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#11
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Ideal home for a cat
Christina Websell wrote: Is it in an apartment or if they can get outside to hunt a bit? Discuss. Given a choice, I'd prefer to let mine be indoor/outdoor, with a pet flap so they can come and go at will. I think the cats prefer it that way, too. However, cats being the adaptable critters they are, even my formerly indoor/outdoor Melisande (although always hopeful of escape through an open door) seems to have adjusted fairly well to being indoor only. In terms of safety, there's no question indoor cats are safer. (Unless you leave open windows in upper stories - cats don't seem to notice how far down the ground is, if they REALLY want out!) I think it depends, too, upon where you live, and what kind of dangers they face outdoors. Rural areas and urban areas with large fenced yards are undoubtedly safer than houses and apartments with doors and windows bordering upon busy urban streets. (Although residents of the American Southwest often lose cats and small dogs to coyotes who have been forced out of their natural habitat by urban expansion.) |
#12
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Ideal home for a cat
jmcquown wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote in It depends on the situation. Persia was front-declawed before she came to live with me. I was horrified someone let her wander around outside with no real way to defend herself. It took a little time but she adapted perfectly to being an indoor cat in an apartment. Even if she'd had claws, she doesn't really seem to have the disposition of a hunter. I know she is afraid of mice (unless they are the toy kind that rattle). Jill Of course, I don't believe in declawing, and I long ago realized one can have pristine furniture or cats, seldom both. (Cendrillon had been declawed before I got her, but I wasn't going to let that prevent my offering her a home.) By that time I was living in an apartment with no direct access to outdoors, so it wasn't an option. (Although I chased Melisande up two flights of stairs to the roof door, more than once - and even out onto the roof, a time or two, when some idiot had left the door open.) |
#13
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Ideal home for a cat
jmcquown wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote in message ... "jmcquown" wrote in message ... "Christina Websell" wrote in message ... Is it in an apartment or if they can get outside to hunt a bit? Discuss. Oh, we really don't want to get into the indoor-outdoor thing again, do we? But okay, I'll play. It depends on the situation. Persia was front-declawed before she came to live with me. I was horrified someone let her wander around outside with no real way to defend herself. It took a little time but she adapted perfectly to being an indoor cat in an apartment. Even if she'd had claws, she doesn't really seem to have the disposition of a hunter. I know she is afraid of mice (unless they are the toy kind that rattle). Jill It's not my intention to get into an indoor/outdoor argument. If it could be possible for your cat to be out with little traffic and no alligators or predators would you do it? Still probably not. The reason would be fleas and ticks most likely. Jill You remind me of the time I moved from California back to Minnesota, planning to live near my aging mother. Not WITH her, although it ended up my staying with her all summer, unable to find a job. (My preliminary inquiries before I left California indicated I'd have no problem, but the situation changed in the interim - with licensed CPA's accepting mere bookkeeping jobs, someone without those magic letters, and only out-of-state experience, didn't stand a chance.) Consequently the cats and I headed back to California after Labor Day, but they left a legacy. Their fleas preferred Mom's carpet, so stayed behind, much to her discomfort and chagrin! |
#14
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Ideal home for a cat
On 7.7.2012 16:55, Wayne Mitchell wrote:
"Christina Websell" wrote: Is it in an apartment or if they can get outside to hunt a bit? They each have their own opinions. They most certainly do. My niece had to stop taking Kira to the island in the summers, because Kira stopped going out and she was clearly scared to be on the island. She stays in town now when my niece goes to the island (with her two other cats). My nephew looks after her while my niece is away, and he has opened the door at home for her. She gingerly took a few steps outside, streeetched her neck so that she could take a bite of grass, and then she scurried inside again quickly. Some cats just don't want to be outside. -- Marina, Miranda, Caliban and Viktor. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. |
#15
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Ideal home for a cat
On Fri, 6 Jul 2012 23:37:04 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote: Is it in an apartment or if they can get outside to hunt a bit? Discuss. My cats have it best. I live in a rowhouse, one of those 18 foot wide houses attached to a house on each side. The backyard is about 50 feet long and I have fencing that curves in at the top, making it difficult for the cats to get out. Not quite impossible since they could climb a tree and jump over the fence, but they don't. And I have the Loc8tor tags on each collar so I can find them if need be. The fence is not designed to keep other cats/critters out however, so before the cats go out I always take a quick look to make sure that no enemy cats have wandered in. Sometimes I miss one and Espy chases the intruder around until I grab Espy and bring him inside. Then I open up the door in the fence and the enemy cat departs. The other cats don't mind the intruders. During warmer weather, like now, the backdoor is open when we're home so the four cats can come and go as they please. They cetainly like to go outside and hide in the jungle that it has become lately. On Saturday Espy killed