Christina Websell wrote:


"MaryL" wrote in message
...


"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...


"MaryL" wrote in message
...


"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

Once again when a cat was found dead here from a heart attack someone
came
on from the USA and brought up the inside/outside debate again.
It wouldn't have made any difference, FGS.

I rarely enter into the inside/outside debate. It's safe here in the Uk
and
not in America and we must agree to disagree. I don't know of any cat
shelter here who would agree to home a cat into a indoor home.
so that's the difference between our countries and I suggest we leave it
at
that.
Please.

~~~~~~~
I understand (and accept) the point you are making, but I have often
wondered about metropolitan areas such as London. I do know that there
are at least *some* people in UK large cities who keep cats indoors.
What is the general practice in areas like that? I am not asking this to
start an argument. I genuinely wonder about statements that cat shelters
would not agree on an indoor home because the "predators" in that case
refers to traffic. Does your statement apply equally to rural and
metropolitan areas in the UK?

MaryL


No. but they are likely to refuse a home with a lot of traffic and
won't
let you adopt one. Which is sensible. I suppose. Not much traffic here
and huge gardens to lose themselves in.
I'd quite like to be that person who decides if the potential adopter is
good enough.

No-one assessed me for Kitty Farmcat. I wish they had refused.. No-one
assessed me for Boyfie. I think I've done well with both.

~~~~~~~~
That's another difference between the US and the UK. If I have understood
some of your messages correctly, you do no have an overabundance of cats
as we do. Many shelters here require their cats to be kept indoor if it
is an area with high traffic but probably not in rural areas or other
areas with low traffic volume. Tragically, a great many healthy cats (and
dogs) will be euthanized, so shelters look for good homes but the
requirements vis a vis indoor/outdoor will not be the same.

MaryL

maybe it's a good idea to save a cat/dog from a shelter and then keep it
inside for the rest of it's life. I don't think so. At all. and if
everyone examined their cats life when they are kept inside.. should you
have one?
Feel free to scream at me.
I'm offering it for debate. A kindly debate.
Myself, I wouldn't have a cat if it couldn't go outside. Feel free to
differ. I won't mind.

The two cats I have now live inside. No, I can't read their minds, but I
don't think they're miserable. Maybe their lives would be richer if they
went out, there are a lot of reasons why I choose not to allow that.

Roxy has feline herpes, and I think she could give it to an unvaccinated
cat. Also, the herpes makes her more vulnerable to infections because her
immune system has enough to do keeping the herpes at bay. She also has a
lot of white fur which could make her more prone to skin cancer. Just a few
issues I have to juggle in my mind about this question. It's not a pressing
issue, though, because she seems pretty well adapted to living indoors.

Licky has no interest whatsoever in going out. He'll look out the door if
I have it open (with the screen door closed), but if I open the screen door,
he runs away. He's like Enfilade's Smokey - none of that outdoor stuff
for him, thank you.

But then there was Smudge. She needed to be able to go out, and although I
tried to keep her in at first, it clearly wasn't an option. I got some flak
for allowing her out, but I decided that I would prefer her life to be
shorter if that meant she was happier. Her life did end up being cut short,
but by cancer, which could not have been prevented by being kept indoors.

So I base my decision on a number of factors, the most important one being
the disposition and desires of the cat.

--
Joyce

Cats' hearing apparatus is built to allow the human voice to easily
go in one ear and out the other. -- Stephen Baker