# Plight of an Outdoor Cat



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

There is another option (obviously not for city dwellers) - let your cat go outside when he wants so he can get exercise and mental stimulation. And bring him in at night (when the coyotes, owls, and hawks would be a danger). 





































I should mention our cat didn't get to go outside until he was old enough to be neutered and bonded enough with us and our dogs to stay on our property. And we have enough property to keep him happy. My feeling is that cats like dogs need fresh air and outside time to keep them healthy.


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

My cat is also outside part of the day and inside the rest of the day and night. But I can definitely see arguments for both sides.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

There is a strong feeling from many vets that cats should be indoors all the time. 

I think that is possible for some cats, but I know it would not be possible for my cat. 

She has been an indoor/outdoor kitty her whole life (she is 13 now). We don't have a litter box for her, either. She never wanders far and comes in at night. Now at her older age she mostly just hangs around on the deck area sunning herself. 

In the future I will have some indoor kitties and then once I get a place of my own with a lot of land they will be able to venture outside. Right now we live in a suburb, but not much activity is going around.


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

I had one cat that loved to lounge in the sun in my yard but he was incapable of leaving the yard and was out side only when I was around. 
I taught him how to walk on a leash just for the fun of learning.
My current cats have no desire to be outside. One of them was a semiferal kitten who has learned that being indoors is the better place to be.

In Los Angeles there are just too many cars, freeways and hurried and careless drivers to allow a cat to wander the neighborhoods.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

I also understand both sides but it depends on where you live. I live in a semi-rural area. We have 5.5 acres plus 3.5 acres I own with my brothers. Our cat will be 16 y.o. this fall and has always been outdoors. He's never been sick a day in his life. When he was younger he'd roam the woods but now days hangs around the patio sunning in the landscape beds or on a patio chair. When he first adopted us I tried keeping him in at night during the cold months but he hated it and would cry to go out. In the winter he has a heated house on the back screened porch and uses the doggie door to access the yard. He likes being free.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Mine are indoor cats with supervised outdoor privileges. When they want to go out I go outside with them or they are tied out with a harness in an ex-penned area. They rarely want to stay out more than 1/2 HR.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

We have two cats. 
One showed up here 14 years ago (probably around 16 now) and she has always been an outside cat. When she was younger, she would not tolerate being inside or even being picked up, but she was very friendly. She never strayed toward the road (we live on a somewhat busy highway). Now that she is old, she will occasionally come in the house and sleep, but in warm weather likes to sit or lie in the sun. 
Our other cat is now at least 12 years old and we have had him for 8 years. We always intended for him to be a solely inside cat. He intended otherwise. If a window was open, he would tear through the screen to get out. He could smell an open door from the other side of the house and would get out. We would go catch him and bring him back in and kept trying to keep him inside. He became nervous and developed daily diarrhea (in and over the edge of his litter box) and urinated on the floor repeatedly. I can tell you that cleaning up cat messes several times a day gets old. As a last resort, we decided to just let him go outside during the day. Voila! All inappropriate eliminating ended (funny thing, he still likes to go in the garage to use the litter box, but never misses, and the diarrhea-which had been a chronic problem for 2 solid years ended) We still make sure he is inside at night but he now gets to be outside during the day.
Brooks on the other hand loves being inside the house.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

MikaTallulah said:


> They rarely want to stay out more than 1/2 HR.


Because of the harness or they don't care about being outside? 

I'm only asking because when we were little - before dogs - we would pretend our first cat was a dog. We would put a leash on him and try taking him for walks with us. He would just sit there and growl at us.  

