Letting cats free Roam outside

LauraLeigh

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#1
I am starting to think I'm going to have to let Boozer out, he was supposedly an inside cat... I don't believe it .....

He cries at the door incessantly, trips us up when we're trying to go in/out... Spends hours in the window literally wailing......

I worry about Coyotes here but am starting to feel very bad for him, his quality of life reminds me of being in jail!!!
 

Adjecyca1

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#2
If you choose to let him outdoors that is your choice as long as you are aware of the potential risks to both your cat and the environment. I personally will never allow my cats out doors anymore. I have brought stray cats into the home. And as much as they fussed about going outside I never gave in.it can be done if you have the patience and the tolerance.
 
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#3
You know, they're physically safer indoors and many cats are perfectly happy indoors, but I think some cats just really sort of go insane indoors-only.
 

Adjecyca1

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#4
Oh and by the way with my cats it helped the transition when I introduced them to a leash and harness they are still able to go out but supervised and leashed
 

JessLough

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#5
Pretty much what sass said.

Would I do it personally? No. Because I don't see the point of having a cat if it is an outdoors cat. (Or rather, what I think of when people say outdoors cat) Also the risk of coyotes, dogs and the heat. It is going to be a killer summer as it is.

Do I judge other people for doing it? Nah. I do things other people wouldn't do when it comes to my pets and, honestly, I have enough to worry about without worrying about judging other people.
 

LauraLeigh

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#6
Sass that's what I'm worried about, he's around 4, If he's never been constrained to indoor only it seems to me it would be alot like placing us in jail... Sure it's safer, but not very happy....

I also would rather get him used to a schedule, I fed Nuts and Minnie at night so they always came in around dark looking for food... Then have him door dash to freedom and never return...

We don't have to worry about neighbors flower beds and such, as we only have a farm across from us, beside us an no other neighbors for miles
 

CaliTerp07

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#7
How is this different from a dog who cries and cries in a crate? You crate train the animal to be comfortable in whatever situation you put it in. Kennel, crate, house, bedroom--wherever you are confining the animal.

I'm biased, because my neighbors let their cats out and they poop and pee all over my deck/yard, sit on my deck and torment my dog, and bury their poop in my flower beds. Not to mention that it's scary to drive through my neighborhood at night because people's pets are darting across the street.
 

Dizzy

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#8
It's the normal thing to do here. Not many cats are indoors.

I can't help but feel sorry for some cats who need to be outside. My parents tried to make their Bengal an indoor cat. Did. Not. Work. If anyone has ever lived with a loud and persistent Bengal they will understand.

Even my blind cat goes outside :)

Buuuuuuut we don't have coyotes etc etc etc. worst we have is dogs and foxes. And cars.

It's entirely up to you what you do. I would worry a LOT if I lived near a main road. I've seen 2 dead cats recently on the road near me (never saw this growing up, but it's rural here, and the main road is very busy, and I suspect cats aren't so much pets here in the farms).

Roads and cat = bad news.

Eta, and FYI, my blind cat doesn't live with me anymore, she stays with my parents, and they live on a special wooden lodge park place, surrounded by not very much :) no roads, and no fear of foxes etc, she goes out briefly when they're home then comes in :)

I don't agree with cats LIVING outdoors. When I say they go out, they go out when owners are home, or have a cat flap so they can come in when they want (and usually locked at night :) ).
 
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#9
How is this different from a dog who cries and cries in a crate? You crate train the animal to be comfortable in whatever situation you put it in. Kennel, crate, house, bedroom--wherever you are confining the animal.

I'm biased, because my neighbors let their cats out and they poop and pee all over my deck/yard, sit on my deck and torment my dog, and bury their poop in my flower beds. Not to mention that it's scary to drive through my neighborhood at night because people's pets are darting across the street.
This

If I lived out with fewer neighbors and more land I would consider it knowing tr risks involved. However I think it's very rude to do in most urban and suburban settings (and I LOVE cats).
 

