Shall I Free My Cat?

[solomonar]

My integer tomcat is a purely indoor cat. For few months now I got the habit to walk him outside for one hour daily (like people walk dogs).

He is sometimes happy outdoor, smelling flowers and sticks, stepping around cars in parking lots (he passed his childhood in a gas station) and sometimes less happy, when dogs attack him or when there is to much noise.

Almost everyday he poses himself near the front door and ask (meows) to get outside.

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Shall I free the cat in the countryside? To let him go? Is that freedom that he may enjoy better than my care and food at will?

I have no clue from theory or from the vets. So I will be very happy for any experience or advise you may be so kind to post. Thank you!

+++
PS I must confess that Freedom is for me one of the core values of life. So perhaps I am biased in my judgment.

 

[Shane Kent]

Steady source of food and a loving home is far better than living free in the countryside. A wild animal would likely get the cat sooner or later. It can get URI (Upper Respiratory Infection), parasites, etc and will have nobody to take it to the vet. Domesticated animals like pet cats and dogs are not meant to live in the wild, they are meant to live alongside us humans. In Canada there are wild dogs but you won't see small cats in the wild, they don't stand a chance against the wildlife here.

 

[mokapi]

You have your own answer written in this post: "and sometimes less happy, when dogs attack him or when there is to much noise."

If you "free" him, you're only opening him up to terror from more noises, violent attacks by other animals, the elements, etc. It is not more compassionate to free him...you will, more than likely, drastically shorten his life. You also stated he's a tomcat, which means he's more likely to roam farther, get into more fights, and worsen a pet overpopulation problem.

Continuing to walk him every day will be your best bet. Neutering him also will likely help his urge to go outside-- his hormones are driving him to find a female to breed with. Not because he wants to emotionally, but because his biological processes are urging him on.

Please, do not let him outside unsupervised.

 

[solomonar]

You have your own answer written in this post: "and sometimes less happy, when dogs attack him or when there is to much noise."

If you "free" him, you're only opening him up to terror from more noises, violent attacks by other animals, the elements, etc. It is not more compassionate to free him...you will, more than likely, drastically shorten his life. You also stated he's a tomcat, which means he's more likely to roam farther, get into more fights, and worsen a pet overpopulation problem.

Continuing to walk him every day will be your best bet. Neutering him also will likely help his urge to go outside-- his hormones are driving him to find a female to breed with. Not because he wants to emotionally, but because his biological processes are urging him on.

Please, do not let him outside unsupervised.

I was thinking to free him in the countryside, where the dogs are usually kept in closed yards.

 

[solomonar]

Steady source of food and a loving home is far better than living free in the countryside. A wild animal would likely get the cat sooner or later. It can get URI (Upper Respiratory Infection), parasites, etc and will have nobody to take it to the vet. Domesticated animals like pet cats and dogs are not meant to live in the wild, they are meant to live alongside us humans. In Canada there are wild dogs but you won't see small cats in the wild, they don't stand a chance against the wildlife here.

You are right, but I put myself in his shoes -)) : shall I be happy to receive food in a perpetual (nice) prison, or shall I be happy to be free for one day only?

On other words -to link happiness to freedom, rather than to "free beer"

 

[mokapi]

I was thinking to free him in the countryside, where the dogs are usually kept in closed yards.

Then you are opening him up to random dogs who get out, as well as native wildlife. I'm not sure where you live, but I do not doubt that you have some species near you that could easily kill a cat. Even something as innocent as a rabbit could eviscerate a cat if it's able to kick hard enough at its belly during a struggle. Someone recently lost a cat to an owl. Think coyotes, foxes, badgers, hawks, owls, rabbits, other cats, etc. Think poisoned rats or mice that farmers have put out poisoned bait for. Think parasites like worms and fleas and mites.

I have learned through this site that our European (and other countries, i'm sure, but that's who I thought of first) friends do have societal pressure differences when it comes to this, but for the good of everyone- your cat, the environment, and your own heart- it's truly best to keep him inside. Get him neutered, too.

 

[solomonar]

I just watched "Cats from Istanbul" (original title Kudi) which is a very emotional artistic documentary. In Istanbul there are a lot of cats on the street. There are also a lot of "shared cats" in my European country countryside (namely cats who "belong" to 2 or more households in the same time).
I am aware that his life will be much shorter as a street cat and I do not like this.
One alternative I was thinking was to build him a sort of quasi-natural habitat in my loggia (which is very small, like a bedroom). But I do not know whether this is really a an alternative. Although, yes, it will be a nicea are for myself to enjoy, anyway ).

 

[mokapi]

I just watched "Cats from Istanbul" (original title Kudi) which is a very emotional artistic documentary. In Istanbul there are a lot of cats on the street. There are also a lot of "shared cats" in my European country countryside (namely cats who "belong" to 2 or more households in the same time).
I am aware that his life will be much shorter as a street cat and I do not like this.
One alternative I was thinking was to build him a sort of quasi-natural habitat in my loggia (which is very small, like a bedroom). But I do not know whether this is really a an alternative. Although, yes, it will be a nice are for myself to enjoy, anyway ).

