How to train a cat?

In article ,
itty enlightened us with...
England, IIRC, has no natural predators to kill cats. Here in the
States, even in rural areas, your cat is in danger from coyotes, bears,
possums, and even raccoons.

I don't think oppossums bother cats. The risk of a cat being killed by a
coyote, hawk, owl, etc. is slight in broad daylight. It would be a rare thing.


I honestly have no idea *how* rare or common it would be. I've never
seen any stats. I just know I'm scared of possums.

I also know that I see hawks and coyotes around here during the day (I
work in a semi-rural area with plenty of both in the forest preserves)
often enough that I wouldn't let my cat wander around.

That reminds me of a cat I had when I was a kid. This tiny little thing
named Kelly-Kitty. She was like 7 pounds full grown. We also had a very
large cat named Nicky-Kitty who was both big and overweight, so she was
maybe 15 pounds. They both used to go in the yard at our house. One day,
we heard ALL this loud screeching and we looked outside and saw these
big black ravens dive-bombing the bush. There was poor little Kelly-
Kitty, hiding in the bushes from birds that were bigger than she was!
When we opened the door, Nicky-Kitty bolted out and chased off those
birds. She nearly grabbed one right out of the air.
It was funny at the time, and kinda still is, but those birds could have
killed her if we hadn't had such a nice thick bush.

--
--
~kaeli~
Every calendar's days are numbered.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

In article ,
ospam enlightened us with...

I am a big proponent of *supervised* outdoor time or time outside in an
enclosed, safe space.

I am too. Our cats love enjoying the grass and trees and flowers and sunshine
and fresh air in our backyard--seeing how much they enjoy it I could never
deprive them of that experience.


I'm still trying to teach my adoptee that outside is fun.
I think I'll bring him out with Rowan when the weather gets nicer. He
seems to follow her lead sometimes, so maybe if he sees that she likes
it, he'll learn to like it.


All I *really* know is that if I see one more cat lying dead in the road
because some moron let it roam around *here*, I'm going to scream.

Well, I feel nearly the same way about seeing dead dogs in the road but you
seldom hear people advocate keeping dogs confined indoors only. I think other
options ought to be promoted as well.


Oh, definitely. But dogs should not be roaming the streets unattended. I
don't think cats should, either. A supervised cat (leash, yard, etc)
isn't going to get run over in the road or hurt by someone who hates
cats.

All my cats enjoy sitting on my balcony in their little enclosure, even
my "sissies" who are scared to go downstairs. I guess they feel safer
there than exposed on the ground.

--
--
~kaeli~
The more ridiculous a belief system, the higher probability
of its success.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

In article ,
ospam enlightened us with...

I am a big proponent of *supervised* outdoor time or time outside in an
enclosed, safe space.

I am too. Our cats love enjoying the grass and trees and flowers and sunshine
and fresh air in our backyard--seeing how much they enjoy it I could never
deprive them of that experience.


I'm still trying to teach my adoptee that outside is fun.
I think I'll bring him out with Rowan when the weather gets nicer. He
seems to follow her lead sometimes, so maybe if he sees that she likes
it, he'll learn to like it.


All I *really* know is that if I see one more cat lying dead in the road
because some moron let it roam around *here*, I'm going to scream.

Well, I feel nearly the same way about seeing dead dogs in the road but you
seldom hear people advocate keeping dogs confined indoors only. I think other
options ought to be promoted as well.


Oh, definitely. But dogs should not be roaming the streets unattended. I
don't think cats should, either. A supervised cat (leash, yard, etc)
isn't going to get run over in the road or hurt by someone who hates
cats.

All my cats enjoy sitting on my balcony in their little enclosure, even
my "sissies" who are scared to go downstairs. I guess they feel safer
there than exposed on the ground.

--
--
~kaeli~
The more ridiculous a belief system, the higher probability
of its success.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

In article , jean@NOSPAMspackman
enlightened us with...
If you took a cat out on a lead where I live, everyone would think you were
absolutely insane. I've got no idea where you would even go about buying a
lead from. It's just not something that anyone does here.


That's the fun part. No one does it here, either. The looks I get when I
have my 9 pound cat and my 60 pound dog walking together are priceless.
*BG*


--
--
~kaeli~
What, me, normal?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

In article , jean@NOSPAMspackman
enlightened us with...
If you took a cat out on a lead where I live, everyone would think you were
absolutely insane. I've got no idea where you would even go about buying a
lead from. It's just not something that anyone does here.


That's the fun part. No one does it here, either. The looks I get when I
have my 9 pound cat and my 60 pound dog walking together are priceless.
*BG*


--
--
~kaeli~
What, me, normal?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

"kaeli" wrote in message
...
In article ,
itty enlightened us with...
England, IIRC, has no natural predators to kill cats. Here in the
States, even in rural areas, your cat is in danger from coyotes, bears,
possums, and even raccoons.

