[AdobeCreativeSuite]

"Last year a lose dog chased my friends' family cat" (from my last post) to finish that sentence, the cat got chased out in front of a car and killed.

Point is, the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows.
Not only are people sick beyond imagination, but accidents happen.

To prevent such things from happening to my cats, I don't let them just roam free.
If that makes me a crappy owner, I guess that's what I am.
But I know I for one would much rather be safe than sorry.

Again, not saying it's wrong to let your cats outside, it's just kind of a bad choice in my opinion.

I mean, how do you think my buddy (or another owner) feels when his dog brings him a dead cat after going out in the yard for a bit?
And how do you think you'd feel if that was your cat?
I don't know - maybe I worry too much.

[unapelosina]

I genuinely have never thought of restraining cats. Cats are their own that is what I love about them. No hassles. The three year life span for out door cats yes I would probably agree with that, some cats just aren't that wise. I have an unfixed dog (him I can control ) but would never have breeding cats of either sex. Where I live (NZ) we don't have a large over population of animals (or people) so we probably live a bit differently.

[pharweqto]

There are some cats however which for some reason excel more outside than they do inside, we have this cat named Neden who is pretty old, he has come home with his face halfway ripped off from the tom down the street, 300$ surgery to fix him back up.
Then someone came around the corner as he was crossing the street, and I swear I have no clue how he didnt die from this, and the front end of the bumper hit him on the side of his head, he came home a few hours after it happened with blood coming out of his ears and looking like he was going to die. We had no money to take him to the vet so we made him as comfortable as possible, and he is still living to this day, he wont leave from the front yard or back and mainly sits in his "watching" chair out front.

My Retard Kitty on the other hand, the first time she got out front, somehow her clumsy ass got out a window, and was immediately chased by two large GSD and corned, had to be rescued, next time she got out, the neighbor called 911 on her and the police officer picked her up and dumped her behind the grocery store, we threatened to sue and he went and found her and brought her home, and when she was finally supposed to come live with me the lady said she wouldnt be happy with me and refused to give me my cat, and she got out, I think trying to find me, she was my shadow, and something happened and now she is gone..

Both those cats are fixed, but the ones who are unfixed have died within 2-3 years at max, being it infections, cat fights, or just disappearing.

I am going to get a kitten within the next few weeks and like all my other cats I have owned, it will be an inside kitty.

[AdobeCreativeSuite]

Sorry to hear about your kitty.

Build your inside kitty a nice safe outdoor enclosure. Mesh-sealed balconies work too.
She'll enjoy it!

[Pipindula]

"Last year a lose dog chased my friends' family cat" (from my last post) to finish that sentence, the cat got chased out in front of a car and killed.

Point is, the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows.
Not only are people sick beyond imagination, but accidents happen.

To prevent such things from happening to my cats, I don't let them just roam free.
If that makes me a crappy owner, I guess that's what I am.
But I know I for one would much rather be safe than sorry.

Again, not saying it's wrong to let your cats outside, it's just kind of a bad choice in my opinion.

I mean, how do you think my buddy (or another owner) feels when his dog brings him a dead cat after going out in the yard for a bit?
And how do you think you'd feel if that was your cat?
I don't know - maybe I worry too much.

I don't see how that makes you a bad owner.In fact I think the opposite.People who have cats that feel that cats should just be allowed to roam free seem to not understand that some of us hate cats and liken them to vermin.I would never hurt any animal on purpose,but I find cats to be absolutely disgusting and I will take action to keep them off my property.

---------- Post added at 11:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 PM ----------

they are indoor cats and the only time my boy got outside, he got bit by a rattle snake and with prayers survived. Damn,that's a tough cat.

[AdobeCreativeSuite]

I don't see how that makes you a bad owner.In fact I think the opposite.People who have cats that feel that cats should just be allowed to roam free seem to not understand that some of us hate cats and liken them to vermin.I would never hurt any animal on purpose, but I find cats to be absolutely disgusting and I will take action to keep them off my property.

And I don't blame you!
I generally don't like cats all that much, they're alright I mean but not what I'd call your ideal pet/companion.
However, I do love my cats and I believe if you take responsibility for an animal you are not only responsible for that animals' life but how that animal effects others' lives as well.

[Pipindula]

A friend of my dads found a dead cat, starved to death, in his garage after not being in there for a few weeks. The cat must have gotten in without him noticing the last time he'd been working, and then he had to post flyers to find out who it belonged to. That same thing happened to my ex's grampa,except the cat had been trapped in there all winter.It was a little shed at the very back of the yard and the only thing they keep in there is the lawn stuff so no reason to go near it all winter.I felt bad for that cat.

[AdobeCreativeSuite]

I felt bad for that cat, too. It happens all the time.
So did my dads' buddy.
He was pissed off at the owners for letting it roam, and now that's on his conscious? Bullshit.

[HedgeYourBets]

I never new people put cats in cages or made them live inside that is so wrong I would never own one if I had to do that.

One of my cats has no hair so letting her outside would be a very bad plan.

My black cat came to me as an ''outside'' cat, but one of my fosters got a hold of her and messed her up, so a grand later and she's now an inside cat so I know where she is when I let the dogs out. She adjusted fine. Doesn't even have any desire to go outside.

An quarter acre enclosure would ROCK!

