Advice from cat owners please?

[vickybear]

There's no right or wrong here, just different. We all love our cats. I had a friend in the UK who lived on a very busy main road. He adopted a cat through the Cats Protection League and had to guarantee to them that he would NEVER let the cat out of the house. If a rescue society is happy for a cat to be kept in all the time but at least have a loving owner, who are we to question?

As mentioned in another post, one of my cats is 22, the other is 12. I have never locked them in. They have always had cat flaps to the outside and come and go as they please. We've bought cat friendly homes and been VERY lucky.

I once hit a cat on a main road. I stopped and picked it up and took it to the vets. It was gone midnight and I scared the poor locum to death who was living above the vets. The cat was very poorly but survived. After 2 or 3 days I located it's owner. She had recently moved into a house on the main road and in the previous 2 weeks had lost 2 cats on the road. This was her last cat. I feel she should have taken more care after the first one, let alone 2. She put her house up for sale that week and was gone soon after, with her poor little, jaw wired puss in tow!

If Mrs Animal has her cats in runs good for her. They won't know any different and I'll bet they get loved to bits and will live long and happy lives.

[Rob Roy]

"If a rescue society is happy for a cat to be kept in all the time but at least have a loving owner, who are we to question?"

Well, I am for one. What sort of life is it for any animal (on four legs) to be kept shut inside a building 24/7? To be frank, and I am going to upset quite a few people now, some rescue societies have a completely cockeyed view of animal welfare. Animals should not be saved at all cost, come what may, even when on their last legs, living a life that suits the human and giving them a supposedly clear conscience. They are animals, for goodness sake, not human beings. They live, they fight, the fittest survive. That is not to say we should not look after our pets to the best of our ability, offering them a good life, good food and affection and when it is time for them to die making sure they do not suffer unnecessarily.

[KathyC]

[quote user="vickybear"]

 I had a friend in the UK who lived on a very busy main road. He adopted a cat through the Cats Protection League and had to guarantee to them that he would NEVER let the cat out of the house. If a rescue society is happy for a cat to be kept in all the time but at least have a loving owner, who are we to question?

 

[/quote]

Following on from the above point, (if a little off topic) I can see dangers in this attitude. In our area, the Cats Protection League are so strict on who they allow to adopt that unless you have a large garden, on an exceptionally quiet road, with someone around most of the day, then you are unlikely to be able to adopt. The consequence of this attitude is that you find owners of ordinary moggies selling kittens for between £40-70, as this is the only way many people can obtain a cat. Not surprisingly, some cat owners are not having their cats speyed because they can see money to be made by letting them breed. If they don't sell the whole litter where do they end up? - the Cats' Protection League! In a different part of the country, a friend of mine (a retired social worker) gave up volunteering for them as she felt the criteria for prospective adopters was on a par with those used to assess prospective adopters of children. Surely there has to be a middle way of vetting prospective homes other than only letting cats go to homes that are absolutely perfect?  A particularly ridiculous thing is that a very busy road on the Isle of Wight would be considered quite quiet in many urban areas.

[Christine Animal]

So, from what most of you are all saying, noone living in a flat should have a cat ?

Catalpa it's not confining them for our enjoyment, but for their safety.

Pads, I don't know where I said or implied you had a laid back attitude with your cats, I don't know anything about them and I'm sure by the type of person you are, you care very much for them.  I just meant that anyone who keeps them out of danger is just trying to be responsible, it all depends where and how they live.

Vickybear, you summed it all up à la perfection.  

Edit:  Catalpa, I don"t quite see what you mean by "caging", there has never been any question of keeping them in cages.

[JayJay]

Thanks for letting us know Westland & it's great to hear Asti (yum!) has got a good home & is settling down.

For what it's worth, I agree with Pads. Although I get fed up with the local wildlife being under attack all the time & I could put a stop to it, by keeping my moggie Elsa in, she is a free spirit & she's out doing what cats do. I would be distraught if anything happened to her, but she has her freedom & to me, that's how it should be.

Actually, years ago, I had a persian. She was an indoor cat & would have it no other way, I couldn't get her to go out. Maybe it's in the breeding & like that for pedigrees.

[Christine Animal]

Yes jayjay, Persians are known for not going far.

 

[KathyC]

[quote user="Christine Animal"]

So, from what most of you are all saying, noone living in a flat should have a cat ?

 

[/quote]

You can live in a flat and your cats still have access to the outside, unless you live at the top of a tower block. I would rather see cats living with some degree of risk than confined indoors. I just don't see that safety is the most desirable aspect of life for a cat and I think that this is putting your needs and desires above those of the cats.

[KathyC]

[quote user="Christine Animal"]

  Several other people we know with big gardens and several cats have put an electric fence round and they are very happy in the house and garden.

 

[/quote]

So are you saying that only people with big gardens and the resources to surround them with an electric fence should be allowed to keep cats?

[Tresco]

Kathy, I'm clearly not answering for Christine here, but however much I agree with the views of posters who say, 'let them run wild and free' (and I do, and my cats do) I think Christine has simply talked about settings where cats will be perfectly safe from being squashed on the road.

