I know that outside cats live more dangerous lives b/c of other animals and traffic, etc...but how many of you have an outside cat or both? I have a screened in patio that Izzy loves to roam in, but the dogs have ripped a hole in the screen, so she could easily get out if she saw the hole. Today she walked out the back door as i was letting the girls in and i let her go, i wanted to see what she wold do, and she just roamed around, but when she headed for the front of the house i picked her up and brought her in.
I wouldnt want her to be outdoor all the time, just once in a while, but im also scared for her saftey. So i was just wondering how many of you let your cats outside.Thanks
My first cat started out as a stray and now he is strictly an inside cat. So is my other one but......i do put them in a harness sometimes and walk them out side. I feel there are too many diseases out there for them anymore and that scares me more than cars. My brothers cat now has feline AIDS from being bit by a feral cat that has it so that freaked me out too. Even though my cat WAS an outside cat, he never tries to go out any more. For me personally, i don't think i will ever have an outside cat. JMO
I tried the harness thing with Izzy, the minute i put the leash thing on she freaked and went jumping around the house like a crazy women. So i never tried it agian...lol.
I have always had inside cats. Cats are so independent and if they were outside, I just feel they would never bond with their humans, but maybe I am wrong. However, the cat I have now, I have been letting her go in the back yard. She never goes anywhere but the back yard or the roof ( I always have to get her down with a ladder- she's a big sissy). She has lost so much weight from getting more exercise and she loves it on the roof.lol
She does still love to come in and sleep on the bed a lot, too, though.
I had an indoor cat for about four years before we let her outdoors. By that time, she was pretty afraid to stray far. She enjoyed sitting in the yard and never went too far. Other than that, I'd be afraid, with coyotes and other cats that she'd get hurt. When I was a child, we had outdoor cats and they'd come home all cut and beaten up from catfights.
As a child I had a strictly outside cat. I got her when I was 5 and kept her for 18 years. She never once had to see a vet or required any kind of medical attention.
I now have 3 indoor cats who are each at the vet several times a year it seems. Humans are the ones who brought the cat indoors, out of their natural surroundings. Yes, that keeps them safer, but it also introduces them to a whole new set of health problems (allergies, etc) that they didn't have to deal with in the outside world.
I don't know if my situation is coincidence or not, but to me, outside cats always just seem much healthier overall. Maybe my kitties are just weak though...lol
Oh yeah, my 3 indoor cats go outside whenever they want......but they hardly want to go out anymore.
Mine used to be inside cats but hubby put them out after repeated urinating on his clothes (that he leaves in the floor). He says he likes to leave his pants there so he can switch the pocket contents in the morning. Well, that and scratching the upholstery. I didn't want them to be outside cats, but luckily they seem to be very healthy and happy there, and they hang out on the porch with us and follow us around in the yard. I wouldn't get another cat knowing that it was going to be an outside cat, though.
