Anybody with only outside cats?

[Imzadi]

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.

I think the more important questions are:

Do you own THIS cat?

If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2009354


And secondly, is the cat safe? You said she's declawed. That means she can't climb trees and there is no way for her to swipe at a dog trying to bite her.

In order for a cat with only back claws to use them, she would have to roll on her back & expose her belly. No cat would willingly do this. Their stomachs are their most vulnerable parts of their body. That's why you always see them with their backs curved up & their their hairs standing on end & tail UP when they are in fear/attack mode. They are trying to look big & attack proof.

Does this cat have several places to run into where a dog can't follow her, get into & corner & attack her? Basically with no front claws, all she can do is hide.

 

[DarthKTrava]

A friend of mine has outdoor cats but mine are mostly indoor although they do go outside quite a lot.

 

[Magic Mom]

Cats (with claws) are fine outside, and if you live on a farm or in the country, that's great. But if you live in a neighborhood, clost to other houses, people should keep their cats inside. It is so disgusting to find cat **** in your garden, especially when you don't own a cat.

 

[okeydokey]

We have indoor only cats. Our neighborhood is full of outdoor cats that pee and poop in our yard and lay all over our cars. I see a couple new roadkill cats a week in the town I live in. We also have lots of hawks around.

 

[christiane]

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, when I read your first post I thought of you as a very kindly person. I'm sorry you have been given a hard time on this thread. You are doing your best with a cat who was abandoned by someone else. Her life sounds quite nice, actually!! She is safe, warm, well-fed and gets the attention she wants.

In general, I agree with other posters that cats should be kept indoors. In my neighbourhood, outdoor cats are killed by coyotes and cougars. The number of "missing cat" signs posted around here is heart-breaking.

But it doesn't sound like your cat is in any great danger and she is well-cared for. She came into your life unexpectedly and in your circumstances, I would probably do as you are doing.

 

[DisMN]

We have indoor only cats. Our neighborhood is full of outdoor cats that pee and poop in our yard and lay all over our cars. I see a couple new roadkill cats a week in the town I live in. We also have lots of hawks around.

You're more fortunate than we are. The outdoor cats in my neighborhood pee on my front and back doors. ON the doors. That drips down onto the boot rug I have placed at the foot of the doors........so we tend to drag in with us that lovely lovely cat pee smell.

And yep, they poop in my vegetable garden as well so I stopped gardening. The thought of cat poop in my food garden grossed me out no end.

I really think it depends on if you live in the city or out in the country whether your cat should be an indoor cat or an outdoor cat.

 

[4greatboys]

See, I grew up in the country with all outdoor pets, so my view of the pet thing is skewed I guess. If your question is, are they happy, my answer is yes. Furthermore, your kitty, OP, is a thousand times happier than in a little cage in the shelter.

I grew up in the country and still live in a small country town. Growing up we had lots of animals and they were outdoor pets. Our cat is an outdoor cat. He does not like being in the house any length of time. He is well fed and well cared for he just prefers the outdoors.

 

[Planogirl]

I have one that was always an outdoor cat before we got him but I've slowly trained him to live indoors, at least most of the time. It's hard to change them once that's all they know and any future adoptees will be only indoor animals.

Our current cat seems to stay away from our neighbors when he's out and he rushes in to use the litter box so he seems to prefer that. He kills mice and tries to bring them to us too but I can do without that!

 

[MinnieMe87]

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.

All of our cats are outside barn cats as well! I'm pretty sure if we took them in the house, they'd go insane wanting to get out. We have two huge barns loaded with hay, food, and water. I have to agree with TaraPA, around here (also in a country area) we all have outdoor cats!

 

[pppiglet]

I have 9 cats...all indoors. Can't imagine them being outside. We see a few neighborhood cats roaming, one has only one eye, one was eaten by a coyote and we heard it at 3 in the morning. Not something you ever want to hear! When I was growing up, all our cats were outdoor cats. Times change.