a bird. I hate when they do that but they are, after all, cats. I make up for it in the winter by providing bird food and even a heated bird bath. Both Marlo and Scooter came in from the street. For Marlo, it's been around eight years and she was NEVER interested in going out the front door. In fact, she was in the house for a year before she would even venture into the backyard. She just did not want to leave the house. Smart girl. Scooter only came in two years ago and still has out (the front door) privileges. When he first came in he wanted to go out the front often, and would stay out for hours at a time visiting his friends, finally climbing over the fence into the backyard when he wanted to come back in. Lately he almost never asks to leave via the front door and is content to lie on the deck or under a bush in the back. So, the cats pretty much have access to the outside whenever we're home. They even go out during the winter, but that's a bit more problematic because I need to open the back door for them to come and go. They never go out after it gets dark. |
#16
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Ideal home for a cat
"jmcquown" wrote in message ... "Christina Websell" wrote in message ... "jmcquown" wrote in message ... "Christina Websell" wrote in message ... Is it in an apartment or if they can get outside to hunt a bit? Discuss. Oh, we really don't want to get into the indoor-outdoor thing again, do we? But okay, I'll play. It depends on the situation. Persia was front-declawed before she came to live with me. I was horrified someone let her wander around outside with no real way to defend herself. It took a little time but she adapted perfectly to being an indoor cat in an apartment. Even if she'd had claws, she doesn't really seem to have the disposition of a hunter. I know she is afraid of mice (unless they are the toy kind that rattle). Jill It's not my intention to get into an indoor/outdoor argument. If it could be possible for your cat to be out with little traffic and no alligators or predators would you do it? Still probably not. The reason would be fleas and ticks most likely. Jill What?? You can easily protect your cat from these via your vet. |
#17
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Ideal home for a cat
"Marina" wrote in message ... On 7.7.2012 16:55, Wayne Mitchell wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote: Is it in an apartment or if they can get outside to hunt a bit? They each have their own opinions. They most certainly do. My niece had to stop taking Kira to the island in the summers, because Kira stopped going out and she was clearly scared to be on the island. She stays in town now when my niece goes to the island (with her two other cats). My nephew looks after her while my niece is away, and he has opened the door at home for her. She gingerly took a few steps outside, streeetched her neck so that she could take a bite of grass, and then she scurried inside again quickly. Some cats just don't want to be outside. Because they have not experienced it yet and are too scared to do it. |
#18
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Ideal home for a cat
"Christina Websell" wrote:
"Marina" wrote in message ... Some cats just don't want to be outside. Because they have not experienced it yet and are too scared to do it. In this case Marina was talking about one who did have experience of being outside and decided she didn't like it. My Heidi is another -- though I don't know how long she was a stray before being picked up and taken to the shelter. -- Wayne M. |
#19
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Ideal home for a cat
On 9.7.2012 23:30, Christina Websell wrote:
"Marina" wrote in message ... On 7.7.2012 16:55, Wayne Mitchell wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote: Is it in an apartment or if they can get outside to hunt a bit? They each have their own opinions. They most certainly do. My niece had to stop taking Kira to the island in the summers, because Kira stopped going out and she was clearly scared to be on the island. She stays in town now when my niece goes to the island (with her two other cats). My nephew looks after her while my niece is away, and he has opened the door at home for her. She gingerly took a few steps outside, streeetched her neck so that she could take a bite of grass, and then she scurried inside again quickly. Some cats just don't want to be outside. Because they have not experienced it yet and are too scared to do it. No, Kira spent her first three or four summers happily outside on the island. Then suddenly, she decided she didn't want to be outside any more. -- Marina, Miranda, Caliban and Viktor. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. |
#20
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Ideal home for a cat
"Marina" wrote in message
... On 9.7.2012 23:30, Christina Websell wrote: "Marina" wrote in message ... On 7.7.2012 16:55, Wayne Mitchell wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote: Is it in an apartment or if they can get outside to hunt a bit? They each have their own opinions. They most certainly do. My niece had to stop taking Kira to the island in the summers, because Kira stopped going out and she was clearly scared to be on the island. She stays in town now when my niece goes to the island (with her two other cats). My nephew looks after her while my niece is away, and he has opened the door at home for her. She gingerly took a few steps outside, streeetched her neck so that she could take a bite of grass, and then she scurried inside again quickly. Some cats just don't want to be outside. Because they have not experienced it yet and are too scared to do it. No, Kira spent her first three or four summers happily outside on the island. Then suddenly, she decided she didn't want to be outside any more. -- Marina, Miranda, Caliban and Viktor. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. Cats are just like people. One size does not fit all. Joy |
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