I'll bet those few times Buttons didn't know whether he hated the leash or us crazy kids more. :bowl: 

Around here we have coyotes and big hawks who hunt rabbits bigger than our cat. In fact, we were outside with Jacks an hour or so ago and there was a huge bird (likely a hawk) that got startled by us and went thrashing up into the trees. While it was on the ground it sounded like somebody walking around in the woods.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Two of our cats won't go outside, which I'm happy about. We used to have a cat that we couldn't keep in the house. If I left the inside door open with the outside glass door shut, he figured out how to push it at the bottom corner, and get it open just enough to squeeze out. So I quit leaving the inside door open, then he started hiding near the door and jumping out and attacking anyone that walked by. He would hide and dart out the door when it was opened. We couldn't keep him in. I worried about cars, we do live in a subdivision with pretty high traffic.

Found him a home in the country with friends, they figured he could be their barn cat. He would still get lots of attention and be happy outside, and safe from cars. A month after they got him, he decided while he loved being outside during the day, he was a house cat in the evening. 

Cats are hard to figure out!


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Megora said:


> Because of the harness or they don't care about being outside?
> 
> I'm only asking because when we were little - before dogs - we would pretend our first cat was a dog. We would put a leash on him and try taking him for walks with us. He would just sit there and growl at us.
> 
> ...


Harnessed with tie out or running free with supervision it is the same result for both. They like to visit but not stay. I live near a fairly busy street and don't want to risk them running into the street if I can't watch them. Plus some of my neighbors are nasty and would hurt a cat if on their property. Safety first . Mine due wear harnesses 24/7 with ID just encase they slip out the door. The harnesses don't bother then. Tallulah will walk on a leash to go for a walk around the block with the dogs. She adores Buddy and wants to be with him all day everyday. Mika will scratch her neck raw if you put a collar on her and Tallulah will pull the safety collar off with her front paw within 2 minutes of putting it on her.

My cats are over 16 pounds each- That would need to be 1 strong bird. The penned off area is my covered front porch so hawks can't get them very easily. Mika just goes out to sun bath while Tallulah like to watch and explore. Tallulah will run out the door with the dogs so she is frequently out with supervision while the dogs potty. Buddy accidentally pees on her a few times a week. He lift to pee and she walks under him to rub- She just loves baths 

Neither cat will potty outside.


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

I'm a big advocate of indoor only cats. The statistical difference in their lifespan is pretty amazing, obviously there are always exceptions!
I find it is easier to keep a cat inside if it never goes outside, ever. My cat I had growing up I used to take outside on a leash and that cat would escape every chance he had. We had to be super careful letting dogs in and out!
My previous 2 cats lived to 17 and I could leave the door open and they wouldn't want to venture outside. My current 1 yr old cats I'm still convincing they don't want outside. I trust them about 90% now that they won't dash for the door.
I have known friends who adopted a cat with the intent of it being indoor only but the cat literally made their life miserable, so they relented and let him be an indoor/outdoor kitty. Unfortunately he ended up with antifreeze poisoning after several years.
My neighbors behind me had an indoor outdoor cat. They would keep her in at night. Unfortunately they also have a 5 yr old little boy who didn't notice the cat sneak past him when he went outside once. The parents had already brought the cat in for the night, so they didn't look for her before going to bed. Luckily a neighbor found the remains of the cat (coyote attack we think) before the 8yr old little girl saw her pet.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Our first cat (Buttons) was 19 (months away from 20) when we decided to put him to sleep. This was because he was very old and was starting to have health issues that affected his quality of life. This was the cat who taught three goldens to respect cats and know their place (You will NOT sit on the cat, you will NOT lick the cat, you will NOT breathe on the cat, etc). 

Buttons' mom was a stray who had her kittens outside. While these kittens were adopted out pretty early, they still had enough outside time to be imprinted. 

Our Lu is 7 going on 8. He was a drop off at a barn when he was about 4 months old? Considering all of the fleas and mites and possibly ticks I found on him the next day when I wrapped him in a towel and brought him home... I highly doubt he had been kept indoors prior to that. So again, he was outside enough to be imprinted. 

We were planning to keep him indoors only, but he would go outside under the dogs and disappear out there (hiding from us because he didn't know when he'd be able to get again). After we started allowing him to go out with the dogs or letting him have outdoor time several times a day, he stopped disappearing.