 

[aprilgail2]

We have indoor only cats. Our neighborhood is full of outdoor cats that pee and poop in our yard and lay all over our cars. I see a couple new roadkill cats a week in the town I live in. We also have lots of hawks around.

We had a neighbor years back that had a bunch of cats that they left outdoors all the time- eventually neighbors got tired of it and trapped the cats and would bring them to the pound- the neighbors would go and get them and then they would catch them and put in the shelter again- eventually the cats were not around the neighborhood anymore, not sure if they got tired of bailing them out of if they moved them inside- but it solved the cats peeing and crapping all over the yards problem. They were the only neighbors that ever had cats outside their homes other than the people on the other side but they have the cat on a leash and just let it on their own property on the leash.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We have four cats, and two of them refuse to sleep inside the house. One of them literally tore up my carpet and shredded the ends of it during the night trying to claw her way outside. So, she's outside.

I have the door to our garage slightly lifted off the ground so that the cats can go in the garage whenever they want, and since we have an enclosed/locked front porch, the front door is left ajar most of the time so they can come in the house whenever they want.

All of our cats do not bite people, 3 of them only like family, and of those 3, 2 only will deal with my daughter and me. One of them is super friendly with everyone and plays catch (so cute). They all are our pure-babies, so yup, I think they're happy whether they're inside or outside.

These cats used to be strays, and are now part of our family.

 

[Muushka]

I have a feral cat that I formed a relationship with 4 years ago.
She is sleeping on her back on my couch in front of the fireplace.

She has to know that she can escape whenever she wants, other wise she would never come in the house.

She lived outside my house for 6 years before I realized she was feral and homeless. I thought she was just visiting my back deck. But she would always run away when I went out there. Poor kitty has a great life now, but she spends about 50% of the day outside. And during the summer, probably 90%.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Cats who aren't fed don't go away either. That is just a big myth!

Are cats happy living outside? I think it depends on where they were born and have lived.

My momma cat was born outside. She's an indoor cat but does love to go outside on the porch (one of us goes with her). She's pretty well behaved and just stays on the porch rolling around.

Her babies that are now 8 and have always lived indoors have NO desire to go outside at all. They like to look out the windows but they never try to leave. I don't think they have any interest.

The other 2 we have are strays we found in our yard. They are indoor cats now but Moxie in particular likes to run outside and hide.

Now we found this one cat outside. He was an old tom cat. He looked like he had lived a hard life and had a chunk out of his ear that had healed and had some scars. He was the SWEETEST cat I have ever met. After awhile he would come in at night. But he demanded to go back out during the day. He's the only one I let go outside. It seemed cruel to deny him the life he had for so long. Anyway, we had him for about a year. He ended up coming down with feline leukemia. The vet said he was an old guy. We had him put down because he couldn't defend himself outside and the vet said he couldn't come back in the house with the other cats. It was hard but the right thing to do for him. I wish we had found him sooner.

So, yes I think some cats can be happy outside. I don't judge you OP. He wasn't even your cat to begin with and I think it takes a special person to care for him even though you said you aren't a cat person.

 

[MichelleVW]

We just picked up a stray about a month ago and I'm quite certain she had never been in a house before ours. She is about 6 months old and figured out the litter box quickly and although she likes looking out the window I think she knows how lucky she is to be inside now. She loves the cat tower and sleeping on the beds!!

I really do think there are some cats that just can't stay in the house, thankfully I don't have any of those.

 

[Michelle67]

You're more fortunate than we are. The outdoor cats in my neighborhood pee on my front and back doors. ON the doors. That drips down onto the boot rug I have placed at the foot of the doors........so we tend to drag in with us that lovely lovely cat pee smell.

