Cat Drowned In Pool

Candace I felt bad for the OP on the very first post but when we made
suggestions on taking precautions to prevent this from happening again he
lashed out at all of us and then proceeded to state the reasons why he won't
use any of the suggestions like it being to restrictive or simply didn't
want to take the time. I feel really bad the cat died in this manner.
However, another life can be saved just by keeping cats indoors or
supervising them closely if they have to go outside. I have pretty much said
all I can say on this topic because it is obvious to me that the OP does not
want to hear any of our suggestions even though they asked for our advice in
the first post.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"MacCandace" wrote in message
...

I think it's very sad that the poor kitty drowned and, yes, I agree it's
safer
(in the US anyway) for cats to be indoors only...but I also have a stray
cat
situation (in addition to my indoor cats) usually and I generally wind up
leaving most of them as outdoor cats with good care otherwise and, sadly,
eventually something seems to happen to most of them. Something bad. Not
drowning but dogs, cars, etc. Therefore, I will not judge the OP. Let's
face
it, the world is full of unwanted cats, unfortunately, and even a cat who
has a
decent outdoor home with food, vet care, and love is better off than the
majority of poor, unwanted cats. Maybe not the ideal life but better than
homelessness, starvation, rampant disease, immediate death, etc. And most
of
them live a fine life until the unspeakable occurs. **** happens, sadly.
Everyone can only do the best they can do and maybe he cannot take an
infinite
number of cats inside, for whatever reasons. I don't feel I can either
but the
strays keep showing up.

All this being said...I live in AZ where there are a ton of pools and I
don't
personally know of any cats who drowned in these pools. One of my friends
had
her elderly dog die in her pool and that was horrible but she had someone
babysitting the dog while she was on vacation and they, obviously, were
not
attentive enough. It made me really sad that Skeeter died in this way but
most
deaths are sad and some are worse than others.

But what I was going to say, was that no one I know of has a pool
cover...other
than a boyfriend I had back in the 80s. He had one for the cleanliness
issue
and the thing was a pain in the ass. It also had some safety issues
itself.
One of the warnings was that if someone or something managed to fall into
the
pool along the edges (which is where you'd fall in if you were falling in,
obviously), they could easily become trapped under the cover and not be
able to
get out. As long as you fell on top of the cover, you were okay, it would
support your weight, but if you slipped in underneath the edges, you were
a
goner. Maybe the covers have changed in the last 20 years but that thing
gave
me the creeps. He had an elderly mom living with him at the time who was
unsteady on her feet, at times, and I had visions that she would take a
tumble
in there and get caught underneath. She didn't but I don't think they're
a
sure thing in preventing tragedies. And they are definitely a hassle.

Now there are rodents, birds, lizards, other small animals that drown in
these
pools and that is sad, too, so technically no one should have a pool. I
don't,
but I can see where people would like to have one and for them to all have
covers so that a mouse doesn't fall in every few years seems impractical.
Especially in AZ, where you could use them everyday of the year. It seems
more
like what happened to the OP was kind of a freak accident and who can
account
for every unusual thing that can occur? He could have had a pool cover
and the
cat could have drowned in the toilet instead or hung itself on the
venetian
blind cord or any number of wierd things not thought of. I think we
should
just feel sad for the cat and the OP and be thankful that the cat did have
some
happy times and love in her life prior to her untimely demise.

Rest in peace, kitty.


Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

itter (MacCandace) writes:

It seems more like what happened to the OP was kind of a freak
accident and who can account for every unusual thing that can occur?
[...] I think we should just feel sad for the cat and the OP and be
thankful that the cat did have some happy times and love in her life
prior to her untimely demise.

This is what I think, too, and I'm pretty horrified that people have
responded so viciously to the OP. It seems like some folks, in their
sentimental zeal as cat-lovers, have forgotten that there's a human
being involved, too -- and one who is dealing with the emotional
trauma of the death of a pet.

-Sandra

itter (MacCandace) writes:

It seems more like what happened to the OP was kind of a freak
accident and who can account for every unusual thing that can occur?
[...] I think we should just feel sad for the cat and the OP and be
thankful that the cat did have some happy times and love in her life
prior to her untimely demise.

This is what I think, too, and I'm pretty horrified that people have
responded so viciously to the OP. It seems like some folks, in their
sentimental zeal as cat-lovers, have forgotten that there's a human
being involved, too -- and one who is dealing with the emotional
trauma of the death of a pet.

-Sandra

Well I said my apologies about lashing out at the group as a whole rather than
directly at the few trouble makers. I think CatProtector likes to twist things
around and escalate things for the sole pupose of making as many posts as
possible to promote his Panther TEK whatever it is. I also want to thank
everyone who responded with kind good advice.

