Anybody with only outside cats?

[Cruisin]

I think as long as you are taking care of this cat...... food, shelter, medical attention and loving attention, that there is no problem with her living outside.

Many people here always attack others when they say that they allow their cats to go outside.

If the cat seems happy and is well cared for and you are happy with the situation, then that is all that matters.

Enjoy your special friend.

 

[Scurvy]

This is HILARIOUS.

I'm obviously missing something. What's hilarious about it?

The fact that your barn cats are happy and currently alive doesn't negate the fact that indoor cats tend to have longer lifespans than outside cats.

 

[happygirl]

I'm obviously missing something. What's hilarious about it?

The fact that your barn cats are happy and currently alive doesn't negate the fact that indoor cats tend to have longer lifespans than outside cats.

do you have a link for that
or is that your personal belief

 

[Castlebound]

This is HILARIOUS.

I have four, yes 4 cats. They are all outdoor only cats. In fact, they a re BARN CATS. I feed them daily, they have fresh clean water, plenty of warm places to snuggle in the hay, are vetted/dewormed each year and have ALL THE MICE THEY CAN EAT.

You will not find 4 happier cats around. I raised two of them from birth (they were born in the barn). I still have their mom and their step dad (a big old tom cat who was living here when we moved in to the farm). All of the cats are spayed and neutered. Of that same litter of kittens, two of them went to live with my sister and are spoiled rotten indoor cats who never ever go outside. They're happy too.

If provided with food, water and shelter from the elements, cats do quite well outside. They do not leave my property ever. My nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. The cats follow me around the barn all day while I work and get plenty of pets and snuggles from me.

My parents had barn cats for several year also. None of them were ever ran over by cars or eaten. They were happy to chase mice and snuggle in the hay. This may surprise some people but there are cats who have never in their lives been in a house and they are perfectly ok. My parents didn't bring their cows into the house either. I'm pretty sure that they thought that if the barn was good enough for the cows it was good enough for the cats.

 

[akhenaten]

you have a declawed cat living outside?? Why do people think this is ok?? You wouldn't take off your dogs nails and banish it to the outside would you? No that isn't ok because it is a dog but cats...sure that is fine.

No I don't think the cat would like a cage at the shelter or being put down but I wouldn't say that being defenseless outside in the cold is all fun and games either.

I have never declawed my cats..but when my MIL had hers declawed they left the back claws in because that is what they use when they fight/defend themselves...
at least that is what she was told...
anyone know for sure??

 

[sunlver]

I guess I regret this post...UGH...
For 2 yrs I have tried to find an inside home for this cat. Every cat friendly person I have met, I have offered this cat too, even said I would pay the shots/before rehoming. NOBODY I know is interested in another cat
I could bring it to one of the many kill shelters around here, where they are overloaded with stray cats.

So instead, we did the next best thing. I got her a doghouse, we put lots of blankets in there, and set up a heater for her in the winter. She is fed several times a day , has fresh water, she has her shots etc..Is this the ideal situation HECK NO!...She loves people, loves when the kids sit outside with her, and hug her and play with her. When my husband is outside working on one of the cars, she sits by his side patiently talking to him while he is out there.

I have 4 inside dogs, one who is a coonhound. This house would not be an ideal situation for that cat.

So all of you out there on your highhorse thinking what a horrible person I am for having an outside cat, keep looking down at me, it is AOK by me.

I am a dog person, sorry can't help it. I have 2 foster dogs , and 2 dogs I own. I also dogsit out my house. We are just a dog house. As a matter of fact, I have a total of 9 dogs here right now , my 4 and customers..AND...they are all inside dogs and spoiled beyond belief..

So if you all feel the need to report me to PETA...go right ahead

 

[sunlver]

I have never declawed my cats..but when my MIL had hers declawed they left the back claws in because that is what they use when they fight/defend themselves...
at least that is what she was told...
anyone know for sure??

This cat has its back claws.

 

[piglet too]

I think there is a difference between a cat living outside in a "city" vs living in a barn. I'm sure both are happy outside, it is just that the "city" cats are safer indoors.

I look at barn cats as another farm animal, and they don't go in the house. However, they are provided with shelter, food, and health care if needed.

