Are cats allowed outside?

maverick_kitten · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

As for cat being less intelligent than a 3 year old child, I got it from my cat book. Maybe you should let the author know how narrow minded you think she is.

yes but show me a three year old child that can climb a tree or jump an eight foot fence.

if cats couldnt survive outside then there would be no feral cats.

Personally, i am un-decided as to whether to keep my cats inside/outside or indoor only. at the moment i still live at home so cannot keep my cats indoor only. my parents nor my family agree with it and the doors, windows etc are left open the whole time. until i leave (home) the cats are going to have to remain indoor/outdoor.

my compromise to this is that the cats stay inside at night and have a 10.30 pm curfew and have trained them to come when they are called.

I have also made indoors as stimulating and fun as possible to give them no reason to go outisde and we have very high fences so they tend to stay in our garden or next door's garden (which they allow) because its overgrown and jungle like.

my cats love being outside in small doses and i think the soloution unless i can move somewhere with lots of land and few people for me will be to restrict them to a garden only.

I think however its an individual choice and no-one can condem your choice unless they actually visit your house, meet your cats and see for themselves the circumstances.

elizwithcat · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

yes but show me a three year old child that can climb a tree or jump an eight foot fence.

if cats couldnt survive outside then there would be no feral cats.

Personally, i am un-decided as to whether to keep my cats inside/outside or indoor only. at the moment i still live at home so cannot keep my cats indoor only. my parents nor my family agree with it and the doors, windows etc are left open the whole time. until i leave (home) the cats are going to have to remain indoor/outdoor.

my compromise to this is that the cats stay inside at night and have a 10.30 pm curfew and have trained them to come when they are called.

I have also made indoors as stimulating and fun as possible to give them no reason to go outisde and we have very high fences so they tend to stay in our garden or next door's garden (which they allow) because its overgrown and jungle like.

my cats love being outside in small doses and i think the soloution unless i can move somewhere with lots of land and few people for me will be to restrict them to a garden only.

I think however its an individual choice and no-one can condem your choice unless they actually visit your house, meet your cats and see for themselves the circumstances.

Well, show me a cat that can say "mommy or daddy".

We are talking about intelligence here, not climbing ability.
Yes, a cat can climb a fence, but between a cat and a car, who do you think will win?

semiferal · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Purity

I would have loved to have gotten my two from a shelter, but as someone else pointed out, shelters are very dubious about giving people animals unless they are allowed outside.

See, that's what is ironic - in the US, it is often very difficult to find a shelter that will adopt to you unless you promise to keep your cat 100% indoors!

It really is a culture-specific concept, and the bottom line as I see it is that every situation has to be looked at individually. I think it's not sensible to say that every single cat should have unrestricted access to the outdoors but equally shortsighted to say that no cat should ever go outside.

purity · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by semiferal

See, that's what is ironic - in the US, it is often very difficult to find a shelter that will adopt to you unless you promise to keep your cat 100% indoors!

It really is a culture-specific concept, and the bottom line as I see it is that every situation has to be looked at individually. I think it's not sensible to say that every single cat should have unrestricted access to the outdoors but equally shortsighted to say that no cat should ever go outside.

100% agree!

katman · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

Well, show me a cat that can say "mommy or daddy".

We are talking about intelligence here, not climbing ability.
Yes, a cat can climb a fence, but between a cat and a car, who do you think will win?

The cat will win...if its smart?.. sorry but i dont see the point in keeping a cat locked up 24/7!.. you must feel very insucure if you feel you cant give your cat the chance of freedom?

elizwithcat · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Katman

The cat will win...if its smart?.. sorry but i dont see the point in keeping a cat locked up 24/7!.. you must feel very insucure if you feel you cant give your cat the chance of freedom?

So, all these cats were killed by cars because they were dumb?

And actually I am very secure-I am secure that when I come home, my cats will be there. Can you say the same thing?

noggin123 · Aug 7, 2005

my cats are allowed in or out whenever they want. They have a cat flap so they can get in easily. if your cats are fed well and looked after they will come back when they are let out.

katman · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

So, all these cats were killed by cars because they were dumb?

And actually I am very secure-I am secure that when I come home, my cats will be there. Can you say the same thing?

Actually yes i can say the same my two cats jasmine and sasha are always there to greet me...as my dad used to say..you cant keep a cat indoors all its life..that would be selfish and unfair on the cat. Put another way what would it be like if we never ventured outsde? we would become very insecure wouldn't we?.

petnurse2265 · Aug 7, 2005

Here in the US it is just not safe for cats to be outside, between cars predators and diseases you would be cutting your cats lifespan in half. There are even some states that are trying to legalize the hunting of cats that are roaming around. Things may be different overseas, but here if you want your cat to live a long happy life they are better off inside.

elizwithcat · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Katman

Actually yes i can say the same my two cats jasmine and sasha are always there to greet me...as my dad used to say..you cant keep a cat indoors all its life..that would be selfish and unfair on the cat. Put another way what would it be like if we never ventured outsde? we would become very insecure wouldn't we?.

You can not seriously be comparing cats to humans. Are you spayed or neutered?
I don't think so.
Does cat needs to get a job to support his family?
I don't think so.
In my home, cat doesn't decide whether he is allowed outside or not.
But if he did, he wouldn't go out, because he is scared of outside.
And yes, you can keep the cat indoor all life. I am going to do just that.
The choice is keeping the cat indoors all life or the cat walking around for 5 minutes before being run over by a car. Excuse me if I prefer my cat inside.

katman · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

You can not seriously be comparing cats to humans. Are you spayed or neutered?
I don't think so. There are things done to cats that nobody would dream of doing to humans.
In my home, cat doesn't decide whether he is allowed outside or not.
But if he did, he wouldn't go out, because he is scared of outside.

