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#1
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
I mentioned it briefly in another thread, but it is something I am quite
worried about: our cat will not stay within the house. Well, he has always been an outside cat, and the weather is good at the moment, but still it is remarkable that he does not even want to stay in the house for more than a few occasional hours, not even when the weather is less friendly. And we always let him out when he clearly indicates that he wants to... just wondering why? He is, in my opinion, seriously ill. He is about 14 years old now, his kidneys are failing, currently he eats --more or less-- enough, but of course we are already thinking of his, hopefully not imminent, death... well, like it or not, but we all die. What would explain this fairly sudden gadabout-ness? Does he feel the same? Does he want to be outside when the Great Mother Cat calls him home (cats likely have no Great Father, but I suspect they have a Great Mother)? He definitely trusts, and to a feline extent, loves us-- we always let him out, when he wants, and he shows clear signs of affection. He might be worried that we suddenly take him to the vet, perhaps... |
#2
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
"jjg" wrote in message ... I mentioned it briefly in another thread, but it is something I am quite worried about: our cat will not stay within the house. Well, he has always been an outside cat, and the weather is good at the moment, but still it is remarkable that he does not even want to stay in the house for more than a few occasional hours, not even when the weather is less friendly. And we always let him out when he clearly indicates that he wants to... just wondering why? Hint: you are able to close and lock your doors, hence your cat WILL stay indoors if you wish. |
#3
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
"jjg" wrote Does he want to be outside when the Great Mother Cat calls him home Right. The Great Mother Cadillac is more like it. Keep your old, ill cat inside where he is safe. You are the caretaker. You have the large forebrain. (Theoritically, anyway.) You have the opposable thumbs. Use the tools given you to keep your cat safe. |
#4
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
cybercat wrote:
"jjg" wrote in message ... I mentioned it briefly in another thread, but it is something I am quite worried about: our cat will not stay within the house. Well, he has always been an outside cat, and the weather is good at the moment, but still it is remarkable that he does not even want to stay in the house for more than a few occasional hours, not even when the weather is less friendly. And we always let him out when he clearly indicates that he wants to... just wondering why? Hint: you are able to close and lock your doors, hence your cat WILL stay indoors if you wish. I am not sure whether you are serious, but I think the difference is that he should trust us; obedience should never be a point with a cat (it doesn't exist)... of course we can lock him in... that's not the point. Violence is never a solution, even though it may occasionally be unavoidable. And the question is not where I wish him to be; if he feels happy outside, it's OK. I am just wondering whether he IS happy, and why he is so remarkably consistent in his recent behaviour... |
#5
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
"jjg" wrote in message ... cybercat wrote: "jjg" wrote in message ... I mentioned it briefly in another thread, but it is something I am quite worried about: our cat will not stay within the house. Well, he has always been an outside cat, and the weather is good at the moment, but still it is remarkable that he does not even want to stay in the house for more than a few occasional hours, not even when the weather is less friendly. And we always let him out when he clearly indicates that he wants to... just wondering why? Hint: you are able to close and lock your doors, hence your cat WILL stay indoors if you wish. I am not sure whether you are serious, but I think the difference is that he should trust us; obedience should never be a point with a cat (it doesn't exist)... of course we can lock him in... that's not the point. Violence is never a solution, even though it may occasionally be unavoidable. And the question is not where I wish him to be; if he feels happy outside, it's OK. I am just wondering whether he IS happy, and why he is so remarkably consistent in his recent behaviour... I am dead serious. Clearly, your cat cannot trust you to keep him safe, which is your job. He only has that leetle tiny cat brain and then lots of instincts, nothing that works against junkyard dogs, automobiles, or sadistic cat-hating people. Shame on you. |
#6
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
cybercat wrote:
"jjg" wrote Does he want to be outside when the Great Mother Cat calls him home Right. The Great Mother Cadillac is more like it. Keep your old, ill cat inside where he is safe. You are the caretaker. You have the large forebrain. (Theoritically, anyway.) You have the opposable thumbs. Use the tools given you to keep your cat safe. And, again, you sound more like a dog-owner (this is not intended to be an insult). He may be ill, but he still catches mice. He still defends his own territory. And I tend to think that cats have their own view on life, and I think we, humans, have to be careful about interfering. Yes, we have the larger forebrain, and we should use it too. But even our large forebrains will not prevent us, or our beloved, from dying. And occasionally we find that we have stretched a miserable life by artificial means, and we might be wondering if our large forebrain pointed us the right direction. And I am not really concerned about keeping my cat safe-- he is still quite capable of defending himself against all dangers for which Nature equipped him. I am just wondering about the dangers he might not be aware of. I might lock him up, yes, and to what purpose? If he knows he is going to die (G*d forbid), who am I to determine in which way? Even if I can lock doors, thanks to my opposable thumbs? I am not planning to be his jailer. I want him to live his own life, and if it ends, it ends. Well, and of course I am talking about "my" cat, but every cat owner knows he is his own cat, not mine. And all I want to know is whether I am acting right. |
#7
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
