Are your cats Indoor, Outdoor, or Both?

[Buff Hooligans]

Quote:
I bet Michelle coulda picked them off with a shotgun while she was visiting you!

 

[mom'sfolly]

Mine are indoor only. I resent my neighbors cats spraying my front door and windows and pooping in my flower beds. I also dislike finding their bird kills.

 

[Morgan7782]

I have two cats, one is older and I found him in a huge park in Grass Valley when he was a wee little kitten. He has been inside/outside since then. He is a wonderful hunter and keeps rodents away from the house which I really appreciate. Plus he just gets so much enjoyment out of the outdoors. He IS a cat after all

I have a younger cat who was outside/inside until I got my chickens. Now he is inside from 8am to 8pm while the chickens free range, and he comes out around 8pm to spend the night outside. We have a cat door though so they can come and go as they please whenever they are out. Sacramento is known for tree rats, and my neighbors recently had a bunch in their shed. Well both my cats went out and within that night the nest and rats were terminated lol!

I have friends who always ALWAYS lecture me on letting my cats outside. My older cat has been in fights, and in Grass Valley he survived a coyote attack, but he is still let out when he wants. He would HATE us if we kept him cooped up after being outside for so long. He is a barn cat in the city now heh. Keeping him and my younger cat locked up would be like keeping a flock of chickens locked in the coop. 24/7. No way Jose.

So both my cats are indoors/outdoors pretty much as they please. Once my 3 month old pullets grow a bit more, the younger cat will be let out during the day too, but right now he is way too interested in chicken pot pie lol!

ETA: If I had a declawed, or handicap cat at some point they would be strictly indoors. My cats don't stray from my front yard, or they travel the rooftops on neighbors sheds. I did have one problem with my older cat breaking into a neighbors house to eat her dog's food LOL!! But she sprayed him with the sink hose and he has never been back hehe

 

[Ferrret]

BF's cats and my cat are indoor kitties. Before I moved in I occasionally put my cat on a thin leash staked deep in the yard and she would run around. Fleas and her breaking the leash and running out into the road became too much of a problem.

I would like to try the leash thing again and twice this week BF's cat's have managed to open the screen door and get out. Again a problem is flea's. I know a good way to prevent it is to use frontline or a flea collar but that only solves one issue. The other problem is hawks. I would really rather not lose a cat to a hawk. They are all declawed and I don't think they would really know how to defend themselves from a hawk before it hurt them badly or killed them. My cat hardly knows what to do when she sees a live mouse.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Wow whats up with these people's cats? They must not be doing something right or I am doing something uber right and my cats are just wierd homebodies?

Mine could easily go to either of my neighbor's and they don't - even with my one neighbor trying to temp my orange cat over all the time - lol. Mine say right around the house, on the roof, in one of two favorite trees, by the sheds with the dogs, on the trampoline, or under the bushes. - thats it. They could easily use the potty in my flower bed or the big sand box - but dont. they use the liter boxes - 1 in work shop shed and one inside the house.

My cats must just be wierd homebodies?

I dunno. We've only lived here for 8 months - and I didn't let them out till about 5 months ago - but only one was hesitant about going outdoors till I guess her brother and stepbrother talked her into it - now she's the roof sleeper.

 

[Campine Lover]

Hawks are not a problem. It would take a HUGE hawk, and a TINY cat. My cats are well behaved, they never poop in flowerbeds or anything like that. And they always make sure to bring the fresh-kill to MY house, lol. Cats have survived for centuries living outdoors. I have like, a billion hawks around my house and they never come near the cats. Or chickens, which is weird.

 

[australorpchick]

I have 2 cats that are strictly indoors and seem to prefer it that way. We let them go outside under supervision only. I've had Mow since she was a few months and Midget since he was only 3 weeks. Neither would be able survive on their own outside. I saw an episode on Animal Planet where a cat had got into some antifreeze and couldn't imagine my pets going through such a horrible experience. Years later, I discussed this same thing with a coworker and shortly after, her cat got into antifreeze and had to be put down.

 

[cindy99]

We have 3 cats. They are indoor/outdoor and spayed/neutered. Our long haired cat (Callie) doesn't care to be outside. We have a pet door but don't usually use it as they do bring us gifts - not always 100% dead gifts. We are out in the country - no neighbors. Have never had trouble with anything getting the cats - they die of old age around here.

They do all come in at night and sleep inside. They are not allowed to spend the night outside no matter how they beg. LOL
We do have some trouble with the rooster chasing them but they are learning to work it out.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

yes mine are excellent mousers - the other week jasmine the 6 lb psycho cat caught a HUGE RAT that was in the HOUSE!!!!!! and I dispatched it - but i can't say how glad I am to have my great felines around to keep the little pests under control. Mine do kill birds - but only babies that have fallen out of nests (if not my cats - then the feral cats that used to be around here before mine ran them off) - and black birds. *rolls eyes* they want sparrows so bad but my dogs are better at catching sparrows and robins than the cats are. the cats play dead by the food bowl and the black birds come up to food and not pay attention to the cat right there or around the corner and WHAM - i've had two instances where they have brought their bird trophies in the house and let them loose - and I have to catch the perfectly fine birds and release them outside - otherwise I don't mind them hunting - except the undead catches indoors.

I guess its one of those things "to each their own" and their own opinions

 

[AngieChick]

Quote:
This. I have several birdfeeders that are constantly full, I make homemade suet cakes, I keep fresh water for them, and I am getting ready to put in a water feature specifically for the wild birds. The last thing I need is my bratty cat killing off a population that I have worked so hard to cultivate.

Quote:
Also this, cat's shouldn't get a free pass from the expectations we have of other pets - to stay on the owners property.

Quote:
Bells are proven ineffective. Birds do not associate a bell ringing to danger. Why would they? Also, one of the reasons that cats are so damaging:
"The bacteria found in the saliva and the mouth of a mammal can cause fatal septicemia (infection in the bloodstream) of a bird in very short order. Cat bites should be considered the most dangerous, as the Pasteurella bacteria commonly found in the feline mouth, are extremely hazardous to birds. Even a simple puncture by a tooth can result in a fatal infection. Scratches from claws are also extremely dangerous, as the risk of infection is very real."

Meaning, even if the bird gets away, if it's been scratched or bit at all it will die.


I have 2 cats, one is indoor only. The other is around 15 years old and lives outside. She is so old and decrepit that she has no interest in anything except food and getting petted here and there. Birds land right next to her and she just blinks at them (I've seen it). That is the ONLY reason she is allowed outside. If I ever saw her so much as twitch her tail at the sight of a bird she'd be inside. Of course, this also means that she is useless for mouse control, but there ya go. I saw a mouse steal her food with her 6" away - shameful

! The other cat is a young male who would kill anything that got within 100 yards of him. He will always be an indoor cat. We are getting ready to adopt another male cat who will also stay inside.

My indoor cat is perfectly happy. He would love to wreak mahem on the great outdoors, but we can't alway get what we want in life