I want to clarify a few things. Someone out there said something along the
lines that this cats walking problems were not normal for such a young cat.
This was not a young cat. I mistakingly said I had the cat about six years. It
was more like eight according to my other half. She was probably about 4 years
old when she came to me putting her at at least 12 years old now. Also this
cat did not live outdoors exclusivly. Over the years she slowly began spending
some time indoors especially in winter.

On to the pool issue. When I first got my pool it came with a fence that went
all around the pool and access to the pool was thru a locking folding ladder. I
did not install those items and threw them out. These are typical of what comes
with pool and can keep a child out but not a small pet. The fencing had large
spaces between the bars. So it would seem to me that closing in a pool to keep
a cat out would be an expensive custom job. I dont think they even sell pet
proof fencing that is designed to be installed on a pool. I get a lot of pool
catalogs sent to me in the mail and have never noticed anything like that on
the pools shown.

Now I know I'm going to get some grief for saying this but I think there is
very little probability of a healthy cat falling into a pool. Cats are not
clumsy like dogs. The are quite agile and graceful plus they hate water so I
would think they are very careful approaching the pool. On top of that I think
my present cat that drinks out of the pool would be quite capable of getting
herself out of the pool as a few other posters have mentioned theirs cats can
or have. She is slim, sleek and strong. All black and strongly resembles a
muscular panther with powerful legs. Now my only mistake here was not realizing
the possibility of the elder weakened cat with shaky hind legs being more
likely to fall in. And for the same reasons she had little chance of saving
herself.

The only time the cat goes dangerously close to the pool is to get a drink. Why
they drink out of the pool when they have a water bowl I dont know. In order to
drink from the pool she crouches next to the edge, folds her front paws around
the top metal ledge of the pool and stretches her neck to reach the water which
is about 4 inches below. In the process she ends up kind of leaning into the
pool. I watched her do it today and she seems quite cautious but well
practiced. I am going to make a 4 ft long by 1 ft wide platform that will sit
just above the water level. Using this she will be able to step onto it to
drink without leaning over the water and should she ever fall in this may make
escaping much easier for her as I will cover it with something she can stick
her claws into.

There is only so much one can do about these things. Wether its a child or a
pet you could probably come up with hundreds of "what if" scenarios.

Tom

Well I said my apologies about lashing out at the group as a whole rather than
directly at the few trouble makers. I think CatProtector likes to twist things
around and escalate things for the sole pupose of making as many posts as
possible to promote his Panther TEK whatever it is. I also want to thank
everyone who responded with kind good advice.

I want to clarify a few things. Someone out there said something along the
lines that this cats walking problems were not normal for such a young cat.
This was not a young cat. I mistakingly said I had the cat about six years. It
was more like eight according to my other half. She was probably about 4 years
old when she came to me putting her at at least 12 years old now. Also this
cat did not live outdoors exclusivly. Over the years she slowly began spending
some time indoors especially in winter.

On to the pool issue. When I first got my pool it came with a fence that went
all around the pool and access to the pool was thru a locking folding ladder. I
did not install those items and threw them out. These are typical of what comes
with pool and can keep a child out but not a small pet. The fencing had large
spaces between the bars. So it would seem to me that closing in a pool to keep
a cat out would be an expensive custom job. I dont think they even sell pet
proof fencing that is designed to be installed on a pool. I get a lot of pool
catalogs sent to me in the mail and have never noticed anything like that on
the pools shown.

Now I know I'm going to get some grief for saying this but I think there is
very little probability of a healthy cat falling into a pool. Cats are not
clumsy like dogs. The are quite agile and graceful plus they hate water so I
would think they are very careful approaching the pool. On top of that I think
my present cat that drinks out of the pool would be quite capable of getting
herself out of the pool as a few other posters have mentioned theirs cats can
or have. She is slim, sleek and strong. All black and strongly resembles a
muscular panther with powerful legs. Now my only mistake here was not realizing
the possibility of the elder weakened cat with shaky hind legs being more
likely to fall in. And for the same reasons she had little chance of saving
herself.

The only time the cat goes dangerously close to the pool is to get a drink. Why
they drink out of the pool when they have a water bowl I dont know. In order to
drink from the pool she crouches next to the edge, folds her front paws around
the top metal ledge of the pool and stretches her neck to reach the water which
is about 4 inches below. In the process she ends up kind of leaning into the
pool. I watched her do it today and she seems quite cautious but well
practiced. I am going to make a 4 ft long by 1 ft wide platform that will sit
just above the water level. Using this she will be able to step onto it to
drink without leaning over the water and should she ever fall in this may make
escaping much easier for her as I will cover it with something she can stick
her claws into.

There is only so much one can do about these things. Wether its a child or a
pet you could probably come up with hundreds of "what if" scenarios.

