Posted on 07/09/2011 6:42:22 AM PDT by incredulous joe
I have two cats; one, Guinness, is a four year old female, the other, Finnegan, is a two year old male. They have always lived indoors.
We also have an outdoor cat, Thatcher, who lives in our barn and has a pretty good life. She walked onto our farm 3 years ago and seemed to have been dumped. She smelled of powders and domestication when she came onto the scene. We gave her some space in our barn and she seems to enjoy herself.
We have a small house. In my opinion, as the guy who cleans out the litter box, our indoor cats have become too big for our home. They are both pretty large; Guinness is overweight and Finnegan is simply a big "no-neck" pounder, who is also the biggest sissy the world has known. He thinks that he is a lap dog.
Guinness has made numerous attempts at escaping our house and even made good on her efforts on a few occasions ~ never traveling farther than a few feet. Finnegan does not seem to have an interest in living outside. We live in central Maryland and it gets pretty chilly in the winters, but we provide and care for our outdoor critters as may be needed when the weather is extreme.
I'd like to see how our cat will do outside, but once they go out and live out there, it is my opinion that they should stay.
Any FRiends with experience, positive or negative in turning an indoor cat into an outdoor.
Thanks for any feedback that you may have.
Your indoor cats cannot be made into pure outdoor cats. That would be cruel. Your stray is ok with it because he’s a stray. let your other cats feel their way outside, and start with short periods of time. If they do not wish to go outside don’t force them. really fearful cats may end up getting killed, by cars or other animals.
They will always want the joy of being inside with you. However, they might soon enjoy the ability to go potty outside and this will be wonderful for you. At first they might not realize they Can, and they might rush in to use the litter box! Just take them back outside to a place where there is dry dirt, and scrape their paw in it. If the dirt is always wet, find a corner of the yard and dump some sand in it and have them start out there.
Inside outside cats are truly the happiest. They get nature and freedom, plus soft warm cuddly places and people inside. (though of course some purebreds like persians are NOT suited for outside)
Your flea allergic cat is in poor health, which is why he attracted so many fleas. He needs high quality food or meat. Look for an expensive natural brand of cat food for that cat. You will see his coat improve and become shiny. Do not let him eat kibble - it’s poison. Junk food for cats. You can also rub garlic powder into his fur today to keep the fleas off temporarily.
“Life expectancy for an outdoor cat is about four years. Don’t do it.”
Ours, indoor outdoor cats who do not venture far ever, are 9 and 6 years old and in great health.
Keep the indoor cats indoor cats. The outdoor ship has sailed for them. If you love them don’t put them in peril. A friend of mine has an indoor/outdoor cat and he comes in to use the litter box. Besides in the few years that an outdoor cat will live they will kill hundreds of song birds. Use you head please!
Keep the indoor cats indoor cats. The outdoor ship has sailed for them. If you love them don’t put them in peril. A friend of mine has an indoor/outdoor cat and he comes in to use the litter box. Besides in the few years that an outdoor cat will live they will kill hundreds of song birds. Use you head please!
First, if either of the cats have pink skin, they are unsuitable to live outdoors because the sun will burn their ears badly. Second, outdoor cats tend to have far shorter lives than indoor cats. Third, if the cats are afraid of the outdoors, they may never properly acclimate. You might try to train them to go potty outdoors.
We never had coyotes till a neighbor started letter her cats outside.
She came to me one day to ask why my cats live for decades when she’s getting a new cat every couple years.
Apparently she likes her cats fresh.
I know the safest cats are indoor cats, but there is something about them that want to be outside doing cat things, exploring and being free---that's what cats do. I just don't think if you decide to put them outside you should never allow them back in. That to me would be cruel. They've live an indoor life for years, and I think it would just confuse them.
Ditto on Feline Pine. I generally get at least a week, use the non-clumping kind (I refuse to sort through cat turds like a racoon), when it starts to smell, out it goes.
Mrs. AV
We have a neighbor that lets their cat roam at night. The thing raids the bird nets in my yard, chases the flying squirrels, etc.
We have talked to the neighbors about this. They either don’t understand English (you guessed it) or don’t care.
As soon as I trap the cat, he’s outta here.
Your so right about the cheap cat food, You can either buy the cheap cat food and spend your money on the vet, or you can buy the good expensive cat food and spend less money and time at the vets.
