Pink Poogle Toy Forum

I just saw this story reported on Countdown. I feel better for the cat now. They went into more detail than the article I posted and even interviewed the animal control officer that put the cat under house arrest. Paraphrase: It was either lock down or put down. Yay for kind animal control!

My cat basically lives outdoors. She only ever comes in when she wants feeding, which is getting more and more lately, cheeky animal. We live on a very quiet estate so I don't worry about her. There is one other cat along my road, they do tend to fight but they generally just stay away from each other.

When my cat stays in too long, she begins to use my/my parents/my sister's bedrooms as her personal litter tray. We never keep her in for too long. XD I have no problem with either house cats or outdoor cats as long as they're getting enough exercise. Not enough space equals one very unhappy pet. *nods*

EDIT: Does anyone else think that Lewis reminds you of Angus from the Georgia Nicholson stories?

I think attitudes, indeed, are very different here. In the UK, I've very rarely heard of anyone having an indoor-only cat, actually, probably never have. The cats where I live, and my old cat, roam freely, we often see them across the road sunbathing, being cute ^_^, generally having a good time.

Of course, it will happen that some cats are run over, but, if a cat were confined to a small space, a house rather, it would not be able to enjoy itself to the fullest. I know it's a rather sweeping statement, and although there may be those that enjoy the indoors, I stick by it.

Cats were never intended to live indoors, they hunt for food, they have their prey. I know it's a rather poor analogy, but, if a human were confined, they would not live life to the fullest. A cat needs to explore, to find a way for themselves around, to generally discover new things.

As said though, attitudes vary greatly. Those in the UK often let their cats outside, to roam free and happy. I'm no condemning anyone as a poor pet pwner, just conveying my opinions.

I think Trick captures my point of view purrfectly (bad pun, hehe) though:

See, that's the thing. If a cat tried "terrorizing" anything in my town, the stupid thing would have been shot. My neighbor had a vicious German Shepherd that actually broke free from its restraints and attacked my babysitter while she was pushing my sister and I in our carriage. It stuck its muzzle in to try and bite us and Dotty fended it off with her arm, getting a huge scar in the process. My dad called the sheriff and had it put down.

It's all well and good to insist that the cat "didn't mean to hurt anyone" or was just "living out its instincts", but try explaining that to a frantic mother if that crazy animal scratches out some kid's eyes.

I have a couple of cats, and I've always grown up with them, and I've never really known a cat to be super-vicious like this one apparently is.

Dogs can be given prozac, which will go a long way towards helping them calm down a bit, but cats can't because of how they metabolize drugs differently. At any rate, this cat is obviously a hazard to others who have nothing to do with it - keeping it enclosed is fine, but keeping it indoors is best.

As for whether to keep a cat indoors or out - depends on the cat, the neighborhood, and the neighbors. My parents have a cat that used to run free, and their next door neighbor hates cats. He'd asked them to quit letting him out unsupervised (the cat, that is, not the neighbor), and finally just started spraying the cat with water. While the people are a'fussin and a'feudin' at the moment, the cat has learned his lesson and is content to stalk the other cats in the household and sit in the windowsill.

Generally, I'm not a big fan of letting the cat run free. It's kind of hard to picture a cat with a leash and a stake in the ground, though...

I have three happy kitties who all live indoors. None are really interesting in going out. We give them toys and a scartching post, and we have a giant glass door they look at the birds who live on our porch. My cat Jasmine is very happy, and shows no desire to go back outside(she was a stray.) We also have the added problem of coyotes in our area, and live on the edge of town. I know many other happy indoor cats. I've see a ton of cats die because of coyotes.