Freerange cats

[annaraven]

Quote:
Eep! No. Not at all what I meant.

I just meant cats that are allowed to go outside on their own. And wanted mostly to have a discussion about the topic from folks who'd been successful (or unsuccessful) at keeping theirs in their own yard. Rowdy wore a collar once - for about a half hour. Yeah. The invisible fence wouldn't have worked for him. We use the Advantage stuff on him cuz we couldn't keep a flea collar on him either.


@Patandchickens Rowdy also liked going out in winter. Minnesnowta winter. In the snow. So something that couldn't stand winter wouldn't have worked for us.


If we really had to keep him in, wow. It would be really hard - especially with the sheds near the fences, which are perfect cat launching points. If all else failed, I think he'd use the gazebo, or one of the trees. He's totally a sweetheart - not at all feral. Just a roamer. Our other cat Emily is shy-er, and mostly stays in her own yard anyways. Both of them are chipped, of course, and have regular vet visits. Luckily, we've never had problems with our neighbors about them.

I just wonder when people say "keep the cat in your own yard", what they mean by it, how they expect people to do that. So I figured some folks must have found ways that work. I love hearing about the "cat runs" and it's always good to learn about stuff like the cat fences. Sounds fun. Our cats have several play structures in the house. I should look into putting some in the backyard too for them.

 

[patandchickens]

Well, snowproof catproofing of privacy fence can be *done*, just not in my budget or on my existing chainlink fence or with the winds we experience

It still may be something worth your continuing to look into, if you really are interested in trying to keep the cat home.

Here is a link to a thread over on The Easy Garden site where I posted some pics of my cat run as I was building it: http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=27031&p=1 I don't have any more recent pics, but it is significantly larger and more elaborate now -- they also have a 3x3x15' runway going down along the base of the cedar hedge to the R of the pics. And I want to enlarge it further next year. It is a *fun* project.

The cats love it. They even catch voles out there (yes, in an enclosed run. We have VERY dimwitted voles, I guess). In fact this time of year they are bringing in about 3 rodents a week, as best I can tell. Fortunately they do kill and eat them, rather than playing 'catch and release'

They even go out there in the winter - I have clear plastic over the part that connects to the house and on top of the "bridge" portion (I think those photos were taken before the clear plastic was installed) so the part right outside the house window is a nice warm greenhouse no matter how cold the weather, and they can go out without getting excessively snowed on if they want.

It is definitely not at all the *same thing* as being a fully outdoor cat. OTOH we live about 60' back from a VERY busy high-speed country road full of speeding gravel trucks and commuters, plus a lotta coyotes, and outdoor cats along this stretch tend to have a very short lifespan. And my four cats really DO seem to be quite adequately happy with their lives

Pat

 

[annaraven]

That is an *awesome* setup!

 

[Domestic_goddess]

I don't like the term free range cat either, and quit disturbed by this whole post actually. IMO if a cat wants to roam, a cats going to roam. If you don't want them in the house and they are outdoors there is not alot that going to stop them, unless your keeping them in pens and that's really sad to me.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

If the term bothers yall why did you open the thread?

 

[Show Me Chick]

I lost $200 in koi to a neighbors cat. It also used my screen door as a scratching post and pooped all in my yard. We have a law against cats roaming which I feel every town should have. No one else should have to put up with a animal that is not theirs. I told my neighbors that if I saw their cat on my property again it would not return home. I also told them that they are lucky I haven't taken them to small claims court...yet. I haven't seen that cat around anymore which is smart on their part.

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
My cats live in the house. They also go outside because they want to roam, just like my chickens live in the chicken coop and go outside to free range (and I only harvest their eggs). So I was playing on the "free range chicken" idea for the title of the post .

I just get concerned when I see threads saying "keep your cat out of my yard" and wonder how people think that's going to happen? I agree, cats roam. To me, it's not a matter of not loving my cat or not caring for my cat. My cat insists on being an indoor/outdoor cat. Some cats are like that. I make sure they're fixed and healthy, and they're normally home to sleep in our bed.

But if someone threatened to do something to a cat if the owner didn't keep it out of their yard (as I've seen happen on some threads), it makes me wonder how I (or anyone) could do that.

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
Sorry to hear about your koi. I checked the laws in my town before moving here or I wouldn't have moved here. There are a number of indoor/outdoor cats in our neighborhood. They seem to get on just fine.

I'm curious - how did they manage to keep the cat out of your yard? Any ideas?

Also, how do you protect your koi from raccoons?

 

[Sootsie]

thanks for this thread i dont own a cat personally i cant stand them but each to there own. my main problem is my neighbour she has 5 and they use my garden as a toilet i now have a few ideas besides a water gun to keep them out im off to see what i can find first thing in the morning. thanks again

 

[Show Me Chick]

My neighbors came over and told me they got rid of it, I didn't ask where the cat went. Since they took care of the problem I'm not going to pursue damages.