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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / April 2005Allowing Cats to Roam Unsupervised Outside
Cats are safer indoors than outdoors ANYWHERE THERE ARE CARS which is generally anywhere there are people. By allowing your cat to roam unsupervised you are endangering its health and life, and that is wrong. On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 18:15:29 -0400, "Mary" <marys@catlovernospam.com> amazed us with his/her particular brand of stupidity in <1112825852.9c74eecbf6b91107193e28e2fac01117@teranews> in rec.pets.cats.health+behav when he/she wrote: >Cats are safer indoors than outdoors ANYWHERE THERE ARE CARS which is >generally anywhere there are people. By allowing your cat to roam >unsupervised you are endangering its health and life, and that is wrong. You try telling that to the feral we rescued 10 years ago. She wants to go out, she needs to go out, she has to go out. It's just the way she is. She's smart and she knows how to avoid cars. I've watched her. On the plus side I live in the country so vehicles are not a concern. We have another feral we rescued 2 years ago who won't even walk out the door. She was hit by a car. She knows it is *bad* outside and nice and warm and dry with food inside. Cats are like people....they are all different. To think you can or should decide for all cats is ludicrous. Besides...cats survive without us...humans will be long gone, cats will still be here. -- K. A. Cannon kcannon at insurgent dot org (change the orgy to org to reply) Spirituality: The last refuge of a failed human. Just another way of distracting yourself from who you really are. > On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 18:15:29 -0400, "Mary" <marys@catlovernospam.com> > amazed us with his/her particular brand of stupidity in [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > I've watched her. On the plus side I live in the country so vehicles > are not a concern. Her post DID Say "anywhere there are cars". > We have another feral we rescued 2 years ago who won't even walk out > the door. She was hit by a car. She knows it is *bad* outside and nice > and warm and dry with food inside. > > Cats are like people....they are all different. > To think you can or should decide for all cats is ludicrous. Deciding that an urban can't should not, ever, be allowed to free roam is a safe bet. It's a no-brainer. > Besides...cats survive without us...humans will be long gone, cats > will still be here. No, as a whole, they don't. Some ferals survive without human intervention, but it's a meager and short-lived existance. I've seen how well strays "survive" and it's not a pretty life or a pretty end. Sherry "K. A. Cannon" <kacannon@insurgent.orgy> wrote in message > We have another feral we rescued 2 years ago who won't even walk out > the door. She was hit by a car. She knows it is *bad* outside Your cat has more sense than Kagis Corkscrew. My turn to reply to your message, Mary... My "feral" rescued cat of the last month is now playing outside... unsupervised. WITH my two neighbor cats. They are like buddies, and rarely seen without each other. He takes off around the grass and yards - and has been gone for up to two hours. And he has each time come back. On his own. Just fine and dandy. Just like the neighbor cats (who have done it for years), and just like other friends of mine's cats. The cars are loud and scary. They're smart, and they stay away. Depriving your adopted cat of the outside world is like caging a wild bird. It's cruel torture. Let nature and the laws of probability run its course. You're not God... you're just playing God. > My turn to reply to your message, Mary... > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > It's cruel torture. Let nature and the laws of probability run its course. > You're not God... you're just playing God. I'm just keeping my cat safe AND happy, Skip. And you're doing what you want to do. You will live with the consequences. "Skip Turner via CatKB.com" <forum@CatKB.com> wrote in message >He takes off around the grass and yards - and has been gone for up to two hours > It's cruel torture. Let nature and the laws of probability run its course. Then at least be prepared for the probability. You might want to keep a flat wide snow shovel handy, they make scraping up dead cats from the street a lot easier. The shovel also allows you to pick up a severely injured cat (e.g., broken back, or shattered hip) without causing additional damage or pain to cat. You can carry the injured cat right into the emergency clinic on the shovel without moving the cat. Most cats go into shock after being hit by a car, so keep a small thermal blanket handy too. Also, learn at least two quickest routes to an emergency clinic and make a few dry runs so you'll know exactly how to get there as quickly as possible when the need arises. You might also want to think about pet insurance. The few cats that do manage to survive being hit by a car or poisoning, or trauma caused by a psycho, usually require extensive surgery and supportive care for weeks to months or longer which can run into thousands of dollars. Best of luck - you're probably going to need it. Phil > "Skip Turner via CatKB.com" <forum@CatKB.com> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > clinic and make a few dry runs so you'll know exactly how to get there as > quickly as possible when the need arises. I know you're being sarcastic. But this caught my eye, becuase it is actually useful info. Three things I keep in the trunk of my car are a cardboard cat carrier, an old blanket and welding gloves. I have used them twice, to get injured cats off the road. One of them was very severely injured and died on the vet table less than 15 minutes after I found it. It was hard to pick her up without hurting her. I'm thinking now if I took the handle off a