House Cats

[grahamsokel]

well Mia is now Spayed (done 3 weeks ago) and she has chosen herself to be an indoor cat.The door is open all day for Skye to go in and out.Mia will not go any further than the porch,she sits and looks out the open door and if you carry her out into the garden she just runs straight back in

 

[Bex]

Our cat, Vivian, used to be an outdoor cat until she went out one day and didn't come back. It was 8 days before she made it back and the vet thought she had been stuck in someones garage as all her claws were worn down.

Now she is an indoor cat and she is perfectly happy. She can go out whenever she wants, but if she does, she doesn't go far at all. She would rather sit in the sun on the window sill looking out.

Since she has become an indoor cat she has become more loving than ever, constantly wanting strokes and sitting on our laps.

I don't think there is a huge argument here. All cats are different. Some like to go out all the time and others are content to stay at home.

I don't think either is right or wrong so long as the cat is happy and well loved.

 

[wodesorel]

I did read the article:

It is not natural to confine cats. - I don't see this as being true, because then it wouldn't be natural to have tank of fish, either. Cats aren't living in their natural enviroment, and shouldn't be expected to survive in a foreign one.

It is cruel to confine cats. Anyone who has listened to the heartrending wails of the cat that wants to go out will attest to how difficult it is to resist. - I certainly don't think so. I have seven, and not one has ever sat by a door or window and cried to screamed to go out. This usually only happens with unfixed animals who want to go out and mate.

Outdoor cats are healthier - Not really. Factor in all the fights and accidents that happens, and not only will the cat not be as healthy, it'll cost a lot more in the long run. I can get mine to play with me for four hours - until I tire out. Now, I do agree that outdoor cats are slimer, but they do have much more stressful lives. Again, indoor only cats live 18 years on average with vet care. Outdoor cats don't come close.

Outdoor cats become streetwise - If so many cats get hit by cars, then how is this a valid argument?

Outdoor cats don't need litter boxes. - That's just laziness. I have seven 31-quart rubbermaid, under-the-bed storage containers that I use for litterboxes, and I clean them three times a day. Cats that refuse the litterbox are either ill or there is something directly effecting thir behaviour, like to location or not enough boxes. All cats should have two boxes to choose from, at the least. That's just the way it is. Not only that, but most cats will use very unappropriate places, like other's peoples gardens, and that just creates more cat haters.

Outdoor cats don’t scratch the furniture. - Mine don't scratch the furniture! And all seven have their claws! (I think declawing is barbaric.) All it takes is a little bit of training and a large enough scratching post.



All in all, I think the arguments listed there are just the product of being lazy. Cats require just as much work as dogs, kids, and fish. They aren't just something to have around for the heck of it.

Cats HAVE been domesticated. Without relying on people, they become ill, starved, and die. That's just the way it is now. You can't just take a domesticated cat and throw it back in it's natural enviroment - it would die within a week. They aren't "as close to wild as you can get". They are just the same as dogs. They crave attention by humans because that's how they're hardwired.

 

[K.J.]

Look guys, we all have our opinions and our thoughts about keeping our cats, so I think this topic is pretty much done, let's not turn this into an arguement.

 

[Captain Retardo]

I believe the statements are valid about outdoor cats because I have seen many examples of it.

Either way, I believe that there are good points for both sides.


















(Even though I still believe if you live in an unsafe outdoor place than you shouldn't get a cat at all)

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i have to say, Retardo, that probably a lot of your perspective is biased due on the fact that you keep a single tomcat. its been my experience that how a cat behaves can drastically differ based on whether it is kept alone or with other cats (esp. males). i'm not saying that you should get a second cat at this point, but cats are social animals and keeping one by itself can frequently result in behavioral quirks.

i personally agree with RWiktor's perspectives but would also like to add that i feel one should never have just one cat or just one dog unless you can spend the vast majority of your day in their company. cats and dogs both need companions to help keep them entertained. if that can't be you, then who?

i think the tendency of people to own a single cat is the source of a lot of these myths about asocial, lazy, bored and escape-prone indoor moggies.

 

[Captain Retardo]

but cats are social animals and keeping one by itself can frequently result in behavioral quirks.

That is far from the truth! All cats are solitary animals except lions who are the only cats that live in groups! The only time you'll see a cat with other cats is when a mother is with her cubs or a male is courting a female!

I am not saying though that domestic cannot live in groups i am just saying that they are naturally ( I don't care if you say they are domestic, they still have a natural, wild side to them) solitary creatures. And you can see that when you introduce one cat to another, you have to do it very slowly and calmly because they will kill each other if you just plop one cat infront of another!

And my cat has no behavioral problems.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

but cats are social animals and keeping one by itself can frequently result in behavioral quirks.

That is far from the truth! All cats are solitary animals except lions who are the only cats that live in groups! The only time you'll see a cat with other cats is when a mother is with her cubs or a male is courting a female!

I am not saying though that domestic cannot live in groups i am just saying that they are naturally ( I don't care if you say they are domestic, they still have a natural, wild side to them) solitary creatures. And you can see that when you introduce one cat to another, you have to do it very slowly and calmly because they will kill each other if you just plop one cat infront of another!

And my cat has no behavioral problems.

quirks doesn't mean "problems", it means actions which are not typical or representational of the whole. try not to twist people's words, ok?

in my experiences with over a dozen cats of my own, other people's cats, and the horrific feral cat problem plaguing my small college town--cats are social creatures. yes, they are territorial and enjoy their solitude, but that doesn't mean that they don't need interaction with other cats or surrogates. explain away the feral cat colonies existing in most major cities; those cats live in groups of their own volition, not because they are forced to do so. i'm not saying that cats are social in the same sense as dogs (pack animals) are, but cats need other cats around for stimulus.

i suppose that i should have been more specific in that my comments regarding socialization deal primarily with isolated indoor cats. an indoor cat with no companions is in a miserable situation whenever its owners are gone--no one to love and no one to fight.

 

[wodesorel]

but cats are social animals and keeping one by itself can frequently result in behavioral quirks.

That is far from the truth! All cats are solitary animals except lions who are the only cats that live in groups! The only time you'll see a cat with other cats is when a mother is with her cubs or a male is courting a female!

Cats are not lions, or tigers, or even bobcats. They are an animal that has been domesticated by man. A group of feral cats are called a colony for a reason, and contain adult males and females, as well as kittens and juvies.

And as for living in groups: (Mind you, this isn't set up, they do this on their own constantly. I just wish I had taken pictures since all seven have moved in! That would make your jaw drop.)

Three males: ages 4 months, 5 months, and 1 year - introduced two weeks prior

Three males: ages 1, 1, and 2 - who had been together a few months



And pica_nuttalli I totally agree. I always suggest to people that they should adopt two or three cats. One by itself will be miserable, and four or more is a challenge for people who just want a pet. Unfortunately, there is a rumour that cats have to be by themselves. All the loner cats I've met have been the ones with behavioural and psychological issues. I think it should be a written rule, like the inch per gallon, or the needing 5 to 6 shoaling fish rule. Two to three cats per house!

As I've been writing this, I have one on my lap, one on my desk, one in the windowsill, and three asleep on the bed behind me. They're very social creatures.

 

[Captain Retardo]

quirks doesn't mean "problems", it means actions which are not typical or representational of the whole. try not to twist people's words, ok?

in my experiences with over a dozen cats of my own, other people's cats, and the horrific feral cat problem plaguing my small college town--cats are social creatures. yes, they are territorial and enjoy their solitude, but that doesn't mean that they don't need interaction with other cats or surrogates. explain away the feral cat colonies existing in most major cities; those cats live in groups of their own volition, not because they are forced to do so. i'm not saying that cats are social in the same sense as dogs (pack animals) are, but cats need other cats around for stimulus.

i suppose that i should have been more specific in that my comments regarding socialization deal primarily with isolated indoor cats. an indoor cat with no companions is in a miserable situation whenever its owners are gone--no one to love and no one to fight.

Sorry for twisting your words but that's what I thought you meant. What kind of "quirks" do you mean by the way?

Also, yes that is correct, about the socialization comment, they do need cats around them, but they do not live in groups like lions, sorry for misunderstanding you.

One by itself will be miserable

This time I'll turn the tables on you because before I said that indoor cats are miserable and everyone sayed "how do you know". How do you know that a single cat is miserable?

Maybe the truly human cats live in groups, but i find it a shame that some cats have become truly human, you might as well feed them chips and beer.

Fine- If the cat wants to be in a group then get him another cat to take some of his boredom of being an indoor cat away. but if he dosen't want another cat around, don't force it on him.

 

[liserini]

I've been reading this topic, not all of it admittedly, and am horrified to read some of the stories of peoples cats being killed by dogs and other people. If someone harmed one of my cats, I'd be right after them with murder in my eyes. Thankfully, my 3 cats will run away from anyone that isn't me or my boyfriend. My cats have access to outside via the catflap and it's their choice to go out. However, I wish they would not come in soaking wet at 3 in the morning and lie on my feet, it's not the nicest way to be woken up! They also seem to change their minds about going out, sometimes I don't see them for days and sometimes they don't seem to go out for days, even on warm sunny days they are sprawled about the house!

Is it bad that I fuss other peoples cats if I pass them in the street? Maybe they should be discouraged from "speaking" to strangers.

 

[catxx]

my cat is 8 years old, we've had her since she was 6, she lives with my dad in the countryside, shes an outdoor cat, she wails and pesters you if you don't let her out. (and yes, she's fixed, shes a rescue, the centre fixes all animals that comes through their doors) she LOVES being outside. last summer she spent 2 months outside, sleeping on the shed roof at night, only coming in to get brushed (shes a tart).

where my dad lives is at the end of a tiny village in a close, theres 1 house and then fields and fields and fields. Minky is scared of cars and dogs and runs a mile, there is a main road, but its at the end of the close and shes never shown an urge to go near it.

i would never dream of bringing her into the city where i live.

my first two cats when i was kid, we did live on a main road (still in a village) one was lost under the wheels of a car at the age of 3. the other lived to 16, he would look both ways before crossing, we emmigrated when he was 5 and he moved to my aunt and uncles in South London, died naturally of old age, despite getting in the odd fight, sharing a garden with foxes etc, getting diagnosed with feline aids (but he didn't actually have it) and having a thyroid problem.

as far as i'm concerned whether your cat lives inside or outside is just personal preference and circumstance, and a case by case basis. if i had a cat that was weeny and shy, and i lived in the city, of course i'd have an indoor cat, but if i had a butch cat and lived in the country, out they'd go.

i chose my current cat based on butchness, as there was a bully cat that lived across the way, however he has now passed on and now she rules the road!

 

[MtbGirl]

We have two cats in our household, one male and one female. I've had Pepper since she was 4 months old, and Mooch since he was about a year old. They are now 12 and 13. My ex-husband rescued Mooch off the streets, who knows if he would still be alive today had he stayed there. Not sure. Pepper has never been outside, she has always been a housecat.

Pepper is timid and probably would not do well outdoors, I'm sure Mooch wouldn't mind getting out now & then. Both seem very happy and well adjusted to indoor living. I play with them and give them plenty of affection and attention... they truly are spoiled rotten. I couldn't bear the thought of putting them outside where they are vulnerable to disease and injury.

I love being greeted by both of them when I come home, I love snuggling with them in bed or on the couch... I love playing with them and watching them be cats.

To each his own, if a cat can go outdoors and return safely home every night, that's great!!

 

[Gill]

My Cat who died at age 25 Last October was Never a Housecat.

She was a rescue cat and was kept with her Brohers and Sisters. She was the Runt the smallest of them all.

When we got her from the RSPCA she was terrified of everything and hid in the consevatory for months.
Slowly we gained some trust - She never fuly trusted us till the end.

When she was younger the Consevatory was turned into her room - Mums Orders.
Large Armchair with Bean Bag Claor Gas Heater Hot water bottle. Extemely Spoily by Mum. She would Heat up the room with the Calor Gas 2 hours before her bed time.

As she grew older we took this away and made her a room in the garden - Mums Orders DAD gave up his greenhouse. With heat amp when required. She was free to come and go into the house and during the summer months Gingers room was left open @ night so she could enter and leave at her leisure.
She had a Cat Litter room as well just for her in a corner of the garden and our rockery became her Giant Litter tray aswell.
She Came inside when SHE wanted to not when we wanted her to. She would come in when wanting to be fed, but Mum started feeding her outside in her room. So then at times she would only eat from her bowl in the greenhouse.
Even the day she was put down she wanted to go outside and stay in her room.

My Mother has now decided not to get any more animals and is OK with my fish as she sits and watches them in the evenings. I am still hoping to get a dog as i miss having a dog, and spending time with my In-Laws who own 7 Dogs reminded me of this.

This is one of the best pix of her - she was around 20 in this Pic

 

[liserini]

Your cat looked good for 20 in that pic Gill! Our oldest cat was 18 when she died, she was very shaky on her legs and completely deaf. Several of our cats went completely deaf in old age and would mew very loudly! Most died at home, 1 or 2 wandered off never to be seen again