Kitties
Rheanna
Posts: 2,614Registered Users
My question is this : For those of you who have cats, want cats, did have cats, know someone who has cats, or know someone who is kin to someone who has cats 
Do they stay indoors most of the time???
Background Info : My MIL sometimes likes to make snide comments out of nowhere that seemingly are to say I'm weird, strange, or whatever. I have an inside cat who had kittens. My little Ollie died, but the other two are still indoors. I threw them out for half a day because no one would take them and they were pooping under my desk
I felt bad and brought them in and I think they're getting the hang of the litter box FINALLY... Point being, my MIL felt the need to come out with a comment about how it's not "normal" for cats to stay inside all the time and "most people" have outdoor cats or let them go in and out all the time. I felt this was a jab directly at me, as she does that.. And was wondering how many of you find it perfectly normal for cats to stay inside all the time?
Do they stay indoors most of the time???
Background Info : My MIL sometimes likes to make snide comments out of nowhere that seemingly are to say I'm weird, strange, or whatever. I have an inside cat who had kittens. My little Ollie died, but the other two are still indoors. I threw them out for half a day because no one would take them and they were pooping under my desk
I felt bad and brought them in and I think they're getting the hang of the litter box FINALLY... Point being, my MIL felt the need to come out with a comment about how it's not "normal" for cats to stay inside all the time and "most people" have outdoor cats or let them go in and out all the time. I felt this was a jab directly at me, as she does that.. And was wondering how many of you find it perfectly normal for cats to stay inside all the time? 
Failed to load the poll.
Failed to load the poll.
0
Comments
When I was a teenager, a stray kitten showed up in our yard and we ended up taking her in. It took awhile for her to get used to staying inside all the time, and it was a pain to listen to her cry at the door, but she got the hang of it after a while....again, didn't want her to get run over, etc.
"Boys are bad and men are stupid", WB's
"After a while, you just want to be with the one that makes you laugh" Mr. Big
See, that's how I feel too. My MIL kept talking about her mother who kept having her cats 'disappear' that were outside, right before telling me how weird I was. It seems I care way more about my pets than she does... I don't know. Cats are different than dogs, it's not as though you can put them in a cat lot or something
When I was growing up we knew only one family with cats and they were indoor/outdoor. Chow-chow died from an animal bite, most likely a groundhog. They took Tara and her 4 kittens to a shelter. Kitty, Tara's son, was dumped in a field but found his way home. He later died after a car hit him. I found him, frozen to the ground, on my way to school.
We keep all of our cats inside, and freak a bit if they get out and we can't find one. There are many feral cats in our neighborhood and I just know they'd get into a fight. George, our oldest cat, had to be taken to the vet after being bit during a fight. Fighting increases their chance for catching disease (FIV) or infection.
That said, in many parts of the country it's strange to have cats and even dogs inside. Ignore her comments about the cat inside; afterall it's your home and you're the one who lives with it, not her.
1. Their safety--there are too many mean people and reckless drivers and other hazards. I'm not letting just anyway near my kitties. They are trusting me with their care, so no way I'm going to let them roam the streets where god knows what will happen to them. I always think of a little girl I know whose kitty was intentionally poisoned by a neighbor. The neighbor fed the cat antifreeze and it died.
2. My neighborhood is full of strays who may fight with my kitties or pass on diseases to them.
3. Cats kill lots of native species. It is really a problem in some places. They can also pass diseases like toxoplasmosis to local wildlife. It is better for wild animals to keep your kitties inside.
You're not wierd!!! I think you hit it on the head when you said that it seems you care more about your pets than she does. Some people just see them as animals and that's it; they aren't part of the family.
"Boys are bad and men are stupid", WB's
"After a while, you just want to be with the one that makes you laugh" Mr. Big
My mom has two indoor-outdoor cats, but they mostly stay inside, or on the giant back porch. When they do go outside, they never leave the fenced in backyard.
