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Letting Cats Outside, Is It Okay?
Maine Coon Nation ^

Posted on 11/22/2013 5:45:02 PM PST by Perdogg

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To: Jean S
As soon as I open any outside door she runs the opposite direction. She loves to sit by windows and watch outside, but can care less about going out. I'm thankful. Mosi is so spoiled she has her own bathroom! LoL
41 posted on 11/22/2013 6:19:46 PM PST by Danette
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To: NonValueAdded

Cats have the cognitive ability to consider the consequences and make informed choices of a toddler. Get a friendly enclosed area made specifically for kitty or let them explore the natural world every day on a harnesses and leash that they cannot get out of. It is not only owners but the animals that suffer real damage when they are hit by cars, snatched to be sold to experimental labs, harmed or abused by mean sick people, attacked by dogs or wolves, coyotes, etc.


42 posted on 11/22/2013 6:20:47 PM PST by erlayman
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To: Perdogg

No...never let a cat outside.


43 posted on 11/22/2013 6:22:57 PM PST by who knows what evil? (G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)
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To: Perdogg

We live in a rural area in coastal Maine. I would never let my kitties outdoors here. We have aggressive predators out here - foxes, fishers, weasels, etc. The other night we had a very large pack of coyotes chasing prey, and they were only about 50 yards behind our house. Awful chilling sounds they made, especially when they brought down their kill just beyond our yard. There is also rabies to contend with and large feral cat populations with very BIG feral male cats just looking for trouble. My kitties stay indoors where they get lots of love and a chance to grow old.

Mrs. NHD


44 posted on 11/22/2013 6:23:27 PM PST by NewHampshireDuo
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To: Jonty30

45 posted on 11/22/2013 6:24:05 PM PST by Daffynition (*$17,000,000,000,000* Fear the beards! GO SOX!)
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To: ZinGirl
We're pretty sure they are mentally "limited". :)

LOL!
A few years ago we had our grownup cat, a young cat (4 months) and a puppy. We have an above ground pool with several shrubs surrounding it.

The three of them discovered a mouse and it was a comedy of errors with the two cats and puppy trying to catch the mouse. No one got it and I think the older cat was very embarrassed by the whole thing.

It was very fun to watch.

46 posted on 11/22/2013 6:26:16 PM PST by Jean S
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To: Perdogg


47 posted on 11/22/2013 6:26:26 PM PST by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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To: Kit cat

If it gets killed, just get a new one


48 posted on 11/22/2013 6:26:36 PM PST by Rome2000 (THE WASHINGTONIANS AND UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE ARE THE ENEMY -ROTATE THE CAPITAL AMONGST THE STATES)
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To: Danette; Jean S

But Maine Coons are Landraces. It is kind of ironic they have the hardware but cannot operate in the outdoors.


49 posted on 11/22/2013 6:26:52 PM PST by Perdogg (Ted Cruz-Rand Paul 2016)
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To: Perdogg

1 cat out doors cat; 2 cats indoors. I’ve had two out door cats, they had lots of friends in the neighborhood, birds to chase etc. good quality of life. I now have two 1 year old indoor cats, they play all day long with each other...I know cause they knock stuff down all over the house.


50 posted on 11/22/2013 6:27:59 PM PST by Bulwinkle (Alec, a.k.a. Daffy Duck)
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To: Perdogg

I have a number of cats that come and go as they please.
The front door is always open when we are here, and the screen door has a 8x6 inch swinging catty door. It also has a latch, rarely used, that will let them out, but not in.
We now put all of them out before we shut the door and go to bed.
One female is expecting at any moment, Those from her previous litter are pretty much grown, but they are taking hits from her nipples.


51 posted on 11/22/2013 6:29:56 PM PST by AlexW
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To: Kit cat

Cats are natural born killers. All my cats have been outdoor cats. Sometimes they don’t come back. My current cat is the most effective killing machine you can imagine. He brings in animals that are almost as big as he is and he guts them on the stair landing.

He’s pushing 15 years old. I’m waiting for him to drag a coyote through the cat door. When he was a kitten he used to torment our next door neighbor’s pit bull. Sometimes he lays on the stairs at night and tries to make me fall down the stairs. He usually moves if I step on him.

He has outlived every cat on our block, including all the declawed indoor sissies that have died of boredom.


52 posted on 11/22/2013 6:30:33 PM PST by P-Marlowe (There can be no Victory without a fight and no battle without wounds)
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To: Perdogg
The life expectancy for outdoor cats is roughly 4-5 years.

That's not been my experience at all. We've been a four cat household for a long time, and except for one 2 year old who had FIP, they've all lived to 15-18 years or so and died of natural causes.

53 posted on 11/22/2013 6:31:33 PM PST by Cementjungle
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To: Perdogg
Two of my cats I let outside, and they outlived the ones I kept indoors. However, the two that were allowed to run, although they were both neutered and had their shots, they got into fights with other cats, and repeatedly ended up with abscessed wounds that had to be treated by the vet. One of the cats came home one day with his tongue sliced through. Part of it was hanging. I rushed him to the vet who sewed the tongue back together. The vet said if he wasn't able to drink water with the repaired tongue, he would have to be put down. Thankfully he healed without any problems, and lived almost to 19 years.

When they run free, there is always the possibility that they could be hit by a car, bitten by a rabid animal, eat something poisonous, or become the victim of a sick person. After what I went through with the two that ran free, I decided that my next set of cats would never go out. I had less health issues with them, but one died at the age of 10 with cancer, and the other who was 11 had to be put down because of a digestive problem.

54 posted on 11/22/2013 6:32:57 PM PST by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway...John Wayne)
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To: Perdogg

We’ve had several cats. Some prefer to stay inside, others are obesessed with hunting. For the latter, life is riskier but perhaps more enjoyable.


55 posted on 11/22/2013 6:34:23 PM PST by Marylander
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To: Jean S

Oy. INDOORS, they have caught the occasional mouse. One morning, I realized what is worse than finding a dead mouse in the living room.....HALF a dead mouse. gross. Treaded very lightly for a few days fearing stepping on the OTHER half. :)


56 posted on 11/22/2013 6:34:56 PM PST by ZinGirl (kids in college....can't afford a tagline right now)
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To: P-Marlowe

Could you get us pictures? I believe you, I am just interested in seeing what type of animals he brings in.


57 posted on 11/22/2013 6:36:36 PM PST by Perdogg (Ted Cruz-Rand Paul 2016)
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What do you all feed your cat(s)?


58 posted on 11/22/2013 6:38:32 PM PST by Danette
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To: Marylander

Enjoyable to live with the constant possibility of pain and turmoil, being stolen, shot, poisoned, or tortured to death, nearly inevitably dying slowly due to humanity’s mistakes ??


59 posted on 11/22/2013 6:49:41 PM PST by erlayman
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To: erlayman

well...that could be said about anybody these days.


60 posted on 11/22/2013 6:51:57 PM PST by ZinGirl (kids in college....can't afford a tagline right now)
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