Pink Poogle Toy Forum

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12057893/

Poor neighbors and poor cat being cooped up. I do like the title of the article, but I still feel bad for the neighbors and locked up cat.

He reminds me of my kitty, who likes to bite people's toes. Poor kitty just needs a toy to play with. My kitty is very affectionate and loves to sleep near my head and purr in my ear, but if he sees a bare ankle or toe, he'll bite it or he will climb up your leg and get on your shoulder. It's really cute when he does that, and doesn't hurt if you are wearing jeans. But he doesn't know that, so I think he'll try to climb up my bare leg one day. If the owner of this particular cat would play with their cat, giving them a scratching post, one of those boxy things they can hide in, balls to chase and lots of other toys, maybe it would run itself down and no longer have energy for biting legs. I don't think the cat is mean, I think it just wants to play.

Cats shouldn't be kept outdoors anyways. Despite what people may say about them "needing" to go outside, a domestic cat, is indeed a domestic animal. By allowing it to remain outside it can get into fights with other cats (or other species, dogs, rats, birds), it can get killed, it can get hurt. They can be hit by cars, trucks, trains, people... etc. Pet cats, should be kept indoors and allowed outside under supervision.

So I have no pity for this cat being kept indoors. And considering this cat was attacking people, the owners are very lucky for having got off as lightly as they have. I'm fairly sure that were this Alberta, the cat would've been put to sleep.

I'm sorry, but the Avon lady part is kind of funny. xD

But anyways, you would think the owners would clip its claws. Now, I'm not saying to totally declaw the cat, just clip the nails so they're not as long.

Cats shouldn't be kept outside no (unless they are farm/barn cats) but allowing them out is perfectly acceptable, and in my opinion completely to be recommended (either roaming free, in a cat-proof garden, or at worst in an enclosure [the latter two are under supervision as you said ^^ ... parenthisis explosion!]). Cats are outside creatures, they enjoy the luxuries of living indoors when they like and going out to be hunters and explorers when they want. Cats are only really "domesticated" in a very loose sense of the word.

My cat is allowed outside whenever he wants and is frequently outside during the whole night catching his mice and having a ball. When kept indoors for too long he cries and gets depressed. Other cats and traffic are a danger but one I am willing to risk to keep him happy. Having him so depressed wouldn't be much of a life for him anyway.

Admittedly the house he lives in is a) in the UK (I hadn't even heard of such a thing as "indoor cats" until I came on to the internet a few years back - here that is almost unheard of), and b) a town with little traffic around him. However, if my parents lived in a city they wouldn't have a cat in the first place. You bend your life around the pet, not the other way around etc. I am hoping to own two pedigree cats in the near future and because they won't be as "street-wise" I plan to cat-proof the garden.

I understand that this can be a heated subject (again, something I was not aware of until coming online and being shouted at for "not loving my cat enough") so I don't really want to press the point too much. I feel very sad that this cat has been forced to stay indoors after experiencing the outdoors (as much as I disagree with indoor cats, I hate even more the idea of turning a once indoor/outdoor cat into one), and it seems to me that smudgeoffudge has it bang on - the cat wants attention. No such thing as a bad cat really, just bad owners.

And yeah, why on earth didn't the owner clip the claws or get a good scratching post?


Edit: as an afterthought, all of the above may be very different in the US in terms of dangers - alligators and stuff? I wouldn't know, heh. There seems to be a huge cultural difference between cat care in N. America and cat care in Europe. But I do think it is very important that the owner bends their life around the cat they have chosen to look after, not force the cat to bend around their life. If that makes sense.

Cats should not be allowed to roam free outside. One, it puts said cat in danger. Two, it puts other people's animals in danger, for example, my rabbit lives outside and I have to scare cats away from my yard because they try to kill her. Three, some stupid person will go up to the cat, get attacked, and then have the cat put down. It is not the cat's fault. It is the fault of the stupid humans.

My point is that in many places the cat is not in significant danger - my cat would have to fall asleep in the middle of the road to be run over. And if I lived somewhere where a cat could not roam freely outside due to traffic then I would, as I have said, have a cat-proof garden or have no cat. In the UK you cannot rent a flat for example and own a cat as it is deemed not suitable for the pet with there being no outdoors.

Why is it that cats are not to be allowed outside but a rabbit is? Allowing a cat outside puts other animals in danger of course - its prey. A rabbit as a pet isn't the kind of animal that needs to roam freely outside - wouldn't it then be in danger from birds of prey? All the rabbits I've seen (and the one I owned) lived in a hutch, run and inside the house. Incidentally the rabbit I owned could also have kicked the bottom out of my cat if it hadn't loved him so much.


The third is perhaps another cultural difference, cats don't get put down here for attacking people. Actually I've never seen a cat attack anyone in person. I've had a few scratches myself but if you stand on a cat you get what you ask for!

