Cats Outside Poll

jaggiebunnet

just out of interest from the post on the cats attacked. how do you all think on whether cats should be outdoor animals or not. I personally feel that they should be and that it is not natural for them to be kept inside all the time. Not to say indoor cats would not be happy - but if you don't know what you are missing....

NotMe

I think cats should be allowed to go where they want. I know my cat wouldn't like being kept inside.

tallus

my cat spends all of his time outdoors, he loves hunting

Dizzyblabla

My cat sleeps inside during the day and outside at night, but when she wants to get out during the day, she just lets it be known, you can' t make it stay in, it's not fair...

tallus

they dont have fur coats for nothing :P

tk123

Crap - I voted yes by mistake. I think it depends on the cat - my cat is happy to spend most of his time indoors. he goes out in our garden a few times a day but never leaves it. He isn't crying all day and night to go out and he's really playful and happy so I don't think he's deprived at all....

Sigma Force

Voted no, really mean a compramise is best either a cat proof garden if it's a smaller garden with high walls..if a larger garden then adding a cat run to the house or a nice shed. You can add plants and other toys to keep them occupied and a buddy as well

Dilly

Personally if I had cats I would prefer to keep them indoors as it would be safer for them and a lot safer for whatever wildlife there is in the area! Having said that I grew up with cats and it came down to personality. Some cats seemed to prefer being indoors - never going further than the garden wall but others would spend half their time outside...

Irish-Lass

I have 4 cats and all are indoor cats, we are getting quotes for a run that is going to be added on to the house so they will have access to outside but in a confined space......my cats lack for nothing they have all the toys and stimulation they need.....how can people class an animal as a pet when it spends most of its time outside, with little if no interaction with its owners.....I made the decision nearly 4 years ago when we got our first 2 cats and they are in perfect health, are happy and we have since added another 2 cats and a dog and all 4 cats are happy, we have a great relationship with them all know there personalities inside and out, know when they are a little off............so indoor cat with access to a secure run or 100% secure garden it will always be for me

peasant

contrary to common belief, you can actually train cats as well ...at least to a certain degree.

Our three are free to go out during the day, but get called inside at night. It took a while for them to understand that routine, but they are fine with it now and hardly ever do we actually have to call them any more ..they just come back by themselves.

When outside, they stay in sight or earshot and when we haven't seen or heard them in a while, we used to call them back. This has now resulted in them staying around all by themselves.

A controllable cat flap (the ones with the 4 way door switch...closed-open-in only-out only) is brilliant, by the way.

Rabies

Our cat is about 10yrs old. She is house trained, will wake people up at night if she needs to get out. Most of her days are spent outside, now and again will come in to get a bit of piece and quite away from the dogs. We allow her to sleep in the house at nights if she is there when we lock up. If not she can sleep outside or jump in an open winow.

crazymonkey

I have being keepin my cat in the last week, since she got hurt, but every now again she tries to make a break for freedom if i leave a door or window open, So its alot to do with what the cat is used too, When mine is fulled mended i will allow her outside more, but will leave her in house if i am not there, Try to get a balance between too,
My vet reckoned she got caught in a trap, I taught these very Banned, Why people use them i cant understand,,,

tk123

Irish-Lass wrote:

I have 4 cats and all are indoor cats, we are getting quotes for a run that is going to be added on to the house so they will have access to outside but in a confined space

Hey if you get one built can you post a pic pls - i'd like to see one of these!!

morgana

It depends on the situation. In a city/town set-up with busy roads I would keep cats as indoor cats unless I had a secure outside space for them. Living very rurally (with haardly any traffic at all), both of our two come and go as they please. They have sort of established a routine where one is outside all day calling in ocasionally for food and comes in to sleep around 12 at night, although I don't think he goes that far. Iive found some his favourite day sleep spots and they are just in the wild part of our land. The other one stays around much closer and sleeps in at night as well. But goes goes around 5 in the morning :-). And as soon as its rains, both tend to appear quiter quickly :-). But the environment is as safe as it gets with little traffic and little agricultural activity (mostly horse country). Otherwise I would definetly consider cat-proofing at least some area of the garden.

jaggiebunnet

morgana wrote:

It depends on the situation. In a city/town set-up with busy roads I would keep cats as indoor cats unless I had a secure outside space for them. Living very rurally (with haardly any traffic at all), both of our two come and go as they please. They have sort of established a routine where one is outside all day calling in ocasionally for food and comes in to sleep around 12 at night, although I don't think he goes that far. Iive found some his favourite day sleep spots and they are just in the wild part of our land. The other one stays around much closer and sleeps in at night as well. But goes goes around 5 in the morning :-). And as soon as its rains, both tend to appear quiter quickly :-). But the environment is as safe as it gets with little traffic and little agricultural activity (mostly horse country). Otherwise I would definetly consider cat-proofing at least some area of the garden.

