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Reason #27 my cats stay indoors

Salomé

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No what?

You can't play the nature/design card with a domesticated animal. It's nonsense. How far do you play it? Should we ship them back to Africa?

Domestication is
1. imprisonment
2. an entirely unnatural process involving genetic engineering and frequently accompanied by the destruction of "natural" habitat, flora and fauna.

If you think it is wrong, you shouldn't own a pet. Don't be beating up responsible owners for the protective measures they take.
 

Ghost of the dead horse

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Meaning: people want the experience of having a pet, which necessarily imposes some restrictions on the animal's natural behavior. This experience may be had even if the restrictions are small. Having a wish for the animal to experience a relatively natural life - closely resembling living in their natural habitat - is not necessarily incompatible with the desire to have a pet.

What I mean, it's not linear, it's not a zero-sum game.
 

INTP

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Just thought I'd jump in and comment on saying how I think raccoons are cute.

cute raccoon:
raccoon5646.JPG


:D

aww thats so cute :wubbie:

i want a raccoon
 

Feops

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My cat has been stuck indoors ever since I moved to an apartment. I feel bad for her.. she loved to hide in the bushes and run around the grass. But there isn't much choice in the matter. I leave the windows open when I can at least.

I've always thought it was most natural for cats to live in the country and have some territory to roam and hunt.
 

PeaceBaby

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I wouldn't feel bad about having an indoor cat. Our cat is now 17 years old and lives indoors exclusively. We used to take her out on a leash but she's getting a little too old for frolicking. But she has food, toys and companionship. And catches the odd rodent too from time to time. ;)

The biggest factor affecting a cat's life span is whether they live indoors or outdoors. Indoor cats, on average, often live considerably longer than outdoor cats.

Outdoor Cat
Estimated average life span: 5 years

Indoor Cat
Estimated average life span: 16 years

Source: Lifetime Costs of Cat Ownership - PetPlace.com

And another: "Free-ranging cats in the United States have an average lifespan in the general population of only 3 to 5 years; indoor cats have an average lifespan of 12 years and frequently live longer than 20 years. Car accidents are the biggest killers of free-ranging cats"

(Karen L. Overall, M.A., V.M.D., Ph.D., Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behavior; Department of Clinical Studies School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

You could build or buy them a kitty enclosure instead:

KWSP501%20KittyWalk%20Teepee.jpg
 

Tiltyred

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Scientific studies actually show that each year, cats kill hundreds of millions of migratory songbirds. In 1990, researchers estimated that "outdoor" house cats and feral cats were responsible for killing nearly 78 million small mammals and birds annually in the United Kingdom.

University of Wisconsin ornithologist, Dr. Santley Temple estimates that 20-150 million songbirds are killed each year by rural cats in Wisconsin alone.

Feline predation is not "natural." Cats were domesticated by the ancient Egyptians and taken throughout the world by the Romans. Cats were brought to North America in the 1800's to control rats. The "tabby" that sits curled up on your couch is not a natural predator and has never been in the natural food chain in the Western Hemisphere.

Cats are a serious threat to fledglings, birds roosting at night and birds on a nest. Research shows that de-clawing cats and bell collars do not prevent them from killing birds and other small animals. For healthy cats and wild birds, cats should not be allowed to roam free.
 

evilrobot

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No what?

You can't play the nature/design card with a domesticated animal. It's nonsense. How far do you play it? Should we ship them back to Africa?

Reminds me of people who think it’s inhumane to neuter cats and dogs – to deprive your pet of a sex life.
 

TopherRed

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I used to live in a neighborhood with one cat. It wasn't enough to silence the patridges that would scream song loudly at 3am every friggin' night. In that situation, i'd much rather deal with the cats.
 

heart

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Geez, we had a forced move to a highly urban area. We live right off a busy street. There's no place for her to have outdoor time here. Should I have just dumped my cat before I moved here?
 

sculpting

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I moved to a new very quiet neighborhood when I bought my condo. My cat had been indoor/outdoor at our previous house on a very busy street.

