Outside cats?

Fran27

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#1
Anyone here also have some outside cats? I have three. Two were already here when I moved in (my husband's). One is outside 23/24 (the one hour inside is an average of the few times she actually sleeps in in winter), the other is old and spends most of his time sleeping inside, but goes sleep on the porch when it's nice out.

The last one is my girl, she lived with me in an apartment for a year before I moved here three years ago. As there is a cat door and the other cats are outside cats, I didn't have much choice but to let her go out, too. I can say she's been really happy, bringing countless rodents and birds in the house...

My problem is that I just can't stop worrying. That, and I'm really sad because in summer I just don't see her anymore. I took her to the vet on Tuesday for her shots, and I haven't seen her since. The food bowl got mostly emptied during the night though so I guess she came when I was sleeping, but it's so frustrating! I can't help worrying that someone stole her (even though she runs away as soon as she sees people), or she got lost, or got killed by a car... It's been this way ever since I moved in here. It's so bad that I love cats, but I don't think I ever want another outside cat, because I'm just worrying all the time and I don't even spend much time with them anyway.

It really makes me sad. I'm in a dead end now, the other two probably only have a couple years left to live, but it's too late now to let my kitty stay inside. The house is small, and when I left her inside all day on Tuesday to make sure I could take her to the vet, she complained all day and even peed on the pillows - and she had never had an accident before. I really want another cat one day, but I can't see how it will work with an outdoor cat and the dogs (I often keep the back door open during the day etc).

How do you do with your cats?
 

poeluvr

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#2
i have a outside / inside cat...outside a quarter of the time inside 3/4 ths of the time. very somber and just comes and goes with a open and close of a door
 

luvmydogs

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#3
i used to have an indoor cat, then she started being an outdoor cat. she got out, and came back out and back...and one day, she never came back. i believe she died, because cats usually always come back. hope she will come back in your case. after him, i hated cats....never wanted any, because i was so hurt...now i got the kitten.lol i had another cat before "snow" (outdoor cat) and she got ran over my a car...and i was watching, and couldnt do anything about it. i really hope he is just too lazy to come home in your case. keep us updated
 

Fran27

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#4
I still haven't seen her. But again we went out last night for an hour, and she might have come during the night. I'm still worried sick, going to go check if she didn't end up at the SPCA today...
 
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#5
I have an outside Cat. He's always outside, but comes when I call him. I wouldn't worry if I were you. Mine used to go missing for days and days, but still came back. Now he is basically always lurking around my back garden waiting for me to feed him and scratch him. :)
 

luvmydogs

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#7
she may be around when ure not looking, or not home...just make sure u keep fresh water and food outside...which i know u already know :p
 

Fran27

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#8
Actually I don't put food outside, but we have a kitty door. With the 10ish cats that wander around, I'm not sure the food would go to the right ones, lol.

But still nothing. I know she may come in to eat when I am sleeping or away, but it's still worrying :(
 

luvmydogs

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#9
how about borrowing a "humane" cat trap from the spca...once she gets thru the door she will get in the cage, and BAM!!!
 

Fran27

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#10
Well we put about 4-5 flyers yesterday, and she came back at 11pm! She must have been feeling bad too because she spent the night with us, which she usually doesn't do in summer...
 

luvmydogs

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#11
or she knows how to read...and came back after reading ur flyer. i'm so happy for u. u have a pic/ hope she is spayed??? if not...congrats, grandma LOL
 

Fran27

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#12
She got spayed at 6 months, I didn't want to run the risk of losing her.

Here's a recent pic, with another of the cats (she's the right one):

 

ohmai

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#13
I had an outside cat when I was younger. I never really worried for her because I was kind of young, but I knew she wouldn't just run away. She'd sleep with me at night and wake me up for school, and even would sometimes walk me to school and pick me up from school too! Lol.. one time she even came into class with me.

But yeah, I hope your cat comes back. She could just be having such a good time with her cat buddies.
 
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#15
Not meaning to rag on anyone with outdoor cats, but you do know that their life expectancy is MUCH shorter than a cat that is kept exclusively indoors, right?
If you want a cat just to kill rodents, keep it outside. But if you want a pet to love and not have to worry what happened to it...keep it inside. There are just too many things that can happen to a free roaming kitty.

Pam
 

Fran27

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#16
I remember reading a 30 pages thread of people arguing about indoors and outdoors cats...

I agree, it's safer inside, and they will live longer, but in my opinion, they won't be as happy. The only reason I would prefer indoor cats is just selfishness - I'm never going to claim that cats would be as happy if they only live inside. I guess it all comes to the difference between short/happy life and long and more boring ones.

The cats at my mom don't have enough excercise and just sleep all the time. They're inside cats. Here, even the cat that is mostly inside will go roast on the porch in the summer, because staying inside (with the dogs) would be boring for him - the house is really not that big, and there aren't that many places where he can sleep without being bothered by the dogs every 2 minutes.

Although the cat we had to put to sleep last December was 19... and an outside/inside cat all his life.
 
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#17
I know, Fran...the debate goes on and on...
My cat was indoor exclusively and he seemed pretty happy to me. How's a cat going to know what it's missing if it never even had it? But there are reasons some people let their cats outside. For instance, if it's peeing in the house without a medical reason, or tearing the house apart.
I do think most house cats are quite content, though. Better to be content and fat than thin and dead on the side of the road or mauled, mangled and killed by dogs or wild animals...or shot by an annoyed neighbor.
Ironically, after I posted that, the next morning I saw one of my neighbors cats dead in the road. :(

Pam
 

Fran27

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#18
Most of the time it's not about knowing what they are missing, but about having room to run around. You can keep a dog in your small house and small yard all the time, without letting him out, even if he can't miss what he doesn't know, it won't make him happy. I don't think it's different for cats, they need room to run, jump, and some intellectual simulation, and it's not always possible in small houses or apartments.

My cat lived in a small apartment with me for a year before we moved here, she eventually found out the cat door after a few days, and since then she's been spending most of her time outside. Because she's more happy outside.

Yes, there are dangers out there... But for people too. As I said, I think that people hide behind the 'dangers outside' argument when in truth they are just worried and it makes *them* feel better if the cat is inside. I know that cats are mostly lazy animals, but it makes me sad to see a cat sleep 23 hours a day because he doesn't have anything better to do. And I think that people are foolish to think those the cats are really happy, when they could be running around after birds outside.

I'm not saying that all cats should go outside. Of course, it really totally depends on where you live. I've been accused of not taking care properly of my cats, because I let them go outside. Well, there are probably 10 other cats wandering in the neighborhood (no strays), and there is probably an average of 3 cars an hour in the street, so I think it's quite safe for the cats. I have yet to see any dead cat here. But sure, if I moved in an area with more cars, I would not let the cats out. It also depends on the cats too. Mine make sure no car is coming when they cross the road, stay away from them, and run away when a stranger or an animal approaches them.

Although I am not sure how it's possible to prevent a cat from going out when the dogs go in and out all the time.
 

Becca_

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#19
This cat we took in is an indoor outdoor cat. Seems she's had to fend for herself long enough that she lives for the thrill of a good hunt. We tried to keep her inside but she'd slip thru while taking the dogs out or letting them in. Now we dont try to stop her. She's fixed, she loves it outside, and never goes far, plus not alot of traffic on our street.
 

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