Should cats be kept indoors?

[silva]

If its too wild then a-letting it outside will surely cause more birds and such to be hunted and b-you shouldnt have it in the first place. Why keep an animal that is 'too wild'

Here's my take on this: I'm against animal exploitation. Intentional breeding is wrong, keeping wild animals is wrong, making animals do things against their nature is wrong. Problem is that animals like cats have been selectively bred, and kept domestically that they're not wild animals. They still have all those instincts, but they're much like small children who need protection. They're horribly immune to most diseases and parasites unlike local wildlife. Cats's aren't local wildlife, but they're everywhere. I feel that even as much I'm against using one animal to feed another, I still such a concern for animals that HUMANS have so debilitated.
It's not as though if we stopped taking them in, or feeding them, they would die out, as cows and modern chickens would. They would continue to breed out of control, ravage wildlife, and suffer and spread disease. Worse yet, if not seen as domestic animals, people probably would start to care less, and even the spay, neuter, release programs would be seen as unnecessary. They would be treated as so many rodents are now.
I know there are places where cats are safe to roam, but where I am, no way! They need homes. Ferals should be fixed and cared for in colonies.

 

[silva]

We've had 2 rescue cats in the family with FIP. Awful way to die.

I've had three fosters die "most likely" FIP, as it can't really be tested.
Our one cat however, stopped eating quite suddenly, became anemic, and had the interal gurgling that I constantly listen for. The vet tested him for the "Titers"(?) and it was high. She started him on ... a cancer treatment drug.. can't think of it now. A liquid he took twice a day. Anyway, his recovery was rapid, and complete! He was on two courses of treatment- 5 years ago- and still doing fine!
The fosters however became ill just as suddenly, but without hope.

 

[mlp]

I've had three fosters die "most likely" FIP, as it can't really be tested.
Our one cat however, stopped eating quite suddenly, became anemic, and had the interal gurgling that I constantly listen for. The vet tested him for the "Titers"(?) and it was high. She started him on ... a cancer treatment drug.. can't think of it now. A liquid he took twice a day. Anyway, his recovery was rapid, and complete! He was on two courses of treatment- 5 years ago- and still doing fine!
The fosters however became ill just as suddenly, but without hope.

Was it Interferon? My sisters' feline aids positive cats are on it, as is my feline leukemia positive cat.

 

[silva]

Was it Interferon? My sisters' feline aids positive cats are on it, as is my feline leukemia positive cat.

Yes! But was for FIP. Very amazing recovery, and hasn't had any setbacks

 

[mlp]

Yes! But was for FIP. Very amazing recovery, and hasn't had any setbacks

In cases of feline leukemia and feline aids, it's used to support the immune system and ward off the secondary infections, cancers, etc. that they actually die from - it doesn't cure the underlying feline aids or feline leukemia.

 

[silva]

In cases of feline leukemia and feline aids, it's used to support the immune system and ward off the secondary infections, cancers, etc. that they actually die from - it doesn't cure the underlying feline aids or feline leukemia.

I didn't mean to imply there was a cure. There's not for any of these diseases.
I only meant it wasn't always a death sentence. I've known cats with feline aids to live long and good lives.

 

[mlp]

Oh no, you didn't imply that. I just wanted to make sure that no one thought that it was a cure for feline aids or leukemia, since I brought up those dieseases.

 

[K-II]

If its too wild then a-letting it outside will surely cause more birds and such to be hunted and b-you shouldnt have it in the first place. Why keep an animal that is 'too wild'

'Keep' is a strange way of putting it. One showed up here a few years ago, sort of starved and had some issues with its teeth... it was hiding in the garage making a mess of things so I dug it out and grabbed it one day, carried it around for a bit (because really, wtf to do with it...) and gave it some scraps of chicken or something that were in the fridge. Then it came in the broken hole/dog door around the back of the house that evening and didn't really bother anybody, so it just lived here ever since. My brother started taking it to the vet occasionally for repairs and got it microchipped, but even so we've never exactly 'kept' it; the only times it's been locked in were during severe storms.

We could lock it out, but if it's not getting food from us, I don't think that helps any birds. We could lock it in, but it grew up outside and was probably born there as far as we can tell, and it would just be miserable and scratch at the doors all day - and why make the cat suffer for the birds' sake? I could have killed it and spared it starving to death as the infected teeth/gums got worse, or condemn it to death by sending it to the pound where it would compete with already too many healthy (and tame) cats, which would probably involve the least overall deaths/pain/whatever counting all the birds, mice, frogs and such it kills. On the other hand, I could have left it to die, which in hindsight was pretty certain to happen in the next few weeks/months, given the extent of its dental issues and malnourishment.