Tom

Sherry wrote:
snip
I posted before I read this one. But I agree completely. Cats drown all the
time, BTW. In the shelter environment I hear stories from people with indoor
cats, outdoor cats, barn cats. Most often barn cats in stock tanks. The only
defense is to keep the tank completely full; the cat can't claw its way out if
the water level is low. And even more importantly, provide fresh water at all
times so the cat isn't as tempted to drink from it.


Unfortunately, growing up on a farm, this happened more than once to our
cats (one being a mentally retarded kitten I named Winky). Water all
over the place and the cats had to drink from cow saliva-ed stock tanks!
We put floating boards in there but, as one poster pointed out earlier,
cats panic.

I think the problem is that the OP, being upset, got a couple of harsh
emails and lashed out. He apologized. I think he'll enact some of the
measures suggested. People should just let it go.

BTW Sherry, I'm sorry about your cat.

Karen

Sherry wrote:
snip
I posted before I read this one. But I agree completely. Cats drown all the
time, BTW. In the shelter environment I hear stories from people with indoor
cats, outdoor cats, barn cats. Most often barn cats in stock tanks. The only
defense is to keep the tank completely full; the cat can't claw its way out if
the water level is low. And even more importantly, provide fresh water at all
times so the cat isn't as tempted to drink from it.


Unfortunately, growing up on a farm, this happened more than once to our
cats (one being a mentally retarded kitten I named Winky). Water all
over the place and the cats had to drink from cow saliva-ed stock tanks!
We put floating boards in there but, as one poster pointed out earlier,
cats panic.

I think the problem is that the OP, being upset, got a couple of harsh
emails and lashed out. He apologized. I think he'll enact some of the
measures suggested. People should just let it go.

BTW Sherry, I'm sorry about your cat.

Karen

Ok Protector. This will be the last time I respond to you. Its getting old and
you need everything spelled out for you

Here we go
I think you are saying this to try and strengthen your position and make
excuses. I was appalled at the way you shrugged off this cat's life simply
because it was a stray.

I have no exuses to make and have not made any. Still saying I shrugged off the
cats life because it was a stray. See you just dont read well. Everyone else
here undesrtood what I wrote and that some of the bit about the stray was
sarcasm towards you intended to get a point thru your thick skull..

You can ignore the signs all you want but to put a swimming pool and money
before another a life is pretty sad.

Just to make you happy I'm going outside as soon as I'm thru here with you and
dismantle the pool.

Your scenario about cats being agile and not falling in a pool like dogs do is
pretty irrelevant now given that a cat has now fallen in your pool and drowned

Again you dont read well. A cat did fall in the pool - but a partially
handicapped one is what I said. What grade did you make it to in school. I
won't venture a guess.

You also stated in your first post that you had a fenced yard but
not around the pool. You seem to changing the scenario a bit.

There you go twisting things around again. Nothing has changed. The yard is
fenced the pool is not. Here is where it might get tricky for you so I will
type this slow for you. I stated that the pool came with a fence but I never
installed it and that it would not be sufficient to keep a pet out..

then why is it so hard for you to keep your cat
indoors, get a pool cover or take any of the simple precautions other people

First I thouroghly explaind why the cat went outdoors.Second it is known that a
simple pool cover could be more dangerous to a child or pet. Third - one of the
suggestions was for a platform for the cat in the pool and thats the one I'm
going with.

Stop playing the victim here and blaming others for your faults. Nobody
twisted your words. I took those quotes directly from your previous posts.

What in the world are you talking about .I am not blaming anyone here for
anything. Everyone else undertood my words except you. Either that or they were
not to your liking so you twisted them around.

You also seem to say that taking safety precautions is just too much trouble.
How is
saving another life too much trouble?

I did not say that taking REASONABLE safety precaution was too much trouble.
Driving a car is dangerous. Should I stop driving. Sticking to cat dangers
though heres one for you. In my home there is a stairway. At the top of the
stairs there is this sort of half wall along a hallway that you can look over
and see a 14 foot drop that ends at the last few hardwood stairs. The deceased
cat and the others often sleep on this wall. On several ocasions they have
taken the plunge and landed 14 ft below half asleep. Nothing happened to them
so far. In your eyes though maybe I should have my entire house torn down and
rebuilt with nothing in mind but cat safety.

Somethings wrong somewhere with you. You must be living in some kind of fantasy
world. Were you spoiled as a child?

Tom

Ok Protector. This will be the last time I respond to you. Its getting old and
you need everything spelled out for you

Here we go
I think you are saying this to try and strengthen your position and make
excuses. I was appalled at the way you shrugged off this cat's life simply
because it was a stray.

I have no exuses to make and have not made any. Still saying I shrugged off the
cats life because it was a stray. See you just dont read well. Everyone else
here undesrtood what I wrote and that some of the bit about the stray was
sarcasm towards you intended to get a point thru your thick skull..

You can ignore the signs all you want but to put a swimming pool and money
before another a life is pretty sad.

