Letting Cats Outside, Is It Okay?

Maine Coon Nation ^

[boatbums]

Our two get Blue Indoor Health dry cat food. They love it and are thriving.

[yarddog]

We used to have this really ugly cat. We called her the Momma Cat because she kept having litters of surprisingly beautiful kittens. We never had any trouble giving the kittens away.

One day I checked in on her and her brood in the barn. She had a dead rat, two mice who had been injured just enough so they would try to get away from the kittens. She was clearly teaching them to hunt.

She also had a dead coral snake among her booty.

[Slings and Arrows]

The JBTs look a little overmatched. I wonder if they sent for reinforcements?

[boatbums]

Thank you. She can be very affectionate one day amd snooty the next, but she is a great kitteh!

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

I read this article to my cat. He rolled his eyes at me and went to the door to go out.

[oldenuff2no]

OK I'm not a cat person. I own and raise Belgian Sheepdogs. They never are out of my double enclosed yard unless I'm taking them someplace. No exceptions, not even one time. I take care of my dogs, they are mine and I have not close neighbors so they don't even disturb anyone when they bark. I expect cat owners to contain their pets on their property as well. Period.

I do not want your cats on my vehicles, using the flower beds for a latrine. I'm not fond of them ending up in pieces, that I have to clean up, when they get in my yard with my dogs and get torn up.

If you want cats more power to you but I do not like your cats or want your cats so keep them at home. You have no right to impose your "not under control animal" on me or anyone else.

[Raebie]

And stay off my damned lawn.

[terycarl]

my cat is basically an indoor cat but we let her outside as she wishes and she stays in her yard... I have made it pretty cat secure and she hasn’t gotten out in more than a year.

[terycarl]

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.

are you out of bullets, is your gun broken??????Coyotes????

[fortheDeclaration]

An indoor cat is safer, no reason to let them outdoors.

[P-Marlowe]

I don't know how to post it. But he looks a lot like this one (only a lot bigger):

Notice the huge paws? A natural born killer

[Noumenon]

Around here, our two Maine Coons would be coyote or owl bait.

[Marylander]

Oh wow. No that didn’t happen to any of the three who lived that way.

[Sarajevo]

Cats?

I have somewhere around 23 on the farm. People wonder how they get along with the chickens and ducks......well, they don't bother them at all. In fact, the cats avoid all birds, even songbirds. They do keep rats and mice away from the feed in the barn though.

The kittens

Farnsworth - the "outdoor cat"

Callie and Moonie, more outdoor cats....

and then there's:
Oh, wait-a-minute...that's not one of the cats...

The rest are around somewhere.

[onyx]

LOLOL.

[erlayman]

There are those who defy the odds of course. I once rescued a front declawed Siamese on the verge of starvation that navigated through the winters, raccoons and roads quite nicely. No doubt quite content during the years of bowls and water. When I was forced to stop trapping and fixing (evil apartment manager), not so much. Very fortunate our rescue group was able to get the little guy adopted three months later by a PetSmart employee after fortuitously following a neighbor friend home. Cats that consider the outside as part of its territory will not only damage property but harass indoor cats creating untold behavioral, health and anxiety issues for all involved.

[daniel1212]

if you don’t give a crap bout following leash laws, dont’care your neighbors don’t want to hear you scream at the top of your lungs for your cats, have your cats get into fights with other cats, and crap and hunt in your neighbors’ yards, then yes it’s okay.

I suppose it depends on where you life. A few years ago we adopted a stray that showed up, and lived on the second floor apt in a densely populated low income city.

I was not the real owner, but i did not want a kitty litter box and so i made a simple overhead small door that fit in the window in the kitchen cupboard. Then i ran a board about 4' to the porch, and trained the cat (w/ food of course) to come in and go out.

Well, this independent cat was a real predator, and went out and came in at his pleasure. But too often he brought mice, or birds or snakes back in with him. The look in his eyes when h had prey in his mouth!. Ate them all whole.

He had all his $hots, and the only problem is that he got an tooth infection after loosing a tooth in one of his fights i guess. Vet wanted $400 for oral surgery. I prayed and held the cat firmly, and punctured the puss after using hydrogen peroxide, just like i had done to myself before, and we prayed over him afterward. Cat was fine.

But the sounds he made the one time i gave him a bath!

The owner always fed him well, but ended up giving him away, yet our landlady has cats which go in and out, and one was over 15 last i heard.

But we had ours before rats became numerous. 8 of them out on trash night a couple of weeks ago.

[dforest]

I keep my kitties indoors. I see strays running around and most do not last long. If I lived in a more country type environment, I would have a few outdoor kitties, but in the city, outdoors is too dangerous.

[Perdogg]

Beautiful polydactyl cat.

[daniel1212]

Se above . It partly depends on the traits of the cat and the city. Cats that avoid people and are crafty stand a better chance, and are happier with their freedom.