Christine obviously cares very deeply about animal welfare, and yes, she has her views about cat 'safety', but I have never once heard her really criticise any member for how they house/keep their pets.

She offers her advice willingly, and her view (in this instance) quite dispassionately, considering her passion.[:)]

And as Ms Bear said, it isn't right or wrong, it's just different options/choices.

 

[KathyC]

Hi

I realise that by quoting Christine twice that I sounded like I was having a go at her. I was going to post to explain that this wasn't the case, but I got sidetracked elsewhere. Of course Christine loves her animals and does wonderful work with helping to rescue them. I never meant to imply anything else. However, I do think that some comments have related to how upset one can be after losing a cat to the road and that keeping them indoors, or in a run, to avoid it happening again is based on the owner's need rather than the cat's. I've recently lost my favourite cat to cancer and I do understand how traumatic it can be, but my feelings were no different from those I had when another cat died on the road some years ago.

Christine, I do hope that you didn't take my comments personally. I do disagree quite strongly with some of the views that you have put forward but I know that these are sincerely held and that you feel that you have the animals' best interests at heart.

Best wishes

Kathy

[JayJay]

[quote user="Christine Animal"]

Yes jayjay, Persians are known for not going far.[/quote]

Thanks Christine, are they all scared of their own shadows too? So different to a moggy!

[Pads]

Chris I think most people response was to WJT reply not what you were saying.Implying that people who had cats that ran free didnt care

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Christine Animal"]Catalpa it's not confining them for our enjoyment, but for their safety.

Edit:  Catalpa, I don"t quite see what you mean by "caging", there has never been any question of keeping them in cages.

[/quote]

First of all, Christine, I'm not attacking your views, just presenting mine. They are somewhat different to yours but I know - and respect - the amount of care you donate to animals - yours and more generally those in need.

I have a strong streak of logic that runs through my love and enjoyment of owning my pets. I have pets because I enjoy it and love them. I may be keeping cats safe by permanent confinement but I have to question whether I am doing that for the cat... or for my benefit so I don't get upset if something happens. Are my needs outweighing the natural, long-term needs of the cat? If a cat must be confined, should cats be owned as pets at all?

As for the definition of "caging", if a cat cannot get where it would ideally choose to be, then it is caged. A run, pen or similar structure is still a cage. A tiger may have a large enclosure at a zoo. It is still a cage.

KathyC: interesting point about too stringent adoption requirements working against the cats who need homes. Sad.

[Christine Animal]

Sorry Pads, I have just reread your post and now see what you meant.  However, I don't think WJT was referring to you in any way.

Kathy, don't worry, I don't take anything personally. We are just discussing and giving our views on a subject, which is great.  I know sometimes my way of saying things is a little direct, I would never have made a good diplomat!

Please don't think I am saying that everyone who has a cat should keep it in, that would be ridiculous, especially as most of you live right out in the country, like you Catalpa, I would never suggest that you should keep your cats in.  It's just that if there is a potential danger, it only seems logical to try to kee them away from it.

Yes, interesting point about the cat situation in England, but at least it must therefore mean that there are not many strays about for people to take in.

By the way, electric fencing is not very expensive and is perfect and easy to put up in a town walled-in type of garden.

 

[WJT]

It was me! [:-))] I did say in the beginning of my post that I would probably be shot down [:)]. I feel really bad that Christine has taken some of the flack for being mistaken for posting some of my comments.

I know again, I will get negative comments about what I am about to say but it is my opinion. Firstly, I didn't say that I believe that all cats should be kept indoors or in cages. But I do strongly feel that if someone lives on a busy road (or in some cases not so busy, IMHO it would have to take in each situation and use common sense and the speed of the traffic on the road) they do not have under normal conditions the right to own a cat and put its life in danger.  I am not saying that every cat owner should have electric fencing and acres of land but do think that as a pet owner we all bear the responsibility of our pets safety and actions.

I am sorry Pads but I guess I did respond to your statement regarding that you live on a lane and some of your cats die and some don't. Some die at 1 years old and one lived until the age of 20. I know you must love them but personally unless it was rescuing one from a worse situation (which of course could be your case, if so I say well done), otherwise, I would not take on a kitten under these circumstances, it sounds like playing Russian Roulete.  Perhaps some become savvy about traffic and others never would be. I know the two cats I had in the past would have been the latter and would have been in the 1 year or less bracket [:(].

That said, I do know that you and others feel differently about this. I was quite shocked to learn some months back about some friends of ours that own a place in France with barns etc.. were thinking of taking on a kitten to control mice. They thought that they could take a kitten and just leave it to its own devices not feed or take any responsibility and have it as their own little pest control agent [:'(]. By the way the local farmer backed up this idea. So I am fully aware that there are many differing views on how to take care of a cat.

I won't even go into how I feel about a cat owner allowing their cats to hunt but that is a different subject[Www]

P.S. I am certainly not claiming to be a cat expert by any means nor do I have the experience of other posters here. In fact, I currently don't even own a cat, just a little dog after very recently losing my beloved big dog. [:(]All of the above is just my opinion.

 

[vickybear]

This poor cat lives in a record shop!!!