slo’s TUESDAY 10/17 poll - Cats 🐱

[PollyannaMom]

Conversely there are cat owners who take their cats out on leashes.

I do! And is anyone else getting adds for colorful little caps to put on your cats' nails?

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I haven't seen the ads for those claw cap things on my screen. I did try them on my Siamese cat when she was young. They didn't work too well. She would always manage to get some of them off really quickly...and that just looked tacky. Not to mention how difficult it was to actually get them on there; not holding still, hissing, growling, biting.... After a few rounds of that, I just abandoned the idea.

 

[slo]

I want to thank everyone again for posting about your past & present cats and for posting your photos - they’ve been great for all of us to see. I know I have definitely enjoyed them

 

[easyas123]

Why do some cat owners let their cats out to roam their neighborhoods?

We do because they are feral & it's the deal we made with the local humane society we got them from.

We get barn cats from the locan humane society. Last time I went there for 2 cats, they BEGGED me to take six. I did...I'm not a cat person at all but seeing those poor cats who were stuck in cages with the noise and the coming & going that comes with a facility like that made me feel really bad for what they were experiencing. Plus it frees up a few cages for cats that maybe someone will adopt vs. the poor feral cats just sitting there. So anyway, I took all 6. They fix them, give them shots and even microchip them. These cats want absolutely nothing to do with anyone, and we respect that.
So how it works is they put the cats in cat carriers and load them up in the back of my truck. They raise holy hell on the ride home. Once home they go into a stall area we prepared ahead of time, one that they are prevented from leaving. They are kept in the stall for a week or two so that they get used to the barn and us walking in and out on occassion. After 2 weeks or so we leave the stall doors open and they get free reign over the barn and eventually they start catting around in the fields. We leave them to do their thing and don't bother them. We toss old dog beds up in the hay loft of the barn and they seemingly make themselves comfortable up there. We fill a large pan of dry cat food up in the hay loft for them once a week or so. In the colder months they eat it, in the warmer months not so much. We catch glimpses of them now and again jumping thru the windows of the barn or walking around the fields.
They came with names - I've got no idea what they are. We call them 'black cat', 'other black cat' 'the tabby cat' and 'is that one of our cats?" I couldn't even tell you if the cats are male or female -
A few years since we picked the cats up and we are down to 2, possibly 3 barn cats and another cat that we see on occassion that lives at the farm across the road.
Works for us, works for the cats and works for the humane society.

Over the years we have had friendly barn cats, once that would come up and maybe hang out with us on the porch or come and say hi to someone in the barn. But they freaked out if you put them in the house.

 

[LSUmiss]

I have a question for the 'cat folks' here. And please, no throwing of stones, please.

Why do some cat owners let their cats out to roam their neighborhoods? I do see a number of what looks like they may have been cats, along with racoons, skunks and what-have-you lying dead on the roads. I also do see a number of cats wandering around our neighborhood, no person around, just kind of out for a stroll on their own. On the other hand, any dogs I see are always on a leash and with an owner or dog walker. Any thoughts?

Remember, no stone throwing.

I would never do that anymore b/c I had a cat killed by a car. It wasn’t a cat I put outside, but an outside cat that I adopted. But, it was still heartbreaking. I won’t do my that ever again. My cats are indoor only. One of my cats is a ragdoll & very docile & that breed isn’t supposed to be outside at all.

 

[Dan Murphy]

in the U.S. we have a lot of predators and cars as well as cats themselves being destructive to wildlife such that it's really best to have indoor only cats

So very true. I've seen remnants of rabbits on our property, left over from coyote meals, could easily have been cats also.

As far as dogs well that may just be your wishful thinking.

Plenty of people walk their dogs without them being on a leash even if there's an ordinance for leashes.

We've been in our neighborhood (typical Chicago suburban) over 52 years, lots of dogs. I've never seen a dog being walked that was not on a leash. Could just be a difference of neighborhoods and local practices?

Conversely there are cat owners who take their cats out on leashes.

Converse of my above thought here. I've never seen a cat on a leash, only roaming through the back or front yards Again, maybe just a difference of local practices?

We used to have a big orange Tom Cat. Even though we adopted him at 12 weeks old and he was never outside, he somehow knew what outside was and could not be kept in. He peed/sprayed all over the house (even though he was fixed) until we started letting him out. He’d go out all day while we were at work and come in when we got home. Unfortunately, he got hit by a car when he was only 6, but he just loved the outside so much, I really didn’t have a choice.

Sad that he was run over.

