06-03-2008, 01:05 PM
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.
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.