Pets

[Silenxia]

Indeed, so far she seems to have avoid trouble, though I do wonder how she can climb up this wall behind our house (the one you can see in the picture). But I think one of her owners is concerned about her wandering because my mom said that he sounded extremely grateful when she was brought back.

[slicing]

Yeah, the problem for my cat is that despite the fact she just hangs around outside our door (she doesn't even go on the garden when she goes out, I think she just likes having a stretch outside? But it might be because she's always been a bit of an outside cat - we didn't adopt her from a shelter or anything, we just started feeding her when she was like a feral abandoned(?) kitten and she started coming into the house) is that this other cat has decided to basically move into our garage (there's a space in our door big enough for a cat - which provided a haven for my kitty outside) and I think it fights my cat. And my cats always been little.

At least I don't have to worry about dogs (much) or cars, since she just hangs around our doorstep. The only dog who is likely to come around is Sadie from across the road and she just opens the door to our house (!) and visits my dog...if the door's locked she just goes away. It's just if my cat sneaks out and can't get into the garage to hide if chased for some reason.

[BBkat]

Speaking of roaming cats, one of the neighbour cats stopped by the other evening Tora was, not happy to see them.
I heard something hitting the front door and wondered if Tora had run into it something and went to look. Saw a black and white cat face peeking in through the window and Tora slapping at the window, all puffed out. The other cat was unphased though.
It apparently stopped by against this morning(according to my sister) with similar results.

We keep our cats indoors-the only time they go out they're on a harness and leash and we take them to the bark yard. Not that they're the biggest fans of going out anyways. Bella's a lot more chill about it than Tora.

I never understood people's need to let cats out anyways. I've heard the 'they need exercise and can't get it in a house' argument the most and it's bs. Firstly, they spend like all day sleeping anyways(seriously, every time I see ours they're napping). Second, if they want exercise they'll just run around the house/play(that is what play is for after all). Usually at the wee hours of the morning or middle of the night. But they do it.
The only weight problem any of our cats had was due to the food we were feeding them. We'd been feeding them Whiskas, which the vet equated to eating McD's everyday. We switched the food to something healthier and bam, weight loss.

It just, seems so irresponsible to let them out. You have- parasites and diseases that can make the sick; other cats or dogs that could hurt them, wild animals that could EAT them(like coyotes, hell, a large owl or hawk could if they were inclined and the cat small enough), and of course cars, people and weather are all problems too.
Like, at least supervise them if they must go out.

[Anira]

I let one cat outside when he wants to go out. I had him with me at the gas station when he was a kitten, and some days it was too damn hot to keep the door shut (no AC). If you don't let him out, he will do everything he can to piss you off until you do. He keeps an eye on the chickens for me as well. Sister's cat is too stupid to be let out, and Sydney is too much of a girly girl.

Cats are not fragile. He's not going to die because I let him outside when he wants to go out. He stays out all night, and has done so for years. He's not diseased and has had no problems with parasites.

To each their own.

[Tekla]

Cats are not fragile.

The problem is not fragility, at least not until they get old.

A big problem is the environmental damage. Declines in multiple bird and other small animal species' populations can be directly attributed to cats. And in many cases they don't even eat what they kill.

The other big issue is how owners can somehow be okay with risking the health and life of their pet(s) and how they can be okay with the pet potentially not even coming home. There are any number of things out there that can kill a cat, from malicious people to cars to other animals. Even if it hasn't happened yet, don't take that for granted because the risks are always there and they only increase with age (higher age does increase fragility and susceptibility to disease).

For the record, I also don't like it when people let their dogs or other pets roam, either. Roaming dogs in particular pose a direct threat to people (especially if they're poorly trained, untrained, and/or territorial) and other animals (including other dogs). They can also be killed by disease, malicious people, cars, and a great deal of other things.

Having been directly threatened by roaming dogs before, I can't see this as a "to each their own" issue. Someone else's decision nearly got me mauled and that's unacceptable.

[Anira]

I didn't say anything about dogs. Roaming dogs piss me off, especially since in this tiny town, I know who they belong to, and those people should not own animals at all.

There was a month period where I thought my cat was gone forever, but someone took him up to the house we just moved out of and he couldn't find his way back home.

I love my animals, and put their needs before my own. I'm not a terrible owner because I let my cat wander outside. He wants outside. He loves being outside. So I will let him go outside.

[MistyoC]

Speaking of roaming cats, one of the neighbour cats stopped by the other evening Tora was, not happy to see them.
I heard something hitting the front door and wondered if Tora had run into it something and went to look. Saw a black and white cat face peeking in through the window and Tora slapping at the window, all puffed out. The other cat was unphased though.
It apparently stopped by against this morning(according to my sister) with similar results.

We keep our cats indoors-the only time they go out they're on a harness and leash and we take them to the bark yard. Not that they're the biggest fans of going out anyways. Bella's a lot more chill about it than Tora.

I never understood people's need to let cats out anyways. I've heard the 'they need exercise and can't get it in a house' argument the most and it's bs. Firstly, they spend like all day sleeping anyways(seriously, every time I see ours they're napping). Second, if they want exercise they'll just run around the house/play(that is what play is for after all). Usually at the wee hours of the morning or middle of the night. But they do it.
The only weight problem any of our cats had was due to the food we were feeding them. We'd been feeding them Whiskas, which the vet equated to eating McD's everyday. We switched the food to something healthier and bam, weight loss.

It just, seems so irresponsible to let them out. You have- parasites and diseases that can make the sick; other cats or dogs that could hurt them, wild animals that could EAT them(like coyotes, hell, a large owl or hawk could if they were inclined and the cat small enough), and of course cars, people and weather are all problems too.
Like, at least supervise them if they must go out.

We had barn cats at the farm. They were semi-feral and would not come in the shop or house. They hunted mice and rats, though we fed them some kibble too. One of them learned to break chicken eggs to eat, so he kept our hens from going broody when we couldn't find their nests. They stayed at the farm when we left, as they had been there before us.
Living in town, all my cats have stayed indoors. Quasar won't even go near the door if it's standing open. She equates going out the door with going to the vet! lol I have had cats I would take outside on a leash, but when they got older, they were less interested in doing so.

[BBkat]

See, barn cats I get, from what I hear they seem to be semi-feral as it is and wouldn't do go indoors(plus they can't do their jobs there and the whole point of having them is to do away with mice xD).
I'm just meaning, living in the city with a regular old house cat where there isn't a need to let them out(unless like, supervised).

Speaking of outdoor cats, one of the neighbourhood cats stopped by our house the other day and peeked in the front door window at our cats. Tora was unimpressed. I could hear her slapping the door and she was all puffed up.

[LightningDragon]

One of our cats goes outside regularly because he throws a complete fit if kept inside. He has all of his vaccines up to date, and our neighborhood is pretty safe. He tends to hang out around our house and in our yard, anyways. He's smart, and there aren't many other wandering cats (there might be two, although I think someone is feeding them so they've migrated to that house). Yes, he does occasionally kill things, but that's tapered off sharply as he's gotten older.
While I can't speak for everyone, given our circumstances, I don't think that we're being super irresponsible.

[ponee59]

I have nine cats and seventeen gerbils. My cats were all rescues. They are all neutered and do not go outdoors. The oldest is seventeen and the youngest is five. I can not have more due to new rules on pet owenership in my area. Where I live you are only able to have six cats per household. We are allowed to keep current cats we have though to live out their normal lifespan.