Maybe I've missed something, idk. Even to cat-proof the entire yard as a sort of zoo wouldn't keep out the creatures it kills, assuming I could even find a way to do that. As far as I can tell there's just no way to have a happy ending for every creature, and so if I get involved I just pick whichever one I favour.

 

[AspireToExpire]

Gustavo likes to be brought outside, on leash. October hates outside.
Would never let them roam outdoors unattended. Have considered building an outdoor enclosure/kennel with a cat door attached to the house for them.

 

[AspireToExpire]

A few years ago I lived in a townhouse/apartment community and I had a neighbor two townhouses down who had 6 indoor/outdoor cats. The neighbor in between us was constantly ****** off about the cats peeing all over her son's outdoor toys, leaving paw prints on her car, peeing all over her back porch, etc, etc. One day she got so sick of it that the night before she set up a can of cat food soaked in antifreeze and left it underneath her car where the cats frequently slept at night. The can was empty by morning, the cats were poisoned, and I'm not sure if the all survived.

So yeah, I freak out a bit now whenever people talk about letting their cats outdoors unsupervised.

If they injested antifreeze, they most likely died horrible deaths or were humanely euthanized. Not many people can afford dialiysis for the the rest of their animal's life Antifreeze attacks organs forming crystals.

 

[AspireToExpire]

 

[AspireToExpire]

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/Baltimore_County_MD/topics/288188

 

[K-II]

Gustavo likes to be brought outside, on leash. October hates outside.
Would never let them roam outdoors unattended. Have considered building an outdoor enclosure/kennel with a cat door attached to the house for them.

Speaking of leashes... put a harness + leash on our cat once, to some wriggling and a kind of 'what is this?' expression. It didn't seem as terrified as the time we put a bell on, so I figured I might be getting somewhere... until he lay down on the rug, claws firmly attached, and slowly surfed around the floor when I tried to walk.

 

[Freesia]

'Keep' is a strange way of putting it. One showed up here a few years ago, sort of starved and had some issues with its teeth... it was hiding in the garage making a mess of things so I dug it out and grabbed it one day, carried it around for a bit

My brother started taking it to the vet occasionally for repairs and got it microchipped, but even so we've never exactly 'kept' it; the only times it's been locked in were during severe storms..

Sounds like the cat was originally a pet cat. It is not the way with feral cats. You do not "take" Gypsy to the vet. Gypsy will take out everything within sight.

 

[K-II]

Sounds like the cat was originally a pet cat. It is not the way with feral cats. You do not "take" Gypsy to the vet. Gypsy will take out everything within sight.

Could be, but I doubt it. It does act a fair bit less than tame in some ways even now - but it's a tiny animal that weighs a few kilograms and isn't venomous... hardly formidable. It didn't see getting stuffed in a carrier coming, and once it was cornered and grabbed, all it can do is claw and wriggle. Well, I'm stronger than it is, and claws hurt but I'll deal with it. Once it's all over it's a bit wary (though far less now - this was years ago) but nobody's bothering it anymore and it has food and shelter. Same way with flea treatment... used to struggle like we were going to snuff it out, then bolt as soon as we were done. Slowly it came back sooner and sooner, now it springs about three feet and suddenly acts like nothing happened. First time I put a collar on it, there was a tiny bell, and the cat literally ran away from itself. Crept back in 2 hours or so later, trying to move without the bell ringing... looked like it was doing a sobriety test very intently or something. Some bits are still hard... it has to go to the vet to get its teeth cleaned under anaesthetic, since to hold it down and do that you'd basically have to choke it or break something.

First time it went to the vet, they found it had a huge infection in its mouth, specifically the front of the lower jaw.* Ended up taking out teeth on separate occasions, and actually they wanted to take out more but it would have fucked up its jaw or something apparently. The entire shape of its face changed after that, because the swelling had gone down. We didn't even know there had been any... looked like a different cat. It was pretty malnourished (at this point it had actually been eating a while, however painful that must have been, since we didn't take it to the vet until we realized it was never going to leave) and they said it was pretty young too. I forget the exact estimate, but it was basically adolescent... not a kitten but not done growing either. Most likely when I first found it, it was too young to be quite as wary as an adult, and being here it would have seen plenty of humans around. Thanks to being inexperienced and feeling mindfuck-worthy pain in its mouth whenever it ate or grabbed something it was probably way closer to death than I realized at the time. At first it simply couldn't fight back, and later I'm guessing hunger overcame whatever fear it had. The fact that it looked like other neighbourhood cats beat it up probably made the inside of the house more appealing, too.

