Thanks for the links, I'll spend some time reading over them. 
As far as keeping cats indoors, it is definitely an ideal arrangement. We tried very hard to make Sammy an indoor cat, but there is seriously something wrong with her brain wiring (I am convinced) The longer she is confined indoors the more poopscapades she gets into, and the more aggressive/randomly lashing out and hurting people and other animals she gets. She does go outdoors now (we live on several acres) and honestly if she has had some outdoor "jungle cat" time she is so much more bearable to live with.
We don't leave her out when we are not home, she is confined to the bathroom with her litter box because she can't be trusted to use it otherwise. The way I see it in her specific case, is keeping her indoors makes her (and our) quality of life decrease. Yes, by going outdoors she may end up not living as long, but hopefully the years she is around will be happy ones for her. We try to take extra precautions to keep her safe, like reflective breakaway collars, up to date vaccines, letting her out on a schedule, etc. Hopefully she will be safe, but then again nothing in life is 100%. If she was an indoor cat she could end up like Pie and die at 7 years old from a freak accident. Nothing in life is without risks, and for us and the specific cat we have right now this is what seems to be the best for everyone involved.
As far as keeping cats indoors, it is definitely an ideal arrangement. We tried very hard to make Sammy an indoor cat, but there is seriously something wrong with her brain wiring (I am convinced) The longer she is confined indoors the more poopscapades she gets into, and the more aggressive/randomly lashing out and hurting people and other animals she gets. She does go outdoors now (we live on several acres) and honestly if she has had some outdoor "jungle cat" time she is so much more bearable to live with.
We don't leave her out when we are not home, she is confined to the bathroom with her litter box because she can't be trusted to use it otherwise. The way I see it in her specific case, is keeping her indoors makes her (and our) quality of life decrease. Yes, by going outdoors she may end up not living as long, but hopefully the years she is around will be happy ones for her. We try to take extra precautions to keep her safe, like reflective breakaway collars, up to date vaccines, letting her out on a schedule, etc. Hopefully she will be safe, but then again nothing in life is 100%. If she was an indoor cat she could end up like Pie and die at 7 years old from a freak accident. Nothing in life is without risks, and for us and the specific cat we have right now this is what seems to be the best for everyone involved.
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Thanks for the links, I'll spend some time reading over them.
As far as keeping cats indoors, it is definitely an ideal arrangement. We tried very hard to make Sammy an indoor cat, but there is seriously something wrong with her brain wiring (I am convinced) The longer she is confined indoors the more poopscapades she gets into, and the more aggressive/randomly lashing out and hurting people and other animals she gets. She does go outdoors now (we live on several acres) and honestly if she has had some outdoor "jungle cat" time she is so much more bearable to live with.
We don't leave her out when we are not home, she is confined to the bathroom with her litter box because she can't be trusted to use it otherwise. The way I see it in her specific case, is keeping her indoors makes her (and our) quality of life decrease. Yes, by going outdoors she may end up not living as long, but hopefully the years she is around will be happy ones for her. We try to take extra precautions to keep her safe, like reflective breakaway collars, up to date vaccines, letting her out on a schedule, etc. Hopefully she will be safe, but then again nothing in life is 100%. If she was an indoor cat she could end up like Pie and die at 7 years old from a freak accident. Nothing in life is without risks, and for us and the specific cat we have right now this is what seems to be the best for everyone involved.
As far as keeping cats indoors, it is definitely an ideal arrangement. We tried very hard to make Sammy an indoor cat, but there is seriously something wrong with her brain wiring (I am convinced) The longer she is confined indoors the more poopscapades she gets into, and the more aggressive/randomly lashing out and hurting people and other animals she gets. She does go outdoors now (we live on several acres) and honestly if she has had some outdoor "jungle cat" time she is so much more bearable to live with.
We don't leave her out when we are not home, she is confined to the bathroom with her litter box because she can't be trusted to use it otherwise. The way I see it in her specific case, is keeping her indoors makes her (and our) quality of life decrease. Yes, by going outdoors she may end up not living as long, but hopefully the years she is around will be happy ones for her. We try to take extra precautions to keep her safe, like reflective breakaway collars, up to date vaccines, letting her out on a schedule, etc. Hopefully she will be safe, but then again nothing in life is 100%. If she was an indoor cat she could end up like Pie and die at 7 years old from a freak accident. Nothing in life is without risks, and for us and the specific cat we have right now this is what seems to be the best for everyone involved.
I would love to see a vet try to get anywhere near the claws on my band of practically feral cats.. As for keeping them indoors..
