Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


1 posted on 07/09/2011 6:42:26 AM PDT by incredulous joe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies ]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-54 next last
To: incredulous joe

We had an indoor/outdoor cat. She loved to go out and hunt at night, cozied up inside during the day, after lining up her little mousies in the hall for our enjoyment. She could have lived outside, because she was a wary huntress, but we didn’t want that. It is dangerous. As it was, even tho she was pretty savvy, something hunted her one night. i found her pelt the next morning in her favorite meadowy hunting area. I think it was an owl, but could have been a coyote. Next cat I get — after the Border Collie dies, because he is a cat-predator in the worst sense of the word — will sleep inside.


2 posted on 07/09/2011 6:47:11 AM PDT by bboop (Stealth Tutor)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe
It depends on a lot of things. Where do you live? I mean, are you near a major highway? Are you ready to come home one day and see one of your pets dead in the road? It's an ugly feeling, let me tell you. I transitioned some indoor cats to outdoor, and most were okay but a couple met sad ends, and one at least I'll never get over.

Now I live in L.A. and my three are strictly indoor. Yes, I have to scoop every day. Yes, they shed. Yes, it's a half-hour of clean-up and care every single day. But it's still less time than the amount of happy-time (purring on my lap, staring up into my eyes, chasing the string, pouncing on the catnip rat, wrassling with each other for my entertainment.) And I know they are as safe as I can make them.

3 posted on 07/09/2011 6:49:18 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady (Islam is as Islam does.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe
An indoor cat doesn't have the street smarts an out door cat has. The indoor cat doesn't understand fear. It doesn't understand predatory animals. It's been protected from those things all it's life.
Putting an indoor cat outside would be like letting your 5 year old hitch hike along a highway.
5 posted on 07/09/2011 6:54:09 AM PDT by concerned about politics ("Get thee behind me, Liberal")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

Jeez, sounds like you’re running the GOP of catteries—the guys are overweight, inside sissies, while the gal is outside, holding down the fort, both carrying her weight and rounding up the ‘Rats for you.

Kudos to your Tea Party kitty in the barn!


7 posted on 07/09/2011 6:54:48 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

Cats have super sensitive senses. If they’ve lived indoors for their entire life the outdoors is a sensory overload to them. If you could allow them to go out in a screened outdoor porch whenever they want to, then they can slowly, safely acclimatize to the new world impacting their nose and ears. Don’t force them out. When my cat was small I only let her out when I could go with her as I had eagles, hawks and owls, any of which will kill small cats. There was also a dangerous neighbor’s dog. But once she showed me she was alert to the dangers and could shoot up a tree, I ceased worrying.

On the other hand, if they have no claws don’t ever let them out. They’re defenseless, except they’ll still try to use their non-existent claws for defense.


9 posted on 07/09/2011 6:55:53 AM PDT by Gen.Blather
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

Just put them outside, the strong shall survive, the weak shall not!

*disclaimer*- make sure they have their claws.


10 posted on 07/09/2011 6:57:25 AM PDT by Bulwyf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

The thing to know is, the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is very low. Something like a year or two. Obcviously there are exceptions, but the averages are bad.

Some cats are only happy outside and might prefer the tradeoff. But it would be cruel to force an indoor cat who doesn’t want to go out to change to outdoor life.


11 posted on 07/09/2011 6:57:32 AM PDT by oilwatcher
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

Don’t do it!

My outdoor cats cost me far more than my indoor cats. Between the fleas, ticks, and getting themselves killed, it’s horrid.

One of my outdoor cats is allergic to fleas. His skin and fur is falling out in patches. I can’t keep him in - he is a world class escape artist. Every time he gets out he brings a new flea load into the house, which he immediately spreads to all my indoor animals. He looks and feels horrid. He brings vermin in. Sometimes it’s dead, sometimes not. He brought in a dead rat once that my dog grabbed and ate, and she threw it up in my living room. Yuck.

My other outdoor cat got killed by a pit bull.

My indoor cat is sitting right now quietly on my lap. She has reached 17, and looks and feels nice.

Try and find a less stressful place to put the litterboxes. I love the tilty Omega Paws ones Amazon sells - I put them in the garage and find them much easier to use than the traditional ones. The motorized ones are a pain.


12 posted on 07/09/2011 6:58:08 AM PDT by I still care (I miss my friends, bagels, and the NYC skyline - but not the taxes. I love the South.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

bfl


14 posted on 07/09/2011 7:00:39 AM PDT by Skooz (Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

Domestic cats are food for wildlife.


15 posted on 07/09/2011 7:02:15 AM PDT by CodeToad (Islam needs to be banned in the US and treated as a criminal enterprise.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

My favorite cat was a 20-pound indoor/outdoor cat. He was sleeping under a tree in our yard when roaming dogs sneaked up on him and attacked him. He died in my arms at the vet’s office. The dogs had collars but we never found out who they belonged to. I still cry thinking about it.

Don’t switch them to being outdoor cats if you want to keep them safe.


17 posted on 07/09/2011 7:03:45 AM PDT by AirForceBrat23
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe
An indoor cat can live for 15-20 years. The average lifespan of an outdoor cat is less than 2 years. Even if they stay close to home, there's all sorts of dangers out there that they'll be exposed to.
My cats have always been indoor cats and they have all lived to ripe old ages. We have attracted a steady progression of outside cats over the years and they seldom last very long, even though I provide them with a reliable source of food and water.
18 posted on 07/09/2011 7:04:52 AM PDT by Malone LaVeigh
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

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.


22 posted on 07/09/2011 7:06:32 AM PDT by Bryanw92 (We don't need to win elections. We need to win a revolution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

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?


24 posted on 07/09/2011 7:08:04 AM PDT by spacejunkie01
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe
We had an indoor cat that we started letting outside for longer periods of time until she liked it and only came in at night. About a year later, she died from a snake bite. We had two others that we rescued and that spent a lot of time outdoors - one got hit by a car (probably trying to get home when he heard my wife calling him), the other ended up being an indoor cat and lived a long happy life.

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.

26 posted on 07/09/2011 7:09:15 AM PDT by trebb ("If a man will not work, he should not eat" From 2 Thes 3)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe
I had three cats at once, years ago. One would rather freeze to death than come in, she would sleep by the door but not venture in. One would be in and out, the other when I put him out hung on the screen door and howled to be let in.
I finally put a cat door into the laundry room, so they could come and go as they pleased. There was a door I could shut so other assorted critters didn't get into the house at night.
All three seemed to like that idea, it worked well. The “scared cat” starting using the out side as his litter box but it always was a quick trip then back to the house. The other two liked laying in the sun. Kept the rats populations way down.
31 posted on 07/09/2011 7:14:24 AM PDT by svcw (democrats are liars, it's a given)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

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.


35 posted on 07/09/2011 7:17:59 AM PDT by Truth29
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

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.


36 posted on 07/09/2011 7:19:31 AM PDT by knittnmom (Save the earth! It's the only planet with chocolate!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

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.


37 posted on 07/09/2011 7:21:49 AM PDT by incredulous joe ("No road is too long with good company" Turkish Proverb)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: incredulous joe

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.


39 posted on 07/09/2011 7:24:34 AM PDT by squarebarb
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-54 next last

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson