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I'm sorry but I am having a hard time with some of the posts I read. I don't respond because my mother always told me "if you don't have anything nice to say...."
I have had cats ALL my life. Now, when I was younger (in my teens) I didn't know any better. I had cats that came and went but I was CLUELESS as to what the life of an outdoor cat can mean.
Now, 25 years later. My cats will never see the outdoors. I have two cats now. Sadie and Samson. My cat previously, Sheila was indoors only and she died from good ol old age. I miss her dearly. She did get out ONCE when I lived in Arizona and she almost became coyote lunch. She survived though.
At night, they sleep between my husband and I, or under the covers purring their heads off. I know where they are in the mornings and every minute of the day. Safe in my home away from the hazards of the world.
WHY OH WHY allow your cat outdoors???? Unless you just don't care and well, that's another story.
Sorry, not trying to make anyone mad but it makes me mad when I see cats die unnecessarily.
Well, let's see....I had a kitten and wanted her to be indoors like my Misty Pink who lived to the age of 19 in the protection of my home.
Miss Peanut the cat had other ideas.
She tried the "claw the door" routine...I did not budge.
She tried the "hang from the curtain" comedy...I did not budge. Curtains came down in shreds.
She tried the "Knock every picture off the wall" game...I did not budge.
Those walls were awfully white for a whole 2 months.
She tried the "hang from the screen window" play until they began to sag. I did not budge.
She tried the "run like a jackalope up the blue jeans and catch a ride from whoever walks out the door next" scheme...my friends stopped coming by.
She tried the "Chew a hole in the screen" routine...I did not budge.
But that was the one that did it. She found a way out.
And she came back. 11 years later, she comes back every afternoon for supper, love, cuddles, and purring while she sits on my shoulder in bed, puts her fuzzy paws around my neck, nuzzles my earlobe, and purrs herself to sleep.
Peanut is spayed, eats natural cat food I make myself, and she won't be tamed or stay indoors unless there is 8 feet of snow outside.
Why you ask would you let your cat outdoors?
Because, that's the way nature intended. Her fate, her adventures, her destiny is in her paws, not mine.
I'm just a girl who picked a wild kitty with greater dreams than my white apartment walls.
And if I don't let the door open when she's ready to catch her mice? Well see that pretty crystal vase mom got me for Christmas last year? yeah...that will be in a million pieces in about T minus ten seconds.
A person who would claim to kill several cats each year in a dialogue with cat lovers on a cat forum is simply acting out a compulsion of some type. And is probably getting some type of perverse satisfaction in horrifying the readers of his tales. Feeding the perversion only increases his satisfaction. I think we all know this is fantasy, don't we? This will be a harmless person empowered by saying these horrific things.
It is certainly illegal in all civilized parts of the US to kill domestic animals belonging to others regardless of where they are found. So relax folks. Unless Hannibal Lecter lives next door to you, your cats are safe from this peril.
I would be a lot more concerned about the raccoons than some sick neighbor.
Yes, I was thinking similar thoughts about the poster in question in this thread. Certain types love to rile people up and sit in front of their screen and laugh. Get a life, right?
However those people ARE out there. I've seen the pictures, the ones I mentioned earlier, unfortunately. The torturers and lab workers and irate neighbors are out there, looking for your cat.
I saw two sweet fat cats on a stoop yesterday on my walk. They both ran out into the street, they were in such a hurry to come over and say hello to me. I would have loved nothing more than to pet them and make a fuss over them.
It would have been the easiest thing in the world to scoop them up and take them to some dark place and do unspeakable things to them, if I was of that mind.
So instead of making a fuss and rewarding them for running into the street after a stranger, I turned and stamped my foot at them and chased them back into their own yard.
The people who own those cats are stupid and taking a great risk, IMO.
I suggest you check your local laws. I can post the laws for your state, county or city if you can't find them. There is nothing that says you have the right to kill someone's pet who is on your property. Many county/states do not PTS feral cats but spay/neuter and then release them.
Well, let's see....I had a kitten and wanted her to be indoors like my Misty Pink who lived to the age of 19 in the protection of my home.
Miss Peanut the cat had other ideas.
She tried the "claw the door" routine...I did not budge.
She tried the "hang from the curtain" comedy...I did not budge. Curtains came down in shreds.
She tried the "Knock every picture off the wall" game...I did not budge.
Those walls were awfully white for a whole 2 months.
She tried the "hang from the screen window" play until they began to sag. I did not budge.
She tried the "run like a jackalope up the blue jeans and catch a ride from whoever walks out the door next" scheme...my friends stopped coming by.
She tried the "Chew a hole in the screen" routine...I did not budge.
But that was the one that did it. She found a way out.
And she came back. 11 years later, she comes back every afternoon for supper, love, cuddles, and purring while she sits on my shoulder in bed, puts her fuzzy paws around my neck, nuzzles my earlobe, and purrs herself to sleep.
Peanut is spayed, eats natural cat food I make myself, and she won't be tamed or stay indoors unless there is 8 feet of snow outside.
Why you ask would you let your cat outdoors?
Because, that's the way nature intended. Her fate, her adventures, her destiny is in her paws, not mine.
I'm just a girl who picked a wild kitty with greater dreams than my white apartment walls.
And if I don't let the door open when she's ready to catch her mice? Well see that pretty crystal vase mom got me for Christmas last year? yeah...that will be in a million pieces in about T minus ten seconds.
NO, you let her out because you couldn't cope with keeping her in. It has nothing to do with HER fate or destiny and everything to do with YOUR choices.
Nature has nothing to do with it. When you take on a pet you take on the responsibility of that pet. It's not her destiny in her paws. It's your choice to let her out.
This is the most insane thread I have ever read. Talk about crazy cat people.
There are cats that are only happy when they are outside. And there are cats that love to be indoors. If you live out in the country or in a place with little traffic. If your cat has been fixed. And if the cat has claws, it's FINE for it to live outside. It's an ANIMAL for heavens sakes!
By some of the logic I see here, I should bring my horses inside. And the pigs. And the cows. After all, they are my responsibility.
Most cats LOVE to be outdoors. They can chase lizards. They can hide in bushes. They can stalk blowing leaves. Are there dangers outside? Sure. But I go outside. I could get in a car accident or get mugged. Or stung by a bee. Or mauled by a dog. But I still dare venture outdoors everyday.
I love animals as much as anyone. But I understand they are not people. People who treat animals the same way as people make the animals and everyone around them miserable.
Last edited by mississippimagnolia; 10-29-2010 at 06:50 AM..
Reason: spelling
Thanks for sharing your opinion. By the way, cats aren't horses cows or pigs. They aren't dogs either. heehee.
I think people who don't keep their cats in are missing out on a lot of the pleasures of living with cats. Here's this sweet boy right now curled up and purring as hard as he can on my lap. Mashing his head up for kisses. He doesn't need to chase lizards, which might poison him if he ate them. He gets plenty of things to chase here in the house during our Interactive Games.
And I don't care to spend my day worrying myself sick over if they have been hit by a car, poisoned, or abducted by some sick creep.
I have a friend who lets her cat roam at will. He's at the vet and on "house arrest" for injuries, more than he is outside these days. Not my idea of a happy life for a cat. I'm trying to convince her to build a cat safe enclosure for him. She has the space, and the funds. Heck she could use the money she'll save on vet bills.
Her dog is restrained by invisible fence, so why not set something up for the cat too, so he's not always coming home torn apart? (not an invisible fence I don't agree with those for cats)
id much rather have a mentally stable happy cat who goes outside sometimes than a mentaly unstable very unhappy cat whos "safe" indoors...
this was the case for us...
an indoor cat whos happy is wonderfull...but it doesnt work for everyone.
Perhaps it isn't entirely clear from what I've posted sometimes, but I don't disagree with this. What I'm talking about is in the 95% or better of situations where these exceptional behavior problems are not the case. There's still a whole lot of thinking about cats where people generalize the other way, saying it's cruel to keep them inside or that it naturally NEEDS to be outside. This outmoded thinking is what I would like to combat, not the exception scenarios where you have severe issues that otherwise would cause people to give up their pets or similar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by foxywench
cats love their people, theres no doubt about that...but most cats, even the fattest and laziest lap cat...doesnt NEED a human...ive yet to meet a cat that cannot with a little practice catch and kill their own food....
heck our 7 yr old never been outside before this past 6 months house cat caught his first mouse a few days ago and ive never seen an animal so proud of himself lol.
i NEVER said cats dont love and thrive on human attention...just that they dont need us like a pet dog needs thier people...their instincts have been proven to be stronger than most dog breeds...
I'll continue to take issue with this, though. Cat mannerisms are different from a dog, but the need is not, all else being equal. One of the things that may come into play is that so many continue to insist upon not treating cats in the same way. A dog with a little practice could also catch and kill its own food; that doesn't make a PET dog (OR cat) any less dependent upon the human interaction for a full life. The only way this kind of statement makes sense to me (that these animals don't NEED humans) is when they have grown up with NO human contact. Then you're right, they don't. If you packed up and moved, and accidentally (theory, I know you wouldn't do this) left the 7-year-old cat who had lived inside with you for those years, yeah, he could become self-subsistent, sure. It's not the same as not needing human contact though. The cat would never be the same without human contact.
Here's a thought exercise. Would you say a 12-year-old kid doesn't NEED a parent? The kid could figure out how to fend for himself pretty easily, right? He knows what food is, could figure out how to get it, how to get shelter, etc. But he'd be an emotional mess. So would a pet cat, without its human companions.
The more we explain to people that cats NEED human companionship, the less we'll see people just dumping their cats, leaving them at the old house after they move, etc., all done with the MISGUIDED notion that cats can fend for themselves and it's not a problem. You don't see people dumping dogs that way, do you? Why should they dump cats that way? It's clearly more than just pinheads being stupid about pets; there are almost no issues with abandoning dogs like this but plenty of cases of abandoning cats. We need to change the thinking on this.
Perhaps it isn't entirely clear from what I've posted sometimes, but I don't disagree with this. What I'm talking about is in the 95% or better of situations where these exceptional behavior problems are not the case. There's still a whole lot of thinking about cats where people generalize the other way, saying it's cruel to keep them inside or that it naturally NEEDS to be outside. This outmoded thinking is what I would like to combat, not the exception scenarios where you have severe issues that otherwise would cause people to give up their pets or similar.
I'll continue to take issue with this, though. Cat mannerisms are different from a dog, but the need is not, all else being equal. One of the things that may come into play is that so many continue to insist upon not treating cats in the same way. A dog with a little practice could also catch and kill its own food; that doesn't make a PET dog (OR cat) any less dependent upon the human interaction for a full life. The only way this kind of statement makes sense to me (that these animals don't NEED humans) is when they have grown up with NO human contact. Then you're right, they don't. If you packed up and moved, and accidentally (theory, I know you wouldn't do this) left the 7-year-old cat who had lived inside with you for those years, yeah, he could become self-subsistent, sure. It's not the same as not needing human contact though. The cat would never be the same without human contact.
Here's a thought exercise. Would you say a 12-year-old kid doesn't NEED a parent? The kid could figure out how to fend for himself pretty easily, right? He knows what food is, could figure out how to get it, how to get shelter, etc. But he'd be an emotional mess. So would a pet cat, without its human companions.
The more we explain to people that cats NEED human companionship, the less we'll see people just dumping their cats, leaving them at the old house after they move, etc., all done with the MISGUIDED notion that cats can fend for themselves and it's not a problem. You don't see people dumping dogs that way, do you? Why should they dump cats that way? It's clearly more than just pinheads being stupid about pets; there are almost no issues with abandoning dogs like this but plenty of cases of abandoning cats. We need to change the thinking on this.
Very well said.
How many here have rescued a stray cat that showed up on their doorstep or in their yard? Cats seek humans out, even if they are frightened. They've been domesticated for many millenia, and yes, they need us, just as much as we need them.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. By the way, cats aren't horses cows or pigs. They aren't dogs either. heehee.
Are they somehow higher on the animal value scale that pigs or horses? You could argue that cows aren't really pets. But horses are pets. Some pigs are pets. No one seems to have a problem with horses living outside in the barn. Or cows and chickens living outdoors.
I don't think it's wrong to keep a happy indoor cat, indoors. But the suggestion that allowing an ANIMAL to be outdoors is cruel is just laughable.
Should dogs be outside? If you live out in the country and the weather is decent, I have no problem with dogs being allowed to roam around the property. I don't think any animal should be chained up. But dogs aren't unhappy spending time outdoors.
It amazes me that so many people insist on treating their animals like people. What folks fail to understand is that it's not good for the animal.
This thread isn't about what is best of the cats. This about meeting the emotional needs of the owners. Newsflash...Your cat does not love you. It's an animal. He stays because you feed him and clean up after him. When he rubs against you, he isn't showing you affection. He's marking you the same way he does a tree or the couch.
My cat is an indoor/outdoor cat. She showed up on my doorstep preggers and once the kittens arrived she was spayed. I live in a very rural environment and she is my "working" cat. She keeps unwanted critters away from the house and barn, she hunts, walks with me and the dog on my property, comes in for kibble and snuggles but asked to go out and I let her. She's now around 16ish and is still a vibrant active cat and can still climb trees. The only preditor we have around here are coyote's and she's manage to stay alive for over a decade. She is a very very happy camper.
If cats live rural it's great if they can be outdoors, in the cities proly not so much.
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By the way, cats aren't horses cows or pigs. They aren't dogs either. heehee.