We took a stray Maine Coon in during the winter, In the last couple of months I've been feeding her better can food, trying different varieties and we can really see a difference in her hair it is really shiny and sliky now, still trying the difference varieties of can food and trying to do my research on them but I think one variety that is going to be a main stable is one of the Avoderm brands.
The cat is a picky eater, One thing that has become noticeable is that she sticks up her noise at the chunky stuff but will gobble down pretty much any cat food that is in the mince meat/ground up variety. So I'm thinking maybe she has problems with her mouth, gums maybe, teeth maybe, or has problems chewing the stuff or swallowing the stuff, but she still eats the dry stuff like a kid to candy which I think would be just as hard to eat as the chunky stuff. We have cut back alot on the dry food, as I'm reading it is not that good for them.
The majority of injured animals seen at Wildlife Centers across America are injured by outdoor cats. Please, keep them inside, for their own sake and that of other creatures.
I will never forget coming home one evening and finding the neighborhood tom eating 3 baby bunnies in front of my garage.
All my cats have been indoor and lived very long (some 23 years)and healthy lives. It is a disservice to the cats or the other wildlife. Just my humble opinion.
Listen to your conscience.
If you want Guinness to try it outside, introduce her to the barn kitty and see how it goes. The cat in the barn may be territorial and beat the stuffing out of Guinness. They might eventually become friends, or at least tolerate each other, but I would monitor the situation.
We had a cat wander into our world just before Halloween 2 years ago. My then 11 month old granddaughter and the cat bonded immediately, so "Spooky" was allowed to stay IF she was an outdoor cat. I did not in any way, shape or form to have a litter box in the house.
So, we put a litter pan out in the garage and bought cat food, the toy mice, and everything else. Then my husband decides that it would be entertaining to let Spooky in and watch her and our 2 indoor dogs get to know one another. I must admit that his whim did provide mucho comic relief ... then everybody made friends and now I have an indoor/outdoor cat.
Spooky stays in the house from dark till dawn. She goes to the door that leads to the garage and meows if she needs to use the litter pan, then we let her back in. She also gets fed in the garage. First thing every morning we let Spooky out and she hunts, plays, dust bathes, climbs trees and naps in the shade until we bring her in around dark. It is not unusual for her to go in and out of the house behind me several times a day.
So, it is possible to have an indoor/outdoor cat, and the litter box doesn't necessarily have to be in the house.
Spooky stalking squirrels in a pecan tree:
Our Stuffy lives outdoors; used to come in from time to time for a couple of hours. Then a few years ago, we had to have some repairmen come in. After that, she would step slightly inside the door about 3 ft., then she would abruptly turn and head back out after she got their scent. That went on, like forever, even until now. She just doesn’t approve of my housekeeping I suppose. - Stuffy’s half Persian, half Siamese, a huntress who provides a lot of her own food, and that’s good because she’s persnickety. I feed her, but her diet has been sort of selective - mice, squirrels, moles, voles, chipmunks, lizards’ tails and whole lizards, bugs, snakes, deli sliced turkey breast, 9-Lives Dry Cat Food has been the only one she can digest well - the pieces are small and we get the non-colored kind.
She loves doing her own thing. I keep her a heated room for the winter; but she only uses it when it suits her. Otherwise, she is 12 yrs. old and still sleeps most of the time in the garage loft. She is much happier outside hunting and hanging out with our two dogs, of which she is a member of the “pack”. . and they baby her.
Some kitties are SLASHERS; and those kitties will survive. Anything attacking gets slashed across the face and doesn’t come back for more - except to show respect after their nose and cheeks heal.
You want to put the biggest sissy the world has know indoor cat outside?
Put down the crack pipe and step away! Why don't you just break their necks and get it over with?
Just got home and saw the ping. Now I'll look at the responses....I'm sure they're NOT positive.
You are SO right about that! My 3rd, now 2nd (my eldest died in Dec) was a cat I took in from my backyard. He came with his pal (which my mom took). They were too clean and friendly to be strays so I knew they were abandoned in some way.
Anywho, before they were rescued I used to feed them crunchies outside. One night I went out to have a butt and there were 2 raccoons eating their crunchies and those 2 sitting right there, just looking at them!
Of course I freaked out and scared the raccoons away, but they really had NO idea what danger they were in.
Mimi (I thought he was a she when they were in the backyard, hence the name)has absolutely NO desire to go outside. She is very skittish as well. The vet estimated her to be between 9-11, poor thing has 4 teeth in her mouth, including 1 fang, which she gets me w/ all the time!
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