might argue this about a true feral cat, but then you're talking about a feral cat not exactly a pet cat.
The vast majority of pet cats love and need the companionship of their human caretakers.
Very true! Even the meanest and most aloof pet cats I've met have at least one human they want to get affection from...my BF's cat will not tolerate being picked up or kissed by anyone but him, and despite years of effort and bribery via treats and catnip on my part, she still won't let me snuggle her......but I love her anyway! LOL!
Because cats are, well, animals. They have evolved to survive outside. There are dangers everywhere, thats part of life for all of us. You know people even let their children outside.
What I want to know is who in the world would steal a cat.
Lots of people. Especially cat haters and sickos. Cats are favorite targets of sick evil people. Cats have this false reputation for being aloof and independent. This give the creeps a sense of power, when they find a cat and torture him.T his happens all too often. If you have not seen the pictures that circulate the internet periodically you are lucky. These people go out and LOOK for your cat and do evil things to him.
They run over him and photograph it. They shoot arrows at him and photograph it. They set him on fire and photograph it. They dismember him and photograph it. Ask any mod in any pet forum the kind of evil they remove before the rest of us have to see it.
There are also laboratories that like to do experiments on your friendly family cat. Why pay money from a shelter, when there are plenty of friendly family pets just waiting to be scooped up.
And then there's the guy who just hates everything. He sees your cat in his space, he's going to put down poison, or get out his shotgun.
All it takes is once. That's all it takes. For me, this is not worth the risk.
My cats are my life, my life revolves around them. I will not risk them, ever.
Last edited by Keeper; 10-29-2010 at 05:35 AM..
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...but I love her anyway! LOL!