[lost_cat]

mine go outside in the spring,summer and fall because it makes them happy but poor harley hasnt returned yet im gettin real worried. its been 21hrs sincee i last saw her.

 

[Annissa]

I will never let my cats go outside. My first cat, Whiskers, was shot and killed by my neighbors in a rural town. Plus, Akron has a leash law on cats. Any cats found outside without a leash are taken to the pound and immediately euthanized. Cat owners have reported finding their cats collars on their lawn. The wardens pick them up, take off their collars, take them to the pound, say that they've been hurt and euthanize them. I don't live in Akron, but I'm afraid this is a trend that will catch on.

 

[Aonir]

Akron does that?? :shock:

 

[Annissa]

Yes.

http://www.saveourcats.org/

The leash law in and of itself is not the problem. Frankly, I agree with it. Normally people do not let their dogs out without a leash. Why would they do that with their cats? Cats can become a nuisance to your neighbors by digging in their gardens, defecating on their property, harassing their pets, etc. The problem comes in when cat-hating wardens come around and steal people's animals. Several cats have been euthanized under this law. The only thing they will tell the owners is that the cat had been injured in some way. They have no paperwork stating what the injury was and they are completely unable to recall the injury. They've even pulled collars off cats and thrown them in the owner's lawn so they can take the cat.

 

[lost_cat]

well i figure since our property is expansive and we dont have those laws in NY theyd be ok. They dont catch cats here really. Weve been lettin the cats out for 4 and a half years and have never had a problem until yesterday. I figured the cats would get too obese if they cant excercise outside and are happier.

 

[Annissa]

There are more dangers outside than the ones I posted. Those are just the ones that do affect/have affected me.

There are also wild animals, diseased cats, and depraved human beings to think about as well.

 

[Freds Mom]

Fred is strictly an indoor kitty. He is 17 years old, perfectly healthy and doesn't have a scratch on him. He's got lots of windows and doors to look out, I get grass and grow fresh catnip for him - he's a happy kitty.

 

[stormy]

All of my cats are indoor now, it's too dangerous out there!

Too many loose dogs running around...which animal control does nothing about except tell you to put up a fence if you don't want dogs in your yard :evil:

And too many crazy drivers speeding down the street..I mean really crazy...these streets are very curvy! Plus a few years ago when I did let them out I seen a few cars swear and try to hit my kitties if they were in the street! :evil:

 

[Padunk]

A small minority of the regular posters on this forum let their cats outside. There are a lot of dangers.

-People
-Other cats
-Dogs
-Wild animals

and more.

 

[Richo]

The way I look at it, I love my kitty too much to ever risk losing him.

 

[marijun]

i always have and always will keep my cats inside.

only exception - when i was living with my parents, i'd take lint out for a supervised lurking on the front deck sometimes. he liked to hang out with the neighbor's cat, bing.

if you open the door as to let reeko out, he puts his front paws outside and that's as far as he gets :lol: as soon as he hears a noise, he goes darting back into the house. he looked interested in hanging out on the deck with lint, but never made it more than one step.

woody is quite content being a housecat. if you open the door for her, her eyes grow as wide as saucers and she slowly backs away.

 

[catobsessed4]

My cats can go outside if and only if it is broad daylight, and someone is in the house (or preferably outside with them). We also keep careful track of who is outside and who is inside. We would NEVER leave the house, go to sleep, get in the shower, etc with them outside! We are very careful about that. We also live in a suburban neighborhood with very kind neighbors. I've never seen a leash-less dog around here. And we have a large area behind our house with no other houses where the kitties usually go. Our cats are also young and healthy and can get up a tree if need be. All four of them were either found as either strays or feral cats, so they are used to being outside.

We also had a cat for 16 years who had free indoor/outdoor roaming, and nothing ever happened to him. He died of kidney failure - not caused by any dangers from outdoors.

I agree with keeping cats indoors all the time, but our cats love the outdoors so much that we have to let them out occasionally - especially because of the constant screaming we get from them if they are indoors and want out.

I actually would prefer to leave them in all the time, but my mom insists on letting them out. I never do it myself.

 

[Richo]

Yeah, once some cats get a taste of the outdoors then they want to be able to go out. If they've never been out, they don't know what it's about and will probably be perfectly content inside.

 

[lost_cat]

Yah found harley but im definately NOT letting my cats out for a while.

 

[Richo]

I suppose you should only let them out when you can be outside too or at least be able to keep a close eye on them.

 

[Sol]

Since my first cat was hit by a car (he's OK today, luckily) I've never raised another outdoor cat. When my cats do go outside I follow them in a leash!

And even if I wanted to let them loose, the outdoor enviroment here isn't very cat friendly. They are perfectly fine indoors, they tell me that every day :wink: