I let my pedigree out..........am I a bad person?

lorie d.

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My cat, Snowball, has never been exposed to the outdoors much and he is perfectly happy as an indoor only cat. If an outside door is open Snowball will sit in front of it with his back turned to it, and make absolutely no effort to get out. We live very close to a hospital and have emergency vechicles(sp?) going down our street at various times, so I'm sure Snowball would have been run over by now if we had been letting him go out.

I think the decision of whether or not to let a cat go outside should be up to each individual person.
 

melissa

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Well, my five kitties are inside only, with the exception of Onyx who sneaks out on occasion
They seem pretty happy to be in here since they have each other to play with, their own toy box and a cat tree to play around on.

However- when I open window (screened in of course) they all crowd around to get a sniff of whats out there. Their favorite place to be is the kitty shelf in our living room window. So, its my feeling that they would enjoy playing outside during the day.

Since I live close to a busy street, letting them out free range isn't a good option for me (if I lived on a farm or something they would be out whenever they wanted) So my plan is in the next few weeks to build a fenced in (roof too) area in my backyard. I'm going to have it so that the back of my house is actually the fourth wall and they'll have access to it through my bedroom window, a ramp going from the outside window sill down to the ground. With shelves to sun themselves on and things to climb I think they'd really like it.

It truly does depend on the situation, there are no absolutes, IMO.
 

tigger

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Dr. Foster & Dr. Smith's catalog has a little cage run.... I guess it is enclosed, but that might be an option?
 

debby

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Just wanted to say Thanks Mark, for your post, I thought it was very well said.


I don't think anyone is being cruel keeping there cats indoors all the time, but on the same token, I don't believe it is cruel to let them outside. (unless you live in a high traffic area, or somewhere that has lots of people around, and other dogs, etc....to where the risk is too great to let them outside unless they are supervised)
 

patsy

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My experience has been that some cats love to live indoors all the time, some outdoors all the time and some half and half. l to accomodate my darlings I have installed a cat fence-in system on our fence so the ones who enjoy outside can do so without being harmed or bothering any of the neighbors. Before we had the fence-in system we built an enclosure on to the back of our house with a pet door that allowed the cats to access the house and vice versa as they needed. If you let your cat out, make sure he is in a protected area. By the way, is he neutered? Make sure to neuter him and that will curb is desire to roam if he hasn't already done so.
 

bodlover

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I have to agree with Dtolle, Hissy and Debby here, it is up to the owners. I love all my cats more than anything, and I let them outside. I live in the middle of fields so there is very little traffic (I mean, VERY little) we don't have animals like coyotes etc in this country.... we DO have foxes, but the surrounding fields are just wide open expanses of grass - no-where whatsoever for a Fox to hide - you'd be able to spot one from 10 miles!!
All of my cats are rescues, they LOVE being outside and go crazy when kept inside for too long, they DO come in and spend hours sat with me and playing with me, but in the end, they all end up scrathing at the door desperate to get out.
I think it very much depends on your surroundings, if there is a busy main road in front of you house then yes, I would keep the kitties inside. I have had one indoor/outdoor kitty die, but two indoor only kitties die.... Im not saying they died because they were only indoor kitties, thats ridiculous, but Im just saying that it can befall any cat, no matter where he/she is.
We have had long debates/discussions on this before, and each to his own, but I would never dream of telling someone they were "wrong" or didn't love their kitties, because they keep them inside or outside. Cats are as individual as people in my opinion, every cats needs are different. As long as they are all well cared for and up to date with vaccinations and happy, etc etc etc I don't see a problem either way.
 

patsy

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Dear Bodlover:

You're lucky to be able to let your cats out and not have to worry about them. I dream of the day I can live in the country and not have to worry about my babies running free and having fun. My cats are lucky because they can go in my back yard which is "kitty paradise", and it's secured so they can't get out. I know though they would love it if they didn't have that wooden fence blocking their view of the world. After having 2 hits by cars, I said that's it I have to do something. I've lost many cats to death, but picking one up out of the street that has been hit by a car is the worst! I like to encourage people who have inside only cats that want to get outside, if they financially can afford it, is to build an enclosure. That is what we had originally before we acquired soooo many.
 

bodlover

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Patsy I totally agree!! Its a wonderful idea to have an outside enclosure for your kitties if you don't want to/can't let them roam about - that way they get the best of both worlds!!

Personally I think everyone on this board knows what to do for their own kitties, and we are all trying to do what best by them

(besides, you could hardly keep you 57 in the house!!
)
 
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