It must be a cat thing, 5am every morning without fail it is time for my fella to go out - regardless of when he went to sleep - I am sure he does it just to wind me up

tk123

jaggiebunnet wrote:

It must be a cat thing, 5am every morning without fail it is time for my fella to go out - regardless of when he went to sleep - I am sure he does it just to wind me up

5am!? My cat would probably attack me if I tried to make him get up at 5am!!

FranknFurter

Well,....
To me, indoors is the only option, no matter how nice it would be not to.
In a city such as this, roaming cats (feral or not) are open to far too many risks.
Cars, roaming dogs, FIV, FLV, flea transmission, trapping, evil people.....

You dont know what terror is until you have had a cat die of somthing such as FIV, happened to me having taken in a kitten, we had her in our lives a few years and I wouldnt change that, but watching her at the end was heartbreaking,

Neutering is all well and good, but there is a misconception that a neutered kitty will not be sexually active. If roaming, they are.
This means STD's, *I* wouldnt have sex without a condom and I wouldnt expose my pet to those risks either, its a matter of responsible pet ownership to me.
There is also an issue about local wildlife populations being devastated by roaming cats that needs consideration.

An "indoor" cat is a pet, an "outdoor" cat is a semi-wild animal who has a regular place to sleep should they wish.
No matter how loving they act towards you, you can bet ur sweet ass that if you forgot to feed them they would be just as loving to your neighbour a few doors down. lol

I adore my kitties, *but* I am very aware that a cat is a "result orientated" animal, they will only do somthing if there is something in it for them lol, its part of why we love them, but it should also be remembered that they are amazing actors and often a cat thats allowed "roam" will have "several" people thinking of it as "their" cat (I have seen this many times and owners were oblivious lol )

Irish-Lass

Oh newest cat came to us in March he was an outdoor cat and him and a car came into contact (before he came to us) he crawled into someone's garden they thought he was dead he had other ideas, he fought he has a bone sticking out underneath him, he breaths funny, coughs, but is in no pain he as a result of bring an out door cat is also FIV positive.....he doesn't do much spends his days sleeping does move to eat and wee.....I could leave the door swining off the hinges and he wouldn't be interested in going out, he has been in the big bad world and he has the scars to prove it.

If people are going to let their cats out I plead with you to get them tested for FIV and if negative to get them vaccinated against it, they can get FIV from another infected cat by a bite or a scrap which can be easily done if they are fighting, playing etc.

I will post a picture of the run when it is up

Arcadian

For their safety, and my peace of mind, my cats have access to a secure run in the back garden. Free roaming is not an option, its just not safe, cats have to contend with roads, dogs, people etc.

One of my cats was a feral farm cat for about 5 years until shot with a pellet gun. His hip pains him occasionally but he has adapted extremely well to life as a house cat and just loves to curl up on the back of the sofa watching the world go by.

Dave!

Hey, we got a cat a few weeks ago, I'm not sure how old he is, but we'll say about 11 weeks. Because the weather is decent enough at the moment, I have the big window open most of the day, so he's in and out the back garden whenever he wants. However, he's now getting confident in his jumping and climbing skills, so I've discovered he's able to get up on my garden wall! I'm wondering if I should be worried about this... Is he likely to leave and forget where he lives? Or decide he doesn't want to come back? Or will he jump into a garden and start antagonising a dog? lol.

Basically, should I be worried now that he's able to jump onto the big wall? I've only seen him get up there and look into the next garden, and jump back into our garden, but he's bound to get curious isn't he? lol. I don't really want to keep him in the house all day, I could see him getting bored here, he seems to enjoy being outside.

Thanks

(BTW, we live in Tallaght, Dublin, in a residential estate... It's relatively busy, but there's a load of gardens for him to explore before he goes out onto the road or anything. There's also a fair few cats around.)

jaggiebunnet

he won't run off and not come back, though it will be worthwhile to get him snipped at 6 months to stop his roaming as he might disappear for a couple of days at a time otherwise as he matures.

Get him a collar and keep an eye on him just now, he is still a bit young to be given full roam but he should be ok in the back garden.

Dave

I think a mix of both is the best. My cat just lets us know when she wants to go out, or we leave a small window open for her to hop in and out. She usually spends most of the day outside and then the evening inside.

tk123

I would be worried that he's still a bit young and stupid so he might get himself in trouble! Also does he have his shots are you giving him worm/flea medicine as he could pick something up from a cat if he got in a fight...