They all turned up from outside, were (I assume) born out there, so keeping them in would just be insane on my part.. I did however manage to round them up and take them to the vets to have them all fixed so I wouldn't have a constant stream of feral cats turning up at my house.. But as for having them declawed.. :yikes:
They all turned up from outside, were (I assume) born out there, so keeping them in would just be insane on my part.. I did however manage to round them up and take them to the vets to have them all fixed so I wouldn't have a constant stream of feral cats turning up at my house.. But as for having them declawed.. :yikes:
I know of cats who simply stopped using their litter box forever after getting declawed. It just hurt them too much to step into substrate.
Needless to say, (some of) those very people, who chose to declaw in the first place, then had these kind of problems pop up, and ended up abandoning their "problematic" cats later on. Sad.
I used to work in a vet clinic and have seen numerous cats being declawed with my own eyes. I also had to care for them as they woke up and realized what kind of pain they were in. The painful meows they made after the amputation was plain heartbreaking. It was clear they were in extreme pain.
Let's just say that I would never, ever declaw a cat under my care.
Needless to say, (some of) those very people, who chose to declaw in the first place, then had these kind of problems pop up, and ended up abandoning their "problematic" cats later on. Sad.
I used to work in a vet clinic and have seen numerous cats being declawed with my own eyes. I also had to care for them as they woke up and realized what kind of pain they were in. The painful meows they made after the amputation was plain heartbreaking. It was clear they were in extreme pain.
Let's just say that I would never, ever declaw a cat under my care.
it is true that STRICTLY outdoor cats (Cats that are forced to live outside, and survive off of food they find and eat) obviously live shorter lifespans then cats that don't.
BUT, people don't seem to understand that when someone says their cats go outside, that they don't mean their cats LIVE outside!! My cats don't LIVE outside, they LIVE inside...But they go outside as they please. Most of the time, they spend their time lounging around the house like the spoiled house cats they are..But yes, they do go outside (Except 8 of them that are strictly indoor only cats).
What about dogs? Nobody locks their dog up inside 24/7. They take their dogs outside for several hours a day. And those dogs are not considered outside dogs, they are considered inside dogs. (And that also goes for the people who automatically assume if you say you have an inside dog,that its never been on grass before lol..Met a few of those people). I have inside dogs...but they have a dog door, and access to outside whenever they want (except when no one is home).
When you pull up to my house..you see 2 maybe 3 cats sitting on the porch. You never see 23 cats outside at once. They only go outside to potty (IN MY YARD), and to climb a few trees...chase a few squirrels..And that is about it, they come back inside and lounge around some more.
Don't automatically assume because someone's cat goes outside, that is LIVES outside and is abandoned outdoors. I know some people just toss their cats outside, lock the door and don't let them in until night..But most cat people I know (And I know a lot of cat people, and a LOT of people with over 20 cats as I do cat rescue, volunteer and foster for a cat rescue.) have indoor/outdoor cats who have 24/7 access to both inside and outside.
My cats get bored with outside after a while. Not all of them (Even the ones with access to outside) go outside everyday. my ferals spend the majority of their time outside (ALL my cats are altered), but if its too cold or hot they come inside..They just hide from us.
BUT, people don't seem to understand that when someone says their cats go outside, that they don't mean their cats LIVE outside!! My cats don't LIVE outside, they LIVE inside...But they go outside as they please. Most of the time, they spend their time lounging around the house like the spoiled house cats they are..But yes, they do go outside (Except 8 of them that are strictly indoor only cats).
What about dogs? Nobody locks their dog up inside 24/7. They take their dogs outside for several hours a day. And those dogs are not considered outside dogs, they are considered inside dogs. (And that also goes for the people who automatically assume if you say you have an inside dog,that its never been on grass before lol..Met a few of those people). I have inside dogs...but they have a dog door, and access to outside whenever they want (except when no one is home).
When you pull up to my house..you see 2 maybe 3 cats sitting on the porch. You never see 23 cats outside at once. They only go outside to potty (IN MY YARD), and to climb a few trees...chase a few squirrels..And that is about it, they come back inside and lounge around some more.
Don't automatically assume because someone's cat goes outside, that is LIVES outside and is abandoned outdoors. I know some people just toss their cats outside, lock the door and don't let them in until night..But most cat people I know (And I know a lot of cat people, and a LOT of people with over 20 cats as I do cat rescue, volunteer and foster for a cat rescue.) have indoor/outdoor cats who have 24/7 access to both inside and outside.
My cats get bored with outside after a while. Not all of them (Even the ones with access to outside) go outside everyday. my ferals spend the majority of their time outside (ALL my cats are altered), but if its too cold or hot they come inside..They just hide from us.