A couple of disadvantages of a "kitty door"!

[drssg]

Glad to see you're coming on board with cats. I've had them since the day I was brought home from the hospital. My wife was never a cat person until we got a kitten that wouldn't leave her alone. She bonded with it and that was that.

We had a number of cats over the years. The very first one was the only one that consistently used a litter box for its entire life. All the rest developed some sort of medical and/or behavior issues and started peeing and crapping around the house.

I replaced two TVs on our kitchen table, because the cat sprayed the screen and destroyed it.

I like cats, but we are finally done with them in the house. We haven't had a good survival rate for outside cats, so we're probably done with that, too. Dogs seem to work better.

 

[MossRoad]

Like Mr. Shawn...I never cottoned to cats, till a couple of strays adopted me over the last 3 years.

They both act more like dogs than most dogs! I don't let "just anybody" drive my tractor! View attachment 4319868

Katbota?

 

[MossRoad]

We call them our "black and white" kitties. Every once in a while they raid the cat food in the garage. Fingers crossed, but so far there haven't been any accidents. But they are the reason why the feline buffet is only open during daylight hours.

All the best,

Peter

Ahh.... monochromatic friends.

 

[MossRoad]

Average lifespan of an outdoor cat is about 3 years. Indoor only cat.... about 13.

I've had 12 cats over my lifetime. Of the ones I actually owned and was responsible for as an adult, a few developed illnesses like cancer, diabetes and kidney failure. But for the most part, most of them lived past 15 years old and had happy lives inside. I'll never let a cat outside after seeing what my mom's cat was capable of killing. Yikes! Plus, a couple of my mom's cats disappeared, and one got hit by a car. So indoors for ours. We manage our outbuildings with traps as needed. But we don't have feed or livestock, so there's really nothing for rodents to eat out there anyway.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Glad to see you're coming on board with cats. I've had them since the day I was brought home from the hospital. My wife was never a cat person until we got a kitten that wouldn't leave her alone. She bonded with it and that was that.

I'm not really sure of the time frame, but I was very young when we had a cat, for no apparent reason it attacked me, my mother saw it jump me from behind, and it bit/tore out a hunk of my shoulder ... Momma was not happy! Neither was I probably (I don't remember the incident) she grabbed the cat and threw it out the screen door, but forgot to open it first I was told ... The cat never came back, not sure if my mother or father made sure of that or not ... My mother was a RN nurse for the operating room, and patched me up I guess ... I still have a mark on my right shoulder blade which bothers me at times ...

I don't recall ever not liking cats, just never saw a use or benefit from them over a dog ... I've had many dogs over the years ... And had to get rid of my last two when my wife left which eventually led to a divorce I didn't want, and I moved from AZ to MO ... I do plan on getting a couple of dogs once I retire and am home all the time in a couple of years, but ... They are not going to replace the cats!

This one boy is very special to me now ... He rides with me on the tractor, and generally just wants to be around when I'm home, he is not a scardey cat even when I run an air compressor and impact wrench, touching off a noisy lead injection for a varmint I caught, running a circular saw ... He is my little buddy named Blazer!

We are out back and I found this turtle, I called him over, he looked at it and gave me the look of "what's it do?" Yes, he comes when called!

He like to ride up on the hood too ...

Just looking for some attention on the BH ... You can see his little white "blaze" on his chest, which how he got his name!

Always wanting to "help"! ... I was putting down weed barrier around my trees, then the mulch, he also likes to be a "snoopervisor"!

 

[Shawn T. W.]

They both act more like dogs than most dogs! I don't let "just anybody" drive my tractor!

My Blazer like to drive too!

And I let him ...

Sometimes the boys just like to hang out ...

I was burning off a brush pile, they came down to sit with me ...

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I bet it seems like a great idea till a skunk walks in

I'm not sure a skunk can make it up the stairs to the back deck where the kitties door is, but if they can, there is a gate at the top to stop them ...

While I like my black and white kitties, no striped ones allowed ... Like this one the other day ... He became future Forsythia fertilizer which I'll plant in the spring over the site ...

I've trained my cats to stay out of the traps, even with tasty tempting BBQ grilled brats! Skunks, possums and raccoons are suckers for brats around me ... Hopefully the resident fox will fall for my trick too ... ?

 

[Shawn T. W.]

We had a number of cats over the years. The very first one was the only one that consistently used a litter box for its entire life

I have three litter boxes in the house, if they are inside and the weather is unpleasant, they will use them, otherwise they prefer to go outside and find a spot ... They come and go quite a bit more than I anticipated before getting the kitty door.

 

[MossRoad]

I have three litter boxes in the house, if they are inside and the weather is unpleasant, they will use them, otherwise they prefer to go outside and find a spot ... They come and go quite a bit more than I anticipated before getting the kitty door.

Wife just bought a litter robot. Said she's tired of scooping cat box. Cat's won't go near it yet.

 

[ponytug]

We've only had outdoor cats. The two that came with the property lasted 12 (? went MIA) and 14 years (Covid). We've welcomed the occasional stray, and those did not last, and we almost never found the evidence (only one, who died just before our elder one got Covid. As her skeleton was intact, in a pasture, I suspect Covid, but don't know it. The current two seem to have sorted out our local threats, and have avoided the foxes, coyotes, bobcats, rattlesnakes (live playthings), and great horned owls, at least so far. The mother was feral when her son was born, so perhaps they imprinted early. Both are now snuggle monsters.

@Shawn T. W. your cats seem like a wonderful gang.

All the best,

Peter