The shelter had us sign a contract that said the cats would be indoor only (no signature = no adoption). We would have done this anyway, contract or no contract, because we really do believe it is safer and healthier for the cats. And we have lots of predators in our area, e.g. coyotes, mountain lions, hawks, etc., so indoor only just makes sense.

Good shelter for sure. Goes with your board name, a lucky cat, @theluckyrabbit..

We do because they are feral & it's the deal we made with the local humane society we got them from.

We get barn cats from the locan humane society. Last time I went there for 2 cats, they BEGGED me to take six. I did...I'm not a cat person at all but seeing those poor cats who were stuck in cages with the noise and the coming & going that comes with a facility like that made me feel really bad for what they were experiencing. Plus it frees up a few cages for cats that maybe someone will adopt vs. the poor feral cats just sitting there. So anyway, I took all 6. They fix them, give them shots and even microchip them. These cats want absolutely nothing to do with anyone, and we respect that.
So how it works is they put the cats in cat carriers and load them up in the back of my truck. They raise holy hell on the ride home. Once home they go into a stall area we prepared ahead of time, one that they are prevented from leaving. They are kept in the stall for a week or two so that they get used to the barn and us walking in and out on occassion. After 2 weeks or so we leave the stall doors open and they get free reign over the barn and eventually they start catting around in the fields. We leave them to do their thing and don't bother them. We toss old dog beds up in the hay loft of the barn and they seemingly make themselves comfortable up there. We fill a large pan of dry cat food up in the hay loft for them once a week or so. In the colder months they eat it, in the warmer months not so much. We catch glimpses of them now and again jumping thru the windows of the barn or walking around the fields.
They came with names - I've got no idea what they are. We call them 'black cat', 'other black cat' 'the tabby cat' and 'is that one of our cats?" I couldn't even tell you if the cats are male or female -
A few years since we picked the cats up and we are down to 2, possibly 3 barn cats and another cat that we see on occassion that lives at the farm across the road.
Works for us, works for the cats and works for the humane society.

Over the years we have had friendly barn cats, once that would come up and maybe hang out with us on the porch or come and say hi to someone in the barn. But they freaked out if you put them in the house.

Sort of like hired hands on the farm. More reasonable than the ones walking heavier populated, traffic heavy areas.

I would never do that anymore b/c I had a cat killed by a car. It wasn’t a cat I put outside, but an outside cat that I adopted. But, it was still heartbreaking. I won’t do my that ever again. My cats are indoor only. One of my cats is a ragdoll & very docile & that breed isn’t supposed to be outside at all.

Sorry to hear that, LSU. An experience like that is sad.




Thanks for all your thoughts everyone, much appreciated.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So very true. I've seen remnants of rabbits on our property, left over from coyote meals, could easily have been cats also.

Yeah I'd say coyotes are the biggest predators around here especially as we keep encroaching on their territories. There used to be a pack that lived in the woods behind the house across the street. Bobcats are around as well.

We've been in our neighborhood (typical Chicago suburban) over 52 years, lots of dogs. I've never seen a dog being walked that was not on a leash. Could just be a difference of neighborhoods and local practices?

Could be. We live in suburbia and it's a daily occurrence pretty much with people out walking their dogs with leashes and without leashes. We also have off leash park areas in our metro though that's not entirely uncommon throughout the U.S.

But more of what I was commenting was that it's not a behavior of owning a dog vs a cat. There are dog owners everywhere that let their dogs roam the streets OR they don't walk them on a leash when they are out and about.

Converse of my above thought here. I've never seen a cat on a leash, only roaming through the back or front yards Again, maybe just a difference of local practices?

I can't say I've seen a cat on a leash in my area but that one is just something cat can owners do. You'll also see cats (or other small dogs) in strollers though they are typically in specially designed ones for pets. I've also seen dogs in the pull behind zipped up carriers that attach to bikes but not often.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I do!

OMG do you have pics

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Was never a cat person until my DH brought home two tiny stray kittens that he found, and I fell in love with them. Their names are Toby and Nala, both boys (brothers) but my kids wanted to name him Nala anyway lol.

 

[PollyannaMom]

OMG do you have pics

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Are we looking for cats on leashes?! Happy to oblige.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

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Are we looking for cats on leashes?! Happy to oblige.

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This is seriously stinking cute I love the expressions too on the kitties we see

 

[nw6675]

From my FB feed...I love this!!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am not a cat person.

That said, my husband had a cat when we got married. I had a dog. They both have since died (we've been married a long time), and we no longer have pets. Once we got married, we had kids right away and that was enough to take care of. Now that we're retired we travel. Travel that doesn't include pets.

 

[DVCjj]

Couldn’t possibly love cats more.

Love dogs and all animals but there’s just something about cats.