Outside Cats - is it a sin?

Went for a walk around the beach yesterday and ran into my sweet 70ish yo neighbour across the road who informed me that my Gus had learnt how to use her cat door and would come in most mornings to say gday to her and her cat Dexter. Apparently Gus and Dexter get along really well, and have formed some sort of agreement that Gus can nip at the remains of Dexter kangaroo mince brekky (way better than the stuff we give him!). I naturally at first apologised for Gus’s breaking and entering but she assured me having Gus around is one of the highlights of her day.

We spent 20 minutes talking about our cats and their blossoming social lives. Sweet suburbia

i feel like there is already a very contentious thread on this subject here called 'indoor kitty' or something

ah ha "She's an indoor kitty..."

One of those things against having indoor/outdoor cats is they will proudly bring in their still live catch. I spent yesterday morning navigating an unharmed bird out of my house. I have other horror stories they've done that I'll avoid mentioning.

i posted this on another cat thread a couple years ago but it belongs here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3-sie5pNUE

This fellow Curtis gets in and out, mostly out for his First Summer but mostly in for his First Winter, whatever he pleases really, I'm basically a butler at this point. Last few weeks he has sat at the window nardising at the birds in the near trees, then the neighbour started putting bread out for the birds so they were down on the grass and I opened window for him and he was out stalking, came haring back in whiley later with something in his mouth, I was secretly proud at his capacity to kill and right enough, he had caught... a piece of stale bread, bless. He's the most ill-behaved cat I have ever known (lately stealing fag-ends out the ashtray to throw about) but also the most gregarious, his two best friends are the postie and a cat from across the close called Sonny or possibly Sunny, I have only heard it aloud. He's no Xabi (RIP) and Xabi was no Kenny (STILL ALIVE in my heart, he just went away) and Kenny was no Paisley (RIP, ok the only cat in my lifetime to die to traffic, but I blame the driver, long painful story I don't want to relitigate. But he was a proper village cat, he used to follow me to the Doctor's and wait outside the door, or stroll down the street to visit my mother's aged cats that he knew as a kitten). But Paisley was The Greatest and no one could live up to him, mostly I LOVE Curtis and his obnoxious foibles.

Just now he brung in a frozen BEE, all excited. I assume it was pre-dead from the frost but he was so proud, and so narked when I took it off him (cus DEAD BEES CAN STILL STING!). So he's scratching at window currently to get back out and see what else he can "hunt"

I've heard that a significant percentage of indoor/outdoor cats have second (or more) families that feed them, sometimes let them in, etc.

One time Kenny was "out" all night, came home somewhat perfumed, it was noted from multiples, and I thought HMMMM, I kinda don't trust the creepy cat lady over, one time So(/u?)nny came to call on Curtis and put his nose and paws in my window and she clapped at him told him to come home, I wanted to shout at her aye, I know who's enticing my cats into her creepy house (but I didn't cus I'm a good neighbour and also freak out at human interaction). I've seen her making eyes though and shoogling treats...

In fact that boy just came chapping right now, this is them necking as greeting:
https://i.imgur.com/lf6Vcl3.jpeg

Aw.

I have a friend that had a cat stolen (!) by a neighbor!

xpost "Hmm, what kind of creature are you? Whiskers, ears, tail ... holy shit, it's another cat!" (Hissing and scratching commences)

Josh, one of my childhood cats would vanish for suspiciously long times. We found out that a neighbor was feeding him crab meat. She was surprised that we had any objection. Apropos of nothing, that cat was named Jeep (for his ability to travel vertically up furniture).

Our current cat, Oliver, had been a stray when we met him. A family acquaintance found him at a bus stop and thought we might be a good choice of home.

My wife and children loved him immediately and wanted to keep him. I was a little skeptical, because he looked like a kittypet and probably already had a family.

As it turned out, he had a chip and did, in fact, have a family. But that family didn't want him back and had already replaced him. Apparently he had too much cattitude for them. Hence he became ours. He is good beastkind.

But it took a while - he escaped once, before he'd had time to really grasp the concept of home. It was a big effort to get him back. Hence he's inside for the foreseeable future. Honestly I'd feel a smidge better about letting him out if I had any confidence he would return.

outside of an aforementioned cat that had passed on, my other 2 cats were abandoned by a tenant that had previously rented the place we were living at the time. our landlord didn't have the heart to take them to the kennel as they were very nice and sweet and were known to have been outdoor cats. this was pretty far out in the country, maybe 5 other houses within a mile of our place. over time we'd check in on them/feed them and eventually adopted them as our own.

These cats sound marvelous and I would like to see pictures of them plz

& more stories of catventures w/ happy endings purr favor

toesy bro:

https://i.imgur.com/MwflQZv.jpg

I also, would like to request the furtherance of happy cat stories and furry photos.

In return, here is one of my own. Notice Butch’s subtle claw-flex just in case Gus tries any funny business.

https://imgur.com/a/lf9C1MJ.jpg

xp: so many toes!

yesss, thread delivers.

i'm dead tired but i will return with stories/photos

Outside cats benefit the community. The three main outside cats in my London square are valued personal friends.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

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Good job everyone

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one of mine sleeping in a gardenbed of cilantro

tbrr w/u i am scrolling through and only looking at the pictures itt

the important thing is that

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tho we must also keep in mind

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i would like to add that

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clay otm

Not to be a contrarian, but we all need to keep in mind that
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Good lord I used the same phrase as cowboy. Ban me pls

See thread: Reusing the same phrase used in a post several posts above yours - is it a sin?

not when you are making an excellent point, as H.P has! we can’t let minor concerns over word choice distract us from

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Automatic thread bump. This poll is

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my client considers the matter closed and is unwilling to offer further comment

Without outside cats, there can be no...

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wish flappy bird was around to offer their perspective

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJGeBH8XwAokAVb?format=jpg&name=large

JUSTICE FOR SIMPKIN

SIMPKIN JUST WANTS TO LEARN, DAMMIT

THERE’S NOTHING IN THE RULES THAT SAYS A CAT CAN’T HAVE A LIBRARY CARD

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJJjd4cXoAQ_J48?format=jpg&name=large

apparently they already have a more civilised regular indoor/outdoor cat in this particular library called Walter. This unbidden intruder thug-cat Simpkin (who belongs at Hertford!) has been causing him some distress.

this is a matter for the cats to hash out between themselves, in the age-old battle for dominion over human knowledge and the right to snooze on that knowledge

Consider yourself lucky your library would have two cats! oh but to have only one :(

Agree that his seems to be a problem for the cats and the Brits considering their history would do well to stick to matters of their own kind. Let the Cats govern themselves

H.P otm, as am i. if this “walter” chap cannot defend his library then perhaps he should consider a less demanding and competitive venue, like a bodega or a wharf. libraries belong to those cats with the will to take them. this is the immutable law of the jungle and human interference will only disrupt the natural order of things.

Cowboy Bopeep a Simpkin burner account confirmed.

i’m just sayin you pull one thread and the whole house of cards could come unraveled, sheep on the bus, badgers in the closet, i don’t think the uk can handle any more chaos right now

JCO steps into the controversy

is this really good? our poor enervated indoor cats get virtually no exercise, ever. they are born to hunt, stalk, chase, kill, devour their prey, even in the dark...instead, not only are they fed constantly, their food is placed literally in front of their mouths. not good. https://t.co/1Wnv08DZx3

— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) January 17, 2022

We have an indoor/outdoor cat and there's no way we could keep him permanently indoors - on the few occasions we've had to keep him in for a few days, he's gone stir crazy insane. When I was living in Paris, I heard numerous stories of "chats d'appartement" who fell to their deaths from balconies - and I used to watch with horror a cat across the road from our apartment block, who would leap from one impossibly narrow ledge to another, five floors up.

It's tricky as no doubt cats are a scourge on the local wildlife, although I'm pretty sure my particular cat doesn't manage to catch anything beyond cockroaches and small lizards.

It was extremely cold in NJ yesterday, so I emailed my mom to check up on her, and as part of that, asked how her cat was doing. He goes out; he even has a little "igloo" on her back porch that he hangs out in, but I figured he might have converted to an indoor lifestyle. Turned out he hadn't been outside since October, but then went outside yesterday and lasted about a minute before curling up right next to her wood stove. She lives on the edge of a state park and has seen bears in her driveway in the past, but the cat seems to know not to go outside when there are large predators around.

This morning our cat projectile vomited his wet food all over the basement windowsill, where he was sitting, staring out. I would have much preferred he did that barfing outside.