He's a small cat (last weigh in was 9 pounds), so definitely we are careful about leaving him out at night. Not so much that he would be in trouble with other cats attacking him. He is a territorial little tyrant who keeps his property clear of strange cats. <- I'll never forget this time where this huge cat came on our property. Lu chased the cat off the property with this "I'm going to kill you very quickly and very silently" look on his face. The cat was twice Lu's size, but he motored when he had our miniature cougar zooming with deadly intensity after him.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I used to live in a rural area and had indoor/outdoor cats. One of them was hit by a car when he was a year old. He survived, and lived to be about 10 when he disappeared. I am convinced he was caught in a trap, which is a horrifying thought. I searched for him for months, but never found him. That was just a few months before I moved into the suburbs. I had two other indoor/outdoor cats and one indoor only cat. They all became indoor cats.

Interestingly enough, even though the two who had been indoor/outdoor were both over 10 years old, they adapted perfectly. The oldest was 13 and I had a small fenced in area behind my townhome. I would let him lie out in the sun in that enclosed area. That's all he wanted to be outside for. The other older cat had no desire to go outside once I moved him in.

I have 4 indoor cats now. The oldest was the one I brought with me from the rural area. He's almost 16 now. He is the only one who used to try to get outside, he's too old to try now. The other three actually run away from an open door. They don't want to be out in that scary world!


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

The very first cat I had was a Siamese mix. I knew absolutely nothing about having a cat other than I saw other cats hanging around outdoors. I thought that must be a requirement for a cat. It did not take long for me to learn how wrong I was. This cat did not get along with other cats and after a few vet visits for cuts and abscesses I decided her outdoors days had ended.
Now my cats don't get a vote. They learn that living indoors can be just as fun as having an out door party.
I realize that some areas are less dangerous for outdoor cat living but I have known too many people who have come to my door asking if I have seen their cat. Usually the story is the same with the sadly spoken words "I put food out but he/she hasn't returned for days". I couldn't live with the stress of not knowing where my beloved cat is or whether they will ever return. 
Each day that I see another cat as a victim of a car or a dog attack I know that for me I am making the right choice. I just wish more people in my area felt the same. I do not enjoy witnessing the misfortune to other people's pets. Each time it leaves an impact on my heart.


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## Nyahsmommy (Jul 23, 2011)

BayBeams said:


> The very first cat I had was a Siamese mix. I knew absolutely nothing about having a cat other than I saw other cats hanging around outdoors. I thought that must be a requirement for a cat. It did not take long for me to learn how wrong I was. This cat did not get along with other cats and after a few vet visits for cuts and abscesses I decided her outdoors days had ended.
> Now my cats don't get a vote. They learn that living indoors can be just as fun as having an out door party.
> I realize that some areas are less dangerous for outdoor cat living but I have known too many people who have come to my door asking if I have seen their cat. Usually the story is the same with the sadly spoken words "I put food out but he/she hasn't returned for days". I couldn't live with the stress of not knowing where my beloved cat is or whether they will ever return.
> Each day that I see another cat as a victim of a car or a dog attack I know that for me I am making the right choice. I just wish more people in my area felt the same. I do not enjoy witnessing the misfortune to other people's pets. Each time it leaves an impact on my heart.


 

I agree. I work at a shelter and most of the stray cats we have are cats who are indoor/outdoor and never get claimed. It's illegal to let cats out in that town so people generally don't want to pay the big fine so don't bother to claim them. Having a cat even occassionally go outside can cut it's life span in half... even if you live in a quiet area. Theres too many dangers out there and I too could not worry everyday if I will ever see me cat again.

My one cat runs from the open door, the other is curious but won't go out and the Ragdoll (the breed that under no circumstances should be allowed outside) occasionally runs out. We are in an apartment now so she only gets into the hall but when we move to the townhouse in a month we will have to be careful.


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