Just to make you happy I'm going outside as soon as I'm thru here with you and
dismantle the pool.

Your scenario about cats being agile and not falling in a pool like dogs do is
pretty irrelevant now given that a cat has now fallen in your pool and drowned

Again you dont read well. A cat did fall in the pool - but a partially
handicapped one is what I said. What grade did you make it to in school. I
won't venture a guess.

You also stated in your first post that you had a fenced yard but
not around the pool. You seem to changing the scenario a bit.

There you go twisting things around again. Nothing has changed. The yard is
fenced the pool is not. Here is where it might get tricky for you so I will
type this slow for you. I stated that the pool came with a fence but I never
installed it and that it would not be sufficient to keep a pet out..

then why is it so hard for you to keep your cat
indoors, get a pool cover or take any of the simple precautions other people

First I thouroghly explaind why the cat went outdoors.Second it is known that a
simple pool cover could be more dangerous to a child or pet. Third - one of the
suggestions was for a platform for the cat in the pool and thats the one I'm
going with.

Stop playing the victim here and blaming others for your faults. Nobody
twisted your words. I took those quotes directly from your previous posts.

What in the world are you talking about .I am not blaming anyone here for
anything. Everyone else undertood my words except you. Either that or they were
not to your liking so you twisted them around.

You also seem to say that taking safety precautions is just too much trouble.
How is
saving another life too much trouble?

I did not say that taking REASONABLE safety precaution was too much trouble.
Driving a car is dangerous. Should I stop driving. Sticking to cat dangers
though heres one for you. In my home there is a stairway. At the top of the
stairs there is this sort of half wall along a hallway that you can look over
and see a 14 foot drop that ends at the last few hardwood stairs. The deceased
cat and the others often sleep on this wall. On several ocasions they have
taken the plunge and landed 14 ft below half asleep. Nothing happened to them
so far. In your eyes though maybe I should have my entire house torn down and
rebuilt with nothing in mind but cat safety.

Somethings wrong somewhere with you. You must be living in some kind of fantasy
world. Were you spoiled as a child?

Tom

I think it's very sad that the poor kitty drowned and, yes, I agree it's safer
(in the US anyway) for cats to be indoors only...but I also have a stray cat
situation (in addition to my indoor cats) usually and I generally wind up
leaving most of them as outdoor cats with good care otherwise and, sadly,
eventually something seems to happen to most of them. Something bad. Not
drowning but dogs, cars, etc. Therefore, I will not judge the OP. Let's face
it, the world is full of unwanted cats, unfortunately, and even a cat who has a
decent outdoor home with food, vet care, and love is better off than the
majority of poor, unwanted cats. Maybe not the ideal life but better than
homelessness, starvation, rampant disease, immediate death, etc. And most of
them live a fine life until the unspeakable occurs. **** happens, sadly.
Everyone can only do the best they can do and maybe he cannot take an infinite
number of cats inside, for whatever reasons. I don't feel I can either but the
strays keep showing up.

All this being said...I live in AZ where there are a ton of pools and I don't
personally know of any cats who drowned in these pools. One of my friends had
her elderly dog die in her pool and that was horrible but she had someone
babysitting the dog while she was on vacation and they, obviously, were not
attentive enough. It made me really sad that Skeeter died in this way but most
deaths are sad and some are worse than others.

But what I was going to say, was that no one I know of has a pool cover...other
than a boyfriend I had back in the 80s. He had one for the cleanliness issue
and the thing was a pain in the ass. It also had some safety issues itself.
One of the warnings was that if someone or something managed to fall into the
pool along the edges (which is where you'd fall in if you were falling in,
obviously), they could easily become trapped under the cover and not be able to
get out. As long as you fell on top of the cover, you were okay, it would
support your weight, but if you slipped in underneath the edges, you were a
goner. Maybe the covers have changed in the last 20 years but that thing gave
me the creeps. He had an elderly mom living with him at the time who was
unsteady on her feet, at times, and I had visions that she would take a tumble
in there and get caught underneath. She didn't but I don't think they're a
sure thing in preventing tragedies. And they are definitely a hassle.

Now there are rodents, birds, lizards, other small animals that drown in these
pools and that is sad, too, so technically no one should have a pool. I don't,
but I can see where people would like to have one and for them to all have
covers so that a mouse doesn't fall in every few years seems impractical.
Especially in AZ, where you could use them everyday of the year. It seems more
like what happened to the OP was kind of a freak accident and who can account
for every unusual thing that can occur? He could have had a pool cover and the
cat could have drowned in the toilet instead or hung itself on the venetian
blind cord or any number of wierd things not thought of. I think we should
just feel sad for the cat and the OP and be thankful that the cat did have some
happy times and love in her life prior to her untimely demise.

Rest in peace, kitty.

What she said.

Teri