Yes!! A catio!

There are lots of people who do this, and it's fairly popular on here, too. Tagging basscat who I know has an awesome one. Hopefully someone else will be able to chime in.

 

[basscat]

Yes!! A catio!

There are lots of people who do this, and it's fairly popular on here, too. Tagging basscat who I know has an awesome one. Hopefully someone else will be able to chime in.

If you own your place, just build a small porch or patio off of a back entry. Poles, roof, and screen it in. You will then have a screened in patio for your cat that you can enjoy just as much.
I have a pretty large enclosure just for our big cat. Not connected to the house.
But, the small screened in porch/patio is for our tabby and he LOVES it out there. Small pet door he uses to go out and come back in as he pleases. His litter box is out there also. If we are outside doing yard work, he's always in his little screened in room watching us.
If it's buggy season? We spend a lot of time out there lounging in the evenings, watching the wildlife (birds at the birdfeeder, squirrels, deer, and if lucky we get a "foxy" viewing right at dark.

 

[solomonar]

I only have a 2x5 m (6 x 16 ft) loggia at the 8th floor :-(

 

[talkingpeanut]

Letting your cat be "free" is a death sentence. He is used to you caring for him. He will die without that care.

 

[basscat]

I only have a 2x5 m (6 x 16 ft) loggia at the 8th floor :-(

Rules out the enclosure idea.
Free him? It's all a matter of wording.
My cat has an enclosure and you think that's nice.
My cat has a cage and you think that's torture.
There is no difference.

You want to set a cat "free" (sounds awesome)
You want to dump a cat you don't want (inhumane)
Same thing.......

 

[solomonar]

Letting your cat be "free" is a death sentence. He is used to you caring for him. He will die without that care.

I know, but there are hard-wired instincts as well. My point is how much freedom worth.

Imagine you have to choose between a room full of everything you want from this life. You will be entitled to live in that room in exchange for your entire life freedom. Would you accept it?

Sure, this is to briefly illustrate the problem (arguendo).

 

[solomonar]

Rules out the enclosure idea.
Free him? It's all a matter of wording.
My cat has an enclosure and you think that's nice.
My cat has a cage and you think that's torture.
There is no difference.

You want to set a cat "free" (sounds awesome)
You want to dump a cat you don't want (inhumane)
Same thing.......

[the new quoting system is a nightmare for me :-( ]

I think I could arrange the loggia in a very complicate way (although is very small), to mimick a wild habitat, by posing sticks, plants and complex cardboard tubes network that would be very challenging for the cat. Well, this will be better (in my mind) than the human habitat as such. I guess...

 

[mokapi]

This is a domestic cat we're talking about.

basscat , for example, has an actual bobcat. An actual wild cat, with actual instincts that have not been bred out of him. That bobcat can't be released into the wild.

You are anthropormorphizing your cat. As much as I believe cats are very intelligent, have souls, etc., it doesn't change the fact that your cat does not experience the same gamut of emotions. A cat does not have the concept of "everything I want in life". A cat has momentary wants. Wants food. Wants to pee. Wants a drink of water. Wants to chase something. And then, those wants fade into something else...wants to sleep. Wants to cuddle. Wants to be left alone. Wants a tummy rub. Wait! No tummy rub! Food.

A cat wants each of these things in the moment. He does not think, "today, I want to go outside for 20 minutes, and then come inside for a snack, and then take a nap".

Think of a cat as a toddler. A toddler will sometimes be hungry, but want something else to eat, so it throws its bowl of food on the floor to get a reaction. In that moment, all that the toddler wanted was something else to eat. It relies on its parent to feed it what it wants. It has a very weak concept of consequences, if it has a concept of them at all. It has no concept of a future, because it is a baby, and its brain is not as developed.

You will only be doing your cat a disservice.

 

[Willowy]

Yes, but if you dump him in a place he doesn't know, with no food or water or medical care or safety, it would be like dumping you in the middle of a desert with many predators. I think you'd probably choose your theoretical room over that . That's not true freedom; its torture. He has been raised in a home with all the amenities and it would be cruel to abandon him now.

 

[Shane Kent]

Imagine you have to choose between a room full of everything you want from this life. You will be entitled to live in that room in exchange for your entire life freedom. Would you accept it?

If life freedom meant a strong chance of an animal making a meal out of me or parasites slowly killing me I would most definitely pick the room full of everything. I would more than accept it, I would demand it.

 

[talkingpeanut]

I know, but there are hard-wired instincts as well. My point is how much freedom worth.

Imagine you have to choose between a room full of everything you want from this life. You will be entitled to live in that room in exchange for your entire life freedom. Would you accept it?

Sure, this is to briefly illustrate the problem (arguendo).

Yes.

 

[solomonar]

Yes.

Then, can you imagine something "in-between" these 2 situations? (argumentum ad temperatiam is here valid, in your opinion?

 

[talkingpeanut]

Then, can you imagine something "in-between" these 2 situations? (argumentum ad temperatiam is here valid, in your opinion?

I don't know what you mean, but I am never going to agree that abandoning your cat and leaving him to die is the right choice.