Wooden mulch, bird baths, cats

William Graham wrote:
If a cat is "fixed: it will seldom travel off of your property....We live on
a dead end street, and one of our cats came from a neighbor (when they got a
dog) she still goes back there to visit once in a while, and takes her buddy
B-K with her, but other than that, all of our cats spend all of their time
on the property. So, other than using the ground for a cat box, they are
really inside cats.....

Spayed and neutered cats roam just as much as intact cats do. The
difference is that they don't roam looking to mate and don't contribute
to the cat overpopulation problem. They are just as much at risk of
getting lost, being killed by traffic, getting injured or killed by
other animals, exposure and reexposure to diseases communicable to other
animals AND humans, becoming stranded outdoors in bad weather, eating
poisoned baits, etc. They will return to anyplace they find food, so
don't pat yourself on the back about your kitty's fidelity. She may
vanish forever at any moment, and then who will you blame? Indoor cats
that go outside are not indoor cats. Keep your cats inside!

"Newbie" wrote in message
...
To make a long story short, I am worrying about whether wood mulch
(Cedar Nuggets from Home Depot to be precise) is safe for cats to run
on or jump onto? Or small metal bird baths placed on that mulch?

Nothing bad has happened to our knowledge. But a neighbor's cat
returned with a serious limp in one of the front leg. She'll heal, but
this got him and me talking that while there isn't much we can do about
the outside world, we should cat proofing our yards more consciously.

Exhibit 1: My wife has created about a 60 feet long strip of wooden
mulch along the fence because grass doesn't grow easily here. Cats love
to walk on the mulch, even jump on it from the fence. (As mentioned, it
is Cedar Nuggets from Home Depot.)

Now, I tried walking barefoot on it for a few feet and realized it
wasn't like normal ground. You have thousands of wood chips, some with
sharp edges, all at random angle. I felt a lot of sharp points and
edges. Walking gently is one thing, but if a cat ran or, worse, jumped
from a fence, she could land on a sharp chip the wrong way and get
hurt?

Exhibit 2: We have an 18" heavy iron bird bath. It looks pretty but my
fear is it easy to trip. Especially when it is sitting on an uneven
ground like the mulch or even grass. Cats are naturally curious, this
is just the roght height for them to try playing or climbing, and
having it fall on them.

Would appreciate any experience you have guys may have here about
saftey of cats running/jumping on wood chips, and playing near bird
baths.

If the birdbath is not level, or whatever is setting on is not substantive,
is the cause. Fix that.

Dave

"Pennyaline" wrote in message
...
William Graham wrote:
If a cat is "fixed: it will seldom travel off of your property....We live
on a dead end street, and one of our cats came from a neighbor (when they
got a dog) she still goes back there to visit once in a while, and takes
her buddy B-K with her, but other than that, all of our cats spend all of
their time on the property. So, other than using the ground for a cat
box, they are really inside cats.....

Spayed and neutered cats roam just as much as intact cats do. The
difference is that they don't roam looking to mate and don't contribute to
the cat overpopulation problem. They are just as much at risk of getting
lost, being killed by traffic, getting injured or killed by other animals,
exposure and reexposure to diseases communicable to other animals AND
humans, becoming stranded outdoors in bad weather, eating poisoned baits,
etc. They will return to anyplace they find food, so don't pat yourself on
the back about your kitty's fidelity. She may vanish forever at any
moment, and then who will you blame? Indoor cats that go outside are not
indoor cats. Keep your cats inside!

The above has NOT been my experience, and I am 72 years old and have had
many cats during my life....I have four of them right now....two males (one
fixed, and one not) and two fixed females. Even the unfixed male never went
more than two blocks away, and now, at about 6 years old, he seldom leaves
the property. Three of my four cats were outside cats when I got them, and
the other one soon learned to appreciate being able to go out on the deck
and sun herself.....I wouldn't have an inside cat unless I lived in a very
hazardous place, like a city apartment, and then I would get one only as a
kitten, and train him/her from birth to live inside.....Even then, every
inside cat I have known lives to go outside, and runs out every chance they
get. - That should tell you something right there........

