This is not an easy call. Growing up, we always had stray cats who found us & all were indoor/outdoor. Of course, it was way different then & my mother always made sure they came in at night. They all went to the vet to be s/n & then not again until they became ill towards the end of their lives. We had 3 generations & all lived to their early 20's. But we also fed whoever showed up & some would ultimately come in and out. One of those was poisoned by a neighbor & another was killed by a car.
My own cats are all indoor--I live on the 6th floor of an apt building-LOL. All came in as strays of different ages. Interestingly enough, the one who never had any interest in what was going on outside (didn't sit on window, didn't run for front door, didn't try to sneak out on balcony), was the late great Romeo. He was around 3 or 4 when I brought him in & he always seemed to have the attitude "been there, done that!". I don't know that I wouldn't let them out if I lived in a very rural area... but I know about the predators out there so I suspect I'd probably ruin it for them by hovering-LOL -----Original Message----- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Beth Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 12:12 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors Our shelter has an indoor only policy. The cat can go out if you have it with you on a leash or if it is in an enclosed patio which it cannot get out of & you are present at all times. Otherwise we will remove the cat from the home. There are about 4 cats in my neighborhood who have been killed by irresponsible people letting their dogs loose. Not to mention the ones which have gotten run over. Beth Don't Litter, Fix Your Critter! www.Furkids.org --- On Wed, 3/23/11, Natalie <at...@optonline.net> wrote: From: Natalie <at...@optonline.net> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 12:04 PM You are 100% correct in saying: " Sorry but I 100% DISAGREE with "cats are wild animals and need to live outside" point of view." Cats were indeed wild at one time; but since they have been domesticated for a few thousand years and allowed to over breed, causing many to revert to being feral, we are obligated to do as much as we can (and I can see that 100% of people in this group are doing so) to rectify all the misdoings of mankind..... -----Original Message----- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Edna Taylor Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 11:40 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors Just because your kid likes to eat McDonald's every day or binge drink or do drugs because it makes them happy is NOT a reason to allow it. The same reasoning goes for cats, just because they LIKE it doesn't mean it's good for them. My cats may be "prisoners" in my house but I sleep well at night knowing they are loved and safe and from what I can tell, they are pretty freakin happy. I have picked up enough broken and battered bodies off the roadways to know that NONE of my cats or fosters will EVER be allowed outside unless it is in a safe enclosure or on a leash. There was a young "individual" (can't call him a man because real men do not torture animals) in Dallas that took his neighbor's inside/outside cat and over a course of several hours beat and tortured the cat and video taped the entire thing. THAT is what happens to outdoor cats. While some may be lucky enough to escape being tortured, hit by cars, eaten by coyotes or hawks or owls, most do not escape this fate. Sorry but I 100% DISAGREE with "cats are wild animals and need to live outside" point of view. Just my 2 cents. Edna > Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 09:13:09 -0400 > From: at...@optonline.net > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors > > As an adopter, my views on this are very strict and well-defined - I > am responsible for placing cats in the safest possible homes, and I > would do no > less. I need to be able to sleep at night, knowing that the cats that > I rescued and invested so much time, energy, and emotion will be safe > and happy for a long time. > Yes, I agree, there still are a few safe area left, but not many and > none are 100% safe, ever. It is true that times used to be safer for > cats to be outdoors - ours always had been, especially when I was > growing up, until one > of our kittens was killed by a car....Unfortunately, it takes many > people to > understand this only after a tragedy occurs. When an adopter tells me > that their cat ALWAYS sat on the front porch, and never left....and > they intend to do the same with a new adopted cat, I say NO! Their old > cat may have indeed done that, but it doesn't mean that a new cat will > do it: It takes ONLY ONE TIME - chasing a squirrel or bird across the street, and WHAM! > Cats can be perfectly happy indoors with tall cat trees by a window, a > window perch, the right kind of toys to keep them interested and active. > More and more people construct outdoor enclosures; simple ones to > really elaborate ones, even just a little window screened porch. I > don't believe that cats need to hunt; if they are homeless and hungry, > yes, but there's no > need for a well-fed cat to kill small wildlife, not for food, but for > fun and the reflex of chasing something (could be a toy). > > -----Original Message----- > From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org > [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Lorrie > Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 7:56 AM > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors > > This is a hot topic, but I agree humans and loss of habitat are the > main threat to birds. > > As for keeping cats inside. I've had cats all my life and they have > always been indoor/outdoor cats. All of them have lived to > 16 to 17 years of age unless they've had some genetic problem like > heart disease. My cats were all rescues and they lived outside before > I had them, and they are totally miserable inside. > > It's really only the last couple decades that cats have been living > indoors, but the invention of cat litter and urban sprawl have made us > think all cats have the perfect life indoors, when in reality, cats > are happier if they can live outdoors. They are programmed to hunt > small animals....which is the best nutrition for them. They need to > climb trees, stalk at night with their night vision, and be free. > Cats were not made for sitting in a window sill, and a prison is a > prison no matter how many cat toys and kitty kondos we buy for them. > > It's true that some outdoor cats have a shorter life expectancy, but > this mostly depends on where they live. If they live in a safe area > with little or no traffic then I feel they should be allowed to be > outside. There are some cats who will never willingly settle for the > indoor life. We live in the middle of the woods on a dead end road > with no traffic and our cats are allowed to go outside. I rarely see > them catch a bird, but they catch many mice & moles. I feel sad to see > anything killed, but cats and dogs are predators and this is what they > were designed to do. > > Lorrie > > > > Sorry but that information is outdated or biased. The number one > > killer of birds is humans due to habitat loss or construction for same. > > > > Humans: The Number One Threat to Birds > > > http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=325 > > > > > > SomeWhere Sam > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
