"She's an indoor kitty..."

My cat is a mean bitch with a well-developed defense mechanism against, say, innocent guests. (Sorry, innocent guests.) But I don't think she's ever seen a car driving on a road. For all I know, she would try to pick a fight with it. Cats are not too bright, they're honestly not.

I think your cat is honestly not very bright.

I think most cats are generally capable of discerning that they are unlikely to win a fight against this big thing coming toward it quickly, and therefore the best plan is to scamper out of the way. Not always, of course.

I'm not saying that anyone whose cat is outside is a bad person. I grew up with cats that were indoor/outdoor, and some just outdoor. We lived in the country. However, living in the middle of a damn metropolis and deciding that this is a great place to have an outside cat, because cats are all smart and shit and can care of themselves... this is reckless. This displays far too much faith in a kitty's little walnut brain, and, if I may be so bold, something of a lack of regard for what becomes of said kitty. Particularly when kitty will be just fine inside, all the time, forever. Walnut brain.

(That last fragment was meant to re-emphasize that this is not an advanced animal. Not to imply that N1ck has a walnut brain.)

Eh, I've been accused of worse. In all honesty, I think there can be no general rule for this. My cat has lived his entire life with free reign of the outdoors, with my house backing onto fields and opening onto a pretty busy road. I used to worry like mad about him escaping out the front door but then I'd get home from school and he'd've come round the side of the house, sitting in the front garden wearing this "s'up homes" expression. Nothing I could do about it, but he's still alive so clearly at least a bit streetwise.

He could never be an indoor cat but unless they're scratching like crazy at doors or mournfully gazing out the window you are not being cruel by keeping them inside.

Not read whole thread, but have outdoor cats (as in catflap - they come and go as they please), and without trying to be too judgmental, I think it is cruel to keep cats indoors, despite the dangers of traffic/disease/fighting other cats.

If that worries you too much, you shouldn't keep cats, imo. I wouldn't keep a dog, as we don't have the space or the time. So people who don't have a back garden, (or access for the cats to someone elses), need to really think about whether they should have a cat.

I realise this is different for different breeds, as well. But regular moggies are a territorial animal, even though they are domesticated.

I should point out that one of my cats has three legs, as he got hit by a train. But he's fine now, and still enjoys his freedom, although he's not getting over any fences! I still hold to my argument!

My sister has a rural farm and needs a fairly constant supply of kittens to keep cats around for rodent control. Even though they have a lovely accessible barn, and grow up outdoors, the cats are regularly found dead/dying on the road. They stopped naming them and considering them pets a long time ago.

I'm pretty comfortable with strangers on the internet thinking I'm a bad person for keeping my cats inside.

I think it is cruel to keep cats indoors, despite the dangers of traffic/disease/fighting other cats.

That seems to be the crux of the argument. I disagree.

Yeah, low-frequency high-speed traffic in rural areas is probably more of a danger than slow-moving urban traffic. Plus they are more used to it. Even the three-legged one moves faster than most cars round our way, not that he can get to the road.

xpost

I accept that it depends on the cat/breed.

Before I lived here I lived in a house where the nearest main road was several hundred yards away, and there was lots of greenery, fences, little walks with houses on, etc etc, and our cats always roamed as free as they liked.

What about people that never let their cats inside? (Jaq's example excepted).

Monsters imo.

Or people who don't let dogs on the sofa. Slaughter these beats.

Also, what the hell is "declawing"? It sounds horrible.

The RSPCA say that a cat needs "A garden or safe place to play and exercise every day, away from busy roads."

And also that they need "To come and go as they please - a cat flap is ideal."

yeah ive seen where the rspca keeps their cats. i guess its technically outside.

I suppose the RSPCA wants to restrict cat ownership to those who own their own houses, but tbh our cats are happy enough chasing each other around our flat. Maybe they'd be bored if there weren't 2 of them, I dunno.

You can rent a flat with a garden, or you can put a catflap in a window upstairs, or just let the cat in and out of it. Our old neighbours did this. They had this big ginger that used to come down and bully our cats before they became friends. I went to the kitchen to get a drink of water at 3 am once, and the three of them were sat on the sofa, all staring at the switched-off telly. UNCANNY.

