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...

"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.

"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.

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...

"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.

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.

"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.

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.

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...

"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.