We had a tom in our old neighborhood that did that. Perpetual pee smell at the back door. Ick. But even more astounding...is that it actually ate the paint off the metal door and caused a huge corroded spot! We would hose it off but he always came back. I am not kidding, when we moved we had to take a grinder to the door to get rid of the bumpy pimply corrosion, and then paint half a dozen coats of rust blocker over it before repainted the door. It was crazy!

 

[Cool-Beans]

There is an outdoor cat around here that I feed and that comes in here when it is cold. It also raised its babies in my basement until they were old enough to go. It's not my cat, but I help it out and it spends a lot of time here. (No comments from the peanut gallery, that's another thread! )

She's a very, very happy cat. She is outside killing all manner of animals when she pleases. She is warm, safe and dry when she pleases. She is cared for and loved. She has everything a flippin cat could want...and then some.

And if the neighbors don't like her pooping in their yard, they're free to give her a home...not that she'd stay...she's an outdoor cat and that's all there is to that. Might as well tell the sun not to shine as tell that cat she couldn't go out. I think she'd probably choose to poop in the woods, though. But she might be saving it all up for me because I can't believe she poops more poop than I find in the litter box. Maybe that's another gift, like the dead birds and chipmunks.

I'm seriously considering getting her a mouse for Christmas and having DH let it loose in the garage.

 

[sunlver]

sunlver, when I read your first post I thought of you as a very kindly person. I'm sorry you have been given a hard time on this thread. You are doing your best with a cat who was abandoned by someone else. Her life sounds quite nice, actually!! She is safe, warm, well-fed and gets the attention she wants.

In general, I agree with other posters that cats should be kept indoors. In my neighbourhood, outdoor cats are killed by coyotes and cougars. The number of "missing cat" signs posted around here is heart-breaking.

But it doesn't sound like your cat is in any great danger and she is well-cared for. She came into your life unexpectedly and in your circumstances, I would probably do as you are doing.

Thank you

 

[Jennasis]

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.

What is "hilarious" is the notion that cats shouldn't be allowed outside ever.. Growing up I had a declawed Siamese who wasn't allowed outside ever. We lived on Long Island in total suburbia. Of COURSE he couldn't go outside. Too many cars, other cats/dog etc. He got out one day and cornered the neighborhood bully/Rottweiller in our yard and held him there at bay with just the sound of his growling. After that we let him out to do his business if he wanted, but never left him out. But there are cases where a cat living outside is acceptable.

Well, that's great that your outdoor cats are happy and well cared for.
Where I live outdoor cats wind up as roadkill or coyote food....nothing "hilarious" about that.

I have Coyotes around here too. They also eat small dogs, calves, geese, ducks,the occasional sick foal and anything else they cotton on to. My barn cats are perfectly capable of hiding in the barn...though I admit, when I first moved in to the area and heard a coyote howl I ran around the farm scooping up the cats and locking them in my barn office. They looked at me like I was insane. I was. My farm is also right up against the road (a well traveled road) and I do worry about the cars. Luckily, the cats don't venture up to the road. They actually don't wander anywhere. They sit around the barn all day looking for mice.

As for the health issues of outdoor cats vs. indoor cats? My sister's two cats (who are from the same litter as my barn cats) are crazy overweight, have severe seperation issues, and have been to the vets office more times than I can count with various ailments. Her two cats are indoor apartment cats.

But they do seem happy.

Certainly not advocating that all cats should be living outside, and whether your cat is an indoor or outdoor cat, they need to be correctly fed, sheltered and have clean water, as well as routine veterinary care and most importantly SNUGGLES and love. I always tell people that my barn cats are spoiled housecats that happen to live in a barn.

 

[Mandychelle79]

I had two indoor cats. Got them Fall of 2001. Fast forward to Fall of 2007.. Sitter came in the house in the morning, Shy Guy shot out the door like a well you know, has not came in since. He hangs out under my porch and can get into numerous areas to get out of the weather. Meets me at the door each morning for dd to feed him prior to going to school and meets us at the car door for the kids to pet him when we get home. When he was indoors he would attack the kids or hide from them.