We do rent a flat with a garden, but I doubt I'd get my deposit back if I stuck a cat flap in the back door

when we moved house we didn't bother getting a new cat flap put in because the cat was genuinely too stupid to learn how to use it. (she's still bright enough to keep off the main road though)

put a catflap in a window upstairs

wheeeeeeee...

splat

If you did that in America the cat would be eaten by a coyote on the way down.

Nothing but the velour kitty jacket and matching pumps left.

There was a flat roof beneath the window ...

Also, cats are *known* for their climbing skill ...

Ragdolls aren't. Neither Cosmo or Bob has ever climbed anything more taxing than a chair.

Pretty much any normal home conditions are better for a rescued animal than a) wherever they were living before and b) being euthanized because no one adopts them. So all of you have that going for ya!

Yeah but have you seen Nick's gaff? Dude lives in squalor, unfit for man nor beast :)

My Cougar caught in Seattle being released in wild

"The animal likely preyed on house cats during its time in the park, Hebner said. Earlier, he noted the heavily forested park was a perfect urban retreat for the cougar because there's no competition for the territorial animal. There's also plenty of food in the form of rabbits and other small animals, along with neighborhood pets."

O_o

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/showbiz/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20090811/0023ae606f170beb093c04.jpg

I'm pretty comfortable with strangers on the internet thinking I'm a bad person for keeping my cats inside.

argghh, kitty is MIA again... the dog is out in the backyard, so he could be hiding out there but I do not know... I looked hard for him! I hope he did not hop the fence, I would be so upset. Ugh, and now I have to go to work & won't be home for 13 hours :\

Also, what the hell is "declawing"? It sounds horrible.

Declawing is exactly what it says on the tin. Removing a cats claws. Pretty grim stuff.

Thankfully it is illegal in the UK, and most of Europe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A25953230

guyz i am really worried about my kitty :(

I am worried about you, worrying about your kitty! He might not like 13 hours in the backyard but assuming he can find his way back there, nothing will hurt him, either. He needs to get fed eventually, and he knows where the good life is. If he did hop the fence, could anything in the neighbor's yards on either side actually hurt him? Can you climb over them when you get home, if nec, to look for him? Does he come when called?

I hope he stays safe and dry until you can look for him again - does he come running at the sound of food rattling in the bowl?

I called for him for a while before coming to work this morning! And I looked around the house. He couldn't be hiding in the basement, since we have the door closed while Jack is dogsitting. I'm not sure what lives on the other side of the fence, and before I'd climb over myself I'd knock on the neighbors door and ask them if they'd seen him.

Jack is at home and has not seen him.

He usually comes runnning for food, but with the strange dog presence he might be more timid? He was not hiding under my bed or anywhere in the house that I saw.

Good luck with your cat, Ian!

If it's been there three weeks, it won't get lost, and I'm sure it can climb over the fence. Maybe get someone to take the dog for a walk, then call for him?

Try a high-pitched "heeeeere kittykittykittykittykitty!"

i won't be back to my apt until around 8:30 at the earliest, and 1am at the latest... bah. damned commmitments. I did do the high pitched calling, of course. "Ivy paaawwwwwwws. Iiiiiiivaaaannnnn!! Ivy, come here buddy!"

Try a high-pitched "heeeeere kittykittykittykittykitty!"

― kate78, Tuesday, September 8, 2009 2:03 PM (10 minutes ago)

^in all honesty, this works!

i was sad the last couple weeks of summer when my kitty wouldnt come home - we had just gotten a new puppy and kitty was NOT a big fan. think i saw her twice in the last ten days or so i was there :(

Awwww. Did she ever return to your 'rents place? The new dog is definitely what's freaking Ivan out.

"Ivy paws"!!!!!

yeah i mean she's an outdoor/indoor kitty and we won't see her for a couple days at a time sometimes, but she came home for a few hours the day before i left which was nice. my mom says she's been coming back more regularly now but still won't go near the new puppy; she's best bros with our other dog, so maybe itll just take a while

update: my roommate texted me to let me know Ivan turned up. <3

glad to hear it!

yay! i felt bad for being so glib about the outside-kitty life just before your cat went on an impromptu vision quest.