Dogs have parks... what about cats?

[carolina]

Dogs have parks they can go and have loads of fun... what about our kitties? Are there "Cat Parks"?
Do you guys go out with your kitties on a harness to a park near you? What about a meetup with local TCS friends and kitties? Do you guys ever do that?
I think it would be fun both for us humans and them!!

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Dogs have parks they can go and have loads of fun... what about our kitties? Are there "Cat Parks"?
Do you guys go out with your kitties on a harness to a park near you? What about a meetup with local TCS friends and kitties? Do you guys ever do that?
I think it would be fun both for us humans and them!!

Dogs by nature are PACK animals and thus need to socialize .... Cats are far more solitary creatures needing advanced techniques used in introductions... that is why there are no "cat parks "

 

[carolina]

Originally Posted by sharky

Dogs by nature are PACK animals and thus need to socialize .... Cats are far more solitary creatures needing advanced techniques used in introductions... that is why there are no "cat parks "

Sharky - is it impossible to do something for cats? Like activity centers; a place that was fenced, and had things that they could be interested in doing on their own, while "Fur parents" socialized... Do you think there would be a chance to work it out?
in no cage shelters for example... the cats stay there, no cages, and seem to get along pretty well...

 

[sharky]

for a very very small % of cats maybe ...

I have 5 cats ... only issues are with one is OVER friendly to his sister thus she hates him... but each cat introduced was done over a period of WEEKS( or about a month for the last one) not minutes ... open cage shelters do break up their share of squablles... so I have up to any group of 4 not containing the two with issues ...

A mother cat will not recognize her kittens after a few days ... thus they would have to go thru proper introductions or Mommy could cause some grave injury to the youngster s

so NO cats are not ones to have a park or outing to meet and then leave other kitties

 

[carolpetunia]

With so many communicable kitty diseases, and so much variation in vaccination philosophies, I'd be very hesitant to introduce our kitties to one another. It's a lovely thought, bringing together the kitties we love -- but it's risky. And imagine how they would feel about the idea of commingling with strange cats!

 

[jackbombay]

Our cat has had some good cat buddies over the years, but he HATES the car so driving to any cat park would be out of the question, his sister is ok in the car, but still does not like it.

 

[zoeysmom]

LOL...my cats freak out the second we take them out the door on their harnesses (hence, the harnesses will be sold), so I can only imagine their reactions if I took them to an outdoor space with *gasp* other cats. I guess I didn't do a very good job of socializing them!

That said, my parents have two dogs. One is a scaredy-dog who would probably be frightened by half the dogs there (the small fluffy ones just confuse her, she'll play with them eventually) and the other isn't very social with dogs....she just jumps up on someone as soon as other dogs come around (except her sister

). So, I guess even dog parks aren't ideal for all dogs.

 

[cruisermaiden]

Most cats freak out when you take them outside, and take a long time to adjust to new cats. I know there are some exceptions, but most cats simply would not enjoy that sort of thing.

Human gatherings would still be ok, our kitties would just have to be there in spirit instead of body!

 

[persi & alley]

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Dogs have parks they can go and have loads of fun... what about our kitties? Are there "Cat Parks"?
Do you guys go out with your kitties on a harness to a park near you? What about a meetup with local TCS friends and kitties? Do you guys ever do that?
I think it would be fun both for us humans and them!!

It's just not fair, is it? Dallas has several dog parks. The funny (strange) thing is that there is a sign stating DOGS ONLY. I am not an English major but I can only gather from that sign that humans are not allowed.

 

[feeline]

I drive to a nature area with a creekbed,  put my cats in a dog cage and lay it on a pull cart, and pull them to where we are going.

Once there, I lower myself and pets on a rope (tied to a tree) so we can climb down to the creek bottom, which has a sandy beach.

Then I let them wonder around out of the cage.

 

[feeline]

Sounds like what you are looking for is timeshare property for your cats to enjoy.

Get a group of cat owners in your area to buy an acre of land with grass and mature trees and water,

cyclone fence it off, build some nice landscaping with running water,provide each owner with a key to get in

and specific days and times of day of the week that they own it for private use.  Make some friends and

get together with another timeshare owner on their day/time and double your benefit.