One morning he had climbed up to the window on the second floor and was tapping to be let in. I went downstairs and cuddled him and snuggled him, as he was very fluffy and like a big sweet baby, then put out food and let him back out.

I found him dead on the way to work. He had gotten hit just a few minutes later I guess. Now I try really hard to keep my two cats inside, although the one sneaks out the dog door now and then. Cats and cars just dont mix.
 

sLiPpY

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replying to Happy Puppy:

I'm not much of a cat person, but had the experience of being chosen by a kitten in search of a steady food supply.

Very intelligent and social animal, talked a lot... Did silly things like playing fetch, growling when hearing a strange noise. Jumping into the shower ahead of me in getting ready for work in the mornings.

Around seven years of age, I got the feeling something was missing in that cat's well-being. He'd get restless and go through spontaneous mewing fits.

Later that year I'd moved into a townhome, and started letting him out onto the fenced in patio. Cat loved it, in that he'd sharpen his talons on a tree. Stretch out in the sun, and catch whatever critters decided to wander through.

Six months later he was killed by a fox, and like you I felt bad about the experience... Until I realized at eight years, he'd had a very long life vs.
the average cat.

Seeing a cat out in nature doing what cats are designed to do...is an amazing site. I decided I'd much prefer remembering the six months of his being outdoors vs. three or six more indoors and feeling he's not satisfied.

Although I enjoyed the experience, decided not to have a cat as a pet again. In the city it just isn't practicle, to let them roam outdoors. I tend to now feel that it's almost cruel to keep them in.
 

ChocolateMoose123

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My cat is indoor/outdoor.

He would drive himself nuts if he couldn't go outside. He's a scoundrel.

I see no problems with having strictly indoor pets as long as they are safe, loved and cared for.
 

Sharkasm

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Before I pitch in, can I just clarify if you're talking about pedigrees or mongrels as indoor cats?
 

Kriash

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I think that Indoor-Outdoor cats are okay, but I prefer mine to be indoor. When I was younger we had a cat that was hit right outside our house. The neighbors flew over the hill and hit her as she was venturing out for the day. My current cat used to be feral, he was hit by a car and we brought him to the vet to get checked out, and get stitches because we couldn't see just leaving him there to die. He's been an indoor cat ever since, I tried to bring him outside a few times and he freaks out.
 

JoSunshine

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I had a cat who was a orignally a stray. She mostly stayed outside since that is where she liked to be (I'm not much of a cat person, but this cat was cool...she used to go on walks with me and my dog, stay right in stride. People used to stop and ask, "Are you walking your cat?!"..."Yes, yes I am.").

Anyway, in two separate houses she made friends with the local racoons. They would all hang out on my front poarch together. No lie. She was a very chill cat (the feline equivilant of a, hippie pot-head). I used to mock that she was like, "Raccoons, dudes, come partake in the Cat Chow...It's awwwwwesome. There's plenty to go around."
 

Katsuni

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Some cats are very resilient, and territorial. I've known one that was about 10lbs and had no problems scaring off raccoons 2-3 times his size. If yeu're aggressive enough, it's not a problem.

Others are very cautious, I knew another cat who was just very jumpy, always ready to run, and didn't worry about territory or food... mostly because he just made friends with EVERYONE nearby and got bits of food from everyone (ended up a rather tubby kitty).

On another note, there's another cat I know of that probably weighs more than most raccoons, and it's NOT fat o.o It's like a 26lb cat that's like pure muscle, thing is scary XD

Last I'd heard, the first one died at 16 due to organ failure, but not to anything like raccoons, foxes, or other things known in the area, despite being an outdoor cat (though he had to be kept inside for months at a time due to being injured in fights because he was so territorial). The other two are still going strong to my knowledge, also both outdoor cats of 15+ years.