Adjecyca1

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#10
Just make sure you thoroughly evaluate whether or not you are sure you want to let him out, and that you are fully ready to accept all risks not only to your cat but other species, as domestic cats are hurting the environment. If you are more persistent than your cat, and if you have patience you can keep him indoors, and allow him an outlet that consists of leashed walks
http://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedaily...door_cats_and_their_impact_on_the_environment

http://blog.nwf.org/2011/03/new-stu...-of-outdoor-cats-on-birds-and-other-wildlife/
 
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#11
How is this different from a dog who cries and cries in a crate? You crate train the animal to be comfortable in whatever situation you put it in. Kennel, crate, house, bedroom--wherever you are confining the animal.

I'm biased, because my neighbors let their cats out and they poop and pee all over my deck/yard, sit on my deck and torment my dog, and bury their poop in my flower beds. Not to mention that it's scary to drive through my neighborhood at night because people's pets are darting across the street.

Cats are very different than dogs mentally. To be clear, I'm not saying they can't be trained. But they are not small dogs; the type and amount of mental stimulation they need is a lot different than dogs, and there are cats out there that are never really mentally healthy being indoors only IMO no matter how much environmental enrichment an owner does indoors.
 

skittledoo

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#12
My last cat Goober was bad about door dashing. He would obsess about going outside and sit at the window and wail at times.

We moved to a decent size property with horses and in an area where everyone's cats are outside. Still, I kept trying to keep him as an indoor cat and he kept persisting to try and dash out the door.

Eventually I gave up and let him out. He still came in almost every night and spent most of the day and some nights hunting mice in the barn area or basking in the sun on the patio. It made me so nervous to have him outside, but it was the happiest I'd ever seen him. Mind you we didn't have neighbors super close and those that were nearby had outside cats as well.

When I moved from that place he had to be indoor again and that was absolute hell. He would scratch at the door and wail and wail. If you even walked near the door he was flip out and try to push past you to get to the door. We lived too close to busy roads though at the new place so I wouldn't risk it.

Eventually I couldn't take him being so miserable anymore so I gave him to my friend's brother back at the old place where he was living outside. He was happy again.

The sad part of the story is that he went outside one time and never returned. We think a coyote got him since there had been a lot of them poking around. Breaks my heart that he may have ended that way, but his last days he was enjoying life and not stuck indoors frantic about wanting to be outside.

That said, my opinion is that is really depends on where you live and the individual situation.

My current cat, Whiskey, is not allowed outside. I don't ever want him to be an outdoor cat. He shows interest in the outdoors, but so far hasn't attempted to escape to the world beyond our doors.
 

LauraLeigh

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#13
Cats are very different than dogs mentally. To be clear, I'm not saying they can't be trained. But they are not small dogs; the type and amount of mental stimulation they need is a lot different than dogs, and there are cats out there that are never really mentally healthy being indoors only IMO no matter how much environmental enrichment an owner does indoors.
That's what Minnie and Nuts were like, they were both originally barn cats and while they never went out in the rain or snow (they seemed to prefer the dry warmth of the house!) they were never happy unless they got to do some mousing and have free time in the summer...

I'm biased, because my neighbors let their cats out and they poop and pee all over my deck/yard, sit on my deck and torment my dog, and bury their poop in my flower beds. Not to mention that it's scary to drive through my neighborhood at night because people's pets are darting across the street.
That is absolutely not an issue here, we live on 400 acres and the two farms near us are larger, we literally have two neighbors for at least a mile on each side of us...
 

Xandra

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#14
I think allowing a cat outdoors greatly enhances its quality of life in most cases. I totally agree they are different than dogs mentally... makes sense, because while cats have been domesticated a long time, confining them to something the size of a house or apartment is a fairly recent trend (I think). They just aren't as focused as a dog. You can keep an active dog in a house 22 hours a day and for 2 hours heavily exercise it, and it usually works. You can't really do that with a cat, I don't think. In general, they work on their own schedule, aren't as focused as a dog and aren't as easy to motivate, aren't as thrilled by humans.