 

[sarah bsh]

Sounds good for people aswell as the cats lol

 

[betsygee]

 
Quote:
It's just not fair, is it? Dallas has several dog parks. The funny (strange) thing is that there is a sign stating DOGS ONLY. I am not an English major but I can only gather from that sign that humans are not allowed.

Funny!!  

 

[themadduke]

Cat parks would be for cats that do get along with other cats. If one's cat doesn't then they shouldn't bring it. Same as a dog at a dog park. Cats can and do live in colonies. They live in feral colonies here in the States as well as share rooms at rescue shelters. Over in foreign lands cats roam the streets together. They are  abundant and get along just fine. A minority of domestic  cats don't get along with other cats.

 

[fyllis]

With so many communicable kitty diseases, and so much variation in vaccination philosophies, I'd be very hesitant to introduce our kitties to one another. It's a lovely thought, bringing together the kitties we love -- but it's risky. And imagine how they would feel about the idea of commingling with strange cats!

I agree. I wouldn't put either of my cats at risk of being exposed to a communicable disease or worse. 

Not to mention... IF there would be a cat fight, the results could be devestating. The stress alone could mess your cat up for a while (if not long-term), but being bitten could be dangerous! 

Not everyone takes care of their pets as they should. And, even if they do, there are still potential dangers when you have strange cats being brought together.

My two cats grew up together from 6 weeks on. They are strictly indoors and have been routinely vetted. Back in April of this year, they were 'playing' together and they got a little carried away (as usual) and Kricket bit Keeker on the head. The bite became severely infected and took about 3 weeks to heal! Yes, cat bites are just as dangerous to other cats as they are to humans. Regardless of how clean and vaccinated and cared for your cat is,  all cats carry a large number of bacteria that are capable of causing tissue infections  in bite wounds. One of the more common is highly pathogenic bacterium known as Pasteurella multocida.

I was bitten four years ago by my sister's cat (strictly indoor and very well vetted) and within 2 hours, my forearm was swollen twice it's size and I was on two rounds of antibiotics. It took over two months for the wounds to heal and I have 4 nice scars to show for it. The bite was a result of redirected aggression. He was watching a stray tom cat out the window and I approached him to remove him from the window and he must have thought I was another cat sneaking up on him. My mistake! 

While it sounds like a fun idea, I think that it is because we are humans, and humans are social creatures. Knowing, understanding, and respecting the cat culture and behavior strongly suggests  it is not a wise idea. 

 

[kittens mom]

We got an awful URI tracked into our home in August this year. That led me to put my foot down and remove the wandering cats setting up shop on our property. I would never willingly allow my cats contact with a strange cat.

As far as the dog parks lots of people refuse to use them for many of the same reasons.

 

[bengalcatman]

We walk our Bengal Makena every day - we often take him to a nearby park to explore

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• bengalcatman
• Oct 21, 2015

I told Makena that there were no dedicated cat parks, only dog parks, and that he should start a class action suit (cat action suit maybe?) against the discriminatory practices of town governments.

Unfortunately, he was more interested in chasing leaves...

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• bengalcatman
• Oct 21, 2015

On a serious note: Makena prefers to hike where there are no other people or pets. In general cats are more solitary than social, but they do form groups/friendships under certain circumstances. Given the choice between meeting new cats or people and hiking with just me, Makena will take the latter every time.

 

[feeline]

It is a Civil Rights Violation for local governments to not provide equal but separate park facilities for pets

based upon species.  local governments cater to DOGS only.  This must be prosecuted in order for change to occur.

 

[roobear]

Do you not have gardens in America? Here in England the majority of homes have fenced (sometimes walled) gardens. Now i know many cats like to explore but my cats never really felt the need to leave there garden. There were places for them to dig, nice trees for them to mark and nice shady bushes for them to sit under and a nice sunny grassy patch for them to lie on. Myself of my mum would often go out and play with them or if it was sunny and warm I would take a book out and lie in the sun and Max wold lie with me.That was their cat park, we would occasionally get other cats but we couldn't let Frank socialise with them because of his FIV (he would fight alot before he was diagnosed) and Max was a scaredy puss.

 

[roobear]

Makena is beautiful.