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An argument which has been going on for ever and will likewise continue. I've been owned by felines for many decades and they've all been inside/outside cats with the exception of a couple of years when I lived in an apartment in the city. Three of my five are right now out on the deck enjoying the morning tropical sun and lazily eyeing a flock of parakeets noisily chattering and swooping from tree to tree. One is still in bed () and I see the other one sprawled out in my neighbor's banana patch across the driveway. The door is always open when I'm home so they come and go as they please; and they never stay out at night but are usually inside well before "curfew" and last call. You just can't generalize on the subject and proclaim that those who let their cats outside unsupervised are bad uncaring/unloving owners. It all depends on where you live.
I am a bit like you, we have had indoor/outdoor cats for years and the last couple have been pretty much indoor, but before we had Sunny put down and after we moved here, she became a mixture. Though 90% of the time she was indoors, oh how she loved those times she could wander our yard, the forest next door and yes, once in awhile she could get her dinner outside. Now, her sister, has the same freedom, usually in the early morning, what does she do? Well, goes out, eats a bit of grass, comes back in, spits is up 1/2 the time and spends the rest of the day sleeping on the bed. It does depend on where you live and making sure they are in before nightime.
My neighbor used to have roaming cats that killed birds, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits and so forth.
One day it didn't come home, I tried to appear sympathetic when I was just thinking "well what did you think would eventually happen?" in the back of my mind.
See, we also have great horned owls, coyotes, fox and bobcat etc. around.
Bon apetit!
P.S. Anyone living in souther FL should also be aware that with the continued growth in the python population....cats are going to be more and more vulnerable.
Those snakes grow to cat killing size within 2 years or less and they lay clutches of eggs in the 5-7dozen (yes dozen) range.
There have been high-profile cases of entire neighborhoods losing cats over a month or so and eventually someone spotting the 14ft. python that had been wiping them out.
So, that seems to be a case of invasive species vs. invasive species. I'd figure environmentalists would like that.
You know all of the people who "own" the hundreds of cats you speak of? That's amazing!
The risks you claim are remote I assure you are not. By the way, of those hundreds of cats who are let outside, even if 2% are not spayed or neutered, or have not had all of the most basic vaccines against rabies, leukemia, calcivirus, etc., then they are going to make kittens and they also, of the hundreds, the males, I mean, can travel as much as 5 miles in one day and come home again and impregnate fertile females, etc. and can spread or pick up diseases.
You are having a bit of difficulty with tenses here. Over a period of fifty years, I have known several hundred people. A lot of them have a cat or multiple cats. Particularly when I was growing up in a rural area. We had a pond in front of our house and from time to time people from the city and suburbs would throw a bag of puppies or kittens into the pond to get rid of them. Sometimes they lived and we found homes for them. They were always neutered.
There are a lot of unfounded, judgmental assumptions being made about people who adopt feral cats. We any many others take good care of them. They are neutered (in fact rescues and shelters do not adopt them out unless they are neutered, or they require a large deposit which you get back with proof of neutering). We give them flea collars if we can catch them, but we really do not have problems with fleas. We take them to the vet is needed (like when one broke her leg). However they are not suited to be inside cats. They bite people and other animals, if you bring them inside (like the broken leg cat) they howl to get out and scratch at the windows all day and night. Growing up my family always had a handful of feral cats. The number that got serious diseases = 0. The umber that got killed = 1. The number that dies of old age = +/- 14. Most of our neighbors had multiple feral cats (barn cats) as well with similar results (one got stepped on by a horse and became an indoor cat because he could not walk well anymore thee were a few other losses, but not many. Most lived what they seemed to think was an enjoyable life - much better than getting euthanized.
This threat is a classic example of our modern society problem. The attitude is "If you do not think like me and act like me- you are evil." Please try to accept that other people may have a point or that different ideas and practices than yours may be not only valid, but beneficial.
You are having a bit of difficulty with tenses here. Over a period of fifty years, I have known several hundred people. A lot of them have a cat or multiple cats. Particularly when I was growing up in a rural area. We had a pond in front of our house and from time to time people from the city and suburbs would throw a bag of puppies or kittens into the pond to get rid of them. Sometimes they lived and we found homes for them. They were always neutered.
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Tense? There was no confusion on my part over tense. No, you just didn't happen to explain what you meant till now and expected the reader to understand that it was over 50 years of people you have known!
You mean that starting 50 years ago all those cats you saved were neutered? In 1963 they were all neutered if you saved them? I have a hard time believing this. Few people neutered cats in those days. I am over 60 myself and know this. Because you said, "over a period of fifty years..." You need to watch what you write and make sure it is clear.