I fully agree with the controlled outside environ for a cat. My aunt has successfully pulled that off for years. My mom and I have been bugging my step-dad to build something like that for his cats. Yes. I said cats. He has 6 cats, all indoor. One or two are fine for indoor behavior, but it gets much much worse once you have more than that. To make matters worse, my step-dad once had a doezen indoor-only cats. That made life bad and fueled calls for a 'cat yard'. I would love to help him build something like that for the cats. We have the perfect backyard for it too. I know his three cats that were outdoor cats and try to escape all the time would love to be able to get outdoors again. (For the record, those three outdoor cats were abandoned and adopted after getting their shots).

Wow, 6 cats That's how many I'd have if I could get away with it! Cat proof gardens are really awesome I think, as I've said before it depends how safe your area is how far you can let your cat go but gardens are always nice and safe. My old cat would still howl but I plan to do it for my next two kitties when I (eventually) get them (old cat lives with parents) ^^

Something like CAT FENCE-IN looks cool, though I'd probably get a DIY version seeing as I'm in the wrong country and all.

And apologies for the derailment of the thread (and any offense caused) - I just think it's important to note that on an online community where people are from all over the world a statement like "no cats should be allowed out" doesn't really fit. In many countries the opposite is the norm (ie "no cats should be kept in all the time"). Neither is going to be seen as wrong by those who practise it and nobodies mind will be changed. The accusations from other online places of "you don't love your cat enough" and so on have obviously got to me too much! Normal service will resume shortly ;D

My rabbit most certainly does not "roam freely." She has a large, fenced area, with a hutch. I do not believe in punishing animals because other people cannot take care of theirs. My rabbit can be absolutely vicious, but that does NOT excuse the fact that other people need to take care of their own animals. There are also no birds of prey in my city. There are some outside the city, but they don't like to come into the city.

I'm confused as to why a run would be punishing her? It's just a fenced area with a chicken wire roof. As I said above though, I do not believe such statements as your last sentence there are called for when it comes to letting cats roam outside in general. Different countries have very different outlooks on cat care, in the UK and many other European countries many would consider you not being able to take care of your cat if you didn't let it outside.

By all means say that cats should not be allowed outside to roam freely in your part of your country and I'll have to take your word for it seeing as I don't live there. But I object to saying that all cats should not be allowed to roam freely, when that just isn't true at all.


Anyway as I said in my last post.. well what I said in my last post

I just read the news article. Sounds to me like that kitty was either not raised properly; may not be "fixed" -- which will make for a much more aggressive cat; and being let out to roam, could have gotten into scraps with other cats/pets/strays in the neighborhood, all of which could and would contribute to his behaviour. A visit to the vet in any case I think is in order to find out why this cat is attacking people.


We have a total of 13, that's right, 13 cats in this house. I have 1, my roomie has 12. All stray rescues, all from the street. Some were adults when rescued, one we had to bottle feed and rear from an infant. None of our cats go outside -- and none of them want to! It's a good sized house, so they all have plenty of room and their own territories.

Now, as to whether house cats should be allowed outside. It, I think, depends on where you live, if you have a safe, contained environment for your cat (or dog or whatever pet) where the pet cannot get out and other animals cannot get in.


We do live in an urban area (read - city) so there are many perils such as cars, other stray animals, people who for some reason will try to catch and torture cats; we are also about 2 miles from a wooded cemetary and because of human population growth and some of the grounds of the cemetary being used for housing, we now have possums and raccoons roaming our streets. There's nothing like being chased by a 30 pound male racoon to get your blood moving! And the ones here carry rabies.

So your housecat who you think "needs" to go outside could end up tangling with said raccoon or possum and either get injured/killed or have to be put to sleep because of the rabies exposure.

Bottom line - a housecat is a housecat because they belong in the house. And our vet agrees 110%.

Taking in and looking after strays like that is wonderful but please don't be condescending I don't think my cat needs to go outside, I know it. And I know he is happier for doing so. My previous cat chose not to go outside but that was her decision.

My vet agrees 110% in letting cats roam freely outside sp can we not just all agree that things are very different in different places, and that those of us who let our cats outside are not somehow fooling ourselves (or worst still placing our beloved pets in mortal danger through willful neglect)? I really don't like these sweeping generalisations (ie "no cats allowed outside to roam ever") that for all you know may only apply to the country(ies) you live in.

Oh Trick, I'm sorry. It was never my intention to be condescending, really!

That's why I also said



And the safe, contained enviroment statement is really directed toward just having your cat, rabbit, dog, etc. stay happy and healthy.

It really does depend on where you live, whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. It also depends on your pet. The cat in the article? I don't think should be allowed outside --- for everyone else's protection. That cat has issues!

Eep, many apologies everconfused - totally my fault for reading it the wrong way! *hugs* I really do think it's amazing you have taken in so many rescues... I'm also of the strong opinion you should post pictures of them some time!

I've already posted way too much, and I think people get my general point - live and let live ^__^ And if anyone has any tips on cat proofing gardens then please feel free to pass them along to me, I won't be getting my new kitties 'til next year but I like to be prepared!