Cat Question

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Author	Comment
Frosty	Cat Question	Lead	[-]
(05/01/08 01:32 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None Cat question - how do you keep cats indoors? I just got a couple cats (5 and 6 months old) and they want out. If I even unlock the door, they are both there. Several times they got out - one immediately runs to edge of deck, jumps off, and takes off. Unfortunately in summer, there is a parade of people in and our of our house - often when we are not home. Our last cat simply hid, but I don't think these two will. Off my own topic, but I think I know what got my poor kitty recently. Last night I turned on the back deck light, and there was a lovely fox staring at me. I don't live in a wooded area - hell, there are no trees around and all my neighbors houses are on top of mine.
o Realist o		#1	[-]
(05/01/08 01:44 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	I don't have an answer for you, Frosty, because all my cats have been indoor/outdoor. But, hope you get an answer because the next cat I get is going to be strictly indoor. You and I live in proximity and I've often had foxes sitting in the driveway at night - about 5 feet from me. They just sit and stare, and I just stand and stare. Cats have been out when fox around and no action...for what it's worth. Don't walk in front of me, I don't follow. Don't walk behind me, I don't lead. Walk beside me as my friend.
Evelyn		#2	[-]
(05/01/08 01:57 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	All my cats have been outdoor strays until they showed up and said, "hi, I'm going to be your kitty." We've had 9 in total and never has one of them been outside even once since the day we adopted them. We trained them quite easily with a seltzer bottle.......standing outside the screen door, gave them a good shot once or twice and that was it! None of them ever really made any effort to get out again although they like to sit at the door and look out, but if we stood there with the door open, they'd probably walk out from curiosity, but nobody has ever tried seriously to bolt. It's a total myth that cats "need" to be outdoors. They're happy and just fine living inside lives. The only ones who might have a little more trouble with the transition are males not neutered until older in age although we had one we adopted at about 6 years old who wasn't altered (until we met him! LOL) and he never tried to leave either. We make a "ssssshhhhhhhhhhhh" sound (like the seltzer bottle) sometimes when we come in to get them away from the door while we bring things in and that works, too. BTW, no more Xmas tree climbing either......all it takes is placing a couple of seltzer bottles placed around the base of the tree.
Evelyn		#3	[-]
(05/01/08 01:59 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	On no! The foxes are starting to be much more bold, aren't they? Sorry to hear that, Frosty.
ckcaney		#4	[-]
(05/01/08 03:09 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	The cat always been indoors. She too likes to look outdoors, but won't bolt. Training I guess. I think the kittens will get used to being denied and then eventually give up. Just like when they are kittens and they learn to jump on the kitchen table, you train them not to and then they eventually stop trying.
globalwarmer07		#5	[-]
(05/01/08 03:10 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	We tried and tried but all our cats have become more outdoor than in. They would hang on the screens, meow all the time, and scratch endlessly at the door. Maybe they don't like the politics but more likely....its the kids. We have lost the last two in coyote kills..... but these two seem smarter. They both come is at dusk. And at dawn, they are tireless until let out. Both even cross the street which makes me nervous but they are really totally content creatures so I just let them live for the moment.
Evelyn		#6	[-]
(05/01/08 03:14 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	I agree, ck. I think another myth about cats is that they're not trainable. Never found that to be true! Yes, they're more obstinate than dogs, but absolutely trainable. There seems to be a belief that cats will just do what they want all the time and you can't control their behavior. Just not so. It's all about training and more importantly, IMO, the relationship you develop with them. They're really far less independent of us than most folks think, too. They're very much creatures of habit which plays well when you're trying to train them.
Evelyn		#7	[-]
(05/01/08 03:18 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	globalwarmer07 wrote: We tried and tried but all our cats have become more outdoor than in. They would hang on the screens, meow all the time, and scratch endlessly at the door........ And at dawn, they are tireless until let out. Uh huh.....because it works! They're no fools! Who's in charge there? Would you let your kids "live for the moment"? I'll bet not. So why let your furperson kids?
ckcaney		#8	[-]
(05/01/08 03:21 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Same way children learn to beg and get their way.
Evelyn		#9	[-]
(05/01/08 03:52 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Uh huh.....only cats usually "get it" quicker. LOL
jojo		#10	[-]
(05/01/08 04:20 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	here are a bunch of sites that may help you or any other people wishing to keep cats indoors, i feel very strongly that cats should be kept indoors to protect them, protect our wildlife and make my job easier. there is nothing sadder than watching a little creature die a slow painful death from horrible wounds and infection caused by the bacteria in cats saliva. i used to be like most people and allowed my cat to roam free,i started to rehabilitate wildlife and the more i educated myself it became clear that it is really mean to allow them to roam free. they are not a native species to america, our songbirds cannot breed enough or find the space to keep up with the casualties at the claws of cats, people,habitat loss, invasive species and poisons us humans introduce into our world. cats do not need to hunt to survive and they very rarily eat what they kill or injure, killing is a fun game to them and anything moving is fair game. turning one outdoor cat into a indoor cat can saves so many tiny lives a year. so please please please i beg you all to keep your kitty's inside, it so sad to see them become victims of coyotes, fisher cats and cars. http://www.audubon.org/bird/cat/ http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/indoors.html http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/ http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/cat_care/keep_your_cat_safe_at_home_hsuss_safe_cats_campaign/
Evelyn		#11	[-]
(05/01/08 05:03 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Yes, jojo, there are plenty of sites with advice on how to transition a cat to indoor living.....google "cat indoor vs. outdoor training adjustment" and you'll get to many of them. The basics are firm limits, giving them ample attention and bonding with them, and providing them with plenty of exercise and stimulation inside (not at all hard to accomplish in my experience.) I've never had a cat that wasn't a former outdoor stray (some for years) and never had a problem with them quickly adjusting to staying indoors. All the reasons you mention, jojo. are so important. Kitties and other creatures are far healthier and live far longer and less stressful lives if we take the time to train and engage with them.