William Graham wrote:
The above has NOT been my experience, and I am 72 years old and have had
many cats during my life

You know, when my mother had the first traffic accident in which she was
truly at fault, she insisted to the victim, to the police, to the judge
and to us that she couldn't POSSIBLY have done anything wrong. She
explained ad nauseum that her driving was flawless, because she had been
driving for 55 years and had so much experience. It was all the other
person's fault, she rationalized, because the victim had only been
driving for twelve years and was clearly inept for that reason. She
denied blame then and still does to this day. She still will not see
that using her age as a defense was one of her biggest missteps in that
case.


....I have four of them right now....two males (one
fixed, and one not) and two fixed females. Even the unfixed male never went
more than two blocks away, and now, at about 6 years old, he seldom leaves
the property. Three of my four cats were outside cats when I got them, and
the other one soon learned to appreciate being able to go out on the deck
and sun herself.....I wouldn't have an inside cat unless I lived in a very
hazardous place, like a city apartment, and then I would get one only as a
kitten, and train him/her from birth to live inside.....Even then, every
inside cat I have known lives to go outside, and runs out every chance they
get. - That should tell you something right there........

Don't try to use the number of cats you have right now and the statement
you've had many cats during your life as justification. It's lame, and
comical.

He never went more than two blocks away? How far does a cat have to go
to be lost, injured or killed. Every cat, even the best "trained" cat is
motivated by prey drive. A fixed well-fed cat will still chase prey just
to chase it.

But I can see there's no reasoning with you about this.

"William Graham" wrote in message
. ..

kitten, and train him/her from birth to live inside.....Even then, every
inside cat I have known lives to go outside, and runs out every chance
they get. - That should tell you something right there........

Obviously you don't know my cats. I can leave doors and windows wide open
and none of them will go anywhere near the scary "out".

Hugs,

CatNipped

"Pennyaline" wrote in message
...
William Graham wrote:
The above has NOT been my experience, and I am 72 years old and have had
many cats during my life

You know, when my mother had the first traffic accident in which she was
truly at fault, she insisted to the victim, to the police, to the judge
and to us that she couldn't POSSIBLY have done anything wrong. She
explained ad nauseum that her driving was flawless, because she had been
driving for 55 years and had so much experience. It was all the other
person's fault, she rationalized, because the victim had only been driving
for twelve years and was clearly inept for that reason. She denied blame
then and still does to this day. She still will not see that using her age
as a defense was one of her biggest missteps in that case.


....I have four of them right now....two males (one fixed, and one not)
and two fixed females. Even the unfixed male never went more than two
blocks away, and now, at about 6 years old, he seldom leaves the
property. Three of my four cats were outside cats when I got them, and
the other one soon learned to appreciate being able to go out on the deck
and sun herself.....I wouldn't have an inside cat unless I lived in a
very hazardous place, like a city apartment, and then I would get one
only as a kitten, and train him/her from birth to live inside.....Even
then, every inside cat I have known lives to go outside, and runs out
every chance they get. - That should tell you something right
there........

Don't try to use the number of cats you have right now and the statement
you've had many cats during your life as justification. It's lame, and
comical.

What's, "comical" to you isn't necessarily comical to me....My sense of
humor is a bit more expansive than that.....

He never went more than two blocks away? How far does a cat have to go to
be lost, injured or killed.

In my case, (where I'm living right now) a lot further than two
blocks.....You should learn to speak for yourself, and your own
circumstances and experience.....Don't try to speak for me.



Every cat, even the best "trained" cat is
motivated by prey drive. A fixed well-fed cat will still chase prey just
to chase it.

That's true, and I live on the edge of town.....My cats have over a hundred
acres of farm land behind my house to do their sport hunting on.....


But I can see there's no reasoning with you about this.

That's right.....Your mind is made up, so there's no chance that I will
suddenly throw away all my knowledge and experience and acquire
yours.......You have already decided that you know all about me and my cats.
I'll bet you can read Bush's mind and know that he lied about the WMD's too,
haven't you? Let me guess.....You're a liberal.....Right?