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There are a lot of unfounded, judgmental assumptions being made about people who adopt feral cats. We any many others take good care of them. They are neutered (in fact rescues and shelters do not adopt them out unless they are neutered, or they require a large deposit which you get back with proof of neutering). We give them flea collars if we can catch them, but we really do not have problems with fleas. We take them to the vet is needed (like when one broke her leg). However they are not suited to be inside cats. They bite people and other animals, if you bring them inside (like the broken leg cat) they howl to get out and scratch at the windows all day and night. Growing up my family always had a handful of feral cats. The number that got serious diseases = 0. The umber that got killed = 1. The number that dies of old age = +/- 14. Most of our neighbors had multiple feral cats (barn cats) as well with similar results (one got stepped on by a horse and became an indoor cat because he could not walk well anymore thee were a few other losses, but not many. Most lived what they seemed to think was an enjoyable life - much better than getting euthanized.
This threat is a classic example of our modern society problem. The attitude is "If you do not think like me and act like me- you are evil." Please try to accept that other people may have a point or that different ideas and practices than yours may be not only valid, but beneficial.
I don't think you have been reading too many posts here or you would know that MANY of us here care for outside feral cats just like you do. Why don't you read some of the posts here where people describe their care of outside, feral cats who cannot live inside.
Also, some people here have no room inside and care for tame, homeless cats by feeding them, getting them spayed and neutered and vet care, and then providing for them shelters of one kind or another. A lot of people here do that!
I am a bit like you, we have had indoor/outdoor cats for years and the last couple have been pretty much indoor, but before we had Sunny put down and after we moved here, she became a mixture. Though 90% of the time she was indoors, oh how she loved those times she could wander our yard, the forest next door and yes, once in awhile she could get her dinner outside. Now, her sister, has the same freedom, usually in the early morning, what does she do? Well, goes out, eats a bit of grass, comes back in, spits is up 1/2 the time and spends the rest of the day sleeping on the bed. It does depend on where you live and making sure they are in before nightime.
My cats are indoor/outdoor (mostly indoor of late because they hate the snow). Bertha, the old one, takes a morning prowl every morning regardless of the weather, but the three others only prefer being outside when DH and I are out there shoveling snow or working in the gardens, etc. They'll find a sunny spot on the porch roof or lawn furniture to relax near where we're working. All of our cats are always inside at night, but that seems to be when they get into the most trouble. If there's a mouse in the kitchen, especially, they make a lot of noise and wreak havoc catching it. Just this morning (3:00 a.m.) The B*ll Sack decided to explore the space in back of our large dresser (it's catty corner in the corner of the room with a small space behind it). He knocked a vase off the top of the dresser, and all the picture frames, then proceeded to get stuck back there. The crashes woike me up, then the yowling woke up DH, because TBS tried to crawl under the dresser to get out, and got wedged in there. DH and I had to take out the drawers and lift the dresser to get him out. All the while the three others had to be right there underfoot supervising, or on top of the dresser while we were trying to lift it. TBS screamed and meowed so loud, we thought he was seriously hurt (but thank God he's okay).
Sorry, getting off topic, but I guess cats CAN get hurt indoors, too. My heart is still beating a mile a minute, I can't get back to sleep, and TBS is now stretched out on the bed like the King of Siam and purring to beat the band.
In 1963 they were all neutered if you saved them? I have a hard time believing this. Few people neutered cats in those days. I am over 60 myself and know this.
I believe you are incorrect. I was born in 1945 in the UK and throughout my childhood we had cats. Obviously I don't remember them going off to be neutered when I was very young but certainly by the time I left home at the age of 16 in 1962, spaying and neutering wasn't uncommon at all. By 1965 I was starting out what was to be a lifelong association with (as in being owned by) cats and dogs and it was the norm then to have them all fixed.
Sorry, getting off topic, but I guess cats CAN get hurt indoors, too. My heart is still beating a mile a minute, I can't get back to sleep, and TBS is now stretched out on the bed like the King of Siam and purring to beat the band.
When you have cats in the house most people know not to put furniture catty-corner which acts like a trap for cats. Leave enough space so they can get out. What if your cat had been trapped in some equipment or storage in a warehouse or garage and no one was there to free him? He would die a horrible death and they do.
And you said yourself, he was not injured.
KEEP YOUR CATS INDOORS!
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) and I see the other one sprawled out in my neighbor's banana patch across the driveway. The door is always open when I'm home so they come and go as they please; and they never stay out at night but are usually inside well before "curfew" and last call. You just can't generalize on the subject and proclaim that those who let their cats outside unsupervised are bad uncaring/unloving owners. It all depends on where you live.
