Im new here :P

Hi.
I came here really to find the answer to a question but with two boisterous kittens, I may end up posting here more often!
So, Im 22, Female, I live in England and Im a musician. I have 5 rats and two kittens. Basil is your run of the mill black and white moggy who I rescued from a shelter (he was brought in as a stray with his mum, he was her only kitten) and Toby, a blue and white maine coon. I've had cats for about 15 years now.
My cats go outside as I live in a perfectly safe area. Im not sure what it's like here, but I've actually been bullied into leaving other cat forums simply because people didn't like that I allowed my cats outside. I hope that doesn't happen here


Anyway, it's nice to see you all

Edit: dang, I just realised theres a whole section just for intros. Oops. Sorry.

Welcome to the site! Glad you found us here!

As for outside kitties...while I think most of us do advocate inside only for their safety in most circumstances, it is really a personal choice that varies person to person, situation to situation. We do have many members who do have inside/outside cats, and many who care for outside-only feral colonies. Also, us Americans have to realize that the idea of inside-only cats isn't the norm in the UK, at least not from what I understand. We do pride ourselves that we keep the site pretty well flame free, and even the topics that we have very strong feelings about are kept to fairly civil discussions.

Moving this to New Cats for a proper welcome for you.

A flame-free board that understands the differences between UK and USA cat keeping is exactly what I was looking for!

HI Ziggy and welcome! I have inside/outside cats as well. I know the risks and since I rescue ferals and live in a fairly safe place, I do let them have their freedom.

BTW I love your art! Your ferals crack me up!

First Welcome As for the kitty going outside thats your choice , I havent seen any flames here

Originally posted by Ziggy
Hi.
My cats go outside as I live in a perfectly safe area. Im not sure what it's like here, but I've actually been bullied into leaving other cat forums simply because people didn't like that I allowed my cats outside. I hope that doesn't happen here

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Welcome to TCS! Be forwarned this place is not only very helpful, it's addictive!
Everyone has there own opinions. As long as you respect theirs they should respect yours. Noone should bully anyone. This is a moderated forum and the people are nice. You'll enjoy it

Although I dont let mine outside because our area is way to dangerous...I dont think anyone should have a problem....from what i have read...in the UK it is common for cats to be inside / outside..
welcome to the group
I have a manx mix named bob and a himalayan named Nico
Lorien

Welcome Ziggy!My cats are free to choose where they want be.Since they are spayed they don't stray too far from home!

Welcome! Awwww, kittens. And several other members have rats too.

Welcome to TCS! Glad you have joined us, I hope this is is the place you're looking for. Yay, you have rats. My rattie died under two weeks ago her name was Sally. I hope you'll be able to share some pics.

Hi there. There are a number of us here from the UK. Some have indoor/outdoor and some just indoor. My four are mainly indoor with a few excursions into the great outdoors. It does seem to be more common in the UK to let the kitties outside if its safe. I've never seen flaming over this issue though!

Hi Ziggy, i'm also from the UK. I keep Rosie as a house cat because of traffic reasons, but i think it's shocking that people on other sites have given you a guilt complex for letting your cats out!!.

This is a friendly site, and i wish i'd found it sooner than i did.

If there's one thing you won't find on this site,(Thanks to all the moderators) it's idiots who just mail disgusting threads so as to upset the genuine members, which i found on another site and left for that reason.

So enjoy it as we all do, and as Gothic_Amethyst said, it is addictive!!!!

Susan

Well, I've already been pressed on the outdoor/indoor cat issue (after only 5 posts!) but no one has been mean, just asking questions. While I do find it kind of annoying that I have to continually justify my cats lifestyle to other people, theres nothing wrong with questions.
It's when, or if, people begin to tell me Im irresponsible/negligant or that my cats would be happier indoors that I'll get bothered by it.

Well I think your signature gives everyone here fair warning! LOL Welcome to the community!

and enjoy your stay

Originally posted by hissy
Well I think your signature gives everyone here fair warning! LOL Welcome to the community!

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Lol, thats likely to change once I can find something better. I suppose it's paranoia after the last board I was on where people were SO forcefull, I feel that if I make it known from the offset what my views on animals are, then we can bypass all that

Hi there, I'm from the UK too, my cat Jeepers is strictly indoors (you'd have to see the back garden to understand ) and my other cat Axl is indoors/outdoors, depending on his mood, he stayed with my dad when I moved because he loves my dad best Welcome to TCS

TO a great form,everyone here is kind.... I do believe that is your decision about out side cats. I live in town, so we do have cat rope they go on,so they don't become road kill...or taken away...