oldhippie01930		#12	[-]
(05/01/08 05:17 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	I've had 2 cats since moving to West Gloucester, both of which disappeared. Perhaps they were eaten by some critter, of which there are a few that could do this around these parts. I don't want to deal with a purely indoor cat, so it appears I'm out of the feline business all together. Find a Psychiatrist
o Realist o		#13	[-]
(05/01/08 06:25 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	I hate it when a kitty cat disappears - and one has no way of knowing what happened. Not a good time for vivid imaginations. Plus there's no closure. I still wonder about Luke who just up and vanished one day about 7 years ago - not like him at all... Don't walk in front of me, I don't follow. Don't walk behind me, I don't lead. Walk beside me as my friend.
brainfix		#14	[-]
(05/01/08 08:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Many cats adapt easily to in-house living. I just hate seeing kitties cooped up when most of their fun is outdoors.
tripville	indoor cats	#15	[-]
(05/01/08 08:56 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	We keep a spray bottle of water at both doors when training new cats not to go out, and for backup after they are trained. It really does work! They hate that stream of water! Works on keeping them off the kitchen counter too! Cats are always better off indoors. Two of ours go out with us in our fenced in yard, on a harness and leash, and get tied out to graze in the grass, the rest never go out. We only do this when we are nearby and are going to be outside with them. They only go out about once per week in the good weather, and for about 20 minutes only. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives, it's a proven fact. We've taken in many strays since moving to upstate N.Y., which were all totally outdoor, uncared for animals. All of them are indoor now. They just deal with it!!!! Spay or neuter them, get them their shots, and living indoors will keep them very content, not to mention not having to worry about the predators outside waiting to grab them, the hazards of the road, worms and parasites from eating birds and rodents, ticks, fleas, ear mites, cat fights and infections, dogs chasing them and all kinds of other hazards there are to going outside. Keep em indoors, and you will have a companion for many, many years, with considerably fewer vet bills!
Frosty		#16	[-]
(05/01/08 10:03 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice - I could have just Googled my question, but I prefer advice from real people. I'm amazed by those of you who have adopted outdoor strays - in the last 6 years, I've fed at least 15 strays that I know of, and not one of them showed the slightest interest in me or indoors - they ate and left. And, if I tried to approach them (by 'try' I mean move the curtain to get a peek at them), they bolted. Some I've only caught a glimpse of a vanishing tail. I've only had one cat that hunted - she actually ate her prey. The others just chased birds - none ever caught one (one was just too slow, the other too scared). I agree though that cats should be indoor if possible - they definitely live longer as do the animals they hunt. While I think cats, like all animals, are trainable, I do believe cats do their own thing. My favorite story is thta of a coworker who trained his cat to not jump on the table using the water bottle. For 7 years, his cats were not on the table. One day he forgot something, had to go back to his house, and there were both cats, stretched across the table, sound asleep.
Evelyn		#17	[-]
(05/01/08 11:09 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Frosty, bless your heart for feeding all those strays. I tend to think the reality is that most strays who won't come near you are either feral (or highly undersocialized) OR are not really strays, but outdoor cats who just want a freebie meal. (They tend not to need to connect the food source with a source of connection through a relationship because they're not looking for that.) The story of the guy's cats who got "caught" on the table just underscores how trainable cats really are! LOL They know full well the things they're not supposed to do and they dutifully behave while they know they're being watched. But once they know you're not there to catch them, they also know they can get away with it. LOL They have an uncanny ability to employ reasoning, too. I remember one clear example of a cat of ours who was fascinated by the kitty video of birds and would paw at the screen for a couple of minutes and then walk around the back of the TV and thoroughly explore, clearly thinking he could get to the plump tasties that way. LOL
Dun Fudgin		#18	[-]
(05/02/08 02:08 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Cats need the outdoors and cats are trainable. Growing up we had two cats and I trained them to do the same thing my dogs did.Shake paws,lay down,roll over,fetch. It takes a little longer and at times they they rather just lay around.
Frosty		#19	[-]
(05/02/08 12:27 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	I tend to think the reality is that most strays who won't come near you are either feral (or highly undersocialized) OR are not really strays, but outdoor cats who just want a freebie meal. Most of the poor kitties are feral - they look very tough and scraggly - the few I've actually seen. But there is one neighborhood outdoor cat that visits for a week every June. He lives a few streets over, is very friendly, and sleeps on a deck chair for about one week, then goes back home.
Evelyn		#20	[-]
(05/02/08 12:30 PM) Administrator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Friend Request Blocking Visit My Community Ignore User's Posts	Hey, that's his vacation, Frosty! LOL Dun, why do cats "need the outdoors"?

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