Cats inside house (2 Cats Dead; 1 Cat Adopted; 1 Raccoon, 1 Possum Relocated)

[Jeysie]

Never understood how anyone who cares about their cat could let it outside anyway. I like my kitty safe indoors, where he's clean, healthy, free of fleas and ticks, has nice soft fur, can lounge/cuddle on my bed and chair, and won't get run over by a car or tortured to death by some sicko.

Peace & Luv, Liz

 

[DreadPirateMurphy]

A few years back, I was handed a cat that somebody else had rescued. Luckily, it was very quickly adopted through HSUS. One of the rules I had to abide by, though, was that the cat was not to be let outside. The HSUS policy (at least in the Mid-Atlantic region) was based on the fact that outdoor cats have much shorter life expectancies. Their take is that if you care about the animal, you should keep it indoors.

Of course, they also had a policy that the cats would be neutered and NOT declawed. The second, while it makes sense the way they explained it, means extra effort on the part of the pet-owner. You have to keep a clawed cat indoors and train it to only claw the scratching post. Of course, being responsible about anything takes effort, and some people can't even take responsibility for themselves.

 

[Dire Bare]

If your cat leaves your yard and enters someone else's yard, and then kills their dog, neither you nor your cat can be held responsible for the neighbor's dog's death.

Dude, if your cat can kill dogs . . . .

THAT'S ONE AMAZING CAT!!!!

 

[Bront]

Dude, if your cat can kill dogs . . . .

THAT'S ONE AMAZING CAT!!!!

Or one small & stupid dog


Edit: Removed stupid. it's a dog, that's given.

 

[jaerdaph]

Vraille, let me give you some advice from personal experience. A few years ago, I had problems with a neighbor in my apartment building that would constantly blast her music at all hours of the day and night whenever she was on a binger (she was a drugged out club kid). The police were useless and would only show up one time out of ten when noise complaints were called in, and never really did anything about it because she would always be sure to answer the door in something low cut and skimpy. It got to the point where a few other neighbors and I did a little legal research and were able to draft a letter to the landlord requesting her eviction. After a few stressful months, we were finally able to get her removed. About a year later a new neighbor started blasting their stereo one Sunday morning for about an hour. Instantly, all that anxiety and frustration came flooding back to me - oh boy here we go again. Every week at the same time she would do the same thing and I was livid. I spoke to some of my other neighbors from the problem before and they talked some sense into me. She only did it once a week for an hour while cleaning her apartment. She was in all other respects a model neighbor and a very nice person to boot. In short, I had been projecting the previous difficult situation on to an entirely different one. I'm glad I took a step back because I have since become friends with her and recently she hooked me up with a contact for some paying consulting work.

So please, talk to your new neighbors first. Also, be 100% sure it was their cats that were responsible (are you assuming they did it on your past experience, did you see the cats actually tear apart the garbage, or were they just curious about what some other wild animal had uncovered? My parents live in the country now and I know they have problems with raccoons and other such things).

I hope this all works out for you.

 

[Harmon]

VD,

I understand, and I remember your thread.

I have always been of the mind that my cats need to be able to go outside a few hours a day. Most of the time my cats remain in the back yard. Both are fixed and both like the fences around our home for sharpening their claws.

About the neighbors- I have spoken to a few and they don't seem to mind.

I know that indoor cats live longer, and I would love to have my cats about for decades (my wife had a cat from when she was like five- it passed away when she was in her mid twenties), but I just can't lock them inside and keep them here, I would feel like a jailer. I let them live the life they want as best I can, and for the most part they enjoy and like the life I want them to live- warm and safe inside.

Its my hope that my cats never do what you have gone through, but if they do do something like that, I hope that I have to deal with someone that understands, and is considerate and thoughtful enough to find me and say "hay, your cats are doing-" before they do something.... anything else.

Take care, be patient, and understanding and you will feel better

 

[Umbran]

I know that indoor cats live longer, and I would love to have my cats about for decades (my wife had a cat from when she was like five- it passed away when she was in her mid twenties), but I just can't lock them inside and keep them here, I would feel like a jailer.

Harmon, folks sometimes get a slightly romanticized view of what cats need - they think of the great jungle cats, always outside, and figure their own cats need to have something like that experience, and that they're doing the animal harm ("feeling like a jailer") if they don't let them out. This idea is almost correct, but not quite on target.

For their continued health, cats do need a rich and varied environment. No question - without it they can get a bit neurotic. And it is true that the outdoors does provide much of that, and is easily and readily available. The thing is, in most homes, an equivalently rich environment can be provided indoors. It can take some careful observation and a bit of work on the owner's part, but generally a cat can be quite happy and healthy indoors.

Many folks don't believe me when I say that, but it is true. If you do what's necessary to compensate, you don't need to feel like a jailer.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

Many folks don't believe me when I say that, but it is true. If you do what's necessary to compensate, you don't need to feel like a jailer.

Completly True. Cats need a lot of stimulation. But that can easily be provided by their owners.

I was able to have three very well adjusted Maine Coons in a small apartment just be giving them enough toys & interacting with them on a regular basis (that they had each other also helped).

I'd still have cats (except my wife is allergic, but had cats growing up, until she found out & her chronic migraines went away).

Keeping your cat indoors does a service for your cat, for your local environment, and your neighbors.


PS. Turns out the neighbor's cat just got out when one of her kids smashed a window open (she has 5-6 young children). I still think there might be a feral cat wandering around. I also wouldn't be surprised to find some racoons or possums about, but have seen no signs. Southern Flying Squirrels yes, Racoons, & possums, NO.

Things look like they might work out. At least if I have to trap a cat, I don't have to worry who it belongs to.

 

[Harmon]

Hay, Umbran, ya I have heard that too (from you and others).

I have had four cats in the past 18 years- one died from stomach cancer, and the other from a heart defect. The other two like to go out in the morning, and once or twice during the day.

As far as enriching the interior environment, I would like to hear more, as I would like them to make the choice to stay in more, but I want them to have an understanding of the world outside, to not wonder their whole lives- "what's over that fence?" Instead they know there is a big dog on the other side that doesn't like them.

I am very much about freedom, choice, thoughts, and actions (so long as it harms no one else), so keeping them locked inside bothers me.

Our cats have the choice to go out, sometimes they do and sometimes they do not, and some times I chose for them (one was sick last night so he stayed in today).

 

[Thunderfoot]

Dude, if your cat can kill dogs . . . .

THAT'S ONE AMAZING CAT!!!!

Not really, I had a cat that took down a German Sheppard, and it wasn't even a close thing.
The Sheppard charged; my cat leaped and dug its claws into the dog's face right behind its ears, the back claws now free to shred ad infinitum, which they did. The dog staggered back into the street and died on the spot from blood loss. The owner of the dog tried to press charges, right up until the police officer asked why the dog wasn't on a leash and in my yard. Needless to say the blood trail was evident so the beginning location of the altercation was easy to trace. We as a society often forget that cats were also domesticated to hunt.