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#21
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"Tracy" wrote in message om... As worrisome as it is, and I must admit that this group is enough to give a person nightmares, people are so obsessed with violence towards cats and disasters, I think it's the best thing for me and my cats. That is soooo true, Tracy. Although I have received a lot of useful advice here, the tone of the group is all a bit doom and gloom. I am in the UK and I *personally* don't know of anyones cat that has died of anything other than disease or old age and all of these were indoor/outdoor cats. I have also never seen a dead cat at the side of the road and I do a lot of driving with my job so I sort of wonder how common it actually is. To the OP: At the end of the day *you* have to assess how safe your area is and no-one in this group can do that for you. If the boy racers in the football club car park are a problem, keep the cat in at night (I am presuming here that the racers only turn up at night). This will also cut down on the little "presents" AKA "dead mice" your cat will bring you as they mainly hunt at night. As far as the road goes, I don't know, only you can decide how much of a risk it is. Jeannie |
#22
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I completely agree with this. You really need to know your cat and your
area. We live on a busy street in an urban area, but the streets in the back of us are pretty quiet. One of our cats is very street-smart; she always goes out the back and she gets along with the neighborhood cats (except for the occasional spat) and she is very careful around the raccoons and possums. She would go crazy if she couldn't go out early in the morning and after dinner. So we just let her out (she does have a microchip). Our first cat (she died a few years ago) would like to go out but "freaked out" sometimes with loud noises and didn't like other cats at all. We let her out in the back yard on a leash supervised which she did get used to. For our kitten (9 months), we aren't sure yet. He goes out a little and stays on the porch or very close by. He is funny though, if I "take him out" on a leash he struggles and tries desperately to get back inside; if he just runs out the door, he just sits on the porch and looks at you. Ann "Tracy" wrote in message m... Just to do the devil's advocate thing: I live in the US, on a quiet, residential one-way street in an urban area. My two cats are indoor/outdoor - they have access to the outdoors during the day and are brought in each evening (they come when I call and every once in a while we have a bit of a chase, but the call of dinner always wins out in the end). I do worry, of course, but they're both doing well. I do think 24 hour outdoor access can be asking for trouble, but not everything needs to be so black and white. One cat, who is hyper and super-intelligent really does need the outside - she goes bezonkers in the house from lack of stimulation and loves being outside. I couldn't bear to take it from her. She only sleeps about 8 hours a day, if that, and she just gets bored inside. The other cat, a former feral, can take or leave the outside, but is happy enough to while away the day chasing butterflies behind her favorite bush. On our block, there are about 8 owned cats that roam around, and all of them come around periodically to interact with my two and they all seem to be doing OK. None of them have dissappeared or gotten hurt and I see them all the time so no - not all US cats live exclusively indoors by any means, although many people, like me, do restrict the outdoor time somewhat. It depends on what your cat wants and needs. They do have different personalities and some are more content as indoor cats than others. You're the best judge of what your cats needs are. The busy street is a problem. Mine rarely cross the street, if ever (they are discouraged from doing so), but when I've seen explorer cat do it (once), she did look to see if any cars are coming. (It's a one way street and not heavily traveled - which helps). My neighborhood is cat-friendly and animal-friendly. Everybody knows the cats and we pet each others when they visit. The only wild animals around - skunks and raccoons - are only an issue at night when my cats are inside. Nothing is guaranteed of course, although it helps knowing that the vast majority of my neighbors WOULD brake for a cat and WOULDN'T leave antifreeze congealed on the pavement, but I know that at least one of my cats would rather live 10 years outside than 20 inside all of the time. She shows me that everyday. (And very forcefully when I have tried to keep her in). It's not the life she wants. And in the end, loving any being is respecting their choices, not just locking them up to keep them safe. She's well-trained, she's bright, I supervise her when I can and the rest of the time I just hope for the best. So far, so good. |
#23
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I completely agree with this. You really need to know your cat and your