 

[piglet too]

sunlver ~ I hope my post did not come off as thinking you are a bad person. It sounds like you have done your best, and sadly this is the only home the cat has. I think it is great that you have provided shelter for it, and I hope it lives a long. healthy, happy life. My cats would never had become house cats if not for the awful thing that happened to the one.

 

[live4christp1]

Our cat is an outside cat. But we live in the country with nearly no neighbors, actually the last house on a road that goes nowhere and is very seldom used. Our closest neighbor has a few outdoor cats that probably spend more time on our back porch with Shadow, I feel sorry for them so when I feed him, I put out food for them also. DS, DD and myself suffer from allergies......DD's to the point that her allergy doctor would prefer we completely get rid of the cat. She does fine though as long as she goes in and washes up her hands and arms when she is done playing with him. He seems perfectly content and happy to me, always purring, happy to see us, playful, etc. He's about 3 years old and still plays a lot like a kitten, not a fat, lazy cat. He catches moles, chipmunks, etc. in the yard and brings them to leave by the back door as a "gift" for us.

 

[lulugirl]

I think there is a difference between a cat living outside in a "city" vs living in a barn. I'm sure both are happy outside, it is just that the "city" cats are safer indoors.

Absolutely, there is a huge difference.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

do you have a link for that
or is that your personal belief

it has been proven - you only need to google it to find tons of links:

it depends on what study or report you look at but the averages are somewhere around 5 years for outdoor to 12-20+ for indoor.......

it is a pretty telling difference!

I don't think any body is a bad person, nor am I attacking. I am simply giving my opinion and trying to educate. A good home as an outside cat is preferable to none, but it doesn't negate the fact that being in a good home as an indoor only cat is the optimal sitaution for the cat and your neighbors (if you have them).

 

[Scurvy]

do you have a link for that
or is that your personal belief

http://www.darlenearden.com/articleindoor.htm

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/o...avior_tip_sheets/your_cat_indoors_or_out.html





Also, I studied to be a vet in college, though ultimately decided to teach instead so I didn't go on to vet school. I based my statement mostly on the things I learned while I was in the pre-vet program. We learned in the program that most vets strongly recommend against having outdoor cats because they don't live as long, for many reasons. I worked in a vet's office for a while during that time and saw firsthand the results of letting a cat live outside.

I'm not saying that people who have outdoor cats are bad, and I understand that working barn cats on a farm are certainly different than outdoor pets in a neighborhood. However, I am saying that it is safer and healthier for cats to be kept inside. Plus, it is far more considerate to your neighbors. And as I mentioned, in some places it's actually illegal to have free-roaming cats.

And OP, I think it's a good thing that you are feeding the cat. I don't think you are a bad person for having an outdoor cat, especially because you didn't choose to have the cat as a pet to begin with. I just think it would be better for the cat if it was an indoor pet.

 

[chyam]

This is HILARIOUS.

I have four, yes 4 cats. They are all outdoor only cats. In fact, they a re BARN CATS. I feed them daily, they have fresh clean water, plenty of warm places to snuggle in the hay, are vetted/dewormed each year and have ALL THE MICE THEY CAN EAT.

You will not find 4 happier cats around. I raised two of them from birth (they were born in the barn). I still have their mom and their step dad (a big old tom cat who was living here when we moved in to the farm). All of the cats are spayed and neutered. Of that same litter of kittens, two of them went to live with my sister and are spoiled rotten indoor cats who never ever go outside. They're happy too.

If provided with food, water and shelter from the elements, cats do quite well outside. They do not leave my property ever. My nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. The cats follow me around the barn all day while I work and get plenty of pets and snuggles from me.

Quite honestly this is a totally different situation....you more than likely do not live near busy roads and alot of traffic....where as the OP probably lives in a city, although I do understand the "barn cat" lifestyle I still believe that cats should be confined at night because of predators. But I do not find the OP situation acceptable, either find the kitty a great home or start bringing her in....the declawed cat has no defence against anything, then add in the traffic situation and it won't be long when you have to scrap that poor dead cat up off the road! Although I do agree that you are doing a fine thing by vetting her and feeding her there are ways around the allergy thing most of the time, either by getting shots or by bathing the cat periodically to remove most of the dander that usually causes the allergies. Cats do need love too!

 

[sunlver]

Well if anybody wants to come down and get this cat and turn her into an indoor cat, come and get her .. I would love nothing more then to see her in a nice home..She is a sweetheart. I have never owned a cat, EVER...growing up, we always had dogs.

