Outdoor cats

[MossRoad]

Fair enough. Thanks for not jumping on me /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cstocks]

I re-read my comments after I posted them and I wondered if I might have gotten a little defensive. That was not my intent and I am glad you did not take it that way. Sometimes I think I get carried away and start to preaching at the choir!



Thanks for your reply.

Chris

 

[MossRoad]

/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Trev]

Hi Moss,

<font color=blue>...However, having had 10 or so cats in my life, I cannot see any reason to ever let a cat outside unless it is a working cat as mentioned above.</font color=blue>

I can see your reasoning here, but the problem is that, since our cats came to us starving during the winter, they are all used to being outdoors. I think that once a cat gets used to going out, it's hard on them to be locked in the house all the time. They stare out the windows, sit by the door, practically begging to be let out.

Granted they would live longer if they stayed inside, but the same could probably be said for people. It's kind of a quality-of-life issue. Would you agree to be kept in a hospital for the rest of your life if I promised you it would extend your life by a few years? (Bad argument, I know.. it would probably shorten your life considerably.. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif .. but it serves to make the point.)

Best,
Bob

 

[Mosey]

We got 2 kittens, 1 male and 1 female, about 8 weeks old. We will get them spayed and neutered (we found a place that will do both of them for $45 total), plus they've had rabies shots and been wormed. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[MossRoad]

The cat we have now came up to me while I was dressed as Dopey from Snow White and cooking burgers on our grill during a costume party on Holloween weekend. It lived in our evergreen shrub for about a week, teasing the dog and meowing at us everytime we went in or out of the house. I finally decided to keep it. It is very happy indoors, has food, water, warm place to sleep and great companionship from our family.

There are many cats that roam our neighborhood. They tear up flower beds, poop in kids sandboxes, pee on houses and cars, kill birds at feeders, get fleas and ticks, get chased and occasionally killed by dogs and get hit by cars.

Quality of life issues are a two edged sword. I still think there is a definate difference between a farm cat working for a living and a house pet that is allowed to roam the neighborhood. In my mind, there is no difference between a neighbor that lets their dog run and a neighbor that lets their cat run. Your cat won't stay on your property, and neither will their dog(in most cases). So if you let your cat out at night, and find it dead the next day covered with dog bite marks, who's to blame?

If you want to let your cats out, that's your choice. But don't complain if they get killed by a dog, car, a neighbor that likes songbirds or even another cat. And don't tell everybody how hard it was on the kids. It was harder on the cat.

Again, just my opinion and no mean spirited intentions behind this. I just saw lots of cats dead when I was younger and figure the best way to keep them healthy, happy and alive for a very long time is to keep them inside. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

By the way, we bought the cat some catnip over the weekend. First time in about 10 years. Gave him one little pinch and he entertained the kids for an hour. However, we put it up in a high cupboard and when we woke up this morning, the cat was sitting on the kitchen counter(which he never does) looking up at the cupboard and howling. He looked like some kind of drug addict. I had to take the catnip out to the detached garage. He watched me through the glass door and howled the whole time. Then he inspected me when I came back in. I really think he frowned. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Mosey]

I didn’t ask the question "should I keep cats indoors or outdoors?", I asked about ways to handle outdoor cats. I can not understand how anyone can have animals living in the house with them and especially sleeping in bed with them. I can’t stand the smell. Would you lay your head on a couch cushion that other people sat naked on? I wouldn’t. I also wouldn’t lay my head on a couch that a dog or cat sat on, and most dogs and cats that I’ve seen don’t wear cloths.

There are a few dogs in our area that roam free and cause trouble now and then. It’s the owners of these dogs that are at fault. Almost all animals can be trained - the ones that can’t aren’t worth having and the owners who won’t take the time and make the effort to control their animals shouldn’t own any.

 

[MossRoad]

I know you didn't ask if you should keep them in or out. But you did say that you didn't want to neuter them, that any offspring they would father would be someone else's problem and that you were going to keep them outside. So I gave you my opinion on your choices, which we don't happen to agree upon. Now this is where the thread could start getting unfriendly, so I'll agree to disagree with you on this one. OK? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Mosey]

Sounds good, let's just drop it! I'm a little touchy because I'm still a little steamed by the way the humane society waited until the last minute to inform me of their rules. But, in case you missed my other post, I do plan to have them fixed.

 

[EdKing]

<font color=blue>I can not understand how anyone can have animals living in the house with them and especially sleeping in bed with them. I can’t stand the smell. </font color=blue>

I just want to say first off that I am not arguing your point of view, just stating my own. I have five cats indoors, and two outside. The two are outside because of personality conflicts with some of the five that are inside. I find nothing more relaxing than having my cat Boots curled up on my chest purring while I am in bed. At times I will have 3 cats sleeping around me at night. As to the smell, the only smell I notice is when the litter boxes need cleaned, and between me and my wife, we clean them often enough so they don't smell.

Once again I am not argueing the way you want to keep your cats, as long as you keep them supplied with food and water, take them to the vet as needed, and give them reasonable shelter when it is cold, you're doing fine.