Rock on with your bad self.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Be excellent to each other. ~ Abraham Lincoln
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She (Pita) was a wild cat. It took 6 months to get her to come up to me. Another 6 months to get her to come in the house. 3 months to get her to stay in the house overnight. Once she was totally adjusted to being an indoor cat, that's where she stayed. In the summer she goes out on the porch or patio with me to roll around on the cement, chew on grass, and have some 'us' time. Well the other night she went to chew on grass and I could see immediately she was in trouble. My lawn guy knows to use fertilizers, etc that are safe for kids and pets, so I asked him what the deal was. Come to find out, he had seeded some bare spots with treated grass seed. Had she been allowed to go outside alone, she probably wouldn't be around today.
Now on the other side of the coin, I have had outdoor cats. When I moved into a house I bought years ago, there were a bunch of wild cats and kittens living in an abandoned building nearby. I tamed as many as possible, a few became my housecats, some were too wild to do much with so I humane trapped them and took them to a farm to be barn cats. I kept one of my favorite wild ones, built her a house on the back porch, trapped her and had her fixed, and she lived outside for 14 years before dying of old age. I tried and tried to get her in the house but she hated it! She was happy and healthy outside no matter how cold or hot it was.
But I really feel there is no reason for your pet cat to go outside unattended.
Sorry this was so long.
--My CG and grey hair progress -
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/going-gray/179328-jeepys-grey-hair-progress.html
--My article at NaturallyCurly about going grey -
https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/color/how-i-went-completely-gray-and-loved-it
I wouldn't want to have an outdoor cat with our crazy neighbors who have crazy kids and let their big dogs loose. My other neighbors have an outdoor cat who spends a good deal of time in our yard. I'm thinking of kidnapping her.
I can understand letting them out if you're there to watch them, but just letting them out and about? No. That just seems really irresponsible to me. I know no one likes to hear it, but there ya go.
Gotta agree with you on this, as on many things.
Rock on with your bad self.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Be excellent to each other. ~ Abraham Lincoln
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It does depend on the situation. I live in a pretty rural area so it's not *as* big of a thing. My mom has 2 outdoor cats, but she also lives in a very secluded area with a small barely even one-lane background, many acres of woods, a huge field AND a barn. So the cats are more than happy there and don't even go up near the road! I have about 1 1/3 acres, a big portion of it fenced, with a backroad also, BUT a 4 lane just a couple blocks away - so I wouldn't feel right about it. Like I said, I did put mine outside for a bit (a couple hours) but they couldnt' get over the fence right now so they were okay.... I felt awful still and had to bring them in. I don't see how people can just not care about pets at all.. I'm STILL sad about my kitten that died last Friday. Actually broke down on my mom on the phone a few mins. ago, because it really hit me that he was not coming back...
I guess I'm just a softie
Rheanna, I can relate to your sadness over your kitten. I remember when my mom's dog died I kept crying at work. :oops:
Jeepcurly, I liked your description of us time with your cat. I always try to get some quality bonding time in with my cats, particularly Aldo, my big mamma's boy
Here's all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid. ~ George Carlin
"...you could have a turd on your head and no one would notice."~Subbrock
"I had an imaginary puppy, but my grandpa ate him."~Bailey
In fact, just this morning I had a tuxedo in my back yard, about 2-3 times a week I see a beautiful white & something ringtail & leg-striped cat jumping the fences & the wall behind our house, & a lady came around asking if I'd seen her several month old butterscotch-colored kitten.
Of my parents' two cats that went outdoors, one was killed by a car, even though it was a rural area and he was a pretty road-savvy cat. The other got into fights with other cats, even though he was neutered, and had some nasty injuries. He also got feline leukemia, though he survived it. And fleas and parasites were a constant struggle.
Your vet bills are much lower if the cat stays indoors.
I live in an apartment complex where there are a lot of outdoor and stray cats. It breaks my heart to hear them fighting and to see the wounds on them. I feed the strays and would love to take them all in but, for abvious reasons, I can't.
An outdoor cat lives an average of 3-5 years, and indoor cat lives an average of 13-15 years.
Just make sure kitty has enough to keep him entertained: Cat toys, cat trees, etc.
FYI, they do sell some mesh screens you can attach to either your porch and/or backyard fence (I don't know which), that will safely keep cats inside of your property, but they can still experience the outdoors. There are a lot out there. I don't know how easy this one would be to install. Hmm. http://www.purrfectfence.com/[/url]
There is no distinctly native American criminal class save Congress. – Mark Twain