Should I get an "outside" cat ?

[Don Kiyoti]

mrbigstuff I'm going to break with the pack and urge you to get that cat!


I"M KIDDING.

Your wish to help out an animal is admirable.

I could see maybe providing care for a stray (and making sure it was spayed or neutered) and letting hang around your place. Maybe. But if you're not much of a cat person maybe you'd be better helping a stray puppy.

Cats are better off indoors. I come to that viewpoint grudgingly, knowing how much fun outside can be for a cat. But the shortened life expectancy of the cat, as well as that of all local birds and reptiles makes inside the better way to go.

[kap]

[quote M>B>]Kap,

If one can not afford an animal then they don't deserve to have one!

And, don't let me get started on humans!
I agree with you to some degrees. For instance, we provide our mutt shelter, food and water, and TLC. We also give him yearly basic vet care eventho' ourselves we don't have. As much as we adore our dog, we are not about to share bed, sofa, dinner table, kitchen counter top nor give him gourmet meals, expensive clothings, bling-blings, manicure, massage, personal assistance, his own first class cabin, etc. Unable to provide such an extravagant living standard is inexcusable to some pet owners. Hence, it's considered a form of animal abuse. Hence, we shouldn't be allowed to have a pet.

[M>B>]

Kap,

I should of used the word "care" instead of "afford", as it is not only an issue of money, but love.

Though, proper care does cost! But, caring is most important!

You are a good care giver!

I have had or been around many cats in my life and I like them all! Even though, when they are inside they want out and when they are out they want in.

[cbelt3]

Dang, there is a lot of elitist discussion here.

IMHO, a cared for pet, regardless of where the animal lives, is still a pet. We have two 'outdoor cats'. They are over 15 years old, were born feral in the back yard, and we 'adopted them'. But I'm badly allergic to cats. So they live in the garage, where they have a nice house, litter box, water, food. They spend their days outside if the weather is nice, and inside if it's not. They get attention and affection from the humans and the dogs. They go to the vet, get their shots, and recently one of them racked up a massive vet bill when I discovered that he had gotten in a fight and had an infected wound on his face and eyelid.

If it gets cold, they have a heater in the garage. If it's too nasty or they don't feel well, they move into the house in the laundry room, and I have to go after the asthma drugs, big time.

We live in the suburbs, and have lots of woods in our neighborhood. So our cats like to wander around looking for unconscious or slow moving prey. Mostly they sneak up on their food bowl and meow for cat food.

I can't judge the life of an urban feral cat. I can't judge your overall situation. I will say that if you want to keep a pet, it should be a 'pet', and share your life. Lots of people 'rescue' animals only to find that they can't care for them properly. If you can make the commitment to have a pet, great. If not, don't do it.

[elahon]

Outdoor cats generally adapt best when they are outdoors from a young age. My parents live on a farm, and they have 2 indoor/outdoor cats, and one of them is almost 18! She's been indoor/outdoor since kitten-hood, and the other girl is 10 or 11, and we actually found her near our barn during a blizzard when she was just a wee thing. They come in a go out all the time.

That's not to say there are dangers. When I was a kid, I had a wonderful indoor/outdoor cat who never came home one day. Very sad, but we got the above mentioned 18 year old after grieving passed. And we had a couple hit by cars growing up. But they were boys. And I think male cats tend to be dumber than the females when it comes to the road. I've actually witnessed them sitting on the side of the road, looking both ways a few times, and then finally crossing. Pretty funny.

I personally wouldn't get a cat from the shelter, especially an older one, and plunk it outside to live its life.

[Go To Top]

Fluffy arrived five years ago. Outside at night. Housebroken. Sleeps all day near me.

[kap]

We are fortunate to have lived in neighborhoods whereas the majority of neighbors are concern pet owners. The neighbors might not care for us but if our dog gets lost he will be cared for while we are being notified. It happened once.

Regarding being a loving pet owners, it is expensive to own a pet. However, there are owners who would sacrifice their own basic needs to provide for their pets, i.e. homeless pet owners, elders on fixed income, and such. On the other hand, there are owners who have the financial means, time and energy to better care for their pets and what do they do? Turn their pets into junkyard dogs! There are a couple of such people in our neighborhood. Oh, yeah, let's not discuss about humans. I have seen most of it as my first job at an all day daycare center!

[Stephanie]

[quote billb]Not all indoor cats have long lives. 1,240,00 hits as evidence

If you want to have a pet, provide it with a life centered [somewhere] between the two extremes.
OMG Google hits as "evidence"???? Excuse me but the results Google came up with are links to ARTICLES about animal hoarders. I would hardly call that "evidence."

If you want to do a more UNBIASED search, search for "indoor cats" only. notice the results are not news articles about animal hoarders!

[karsen]

From what you said you're willing to provide I'd say do not get the cat.

You never really explained why you're so against having the cat indoors. You should really consider that as an option if you're truly interested in saving the animal.

I've always had dogs, and I too consider myself a dog person but a few weeks ago my wife brought home a kitten that she rescued from certain death. From the moment that thing walked in the house he's been a good buddy of mine. I was amazed at how neat cats actually are. Coming from a dog lover, I'd suggest you strongly consider having the cat indoors.

[AlphaDog]

[quote elahon]Outdoor cats generally adapt best when they are outdoors from a young age.
From my point of view, this is the key. If you can find a cat that's been used to living outdoors, then you might be the perfect parent for it. If, however, the cat has lived most of its life indoors, then it would be better for both of you if you simply passed on this particular way to show your concern for the homeless cats. I strongly suspect that there are many cats in shelters, most especially the older cats, who wound up there because their owners could no longer keep them. I'm thinking of my elderly neighbor; she's 90 and in declining health, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her poor kitty wind up in a shelter some day soon. The closest Sammy the cat has ever been to the great outdoors is sitting on the window seat when the window is open and sniffing the world through a window screen. To adopt a cat like Sammy and then make it live outdoors wouldn't be fair and would shorten his life by years. Sammy wouldn't know how to survive, and the psychological trauma for him would be huge. He simply wouldn't understand what you were trying to accomplish and would be miserable.

What you might do instead is pledge financial support to a no-kill shelter where cats are living out their natural lives in a "group home" because they are not adoptable or simply haven't been adopted. See if there is any place like that in your area. I know they exist, because that rescue organization that was mentioned by Spearmint's sister does just that, and I know there are several in my area, too.

I also feel sorry for the homeless kitties, but I learned decades ago that I'm not the kind of person who wants to turn over control of my home to a cat. I did see an adorable one up for adoption at Petsmart a couple of weeks ago and felt myself weakening, and then I thought about why I never replaced the 15 year old cat that died in 1982 and came back to my senses! I sent a donation to the shelter instead.