scoop shovel, it would fit in the trunk just fine. I know that sounds morbid. But the worst thing in the world is driving along and finding an injured, writhing cat on the side of the road and not having *anyting* to help move it. Sherry >> "Skip Turner via CatKB.com" <forum@CatKB.com> wrote in message >> [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > >Sherry That's not morbid, it's a wonderful thing that you do. How sad for the one who died, but at least in it's last moments it was warm and hopefully given something for the pain. People like you are angels. I've never found an injured cat before, but I tried once to help a turtle whose shell was terribly cracked. I brought it to the Wildlife Protection Organization. I don't know if it lived. But I like to think so. > > "Skip Turner via CatKB.com" <forum@CatKB.com> wrote in message > > [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > now if I took the handle off a scoop shovel, it would fit in the trunk > just fine. The flat, thin, wide, snow shovels work the best because they slide smoothly under the cat without actually moving the cat's body. I have a piece of construction netting that I tie over the cat on the shovel to keep her secure. I keep a shovel with the handle in my SUV along with long kevlar bite gloves, a Duraflex net, cat grabber, Tomahawk trap and a squeeze cage in case I have to take a cat to a different vet. The squeeze cage is worth its weight in gold because some vets won't treat an 'unknown' cat. I keep all this stuff in my truck for feral work, anyway - but its also made the difference between life and death for other cats more than a few times. > I know that sounds morbid. But the worst thing in the world is driving > along and finding an injured, writhing cat on the side of the road and > not having *anyting* to help move it. Tell me about it. One time I had to use the floor mat - which actually worked pretty good. Phil >My turn to reply to your message, Mary... > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >It's cruel torture. Let nature and the laws of probability run its course. >You're not God... you're just playing God. Hmmm. . . Then I suppose feeding and vaccinations and spaying or neutering would also be considered playing God. I mean a cat *can* find it's own food outside, right? And the laws of nature and probability can't only apply to cars, but disease and mating and all that other good stuff, too. My sister's cat was an outdoor cat and was brought to her by a weeping stranger who had to tell her that she hit her cat. But maybe she just had the quiet, less scary kind of car. What about in the winter when cats hide inside the hoods of cars? They aren't loud and scary until the car is turned on and it's too late. Not everyone knows or cares to pound on the car before starting it. > >My turn to reply to your message, Mary... > > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > probability can't only apply to cars, but disease and mating and all > that other good stuff, too. It's been my observation that the same people who pine for the "good old days", and "getting back to nature", and "letting nature take its course" are also the first ones to complain when the electricity goes out and they can't watch their favorite sitcom (and it's amazing how many are on usenet it's such an "unnatural", electronic gadget)! > My sister's cat was an outdoor cat and was brought to her by a weeping > stranger who had to tell her that she hit her cat. But maybe she just > had the quiet, less scary kind of car. What about in the winter when > cats hide inside the hoods of cars? They aren't loud and scary until > the car is turned on and it's too late. Not everyone knows or cares > to pound on the car before starting it. That's really sad, the poor kitty (and if I ever hit a cat by being unable to avoid him it would devastate me too)! Hugs, CatNipped My cats have been healthier once they stayed outside. But then again, maybe they are just exceptions, like some lifetime smokers living up to their 80s and 90s. > Cats are safer indoors than outdoors ANYWHERE THERE ARE CARS which is > generally anywhere there are people. By allowing your cat to roam > unsupervised you are endangering its health and life, and that is wrong. > My cats have been healthier once they stayed outside. But then again, > maybe they are just exceptions, like some lifetime smokers living up to > their 80s and 90s. What do you mean by healthier? And, just out of curiosity, are you in the US? > > Cats are safer indoors than outdoors ANYWHERE THERE ARE CARS which is > > generally anywhere there are people. By allowing your cat to roam > > unsupervised you are endangering its health and life, and that is > wrong. Yes, I'm in the US. I think they are healthier because my vet bills have been much lower (last 2 years just regular checkups without any findings) and I no longer have to buy and administer allergy medications (I guess they were allergic to something or someone in our house). > Yes, I'm in the US. > > I think they are healthier because my vet bills have been much lower > (last 2 years just regular checkups without any findings) and I no > longer have to buy and administer allergy medications (I guess they > were allergic to something or someone in our house). http://cats.about.com/od/indoorsvsoutdoors/ It does not take allot of web surfing to verify. The conventional wisdom seems to indicate that the inside cat is much healthier, but not necessarily *happier*. There are many (linked) sources of information, from vets, regarding how you can keep an indoor cat exercising and stimulated (happy). I was looking for hard data; I did not find any. This does not make the conventional wisdom false, just anecdotal. The experts did seem credible and credentialed though. That tends to convince me; you may require more(?). rsquared |
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