The thing people fail to realize, is that cats are very powerful and dangerous for their size. As predators go, pound for pound, cats are some of the most deadly there are out there. They may be small, but they can generally take care of themselves, even against a larger opponent, unless that larger opponent is both substantially larger (like 100lbs+ coyote or something) and starving (as in they won't back down from a fight because they're about to die themselves anyway), the cat will generally make the other back off.

Most cats are also smart enough to know to be cautious around cars and traffic as well; it's far more common for a dog to get hit by a car than a cat, though sadly the latter does still occur as well.

Generally, outdoor cats aren't at THAT much higher risk, but they do need to be looked after, and certain areas with more vicious wildlife yeu need to be careful about. If others such as raccoons and such are well fed, they won't likely bother a cat. If they think the cat's food is the only way to survive, then they can fight back, which can turn into a very bad situation. If yeu keep extra food out in an area like the roof for raccoons and such, they'll generally leave cats alone.

Or if yeu're really scared, but still want an outdoor cat, get a pet fox or lynx, they're large enough to take care of themselves, and have a very similar temperament to a cat as a pet. They do tend to be more expensive, difficult to keep, and harder to find a vet that knows how to treat, however, and many areas require special licenses for such. Also, foxes think they're cats rather than dogs... they like to jump up on furniture, counters, etc... except they are notably larger and don't realize that they can and will knock down anything nearby in the process.

In any case, there are also many cats who like being indoor cats too; food, shelter, love, if they get all these things, they can live a luxurious lifestyle and never feel the want to be outdoors, unless they were raised as outdoor cats in the first place, in which case it's near impossible to keep them in, and they won't listen anyway.

I've seen some cases where cats will be willing to walk on a leash as well, they just take substantially more training than a dog for that is all, since they really don't like listening XD
 

Talisyn

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indoor outdoor

Generally, outdoor cats aren't at THAT much higher risk, but they do need to be looked after, and certain areas with more vicious wildlife yeu need to be careful about. If others such as raccoons and such are well fed, they won't likely bother a cat. If they think the cat's food is the only way to survive, then they can fight back, which can turn into a very bad situation. If yeu keep extra food out in an area like the roof for raccoons and such, they'll generally leave cats alone.



In any case, there are also many cats who like being indoor cats too; food, shelter, love, if they get all these things, they can live a luxurious lifestyle and never feel the want to be outdoors, unless they were raised as outdoor cats in the first place, in which case it's near impossible to keep them in, and they won't listen anyway.

Let me first qualify myself by saying I'm a life long multi-cat/dog owner, who has NEVER lived in the city limits- we have starving coyotes.
For the past 5 years I've had two cats- 1 is a now 8 year old declawed (I received her this way) female, and the other would now be 5 male. The female we've always kept inside because of her declawed disability, and the male we let go in and out. 5 years went by fine, but just about a month ago coyotes finally got to the male. (He was black, and strong... but you can't always hide from and escape a pack). I've never had any cat in my life who was outdoor/indoor who has lived longer than him. My guess is that the female who stays indoor is going to live to ripe old age.
 

runvardh

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Scientific studies actually show that each year, cats kill hundreds of millions of migratory songbirds. In 1990, researchers estimated that "outdoor" house cats and feral cats were responsible for killing nearly 78 million small mammals and birds annually in the United Kingdom.

University of Wisconsin ornithologist, Dr. Santley Temple estimates that 20-150 million songbirds are killed each year by rural cats in Wisconsin alone.

Feline predation is not "natural." Cats were domesticated by the ancient Egyptians and taken throughout the world by the Romans. Cats were brought to North America in the 1800's to control rats. The "tabby" that sits curled up on your couch is not a natural predator and has never been in the natural food chain in the Western Hemisphere.

Cats are a serious threat to fledglings, birds roosting at night and birds on a nest. Research shows that de-clawing cats and bell collars do not prevent them from killing birds and other small animals. For healthy cats and wild birds, cats should not be allowed to roam free.

*looks up from the squirrel he's been eating* What? *shrugs and goes back to eating*
 

Ivy

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Stay inside and eat your kibble Runvardh.
 
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