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.
Mine are like that as well. Any "chunky" mushy food, I just smash to mush and they'll eat it. Same w/ cold cuts or chicken. If I break a piece "too big", they won't eat it.
After Kitty, my eldest (18) died, I blamed myself for feeding her the commercial crap. I could have sworn she would have been with me until she was 30.
Now I go to the pet store and buy the more expensive, less ingredient crunchies and mushy food (grain free, which they can't digest).
I learned A LOT about cat food when I posted a thread about Kitty, as I thought she was suffering from CRF.
Double Dog Don’t.
One of my cats had been completely de-clawed by her original owner, but she had a right hook that made my other cats show her due respect.
You should be aware (if you aren’t already) that those cats who are either exclusively outdoor or are indoor/outdoor have much shorter lifespans than those who are indoor. I would NEVER recommend trying to increase the dangers in the life of a beloved pet. Cleaning a potty box may be a pain, but it’s part of responsible cat ownership. Maybe a bigger litter box or more boxes would be a solution?
Antifreeze, predators (both human and animal), poisons, traps, etc... — all form part of the dangers of life outside. More convenient for you, but detrimental to your pets’ health. Hopefully the latter considerations will trump the former for you.
WE had an indoor/outdoor cat when we lived on Cape cod. he lived to be almost 14 and just never came home after being let out one early morning. I’m sure a Coyote got him.
He was a mean sucker and I was the only one in the family he would tolerate. I think he picked up on the cat i was a meaner S.O.B. then he was and had a sort of respect for me. Anyone else who approached him would be met with hisses yowls and growls, although he never attacked anyone unless they tried to pick him up.
Every few months he would decide he wanted to be affectionate and would jump up on my lap while i was reading or napping in my recliner. WE had at the time a 90 lb German Shepherd and he totally dominated the poor girl. He would take to stalking her, just walking right toward her, while the dog backed up and looked all around for an avenue of escape.
The cat had real personality and was hard as nails. That’s probably why she lived so long up here among the Coyotes.
No need to purchase anything. I use a knife or fork, that’s it. There are plenty of juices in the can to mix in which makes it easier to “mush” it together.
If there isn’t enough juice, mix a tad bit of water to mush it up. Works like a charm!
My sister in law has a Cat Shed where she keeps her kitties...has it all fixed up and they love it...keeps the Cats out of the house, no kitty litter in the house, etc.
Just lost our Main Coone(25#) because he got in a fight with a Racoon....he was an indoor cat but one day he escaped and headed to the barn...thus he stayed there until the nite of the fight...had to put him down.
If your cat is not de-clawed, they can’t defend themselves. Do you have a basement to keep kitty and litter in? Just some thoughts.....
Better than mine!
Let me drop YOU off in the Brewster projects in Detroit and see how you fare. I'm sure you'll survive the ordeal and if you make it home, we'll drop you off again........every night until you become used to it until you finally say screw this, I'm getting out of this neighborhood and finding another home.
A cat will use the litterbox wherever it is placed........mine is in the basement. I'd rather clean out the litterbox every couple days or so than walk around the back yard picking up dog poops. And there's always the chance in stepping in it too...........
Kiss your two indoor cats good-bye if you send them outside. Two obese cats named Guinness and Finnegan don’t stand a chance.
Be advised that in general, “outdoor cats” have a life expectancy well under 1/2 that of “indoor cats.”
And if your cats have been “indoors” their entire lives, then sending them outdoor would be like sentencing them to death. Don’t be surprised if they just disappear. They might find another home, but maybe not.
Speaking of my experiences over the years, I’ve never had an “outdoor cat” longer than about 5 years. However, my step mother had an indoor cat of the same breed that lived to 18.
The more predators, other animals (including cats), and traffic there is in your area, the shorter the expected life span.
A long time ago, I swore that I would never have an “outdoor cat” again. Just too much heartbreak for me.
Mark
Now I’m curious. Could you possibly post a picture of these fine two cats?
Does your wife love the indoor cats? Does she agree she wants them out of the house? Cause if she doesn’t, you should know that it is likely they will not survive being out of shape mentally and physically. They have to recognize predators and be able to escape them. You might end up being the asshat who killed the family pets.
I don’t know how wealthy you are but there are adult pet sitters and walkers who you could hire to visit the house and clean the litter a couple of times each week. It would probably cost you about 20 dollars per week. You could also hire a neighborhood kid to do it for you.
If you have kids, they should be doing that, not you.
ICHC gets the credit, with an assist from Google.
Please keep the cat(s) inside! I volunteer at a no-kill shelter and a lot of the cats that have been adopted are “retired” from the outside cats.
Agree 100%.
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