area. We live on a busy street in an urban area, but the streets in the back of us are pretty quiet. One of our cats is very street-smart; she always goes out the back and she gets along with the neighborhood cats (except for the occasional spat) and she is very careful around the raccoons and possums. She would go crazy if she couldn't go out early in the morning and after dinner. So we just let her out (she does have a microchip). Our first cat (she died a few years ago) would like to go out but "freaked out" sometimes with loud noises and didn't like other cats at all. We let her out in the back yard on a leash supervised which she did get used to. For our kitten (9 months), we aren't sure yet. He goes out a little and stays on the porch or very close by. He is funny though, if I "take him out" on a leash he struggles and tries desperately to get back inside; if he just runs out the door, he just sits on the porch and looks at you. Ann "Tracy" wrote in message m... Just to do the devil's advocate thing: I live in the US, on a quiet, residential one-way street in an urban area. My two cats are indoor/outdoor - they have access to the outdoors during the day and are brought in each evening (they come when I call and every once in a while we have a bit of a chase, but the call of dinner always wins out in the end). I do worry, of course, but they're both doing well. I do think 24 hour outdoor access can be asking for trouble, but not everything needs to be so black and white. One cat, who is hyper and super-intelligent really does need the outside - she goes bezonkers in the house from lack of stimulation and loves being outside. I couldn't bear to take it from her. She only sleeps about 8 hours a day, if that, and she just gets bored inside. The other cat, a former feral, can take or leave the outside, but is happy enough to while away the day chasing butterflies behind her favorite bush. On our block, there are about 8 owned cats that roam around, and all of them come around periodically to interact with my two and they all seem to be doing OK. None of them have dissappeared or gotten hurt and I see them all the time so no - not all US cats live exclusively indoors by any means, although many people, like me, do restrict the outdoor time somewhat. It depends on what your cat wants and needs. They do have different personalities and some are more content as indoor cats than others. You're the best judge of what your cats needs are. The busy street is a problem. Mine rarely cross the street, if ever (they are discouraged from doing so), but when I've seen explorer cat do it (once), she did look to see if any cars are coming. (It's a one way street and not heavily traveled - which helps). My neighborhood is cat-friendly and animal-friendly. Everybody knows the cats and we pet each others when they visit. The only wild animals around - skunks and raccoons - are only an issue at night when my cats are inside. Nothing is guaranteed of course, although it helps knowing that the vast majority of my neighbors WOULD brake for a cat and WOULDN'T leave antifreeze congealed on the pavement, but I know that at least one of my cats would rather live 10 years outside than 20 inside all of the time. She shows me that everyday. (And very forcefully when I have tried to keep her in). It's not the life she wants. And in the end, loving any being is respecting their choices, not just locking them up to keep them safe. She's well-trained, she's bright, I supervise her when I can and the rest of the time I just hope for the best. So far, so good. |
#24
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I completely agree with this. You really need to know your cat and your
area. We live on a busy street in an urban area, but the streets in the back of us are pretty quiet. One of our cats is very street-smart; she always goes out the back and she gets along with the neighborhood cats (except for the occasional spat) and she is very careful around the raccoons and possums. She would go crazy if she couldn't go out early in the morning and after dinner. So we just let her out (she does have a microchip). Our first cat (she died a few years ago) would like to go out but "freaked out" sometimes with loud noises and didn't like other cats at all. We let her out in the back yard on a leash supervised which she did get used to. For our kitten (9 months), we aren't sure yet. He goes out a little and stays on the porch or very close by. He is funny though, if I "take him out" on a leash he struggles and tries desperately to get back inside; if he just runs out the door, he just sits on the porch and looks at you. Ann "Tracy" wrote in message m... Just to do the devil's advocate thing: I live in the US, on a quiet, residential one-way street in an urban area. My two cats are indoor/outdoor - they have access to the outdoors during the day and are brought in each evening (they come when I call and every once in a while we have a bit of a chase, but the call of dinner always wins out in the end). I do worry, of course, but they're both doing well. I do think 24 hour outdoor access can be asking for trouble, but not everything needs to be so black and white. One cat, who is hyper and super-intelligent really does need the outside - she goes bezonkers in the house from lack of stimulation and loves being outside. I couldn't bear to take it from her. She only sleeps about 8 hours a day, if that, and she just gets bored inside. The other cat, a former feral, can take or leave the outside, but is happy enough to while away the day chasing butterflies behind her favorite bush. On our block, there are about 8 owned cats that roam around, and all of them come around periodically to interact with my two and they all seem to be doing OK. None of them have dissappeared or gotten hurt and I see them all the time so no - not all US cats live exclusively indoors by any means, although many people, like me, do restrict the outdoor time somewhat. It depends on what your cat wants and needs. They do have different personalities and some are more content as indoor cats than others. You're the best judge of what your cats needs are. The busy street is a problem. Mine rarely