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.
Our previous barn cat lived to 15 years. She was a ramblin’ wreck; lost her tale when it was stepped on by one of the horses. Her sister, also a smart huntress, only lasted 7 years. Both loved the life!
I suppose the easiest thing with regard to the litter is to finally and diligently saddle my son with this duty. During the fall, winter, spring months I basically work all the time (Barack’s New Economy). The box is neglected. It just needs to get done!
You might as well kill them now, because trying to turn an indoor cat into an outdoor cat is a death sentence. Their survival skills and natural distrust for everything have been muted by years of domestication. It would be like dropping a suburban housewife into a dangerous slum alone, and telling her that she’s on her own, but you’ll drop off some food a couple times a day so she doesn’t starve.
My daughter-in-law decided their indoor cat, Louie, had to become an outside cat when she got pregnant. Louie had been declawed and didn’t even want to step on grass.
They started gradually and he started staying out all night, coming home exhausted. They said Louie seemed to become a teenager. Keep in mind they live in a large subdivision—really no predators.
In short, Louie has become the darling of the neighborhood because he digs up moles and lays them on the front porch of the homeowner. He also devised a way to fight with other cats in which he hold them with his back paws.
He still comes home for food sometimes and they let him hang out in the house, but he is mainly an outside cat.
yes, let them out!! My cats come in and out and no more litter box. Cats can defend themselves well, particularly if they’re not declawed.
You are going to let them come in and out, right?
We would never declaw any of our cats.
My philosophy on the outdoor cats has always been that they have been strays who adapt and adopt us. They get food, water and a warm place to sleep and are fixed ~ and that is that.
We started feeding some strays a year ago. In that year, they have gone from 6 to 1. If you want your cats to live, keep them the way they were raised - there are very few outside cats that live to ripe old ages, especially if they started out as indoor cats and were spayed/neutered.
I’m not. I’m seeking out the experience of others to formulate my opinion. The nays are making a very strong case.
Especially coyotes. They'll even snatch a small dog right out of your yard - while you're standing in it!
“Don’t switch them to being outdoor cats if you want to keep them safe.”
Agreed! They will meet both other critters and maybe even humans who are predatory in nature. NOTHING good can come of this.
I have three cats; cleaning their litter box takes a minute or so a day. Just do it, and have peace of mind that your cats are safe.
You are their owner; they cannot adapt to outdoor living at this late point in their lives. Protect them inside and keep them safe!
No. If they leave the house ~ they stay out.
All previous cats have been wanderers and wayfarers.
It seems to me, based on the feedback, that my fat cat should remain indoors.
>>During the fall, winter, spring months I basically work all the time (Barack’s New Economy). The box is neglected. It just needs to get done!
I keep a couple spare boxes pre-loaded with litter in the garage. On days where I don’t have time to deal with the dirty one, I just swap it out with a clean one in about 30 seconds, and come back later to clean the dirty one.
Uggh!
Now that is a smart idea ~ and just the kind of feedback I was looking for.
Well, with a domesticated cat being put outside where there is a population of foxes, I wouldn’t expect your cat to last long. Foxes will take cats and your cat doesn’t have outdoor skills. If the cat is too much, you would be better trying to adopt it out.
We have an indoor/outdoor cat, but she’s harness trained. She knows if she wants to go out, she has to stand still to have the harness and leash attached. We tether her to a stake in the yard, or to a door handle, but only when we can be watching her. We have coyotes, hawks, and owls in the area, even though we live in a suburban neighborhood. Even had a family of owls earlier this spring in one of our trees in the back yard. Her front paws are declawed, which was done after we realized nothing was stopping her from ripping up furniture, and the frame on our patio door has lots of deep scratches.
Thanks for the excellent feedback FRiends.
I feel like I will have to adapt for my indoor cat ~ which I believe is how it should be ~ because I know that I can.
My indoor cat may do very well and adapt to being an outsider. There is also an outside possibility that she may not, which, even if it is a small chance, I suppose I do not want to take.
My son will not touch a Wii after school until the cat turds are cleaned out and I also like the idea of the fresh box waiting in the wings.
Glad to see this thread, I am facing this decision right now. My previous cat wandered around this country neighborhood and ended up getting shot, crawled home alive, tried to save him for nine days (the vet and I) but in the end we couldn’t save him.
Now have two little ones. But my place is so small! One big room. I want them to go out sometime, I guess if I were out there with them, going for walks etc. it might be all right. They riot and gallop around and shoot up the curtains and are just full of it. I know they need to go outside but am in a quandary, I don’t want to lose them.
There is no way I could live with an indoor cat because of the box of cat poop as a permanent fixture. It would not be ok in the worst room of my house. How anyone can tolerate live animals crapping in their kitchens is beyond my comprehension, but some people actually do keep litter boxes there.
If you love them so much, buy a farm and put them in the barn. They’d probably prefer it anyway.
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