"jjg" wrote in message ... cybercat wrote: "jjg" wrote Does he want to be outside when the Great Mother Cat calls him home Right. The Great Mother Cadillac is more like it. Keep your old, ill cat inside where he is safe. You are the caretaker. You have the large forebrain. (Theoritically, anyway.) You have the opposable thumbs. Use the tools given you to keep your cat safe. And, again, you sound more like a dog-owner (this is not intended to be an insult). He may be ill, but he still catches mice. He still defends his own territory. And I tend to think that cats have their own view on life, and I think we, humans, have to be careful about interfering. Yes, we have the larger forebrain, and we should use it too. But even our large forebrains will not prevent us, or our beloved, from dying. And occasionally we find that we have stretched a miserable life by artificial means, and we might be wondering if our large forebrain pointed us the right direction. And I am not really concerned about keeping my cat safe-- he is still quite capable of defending himself against all dangers for which Nature equipped him. I am just wondering about the dangers he might not be aware of. I might lock him up, yes, and to what purpose? If he knows he is going to die (G*d forbid), who am I to determine in which way? Even if I can lock doors, thanks to my opposable thumbs? I am not planning to be his jailer. I want him to live his own life, and if it ends, it ends. Well, and of course I am talking about "my" cat, but every cat owner knows he is his own cat, not mine. And all I want to know is whether I am acting right. You're a halfwitted jackass who should never, ever be allowed responsibility for any animal. |
#8
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
cybercat wrote:
"jjg" wrote in message ... cybercat wrote: "jjg" wrote Does he want to be outside when the Great Mother Cat calls him home Right. The Great Mother Cadillac is more like it. Keep your old, ill cat inside where he is safe. You are the caretaker. You have the large forebrain. (Theoritically, anyway.) You have the opposable thumbs. Use the tools given you to keep your cat safe. And, again, you sound more like a dog-owner (this is not intended to be an insult). He may be ill, but he still catches mice. He still defends his own territory. And I tend to think that cats have their own view on life, and I think we, humans, have to be careful about interfering. Yes, we have the larger forebrain, and we should use it too. But even our large forebrains will not prevent us, or our beloved, from dying. And occasionally we find that we have stretched a miserable life by artificial means, and we might be wondering if our large forebrain pointed us the right direction. And I am not really concerned about keeping my cat safe-- he is still quite capable of defending himself against all dangers for which Nature equipped him. I am just wondering about the dangers he might not be aware of. I might lock him up, yes, and to what purpose? If he knows he is going to die (G*d forbid), who am I to determine in which way? Even if I can lock doors, thanks to my opposable thumbs? I am not planning to be his jailer. I want him to live his own life, and if it ends, it ends. Well, and of course I am talking about "my" cat, but every cat owner knows he is his own cat, not mine. And all I want to know is whether I am acting right. You're a halfwitted jackass who should never, ever be allowed responsibility for any animal. Well it's clear now: you are a troll. Ploink. |
#9
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
hopitus wrote:
On Jun 8, 1:14 pm, jjg wrote: cybercat wrote: "jjg" wrote in message .. . I mentioned it briefly in another thread, but it is something I am quite worried about: our cat will not stay within the house. Well, he has always been an outside cat, and the weather is good at the moment, but still it is remarkable that he does not even want to stay in the house for more than a few occasional hours, not even when the weather is less friendly. And we always let him out when he clearly indicates that he wants to... just wondering why? Hint: you are able to close and lock your doors, hence your cat WILL stay indoors if you wish. I am not sure whether you are serious, but I think the difference is that he should trust us; obedience should never be a point with a cat (it doesn't exist)... of course we can lock him in... that's not the point. Violence is never a solution, even though it may occasionally be unavoidable. And the question is not where I wish him to be; if he feels happy outside, it's OK. I am just wondering whether he IS happy, and why he is so remarkably consistent in his recent behaviour... Oh, cyber is serious, and her good advice to you - *since you asked for it" - is worded very courteously, IMHO. If closing your door to keep your old cat who is not well inside for his own good is *violence* AFYC, read no further. Well, I would think that locking up someone is fairly near "violence", yes. Every prisoner would agree, I think. As I indicated already, it _may_ be justified, but I would be careful with it. Otherwise, your cat acts as he does re wanting outside out of habit.I have personal experience with retraining cats in this manner as several already declawed outcasts came to and reside with me and have no defense outside...ergo: Well, "my" cat at least has perfect claws, and he knows to use them, too (I know. I occasionally challenge him, yes ;-) .. and there are some (hairy) remains of catfights too. He is certainly not defenseless. In fact, I think he would behave quite differently if he felt he were. And even then I would not think he would stay home. And, as I indicated already, he seems to defend his own territory. retrain to stay in. Also have experience retrieving and burying very dead cats from deep under the house (not recently, long ago in late childhood). Cyber tells it like it is. Your cat *does* trust you....to take care of him for his own good, as he is a cat, getting old, and not able to defend himself as when young. And Jah, I too am serious. Well, if you are, just tell me why I should keep a cat inside while all his instincts tell him otherwise? while he still feels capable of fending off all other cats? With some success, as far a I can tell? Back to the original question: The problem is not that he is in immediate danger. He still knows to defend himself, he even knows to feed himself (to some extent), he just doesn't want to stay inside. Why not? If he feels happy with it, so be it. I am just not sure that it is as simple as that... |
#10
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Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?
"jjg" wrote
Well, if you are, just tell me why I should keep a cat inside while all his instincts tell him otherwise? while he still feels capable of fending off all other cats? With some success, as far a I can tell? It depends on circumstances and you won't get total agreement here from all. Some feel it is cruel to keep a cat indoors all the time, others feel it is cruel to let them out due to the dangers of getting run over etc. Back to the original question: The problem is not that he is in immediate danger. He still knows to defend himself, he even knows to feed himself (to some extent), he just doesn't want to stay inside. Why not? If he feels happy with it, so be it. I am just not sure that it is as simple as that... If your area is ok, meaning no major roads etc real close (unlike me) then you should let the nature of your own cat be your guide. Some simply do not stray far. Had a renter neighbor near us who's older cat (15 or so?) wouldnt leave the fenced back yard so there was no reason to not let her out there on a fine sunny day. My current cat Daisy though? Nope! She's not prone to trying to go outside except on the screened porch but I wouldnt want to chance it. Too many nearby big roads. |
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