He is scared of the outside because you have denied him that choice, you have not introduced him to the outside world, so of course he will be somewhat reluctant to venture, and lets be honest here ...cats are very clever animals..compaired to some humans.

elizwithcat · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Katman

He is scared of the outside because you have denied him that choice, you have not introduced him to the outside world, so of course he will be somewhat reluctant to venture, and lets be honest here ...cats are very clever animals..compaired to some humans.

No, I have not introduced him to the outside world. And I am ceirtanly not going introduce him to the outside world so I can make you happy.

Do you not realize that for someone who lives in a city (like myself) there is no way to let the cat out to roam?

maverick_kitten · Aug 7, 2005

elizwithcat said:
Well, show me a cat that can say "mommy or daddy".

Click to expand...

tnr1 · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Katman

He is scared of the outside because you have denied him that choice, you have not introduced him to the outside world, so of course he will be somewhat reluctant to venture, and lets be honest here ...cats are very clever animals..compaired to some humans.

Katman...it is VERY IRRESPONSIBLE for you to come onto this message board and try to convince people to let their cats outdoors. There are places in the USA where it is ILLEGAL to let your cat outdoors..there are places where it is unsafe....what is good for you and your cat isn't necessarily good for others. Let's respect the fact that these boards have people who live in different cultures.

Also...for those of you not familiar with how things work here in the good ol' USA...there is a HUGE movement by birdlovers to keep cats from being outdoors:

http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/

Katie

elizwithcat · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by TNR1

Katman...it is VERY IRRESPONSIBLE for you to come onto this message board and try to convince people to let their cats outdoors. There are places in the USA where it is ILLEGAL to let your cat outdoors..there are places where it is unsafe....what is good for you and your cat isn't necessarily good for others. Let's respect the fact that these boards have people who live in different cultures.

Katie

Neither good shelter nor good breeder in US would even allow someone to adopt or buy a cat if this person says the cat would be allowed outside.

katman · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

Neither good shelter nor good breeder in US would even allow someone to adopt or buy a cat if this person says the cat would be allowed outside.

Well firstly i am not irresponsible! and secondly here in England it is practically unheard of for cats not to be allowed out. I regard myself as a responsible cat owner, my last cat Mawser lived to the grand old age of 16 and he was an outdoor cat, my other two cats sasha and jasmine are outdoor/indoor felines, they enjoy their little bit of freedom and return home in a much more contented mood. I would not want to become a control freak over my cats.

katman · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by TNR1

Katman...it is VERY IRRESPONSIBLE for you to come onto this message board and try to convince people to let their cats outdoors. There are places in the USA where it is ILLEGAL to let your cat outdoors..there are places where it is unsafe....what is good for you and your cat isn't necessarily good for others. Let's respect the fact that these boards have people who live in different cultures.

Also...for those of you not familiar with how things work here in the good ol' USA...there is a HUGE movement by birdlovers to keep cats from being outdoors:

http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/

Katie

The "good ol' USA aint England! over here it is very uncommon for cats to be kept indoors permanently we will obvisouly have agree to disagreeon this topic.

stephenm · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Katman

Well firstly i am not irresponsible! and secondly here in England it is practically unheard of for cats not to be allowed out. I.

I don't think its that uncommon, check out some British boards and you will find rescues wanting to home as indoor cats.

Many rescues in Ireland too are homing on the condition that cats are kept indoor/safe. Of the 8 cats i've adopted from 5 different rescues, 7 of them were given to me on the understanding that they would be indoor cats.

tnr1 · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Katman

The "good ol' USA aint England!

Exactly...which was my point. You can't tell someone else what kind of cat owner they are when you don't know their situation. We've had many discussions on this board about the fact that the USA and Britain have different viewpoints on indoor/outdoor cats. My point to you was that it is irresponsible to try to convince someone to do something that is discouraged or even considered illegal in their own country. Instead of seeing things only from your perspective and judging people...you need to ask questions and determine whether they have a valid reason for why they choose to do things differently.

Katie

tnr1 · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Katman

Well firstly i am not irresponsible! and secondly here in England it is practically unheard of for cats not to be allowed out. I regard myself as a responsible cat owner, my last cat Mawser lived to the grand old age of 16 and he was an outdoor cat, my other two cats sasha and jasmine are outdoor/indoor felines, they enjoy their little bit of freedom and return home in a much more contented mood. I would not want to become a control freak over my cats.

Elizabeth wasn't talking about you..she was agreeing that here in the United States, shelters, rescues and breeders have their adoptors sign a contract stating the cat will never be allowed outdoors. There are many reasons why in the USA it is discouraged...cats are poisoned, picked up by Animal Control and euthanized, run over by cars, eaten by predators etc.

Elizabeth probably signed an adoption contract that stated she would keep the cat indoors...so you were encouraging her to break a contract...not the best of decisions.

You can certainly disagree with how the process works in the USA...but then..you don't live here. So just as I won't tell you to keep your cat indoors....you shouldn't come on here and tell people to allow their indoor only cats outside.

Katie

Are cats allowed outside?

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