For cat owners who let their cats outside...

[JoanC]

My last cat lived to be 19 years old. Until he went blind at 18, he went out for 1 hour a day. We left the door open and he would walk back in after making his rounds of my yard. The vet always disagreed with me until she got a former outdoor cat. Sometimes I believe their mental health is as important as their physical health. That saying I am glad my current cat is happy to stay indoors.

 

[janie1234]

The neighbor's cats used MY flower beds as a litter box. It made me very angry. I have 4 cats and litter boxes, I don't need to be digging in my garden and find someone else's cat s.hit! If you let your cats out, they do not s.hit just in your yard, they s.hit in your neighbor's yards too. Not very neighborly.

.

Ugh, . . I totally agree here. I don't garden with gloves. I like the feel of the dirt but I've had to use gloves since all the neighbors like to let their cats outside.

 

[martijean1]

Our cats go on the deck, weather permitting on a daily basis...The rails are high enough that they can't jump to the top (and even if they were, the backyard is a good 15 ft down) and there are no stairs...That being said, until Joe I have NEVER had an indoor/outdoor cat, and it's as close as I'll ever get. I've seen too many pets on the side of the road and too many strays...Growing up we always had "purebreds", I will adopt for the rest of my life knowing that I gave some little furball the goodlife.

MJ

 

[SirenSongWoman]

I don't think that should be right. I think it's the same in CT....but it shouldn't be. At least rabies shots are required for both. I think the laws should also be the same. You also are required to pick up your dog's waste, they are not allowed to s.hit on others' property....why should cats be any different? I hate digging up cat s.hit. I have enough of my own (indoors)! Besides being so totally inconsiderate and thoughtless.

As far as # of litters and cats getting pregnant, back in the 1960s when there wasn't the problem there is today....we had a cat that was getting pregnant about three times a year. The gestation period is 60 days. But all of the kittens were spoken for before they were born; in fact we would get calls all the time to see if we had kittens. With 4 kids in our family, the kittens were socialized well.

But I certainly would never do that now!
Barbara JP

With my 3 that still go outside I feel so bad about their poop. I can't follow them around but I'm sure they're "dumping" in my neighbor's yards. There is such a large stray cat population 'round here, though, figuring out who did what would be impossible - unless you catch them in the act. I honestly can't do anything about it now (I feel horrible) - but as my indoor/outdoor cats age and pass no more of my cats will go outside. This, of course, means I will not acquire any more cats.

I'm hoping to eventually integrate the last remaining kitchen cat into the "family" and I'm thinking he (Casper) can be made into a strictly indoor cat. I think once he has the entire house in which to roam he won't "need" to go out, unlike my 2 indoor/outdoor cats. Those two would spray and dump all over my house in protest if I dared try to curtail their freedom. Already been through that.