When I first started feeding her, she would always be on my front porch waiting for more food. She would run from me, if I tried to pick her up. It took several months of me being outside with her alone, that she would finally let me pickher up. Each day, she would stay on my lap longer and longer. I was a cat virgin , but this cat has taught me so much. I know indoor cats, who are not as friendly as this outside cat.

 

[Michelle67]

I think your cat has a pretty good life with a heated doghouse and someone to feed her. We "took in" a pregnant stray ten years ago. Poor thing was nothing but skin and bones when she showed up on my doorstep. We got her fixed and got her shots after the kitties came, and we adopted her. We lived two doors away from one of the busiest streets around, so I worried about her and tried to make her an indoor kitty. She panicked when shut inside the house. I tried several times over the years to get her to adjust, but she was terrified of being closed in. What are you going to do? As others have said, she was certainly better off outside than in a shelter, since ours is consistently overcrowded and euthanizes within days. Our friend built her a kitty house, we lined it with carpet and we fed her well. We had the cat for eight years until we moved and she ran away from our new house. Outdoor cats really don't like to be moved...but we had no other choice but to abandon her, and of course we weren't going to do that. I never stopped worrying about her being hit by a car, but she never was. She was pretty street smart, and since your cat has obviously been living in an urban (I assume) environment her whole life I bet she is too. Sure, she could get hit crossing the street, but then again so could you.

OP, I think you're doing the best that you can, and I do believe that your cat has a quality life and is being treated well.

 

[MichelleVW]

while I believe that cats like to be outside and are happy to be outside, I feel they should be kept inside for their own health and well being and out of consideration for your neighbors. (not to mention my own peace of mind when it comes to my own cats! We have a pack of coyotes and too many roads around us. I just couldn't do it.)

My thoughts exactly. I have a cat that would LOVE to go outside, but with all the coyotes that I have near me, outside cats have a very short life.

This is HILARIOUS.

I have four, yes 4 cats. They are all outdoor only cats. In fact, they a re BARN CATS. I feed them daily, they have fresh clean water, plenty of warm places to snuggle in the hay, are vetted/dewormed each year and have ALL THE MICE THEY CAN EAT.

You will not find 4 happier cats around. I raised two of them from birth (they were born in the barn). I still have their mom and their step dad (a big old tom cat who was living here when we moved in to the farm). All of the cats are spayed and neutered. Of that same litter of kittens, two of them went to live with my sister and are spoiled rotten indoor cats who never ever go outside. They're happy too.

If provided with food, water and shelter from the elements, cats do quite well outside. They do not leave my property ever. My nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. The cats follow me around the barn all day while I work and get plenty of pets and snuggles from me.

I'm not totally opposed to barn cats, but where I live it's not safe for them and I would worry too much about them.

We just picked up a stray kitten a few weeks ago from my MIL's house in the country. She doesn't seem to miss the outdoors at all, we find her on the cat tower or snuggling on DD15's bed all day long!

 

[happygirl]

Thanks for the links

 

[TaraPA]

Wow I'm just amazed at the posts on here! Where I live (rural area, grew up on a farm) 90% of people have outside only cats! It's not the norm around here to have a cat indoors. Our wonderful domestic short hair black cat has been an outside only cat for all of her 13 years. She was rescued from a barn as a kitten, where the farm owner was not caring for them. She has never once been unhealthy or unhappy that we are aware of. She gets her shots annually & tons of love from all of us several times a day. We have tried to bring her in numerous times, especially on bitter cold nights, and she cries & howls to go back outside. She's just not happy indoors. She has never once gone off our property, and trust me, we have the type of busy body neighbors that would call us in a heartbeat to let us know if she did. She's very happy to lay around the perimeter of the house being lazy, or chasing mice & birds. I don't think there's anything cruel or unusual about this, it's worked for us for 13 years.

Just because something is different to one person doesn't make it wrong!

 

[Castlebound]

OP you are feeding, housing, and caring for a cat that would have otherwise ended up either wild or in a shelter until it was killed. You are doing the right thing! If the cat lives 10-15 years on your porch that is still 10-15 YEARS longer than it would have lived without your help. I think that is a fact that several people on this thread are forgetting!