[finnmontserrat]

I don't see how that makes you a bad owner.In fact I think the opposite.People who have cats that feel that cats should just be allowed to roam free seem to not understand that some of us hate cats and liken them to vermin.I would never hurt any animal on purpose,but I find cats to be absolutely disgusting and I will take action to keep them off my property.

My cats are all spayed/neutered. They pretty much don't leave my front yard. The ferals obviously do, they aren't ours, we just got them fixed so they wouldn't keep making more cats... but at pretty much any point during the day, I can look out and see all four of my mom's cats and my one cat lounging by the house either on the patio or under the shade of the bushes. My cat comes in to sleep most nights, but the others freak out and try to escape if you bring them inside.

[career-builder]

I hate my neighbors for letting their cats out to roam. I don't mind having a box of cat poop in the house for my cat as I can easily clean that and Lord knows the dogs love it but I HATE loose cats pooping in my yard! Gah, who knows what disease or parasites they are leaving behind for my animals to catch???

My cat, Marty-Kitty is 10 this month. He HATES other cats the way some APBT hate other dogs. I couldn't tell you how many times I had to come lift his claws one by one out of the screen because he got struck there trying to get to some wandering neighbor cat that came into the yard.

I understand people with barn cats out in the country deciding to let them live their lives outside, but people in the city or suburbs who allow loose cats makes me crazy.

One of these days Psycho Terrier is gonna get a cat and probably kill it and I can't say I'll feel too bad about it. You are a seriously stupid cat to come in my yard with 3 dogs living here anyway.

[AdobeCreativeSuite]

I wasn't trying to start an argument!

[flnastyax]

FWIW, I wasn't saying cats couldn't survive outside.. I just meant that a cat that's lived its whole life inside, will have a harder time adjusting to life outside if it's never been outside.

[deackatera]

However, I do love my cats and I believe if you take responsibility for an animal you are not only responsible for that animals' life but how that animal effects others' lives as well.

Hell freakin' YES!

It's not JUST about the safety of the cat. Cats bug other people. Even people who don't dislike cats per se.

Cats jump on cars and leave dirty footprints and slide around and can scratch paint. They dig holes, piss and shit in people's gardens. They aggravate other people's dogs and indoor cats. (Yes...indoor cats get really uppity when they see/hear/smell other cats outside...and they CAN smell them from inside.)

If anyone's been woken up by a catfight in the middle of the night...that'll piss you off too...because cats will sit their and yell at each other...and it's a horrible sound.

Cats also have a tendancy (like squirrels) to dart across roads in front of cars.

Consider for a moment, if someone hits your cat...not only the cat's death, but the petential emotional effects it may have on the driver.

If I ever hit a cat, I would literally be devestated. I know a lot of folks would be too. If I knew who the cat belonged too, he'd get a MAJOR earfull.

Also...cats are accomplished predators, and kill native fauna besides rats and mice and other things you don't like. I'm constantly rescuing birds, lizards, bugs, frogs, etc. etc. from the cats.

This may not seem like a big deal...but the green anole (for example) is threatened in Florida...and we have a nice population here, but the cats keep eating them. I've also caught them eating preying mantids, also protected.

Cats have completely destroyed native ecosystems in some areas of the world.

A century ago (heck, 60 years ago) keeping cats outside wasn't a big deal. There weren't as many cats. People weren't as crowded together and irritable as they are now.

But times they are a'changin'.

It is no more acceptable to let a cat roam free than it is to let a dog roam free. Cats are NOT wild animals.

In fact, most areas in the US have a leash law that applies to cats as well.

[AdobeCreativeSuite]

Those were all great points, and just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these things.

Not to mention cats coming into people HOUSES, don't know if that's ever happened to you or not, but it's happened to me/a few people I know.

Consider for a moment, if someone hits your cat...not only the cat's death, but the petential emotional effects it may have on the driver.

Not only the emotional effects, but the physical effects as well.
Many people will swerve/slam on the breaks in "the heat of the moment" to avoid hitting the cat, meanwhile causing in accident in which people may be injured or killed.

It is no more acceptable to let a cat roam free than it is to let a dog roam free.

EXACTLY!

[unapelosina]

Wow!! Im feeling real lucky as should my cats to live were we live. Btw cats kill more Rats than they do birds and rats kill more birds than cats do. This has been really interesting and although you could never get me to agree I realise your way of living is so different and made me think about something I never had before. Thanks

[pharweqto]

Here...



Also one outside cat ruins a 5 mile radius of the natural birds, frogs, etc. They are a horrible strain on native animals when they are let out to run free in a neighborhood.

[CGECngjA]

All my kitties are 100% indoors,and they allways WILL be.If I ever get out in the boonies,I might have a colony unwanted ''barn cats''(that are vaccinated and s/n) that are not fit for pets but deserve a place to live.I would not put my ''pet cats'' outside.

I would NOT just give them up because of something stupid! I have placed a few homeless cats in well screened homes because I felt it was best for them.(that was after they were litter trained,spayed/neutered and fully vaccinated.I have had so many unwanted pets dumped on me,its rediculous)

GL's daughter Cassie had 3 cats when she was pregnant....I went up every day to do her litterboxes because of the toxoplasmosis risk.She never once considered giving up her kitties!