I think the quality of life of a dog would be increased if they were allowed to roam, but unfortunately it's impractical because most dogs are relatively large, can be dangerous, tend to be more outgoing, more active, and tend to roam further. Most cats just explore around their home base, saunter and sleep (with an intermittent burst of tree-attack crazy).

Personally, I'd ask your neighbors if they've had cats and if so, how old are they/how long they lived/what killed them.
 

Pops2

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#15
That is absolutely not an issue here, we live on 400 acres and the two farms near us are larger, we literally have two neighbors for at least a mile on each side of us...
You might want to rethink this. Free roaming cats can have ranges in excess of 1 sq mile. On a homesteading forum I frequent, the number one cause of SSS of neighboring cats is because they pick fights with those that live on the farm. Also what if they are conservation minded hunters trying to build or maintain small game populations. I don't care if I have 400,000 acres, in my mind that land is for the native wildlife and your nonnative invasive predator is NOT welcome. I might be polite & indirect at first by explaining how dumped & free roaming cats were destroying the resident wildlife AND how I had to go about getting rid of them.
 

Xandra

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#16
I've never heard of a well taken care of altered cat roaming 1 square mile. They tend to stay well within 1000 feet of the house IME, more like within half that. As far pet cats destroying wildlife populations... in most cases I don't buy it. Feral and semi-feral cat populations, yes. 1-3 cats per residence in a very rural area... no. At least not in the vast majority of cases.
 

LauraLeigh

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#17
You might want to rethink this. Free roaming cats can have ranges in excess of 1 sq mile. On a homesteading forum I frequent, the number one cause of SSS of neighboring cats is because they pick fights with those that live on the farm. Also what if they are conservation minded hunters trying to build or maintain small game populations. I don't care if I have 400,000 acres, in my mind that land is for the native wildlife and your nonnative invasive predator is NOT welcome. I might be polite & indirect at first by explaining how dumped & free roaming cats were destroying the resident wildlife AND how I had to go about getting rid of them.
Well, maybe but I've never been able to go outside and not call Minnie and Nuts to me, and other than mice and chipmunks here the coyotes have done in most small game all on their own...

What neighbors I do have are active Dairy farms with barn cats, and it, frankly was being inside that took my boys away from me....
 

Adjecyca1

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I've never heard of a well taken care of altered cat roaming 1 square mile. They tend to stay well within 1000 feet of the house IME, more like within half that. As far pet cats destroying wildlife populations... in most cases I don't buy it. Feral and semi-feral cat populations, yes. 1-3 cats per residence in a very rural area... no. At least not in the vast majority of cases.
If you have information that states cats aren't causing a lot of damage to the u.s. wildlife population please share, most of the studies suggest that the animals have a great impact in both rural and suburban areas.
There are A LOT of in depth studies on it
http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/ncomms2380
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/pdf/Loss_et_al_2013.pdf
http://web1.cnre.vt.edu/extension/fiw/wildlife/damage/Cats.pdf
http://www.wildthingssanctuary.org/cats--wildlife.html


For every one cat that is kept indoors, hundreds of native wild animals lives are saved.Some individual cats take an astonishing amount of lives per year.
 
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#19
Our cat got over it, took awhile, but he lived...he's 19 now... In retrospect may e we should have let him out! Lol

I honestly see what my friend goes through with her indoor/outdoor cat and ill listen to the wailing over the multiple vet bills personally.

And one of ours is a Siamese mix, who was terrified of outside, until our son decided he needed to leash train him...now he wails if he wants out. Our neighbours can hear him inside their place.

Would it be possible to build a cat enclosure for your cat? That way they get to be outside, but are safe.
 

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