*somehow the lower fangs (whatever the real name is) had grown forwards and stuck into its lip, which couldn't heal with teeth in it and caused an infection that puffed its entire face up.

 

[Muggle]

Aww... K-II it sounds like your cat got a really lucky break when they found you.

Does he/she have a name?

 

[mlp]

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/Baltimore_County_MD/topics/288188

My sister and I have both had cats who, when they had x-rays for other reasons, were found to still have BB's embedded in their bodies from before they came to live with us. I think it's not that uncommon for cats to be shot with BB guns.

My Double has major issues with both hip joints from either being kicked very hard and repeatedly, or being run over. He also has a number of BB's in his body. Hip surgery is not an option for him, because the extra weight he would have to put on one side while recuperating from the first surgery would make life unbearable for him.

Humans suck, which is one of the major reasons I don't let my cats roam outside.

 

[Freesia]

Could be, but I doubt it. It does act a fair bit less than tame in some ways even now - but it's a tiny animal that weighs a few kilograms and isn't venomous... hardly formidable. It didn't see getting stuffed in a carrier coming, and once it was cornered and grabbed, all it can do is claw and wriggle. Well, I'm stronger than it is, and claws hurt but I'll deal with it. Once it's all over it's a bit wary (though far less now - this was years ago) but nobody's bothering it anymore and it has food and shelter. Same way with flea treatment... used to struggle like we were going to snuff it out, then bolt as soon as we were done. Slowly it came back sooner and sooner, now it springs about three feet and suddenly acts like nothing happened. First time I put a collar on it, there was a tiny bell, and the cat literally ran away from itself. Crept back in 2 hours or so later, trying to move without the bell ringing... looked like it was doing a sobriety test very intently or something. Some bits are still hard... it has to go to the vet to get its teeth cleaned under anaesthetic, since to hold it down and do that you'd basically have to choke it or break something.

First time it went to the vet, they found it had a huge infection in its mouth, specifically the front of the lower jaw.* Ended up taking out teeth on separate occasions, and actually they wanted to take out more but it would have ****ed up its jaw or something apparently. The entire shape of its face changed after that, because the swelling had gone down. We didn't even know there had been any... looked like a different cat. It was pretty malnourished (at this point it had actually been eating a while, however painful that must have been, since we didn't take it to the vet until we realized it was never going to leave) and they said it was pretty young too. I forget the exact estimate, but it was basically adolescent... not a kitten but not done growing either. Most likely when I first found it, it was too young to be quite as wary as an adult, and being here it would have seen plenty of humans around. Thanks to being inexperienced and feeling mind****-worthy pain in its mouth whenever it ate or grabbed something it was probably way closer to death than I realized at the time. At first it simply couldn't fight back, and later I'm guessing hunger overcame whatever fear it had. The fact that it looked like other neighbourhood cats beat it up probably made the inside of the house more appealing, too.

*somehow the lower fangs (whatever the real name is) had grown forwards and stuck into its lip, which couldn't heal with teeth in it and caused an infection that puffed its entire face up.

I still think it originally started out as a pet. Feral cats have the most incredible senses, they will sense what is happening very quickly and go absolutely ballistic. Ever seen Tassie, the tasmanian devil cartoon? That is what happens. And Gypsy is not a huge girl she is probably about 4 or 5 pounds but she has broken 3 of the cat carriers.

Anyway your kitty sounds really sweet.

 

[mlp]

I still think it originally started out as a pet. Feral cats have the most incredible senses, they will sense what is happening very quickly and go absolutely ballistic. Ever seen Tassie, the tasmanian devil cartoon? That is what happens. And Gypsy is not a huge girl she is probably about 4 or 5 pounds but she has broken 3 of the cat carriers.

Anyway your kitty sounds really sweet.

It's more down to the individual cat than whether they were feral at one point. Several of my most affectionate, sweetest, cats were formerly completely feral - as in never having been touched by a human hand and staying completely out of sight except at dusk - before I trapped them to spay/neuter.

One of my cats who went completely ballistic at the vets' I had handled from kittenhood, and he was generally a lover - just not at the vet's.

 

[Freesia]

Well Gypsy is very sweet natured. She just isnt very nice when you try to put her in a cage, and when I try and put her flea treatment on her neck she squeaks indignantly and runs away. But perhaps not all feral cats are like her.