Outdoor cat, all the time

[Anonymous]

The farmers are not abusive and I really think they are more anchored than most of us are. The cats are animals and pets, but there is a line drawn and if that means cats outdoors, I can't accuse them of anything bad. I kept chickens right here in MoCo and they were outside all winter long. They never froze, even in our last bad winters. I was at a rabbit adoption thing at a local pet store and the "expert" said that rabbits needed to be indoors. I have had rabbits since I was a child right here in MoCo and they never came inside. They all lived for a very long time outside. The coats thickened with the colder weather. My dogs come inside, mostly for security reasons. Some of them would never make it through a winter because the coats are too short. However, my sister has a husky mix and that dog stays outside all year long. Partly because it likes that, but the shedding is crazy. These dogs were not bred with the expectation we would have nice vacuum cleaners. The expectation is that most animals we call pets were expected to live outdoors, including cats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The farmers are not abusive and I really think they are more anchored than most of us are. The cats are animals and pets, but there is a line drawn and if that means cats outdoors, I can't accuse them of anything bad. I kept chickens right here in MoCo and they were outside all winter long. They never froze, even in our last bad winters. I was at a rabbit adoption thing at a local pet store and the "expert" said that rabbits needed to be indoors. I have had rabbits since I was a child right here in MoCo and they never came inside. They all lived for a very long time outside. The coats thickened with the colder weather. My dogs come inside, mostly for security reasons. Some of them would never make it through a winter because the coats are too short. However, my sister has a husky mix and that dog stays outside all year long. Partly because it likes that, but the shedding is crazy. These dogs were not bred with the expectation we would have nice vacuum cleaners. The expectation is that most animals we call pets were expected to live outdoors, including cats.

I don't know what "anchored" means here, but in any case I don't believe that OP is a farmer, given that she lives in Potomac.

I don't know where your referenced "expectation" comes from. Could you cite a source please?

[Anonymous]

Growing up we had outdoor cats, because that's what people did back then. One was run over by a car and one went blind from an illness that we were told was caused by eating animals. From then on we had only indoors cats.

[Anonymous]

I worked for a feral cat organization. After many studies they found that cats do just fine living outside during the winters here. As PP said, all manner of farm animals live outdoors all the time. But having your cat go from indoors to outdoors does bring parasites into your home unless you are really careful about it.

[Anonymous]

Please don't do this OP! It's wrong on so many levels. And it likely violates the law in Mo Co.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked for a feral cat organization. After many studies they found that cats do just fine living outside during the winters here. As PP said, all manner of farm animals live outdoors all the time. But having your cat go from indoors to outdoors does bring parasites into your home unless you are really careful about it.

THANK YOU voice of reason!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends entirely on the cat. Some cats and some breeds are smart and savvy.

We had an indoor/outdoor cat growing up (suburbs), who lived to be 18. They were indoor/outdoor (any time they wanted to be let out, any time of year) since they were a kitten.

Occasionally they came home with a scratch from some animal fight, but nothing serious.

They always buried their poop well, occasionally brought us a chipmunk, and helped shoe away the annoyingly chirping birds, so we could sleep with the windows open sometimes.

As far as sometimes catching birds go, eh, that's the cycle of life. Birds aren't exactly vegetarian.

Outdoor life is not for every cat. But I'm convinced it makes for a happier, as well as longer (due to aforementioned happiness) life for some cats.

Actually, cats are non-native predators for which reason it is not the "cycle of life." We have a major problem with native bird populations being killed off by non-native cat-predators.

Your comment reflects your ignorance.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/outdoor-cats-kill-between-14-billion-and-37-billion-birds-a-year-study-says/2013/01/31/2504f744-6bbe-11e2-ada0-5ca5fa7ebe79_story.html

Um, we have highrises and skyscrapers that birds fly into, cars that hit them on roads and highways, and manmade chemicals that they fatally ingest. There is no such thing as a "native" habitat anymore, and humans -- not cats -- are primarily to blame.

Your comment reflects your human bias.

Seriously, you're blaming the cats? LOL.

Researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Found that cats are responsible for losses of native bird populations ranging from 6.9 billion to 20.7 billion annually.

Of course there are native habitats. Have you never studied environmental science?

How many are killed by or related to manmade interference? Where's your outrage about human destructiveness? Cats are barely a *dent* to that caused by humans.

Good lord, crazy bird people are worse than crazy dog people.

[no, I'm not a crazy cat person - don't even own a cat!]

You are moving the goalpost. Your above point was that the many deaths cited in the study couldn't possibly be from cats alone. And I pointed out that indeed, the study says just that.

So now you are asking where my outrage about human destruction of native animal populations are. How is that relevant to the above? It is indeed a worrisome issue, but unrelated to the above, which relates solely to the deaths caused by cats alone.

You have reading comprehension issues. I have never said either. I pointed out simply that the primary risk to native birds are humans - not cats. But way to dodge the question and go back to only focusing on the little (relatively speaking) harm by outdoor cats.

What changes have you, or are you personally taking in your life to reduce or eliminate your human imprint against native birds?

[Anonymous]

Windmills out west kill tons of birds including endangered species.

[Anonymous]

I'd feel pretty confident saying the crumbs of our hamburger, drippings or used cups from our frappuccinos, or dropped oreos are probably doing more harm to native birds, than the cats.

Have you ever seen the crap they eat, that we leave behind?

And you're worried about what the CATS are doing to the birds?

Good lord busybody anti-cat-ites are gonna anti-cat no mater what.

[Anonymous]

Still don't get why a pet owner is considered fuel when the y give the animal freedom. Why are you considered kind because you have the animal in your house?
Look, there are more serious things out there WRT animal cruelty, like birds in cages.
We enlightened people think we know everything. The animals are better off when they have as much freedom as possible.