Our cat will not stay inside. Why not?

hopitus wrote:

On Jun 8, 1:35 pm, jjg wrote:
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.

Plonk yourself. Cyber is not a troll, just has a low tolerance for
stupidity. So do I. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, I think
*you* are a troll or alternately either a provocative poster or
beyond help.

Well, I think you are just the same nonperson/troll. So: ploink again.

cshenk wrote:

"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.


Yes, I see that. And I am both old enough to be familiar with differring
visions, and experienced enough to be familiar with the ways they are being
expressed on the 'Net. And I do not expect the definitive answer... I just
want to keep "my" cat alive AND happy.

And I am quite sure that he will be EXTREMELY unhappy if I keep him forcibly
indoors.

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.

Well, we have a not-too-quiet road nearby. I have seen him "challenging" a
car, that stopped. I am pretty sure that he knows all cars in the
neighborhood, and knows which ones will stop and which ones won't. Well, he
may be wrong one day, and so may I. That's life, isn't it?

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.

Well, you are a real cat lover, that's clear. So you know that they are all
different. Mine goes (or went, I'm not sure if he still does) quite a
distance, at least just about as far as the areas of neighbour cats reach
(I live in a rural area, so that is quite far... you're just surprised how
far these cats walk). At least you most likely know that a cat goes as far
as he wants, not as far as you would like him to go. And then we are back
at my original question: I want to keep him happy, as long as possible.
That simply doesn't include locking him up. If I know that he has to go to
the vet tomorrow morning, yes. Cats, of course, are just like us when we
have to go to the dentist. But I want to keep him alive in dignity. And if
it is his time, to die in dignity.

"Matthew" wrote in message
...

"jjg"

Well does it look like I am both are members of this group considering I
am posting from rr.com
hoptis is posting from : http://groups.google.com
and cyber is posting from Aioe.org about time you learned how Cyber

I am posting from Usenetmonster.com!

jjg wrote:

Well it's clear now: you are a troll. Ploink.

Actually, I'm thinking it is you who is the troll... Why else would you
ask a loaded question for which you already have all the answers you
seem to want?

Matthew wrote:

Why do we attract the weirdo's here

I only opened one thread other than the one I started about Levi. Some
things never change!

*waves*

"Lynne" wrote in message
m...
Matthew wrote:

Why do we attract the weirdo's here

I only opened one thread other than the one I started about Levi. Some
things never change!

*waves*

I was wondering if that was you! How is Levi?

cybercat wrote:
"Lynne" wrote in message
m...
Matthew wrote:

Why do we attract the weirdo's here
I only opened one thread other than the one I started about Levi. Some
things never change!

*waves*

I was wondering if that was you! How is Levi?

Well, I thought he was better until the urinary pH came back so dern
high.... he seems better, much better, but the high pH means he is at a
high risk of crystal formation. I hope we get to the bottom of this.

In other news, I changed my door knobs to foil Rudy, who was not only
adept at opening them, but who also figured out how to unlock the
friggen things. He kept following me into the backyard and going out
through the garage so I could keep the deadbolt locked was getting to be
a PITA. It cost me a small fortune, but it was worth it. He was ****ed
off for 2 weeks, heh heh. He's finally given up. I'm waiting for him
to grow thumbs out of spite... :-)

Matthew wrote:

You are always welcome weirdo or not ;-)

Aw, shucks, ya sweet talker--thanks. It is well known that I am a
weirdo, but some of the ones this group attracts actually make me look
normal (whatever that means!).

I'm glad to see you and Cyber still fighting the good fight. I remember
just wanting to smash heads after a while...

"Lynne" wrote in message
m...
cybercat wrote:
"Lynne" wrote in message
m...
Matthew wrote:

Why do we attract the weirdo's here
I only opened one thread other than the one I started about Levi. Some
things never change!

*waves*

I was wondering if that was you! How is Levi?

Well, I thought he was better until the urinary pH came back so dern
high.... he seems better, much better, but the high pH means he is at a
high risk of crystal formation. I hope we get to the bottom of this.

In other news, I changed my door knobs to foil Rudy, who was not only
adept at opening them, but who also figured out how to unlock the friggen
things. He kept following me into the backyard and going out through the
garage so I could keep the deadbolt locked was getting to be a PITA. It
cost me a small fortune, but it was worth it. He was ****ed off for 2
weeks, heh heh. He's finally given up. I'm waiting for him to grow
thumbs out of spite... :-)


I sure hope so too, he is such a sweetie.

"Lynne" wrote in message
m...
Matthew wrote:

You are always welcome weirdo or not ;-)

Aw, shucks, ya sweet talker--thanks. It is well known that I am a weirdo,
but some of the ones this group attracts actually make me look normal
(whatever that means!).

I'm glad to see you and Cyber still fighting the good fight. I remember
just wanting to smash heads after a while...

Really. Maffew and I do find as long as we don't try to smash one another's
heads.