I don't think oppossums bother cats. The risk of a cat being killed by a
coyote, hawk, owl, etc. is slight in broad daylight. It would be a rare
thing.


I honestly have no idea *how* rare or common it would be. I've never
seen any stats. I just know I'm scared of possums.

I also know that I see hawks and coyotes around here during the day (I
work in a semi-rural area with plenty of both in the forest preserves)
often enough that I wouldn't let my cat wander around.

That reminds me of a cat I had when I was a kid. This tiny little thing
named Kelly-Kitty. She was like 7 pounds full grown. We also had a very
large cat named Nicky-Kitty who was both big and overweight, so she was
maybe 15 pounds. They both used to go in the yard at our house. One day,
we heard ALL this loud screeching and we looked outside and saw these
big black ravens dive-bombing the bush. There was poor little Kelly-
Kitty, hiding in the bushes from birds that were bigger than she was!
When we opened the door, Nicky-Kitty bolted out and chased off those
birds. She nearly grabbed one right out of the air.
It was funny at the time, and kinda still is, but those birds could have
killed her if we hadn't had such a nice thick bush.

--
--
~kaeli~

Blue Jays and Mockingbirds used to dive bomb Tigger. They'd fly right on
down and peck at her head.

W

"kaeli" wrote in message
...
In article ,
itty enlightened us with...
England, IIRC, has no natural predators to kill cats. Here in the
States, even in rural areas, your cat is in danger from coyotes, bears,
possums, and even raccoons.

I don't think oppossums bother cats. The risk of a cat being killed by a
coyote, hawk, owl, etc. is slight in broad daylight. It would be a rare
thing.


I honestly have no idea *how* rare or common it would be. I've never
seen any stats. I just know I'm scared of possums.

I also know that I see hawks and coyotes around here during the day (I
work in a semi-rural area with plenty of both in the forest preserves)
often enough that I wouldn't let my cat wander around.

That reminds me of a cat I had when I was a kid. This tiny little thing
named Kelly-Kitty. She was like 7 pounds full grown. We also had a very
large cat named Nicky-Kitty who was both big and overweight, so she was
maybe 15 pounds. They both used to go in the yard at our house. One day,
we heard ALL this loud screeching and we looked outside and saw these
big black ravens dive-bombing the bush. There was poor little Kelly-
Kitty, hiding in the bushes from birds that were bigger than she was!
When we opened the door, Nicky-Kitty bolted out and chased off those
birds. She nearly grabbed one right out of the air.
It was funny at the time, and kinda still is, but those birds could have
killed her if we hadn't had such a nice thick bush.

--
--
~kaeli~

Blue Jays and Mockingbirds used to dive bomb Tigger. They'd fly right on
down and peck at her head.

W

Jeannie wrote:

If you took a cat out on a lead where I live, everyone would think you were
absolutely insane. I've got no idea where you would even go about buying a
lead from. It's just not something that anyone does here.

Jeannie

I find this reaction amusing and I've seen it in several situations.
"That's just not something that's popular here (in Europe, in the UK)."

Um, it's not particularly common to walk cats on lead here either. I
rather enjoy the strange stares from passersby. My cats have harnesses
and leads made for small dogs.

There are also custom-made leads for bunnies, ferrets, and iguanas.
These aren't traditionally lead-walked animals either, nor yet
traditionally "indoor/outdoor" pets. You can feel free to let your
iguana roam whatever region of your neighborhood he considers his
territory, but if I had one I'd give her the best indoor enclosure I
could plus frequent trips to the garden.

-Alison in Ohio

Jeannie wrote:

If you took a cat out on a lead where I live, everyone would think you were
absolutely insane. I've got no idea where you would even go about buying a
lead from. It's just not something that anyone does here.

Jeannie

I find this reaction amusing and I've seen it in several situations.
"That's just not something that's popular here (in Europe, in the UK)."

Um, it's not particularly common to walk cats on lead here either. I
rather enjoy the strange stares from passersby. My cats have harnesses
and leads made for small dogs.

There are also custom-made leads for bunnies, ferrets, and iguanas.
These aren't traditionally lead-walked animals either, nor yet
traditionally "indoor/outdoor" pets. You can feel free to let your
iguana roam whatever region of your neighborhood he considers his
territory, but if I had one I'd give her the best indoor enclosure I
could plus frequent trips to the garden.

-Alison in Ohio

Um, it's not particularly common to walk cats on lead here either. I
rather enjoy the strange stares from passersby. My cats have harnesses
and leads made for small dogs.

I have a friend who walks her huge, fat lop-eared rabbit named Bugs Bunny. She
gets some pretty funnny looks too.

Sherry