Visitor!

wrote in message
...
MLB wrote:

wrote:

I cannot believe that you would tie a cat to a rail or anything else.
That would be one quick way to strangle a cat. Please say this wasn't
so. MLB

I did do this for several years. But I didn't attach the leash to her
collar. She wore a harness and the leash was attached to her back.

What made me stop doing that wasn't a fear of strangulation, but the
fact that she was attacked by dogs one evening and was unable to run
away. That's when I realized that, in trying to keep her safe from
traffic,
I made her a sitting duck for dogs, mean kids, or anyone who came after
her. So after that, she was allowed to go in and out freely.

I live in an apartment, so building an enclosure isn't an option. I
don't even have a deck where I could set something up like Marina has
done. There's a narrow balcony in front of my apartment, but I can't
block it with a cat enclosure because my neighbors need to walk through
that area to get to the stairs.

I've lived in my apartment for 10 years, so I've thought of it all!

My neighborhood has several indoor/outdoor cats, who I've seen around
for many years. It's not 100% safe, but very few things in life are. If
I kept her indoors, she might well live longer - or, as the saying goes,
"it would just feel that way."

Joyce

I understand your position, Joyce. Up until I got the cats I have now, all
my cats have been indoor-outdoor, with a cat flap. After I lost one that I
think was hit by a car, I tried keeping the remaining cats inside, but they
were obviously miserable. I gave it a great deal of thought. I realized
that I've always felt that if I had to choose between the death penalty and
being imprisoned for the rest of my life, I'd choose death. I decided I
couldn't make a choice for my cats that I'd consider cruel if it had been
made for me. I unblocked the cat flap.

The cats I have now were three years old when I got them, and were always
strictly indoor, so I do keep them in. Each of them has been out once, and
they've both gotten into the garage a couple of times. They often act as
though they want out, but I know they're not "street smart", and they don't
act desperate the way the other ones did, so I've decided to keep them in.
I think it depends on the cats which is best.

Joy

Joy wrote:

I understand your position, Joyce. Up until I got the cats I have now, all
my cats have been indoor-outdoor, with a cat flap. After I lost one that I
think was hit by a car, I tried keeping the remaining cats inside, but they
were obviously miserable. I gave it a great deal of thought. I realized
that I've always felt that if I had to choose between the death penalty and
being imprisoned for the rest of my life, I'd choose death. I decided I
couldn't make a choice for my cats that I'd consider cruel if it had been
made for me. I unblocked the cat flap.

The cats I have now were three years old when I got them, and were always
strictly indoor, so I do keep them in. Each of them has been out once, and
they've both gotten into the garage a couple of times. They often act as
though they want out, but I know they're not "street smart", and they don't
act desperate the way the other ones did, so I've decided to keep them in.
I think it depends on the cats which is best.

Your last sentence says it all. This isn't a "one size fits all" situation,
unless you live in a place where letting your cat outside is clearly very
dangerous - in which case, all cats would need to be kept inside. I hope
I never have to live in such a place.

And I know what you mean about the difference between acting like they're
interested in the outdoors and being *desperate* to go out. Roxy's interested.
Whenever I open the front door, she goes to it and sniffs the outside through
the screen door. Once or twice, when I left the screen door open, she managed
to wander out onto the landing. This made me nervous, but she came right back
in when I called her. I have no interest in developing her curiosity about
the Out - with her herpes and her large amount of white fur, she shouldn't
be going out anyway. But she does get to sit in the window every day and
smell outdoor smells through the screen. I think that mostly satisfies her.
It's nothing like Smudge's desperation to get OUT OF HERE, which has been
her mandate since kittenhood!

Joyce

--
Speak your mind even if your voice cracks while you're saying it.