cross the street, if ever (they are discouraged from doing so), but when I've seen explorer cat do it (once), she did look to see if any cars are coming. (It's a one way street and not heavily traveled - which helps). My neighborhood is cat-friendly and animal-friendly. Everybody knows the cats and we pet each others when they visit. The only wild animals around - skunks and raccoons - are only an issue at night when my cats are inside. Nothing is guaranteed of course, although it helps knowing that the vast majority of my neighbors WOULD brake for a cat and WOULDN'T leave antifreeze congealed on the pavement, but I know that at least one of my cats would rather live 10 years outside than 20 inside all of the time. She shows me that everyday. (And very forcefully when I have tried to keep her in). It's not the life she wants. And in the end, loving any being is respecting their choices, not just locking them up to keep them safe. She's well-trained, she's bright, I supervise her when I can and the rest of the time I just hope for the best. So far, so good. |
#25
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That is soooo true, Tracy. Although I have received a lot of useful advice
here, the tone of the group is all a bit doom and gloom. I am in the UK and I *personally* don't know of anyones cat that has died of anything other than disease or old age and all of these were indoor/outdoor cats. I have also never seen a dead cat at the side of the road and I do a lot of driving with my job so I sort of wonder how common it actually is. Sorry for the "doom and gloom", but there's just not too many uplifting things to say about a dead cat. And if someone in the US tells you they've never seen a dead cat on the road, and never known a cat to die of anything but old age, they are telling you a fairy tale. Sherry |
#26
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That is soooo true, Tracy. Although I have received a lot of useful advice
here, the tone of the group is all a bit doom and gloom. I am in the UK and I *personally* don't know of anyones cat that has died of anything other than disease or old age and all of these were indoor/outdoor cats. I have also never seen a dead cat at the side of the road and I do a lot of driving with my job so I sort of wonder how common it actually is. Sorry for the "doom and gloom", but there's just not too many uplifting things to say about a dead cat. And if someone in the US tells you they've never seen a dead cat on the road, and never known a cat to die of anything but old age, they are telling you a fairy tale. Sherry |
#27
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That is soooo true, Tracy. Although I have received a lot of useful advice
here, the tone of the group is all a bit doom and gloom. I am in the UK and I *personally* don't know of anyones cat that has died of anything other than disease or old age and all of these were indoor/outdoor cats. I have also never seen a dead cat at the side of the road and I do a lot of driving with my job so I sort of wonder how common it actually is. Sorry for the "doom and gloom", but there's just not too many uplifting things to say about a dead cat. And if someone in the US tells you they've never seen a dead cat on the road, and never known a cat to die of anything but old age, they are telling you a fairy tale. Sherry |
#28
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As worrisome as it is, and I must admit that this group is enough to
give a person nightmares, people are so obsessed with violence towards cats and disasters, I think it's the best thing for me and my cats. I think there's a reason people here are obsessed with violence toward cats and disasters. It's that we have *seen* too much of it. Trust me, I'm not one of those people who thinks all cats should be in 24/7. Nor am I one of those with that insufferable "born free" mentality. Mine go in and out at will. But if I lived in *any* kind of populated neighborhood, they wouldn't roam unsupervised. But that's your call. If you are prepared to take the risk, so be it. Sherry Sherry |
#29
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As worrisome as it is, and I must admit that this group is enough to
give a person nightmares, people are so obsessed with violence towards cats and disasters, I think it's the best thing for me and my cats. I think there's a reason people here are obsessed with violence toward cats and disasters. It's that we have *seen* too much of it. Trust me, I'm not one of those people who thinks all cats should be in 24/7. Nor am I one of those with that insufferable "born free" mentality. Mine go in and out at will. But if I lived in *any* kind of populated neighborhood, they wouldn't roam unsupervised. But that's your call. If you are prepared to take the risk, so be it. Sherry Sherry |
#30
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As worrisome as it is, and I must admit that this group is enough to
give a person nightmares, people are so obsessed with violence towards cats and disasters, I think it's the best thing for me and my cats. I think there's a reason people here are obsessed with violence toward cats and disasters. It's that we have *seen* too much of it. Trust me, I'm not one of those people who thinks all cats should be in 24/7. Nor am I one of those with that insufferable "born free" mentality. Mine go in and out at will. But if I lived in *any* kind of populated neighborhood, they wouldn't roam unsupervised. But that's your call. If you are prepared to take the risk, so be it. Sherry Sherry |
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