"Daytona" wrote in message
...
I've just taken on responsibility for a ginger tom cat for a couple of
months that would otherwise have been put to sleep. He's name's Barney
- URL:http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/JohnsStuff/Barney1.jpg.
It's a weird situation and I don't have any experience of looking
after animals, so I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments on how to
handle it.


snip

The indoor/outdoor question: My own personal feelings are that cats should
be indoors if the outdoor environment is not safe (predators, traffic,
neighbors who don't like cats in their yard, etc). In much of the US, this
is the case. The indoor/outdoor debate among cat owners often gets divided
along national lines on here. You have to assess the situation and
determine if this is a safe environment for the cat. It is not cruel to
keep a cat indoors. All of mine have been indoor-only for their whole lives
and don't seem to mind. They have plenty of toys and spaces to climb
inside. It might be a little tough to convert a cat who is used to going
outside though, but it can be done.

Scratching the landlord: There is a product called Soft Paws you could get
(www.softpaws.com) and put on the cat to stop him from scratching. The only
issue I see in doing this is that since he is indoor/outdoor, it might leave
him with less defenses if he were to get into a fight. Again, this is
something you need to assess. Are there other cats he is likely to get into
fights with? Does he need to ward off predators? Also, was the landlord
doing anything to provoke his scratching?

HTH.

-Kelly