Outdoor cats

[MossRoad]

Great choice /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif And I still agree with you on the way the humane society jerked you around. That should have been mentioned up front.

 

[skid mark]

I'll offer my $0.02, admittedly, without reading all of the other reply's.

Whatever you end up with, get it neutered. Having tomcats run around marking yours (and neighbors) porch, cars, tractors, etc is not desirable. A neutered male won't wander as much which is a key to its survival. The more exploring they do, the greater the chance they won't come home.

We've had much better luck with female cats. They don't prowl quite as much and have better sense and end up living much longer. We've got the two same barn cats that we got five years ago. We've had four males in that time also and none of them has made it six months.

And yup, we got the females neutered, but one was too late and had kittens. Guess maybe one of my neighbors had a Tom running around (you live nearby? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif).

 

[gator]

<font color=blue>"And yup, we got the females neutered"</font color=blue>

Phantom, are you sure they wern't males?/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[cstocks]

<font color=blue>Would you lay your head on a couch cushion that other people sat naked on?</font color=blue>

I never gave that much thought butt now that you mention it, I am not so sure that I will ever again put my head on a couch cushion where even clothed people have sat! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Chris

 

[wallysue]

There are four cats here, three stay inside and one goes in and out what ever he wants. They were all strays and are neutered. I would like to keep them all in but one will spray if he can't get out. Attached is an image of a door I made him that only he can use to go in and out. He wears a collar with a magnet on it. The door has inside the upright wood piece a reed switch that senses the magnet. The reed controls a relay that energizes a solenoid hooked to a pin that unlatches the door so it can be pushed open. It swings from the top so it is self closing and then latches. It took him about a week to figure it out and me some time to make it. The other cats must wonder how he does it.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Wallysue, I'm sure glad there's all these miles between us. I'm not sure the world could take us being neighbors.

 

[Trev]

<font color=blue>...The door has inside the upright wood piece a reed switch that senses the magnet.</font color=blue>

So if I understand you correctly, you just published on the Internet everything the world needs to know in order to totally breach your security system. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif All a skunk or possum has to do is strap a magnet to its neck, and in it comes? No retinal scans? Nothing?? You are hereby demoted from Chief of Security. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Actually, it looks like a great idea!! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bob

 

[Mosey]

Here’s an update in case anyone is interested. They are still locked inside the playhouse at night with a litter box of kitty litter in case they need to go at night. We had to stop leaving the litter box in there all the time because it started to smell too bad. During the day, I put the kitty litter box where they can't get too it and have a second litter box filled with loose dirt in the area I want them to start using (about 50 feet from the playhouse). The male seems to be catching on and has used the litter box with dirt in it. The female has used the yard and a flower bed. It's only been a few days, so I'm hoping she just needs more time.

I would like to eliminate the litter box in the playhouse, but I'm afraid they won't wait until morning and just go on the floor (the floor is made of wood). I don't want to leave the door open because I'm afraid they'll wander off at night. But, I’m wondering if that’s true. If we keep feeding them every night and every morning it seems like they would stick around. They haven’t caught a mouse yet, but have caught some horse flies. They stay close to the house all of the time, most of the time they are in the breezeway or garage sleeping when we’re not home or in the house. The kids have spent a lot of time with them, even in the hot weather. But, now that school has started the kittens are getting more time to rest – they lay around and sleep a lot!

 

[MDSteve]

Here is a good question for you cat people...How do you catch the kittens to get them fixed? I have tried for the past few months and can't get near them.

 

[Mosey]

I'm certainly not a "cat person"! But, I can offer an opinion on your question. If your cats are that wild it probably won't do much good to catch them anyway, since they will be hard for the vet to handle! They'll probably charge you double!

 

[cstocks]

Do you want to keep them around as pets or just as mousers? The reason I ask is because my experience with outside kittens is that unless you catch them while they are VERY small they may not make good pets. I have an inside cat that I caught at 3-4 months, spayed and brought inside. Now she is close to 3 years old and she is still flaky. Not as wild as she used to be but not a good pet at all. I have had other kittens that were the same way. Once they get a feel for the outside they tend to stay a little wild.

Now if you just want them to keep outside to catch mice and be halfway friendly you will probably be okay. Contact the nearest dog pound and borrow a live trap. I trapped so many strays over the years that I ended up buying my own live trap. Be aware, as Mosey said, that the vet may have a hard time with them if they are wild. Sedated they will be fine but getting them sedated may be a problem.

Good luck if you decide to persue this!

 

[ptonline]

I see what you mean when you say ``they dig in too deep``. had to put my last one to sleep(she was 14) and felt like I had just lost a relative. We all agreed we would never get another cat or dog, but after a while that bluesy feeling tapers off and you miss their presence and those little eyes looking at you. it seems like a household is not complete without at least one . cats retain some of their wildness and Iguess that is what make them so special. in short,we are now looking to adopt!!!

 

[MDNY]

ptonline,

The best place is your local SPCA or a friend/family member who's cat had a litter. We adopted in January last year and our little one (was 2-3yrs old) when we got her and is a bundle of energy. She out plays any kitten I have ever seen.

Save an animals life, adopt a friend when no one else will.

 

[MDNY]

ptonline,

The best place is your local SPCA or a friend/family member who's cat had a litter. We adopted in January last year and our little one (was 2-3yrs old) when we got her and is a bundle of energy. She out plays any kitten I have ever seen.

Save an animals life, adopt a friend who needs a home.

 

[jasonf]

Here is the Friends of animals website address. They have low cost spaying/neutering progams:

http://www.friendsofanimals.org/spaying/cover.htm

 

[Fireman_dcb]

Mosey,

We have 8 outdoor cats, 3 for the front and 5 for the rear barn. We used to only have 2 for the rear barn til the 6 month old female got in a "family" way. I would highly recommend that you get your kittens from an adoption org. such as ASPCA - usually for the small donation that you pay you get a certificate for spaying/ neutering.
Good luck! Doug

 

[Mosey]

Doug - Animal shelters around here will not allow anyone to "adopt" a kitten without first signing a paper stating the cat will be kept indoors. They are all firmly opposed to outdoor cats. They are very closed minded and make no exceptions! I'm willing to bet any of the places listed by the ASPCA will have the same policy.

 

[vongiese]

get them fixed whatever you do!
Whistle every time you feed them and they will eventually come whenever you whistle (if they want to....).
lots of "risk" with outside cats - depending where you live. Critters tend to get some cats. Some cats are smarter or luckier at survival than others...so wait to spend any $ ont them for a little less than a year - they don't need fixed til abouta year old.

 

[Fireman_dcb]

Hmmm... is there a private group that will save cats/ dogs from being put down? Here in NJ we have a number of groups that will sweep through municipal pounds looking for animals that are going to be put down within the next day or two. They get folks to "'foster" them until they can adopted out. We got all our cats, three dogs and one of our two horses that way.

good luck - Doug