Posted on 11/22/2013 5:45:02 PM PST by Perdogg
ping
I must have missed a trend. I have never had a cat that I didn’t let outside and the thought of keeping a cat inside strikes me as strange.
Neither my parents nor I have ever let a cat inside.
They would have nothing but black cats as they thought it made it easier for them to sneak up on rats.
As long as they are spay/neutered and have all their shots, especially the one for feline leukemia ... let them run free.
He does a good job if we let him go where he needs to. That includes outside.
/johnny
Experts agree that indoor cats can live happy, fulfilling lives, right in the house.
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Absolutely. The greatest gift we can give our cats and the basic responsibility of every owner is the assurance that they will not die a painful death.
Maine coons? Coolest cats ever and as big as many dogs with a dog personality.
I’ve had cats for 40 years and all have been indoor/outdoor cats. (food, water and litter in the house) Cats love to hunt, or to pretend to hunt. Traffic or other dogs haven’t been a real problemv for us, coyotes, yes. But coyotes won’t go near a big cat like a MC.
My last cat was put down at age 15 due to liver failure and he went outside every day. Always slept in the house at night of course.
One caveat, never let a declawed cat outside.
“Letting Cats Outside, Is It Okay?”
Depends on if you like the cat, or not.
(just joking)
I am going to get adopt a Maine Coon when I get my place. Maybe 2.
I too have a maine coon. I would never let her outside. Too much invested. She doesn’t even have the desire to go out. Outside cats around here disappear or get run over...or used for target practice. We live out in the country.
Absolutely NO, NO, NO, I know kitties LOVE to go outside, if you LOVE your kitty KEEP him, or her in the house!!!! Kitties get eaten by prey, they
can be run over by cars, and can also get into very bad kitty fights, if you
LOVE your kitty KEEP him or her in the house make sure you have a kitty
condo, lots of toys (you play with kitty routinely) and possibly a kitty friend
if possible! I am a huge kitty person, their instinct is to be outside they are
hunters, however they adapt VERY easily to being in the home! ALWAYS
keep them safe!
To me... it’s a matter of conditioning, and I mean that in 2 different ways: If the cat is used to eating indoors and you develop a ritual where you can shake a box of dry food or bang a can against your palm such that the cat hears that sound and comes a runnin’......
and if the cat is truly conditioned to be an indoor cat so he/she doesn’t develop the habit of going to that side of the door....
and if you have a reasonably defined area they can explore...
they tend not to wander too far. I had a completely wide open wilderness area behind my ex-home and would let him out maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Not very often...because he could come back with bugs. There was rarely a time when I couldn’t spot him and call to him. Not that he’d necessarily return, but I got the feeling like he at least knew where his next meal was coming from. If I tapped the can or shook the box, 98% of the time he’d zoom back home.
I think the key is to set things up so that they are unfamiliar with the outdoors and are much more secure indoors.
You let them out because you think they want to explore. They miss NOTHING that will damage their cat-psyche by wandering outside. They *could*, OTOH, get whacked by a passing car and then you’d hate yourself.
It's in their nature to want to go outside - they are nocturnal creatures. Ever see them scatter around the house when it gets dark? The cat crazies?
The bit about an enclosure make me laugh. Our Main Coon would tear my house apart if I tried to keep him in.
That's interesting. My sister-in-law has had three and none of them ever showed interest in going outside either.
All of my not Main Coon cats loved being outside.
My cats have all been indoor, with the exception of Barney. Barney the orange kitty is an outdoor kitty, he just showed up here one day and never left. He stays on my back porch in a chair 16 plus hours a day,eats and sleeps. He did kill a young possum not long ago, no birds. He is a funny cat.
I have a Blue Lynx Ragdoll. I have a fenced yard and she is quite happy with that. I have also had other “alley cats” who went outside. One male lived to 22 years others as little as 12 years.
As far as declawing, I’m Ok with it as long as it is done early enough.
If you are doing business with a breeder who is setting terms, such as what you have specified you need to find another breeder. Most breeders won’t release your kitten to you until they can have it spayed/neutered ( usually 5 to 6 months. I won’t do business with these breeders under those terms. I want the animal in my possession at 7 to 8 weeks. I can then train it to my desires and will have it “fixed” at a time of my choosing. These nitwit breeders think I am going to set up shop as a breeder and I have no interest in such a thing.
The breeder of my Ragdoll had no such terms, and my ragdoll has been the best pet I have ever had. Trained her to fetch, come when called, and to sit.
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