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
"William Graham" wrote in message
. ..

kitten, and train him/her from birth to live inside.....Even then, every
inside cat I have known lives to go outside, and runs out every chance
they get. - That should tell you something right there........

Obviously you don't know my cats. I can leave doors and windows wide open
and none of them will go anywhere near the scary "out".

Hugs,

CatNipped

That's true, I don't know your cats. I can only speak for the ones I have
known. They have longed to go outside, but I have to say, they don't go far
when they escape....They usually have just rolled around on the sidewalk
just outside their mistresses' apartments.

William Graham wrote:
"Pennyaline" wrote in message
Don't try to use the number of cats you have right now and the statement
you've had many cats during your life as justification. It's lame, and
comical.

What's, "comical" to you isn't necessarily comical to me....My sense of
humor is a bit more expansive than that.....

So is mine, but not so much that you're not funny.


He never went more than two blocks away? How far does a cat have to go to
be lost, injured or killed.

In my case, (where I'm living right now) a lot further than two
blocks.....You should learn to speak for yourself, and your own
circumstances and experience.....Don't try to speak for me.

I wasn't speaking for you, only quoting you. Observe the following,
written by you:

"The above has NOT been my experience, and I am 72 years old and have had
many cats during my life....I have four of them right now....two males (one
fixed, and one not) and two fixed females. Even the unfixed male never went
more than two blocks away, and now, at about 6 years old, he seldom leaves
the property."

See, "two blocks away." Your claim, not mine.



Every cat, even the best "trained" cat is
motivated by prey drive. A fixed well-fed cat will still chase prey just
to chase it.

That's true, and I live on the edge of town.....My cats have over a hundred
acres of farm land behind my house to do their sport hunting on.....

Sooooooo, what about the aforementioned "two blocks"?



But I can see there's no reasoning with you about this.

That's right.....Your mind is made up, so there's no chance that I will
suddenly throw away all my knowledge and experience and acquire
yours...

Okay, mom. That's right, the accident was NEVER your fault, mom.


....You have already decided that you know all about me and my cats.
I'll bet you can read Bush's mind and know that he lied about the WMD's too,
haven't you? Let me guess.....You're a liberal.....Right?

Isn't that prerequisite to having a cat?

"Pennyaline" wrote in message
...
William Graham wrote:
"Pennyaline" wrote in message
Don't try to use the number of cats you have right now and the statement
you've had many cats during your life as justification. It's lame, and
comical.

What's, "comical" to you isn't necessarily comical to me....My sense of
humor is a bit more expansive than that.....

So is mine, but not so much that you're not funny.


He never went more than two blocks away? How far does a cat have to go
to be lost, injured or killed.

In my case, (where I'm living right now) a lot further than two
blocks.....You should learn to speak for yourself, and your own
circumstances and experience.....Don't try to speak for me.

I wasn't speaking for you, only quoting you. Observe the following,
written by you:

"The above has NOT been my experience, and I am 72 years old and have had
many cats during my life....I have four of them right now....two males
(one
fixed, and one not) and two fixed females. Even the unfixed male never
went
more than two blocks away, and now, at about 6 years old, he seldom leaves
the property."

See, "two blocks away." Your claim, not mine.

My claim of what? - I don't know what the hell you are talking about.
Look....My 4 outside cats are quite safe outside my house.....I live on a
dead end street. It is full of kids and pets playing in the street all the
time. The other side of my house, (the back side) backs up on a huge
Christmas tree farm.....My cats would have to travel several blocks in order
to get near cars, or in the company of strangers. They don't do that....They
never go that far away from the property in the front, and they would have
to travel a half mile or more in the back....Now, do I have to draw you a
map to understand that my four outside cats are not in any danger? And even
if they were, why would you care? They are my cats, and I have to live with
them and their lifestyles. You don't. I am not about to tell you how to care
for your cats, so why are you so passionate about telling me how to care for
mine?
In any case, this conversation is over....I have decided that you are a
stupid troll, so I am going to eliminate you from my email system.....IOW, I
am killfiling you so I no longer have to bother with you.

"William Graham" writes:

Let me guess.....You're a liberal.....Right?

Geez Bill, afraid of those boogie man liberals?

Oh wait, I must be one too.