Anonymous wrote:As a child in suburban Nashville I had a cat who wound up staying outdoors/in the garage all the time because my mom and sister were allergic. (He lived to the age of 18, but that's neither here nor there.) My point is, having a cat who lives outside all the time is not really "having a cat." Your DC presumably wants a cat it can cuddle with and play with. Your DC won't really be able to do that unless he/she spends a lot of time sitting outside.

Actually on the farm, they were outside all the time. They did cuddle with the cats outside. The cats weren't overly into human attention, they eventually picked up and walked away. They did not come running when we came out either.

As a child in suburban Nashville I had a cat who wound up staying outdoors/in the garage all the time because my mom and sister were allergic. (He lived to the age of 18, but that's neither here nor there.) My point is, having a cat who lives outside all the time is not really "having a cat." Your DC presumably wants a cat it can cuddle with and play with. Your DC won't really be able to do that unless he/she spends a lot of time sitting outside.

Anonymous wrote:For me, I would rather live under a bridge with another human and have to fend for myself than live with another species and rely on that species for affection and comfort. I would prefer not to be castrated or have my fingernails removed even if it means living longer.
OP is saying that they would take in two cats at once.

This might actually be the stupidest thing I've ever read

This is not a good idea in Potomac, for all the reasons that have been stated.

For me, I would rather live under a bridge with another human and have to fend for myself than live with another species and rely on that species for affection and comfort. I would prefer not to be castrated or have my fingernails removed even if it means living longer.
OP is saying that they would take in two cats at once.

It's a ridiculous idea. If the cat lives outside all the time, it's not a "pet," it's a feral animal. Outside cats fight and spread disease to other cats such as FIV and feline leukemia. It's also utterly environmentally irresponsible in that cats are non-native introduced predators and are helping take down populations of native species, including songbirds, chipmunks, etc. I personally have two indoor-only cats and love them, but I think people who let their cats outside are irresponsible jerks.

My neighbor has already killed 2 kittens this way. It's a horrible idea (as 100% of respondents have stated), yet you seem to want to argue every point that's brought up. If you were looking for a bunch of pandering idiots who would just agree with your cruel ideas mindlessly, it would seem that DCUM is the wrong place to look.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you offer the cat some sort of heated shelter in the winter, this is cruel. Straw in the garage is not enough.

The barn cats in that part of PA are not in heated rooms during their colder winter. The owners say that the straw and heavier winter coats are enough and they have never had a frozen cat. Our garage is warmer than outside by about 8 degrees.

If that's your standard, I guess cats will be fine. But cats will be freezing cold though and you are a cruel person.

+1

OP, you do not live in Kentucky and have no business trying to have barn cats in Potomac. Cruel and inhumane.

The only problem with this line is that you are essentially saying that the farmers are cruel and inhumane too. The cats don't know a Kentucky barn from a Potomac garage.

There is traffic in Potomac. And barns are warm whereas garages are not.

Cats in barns in the country will sleep with litter mates, curled up together for warmth. A single cat stuck outside 24 hours a day will freeze in the winter and meow to come in.
Would you or your child be OK with hearing their beloved pet crying at the door, during a snowstorm? Common sense, and compassion, please!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you offer the cat some sort of heated shelter in the winter, this is cruel. Straw in the garage is not enough.

The barn cats in that part of PA are not in heated rooms during their colder winter. The owners say that the straw and heavier winter coats are enough and they have never had a frozen cat. Our garage is warmer than outside by about 8 degrees.

If that's your standard, I guess cats will be fine. But cats will be freezing cold though and you are a cruel person.

+1

OP, you do not live in Kentucky and have no business trying to have barn cats in Potomac. Cruel and inhumane.

The only problem with this line is that you are essentially saying that the farmers are cruel and inhumane too. The cats don't know a Kentucky barn from a Potomac garage.

Let it stay on the farm where it can snuggle for warmth with the other barn cats and spend the day hunting field mice as opposed to alley rats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cat will, eventually, get hit by a car. You may or may not ever find its body. If you're ok with that, then go for it.

OP's DC will be traumatized though.

???all pets die...

So do people. So how about you have your kids sleep in the garage and roam the streets at night?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you offer the cat some sort of heated shelter in the winter, this is cruel. Straw in the garage is not enough.

The barn cats in that part of PA are not in heated rooms during their colder winter. The owners say that the straw and heavier winter coats are enough and they have never had a frozen cat. Our garage is warmer than outside by about 8 degrees.

If that's your standard, I guess cats will be fine. But cats will be freezing cold though and you are a cruel person.

+1

OP, you do not live in Kentucky and have no business trying to have barn cats in Potomac. Cruel and inhumane.

I grew up on a horse farm in PA. We had barn cats, and it is true that they were happy, and their life expectancies were similar to indoor cats (because we spayed/neutered and regularly vaccinated, as well as giving them a warm place to sleep in winter). Our tack room in the stable was heated and we had a cat flap on its door: some of the cats regularly preferred to sleep in there in the winter, which proves that the rest of the stable WAS colder than they preferred. In summer, they never went in the tackroom, but the kitties loved to be in the warm in winter. I'm sure they wouldn't have died if they had not had the option of the heated tackroom, but they wouldn't have been very comfortable.

Our barn cats loved roaming and stalking in the fields and woods. Your suburban outdoor cats will also roam, and they will get hit by cars. THIS is why you should NOT have outdoor only cats in the suburbs.

Please leave the cats on the farm if you are going to do this to them. It is pointless and cruel.

I have an indoor cat now who is my "other" child. I would never put her outdoors unless we moved to a farm (we won't).

Signed,

Crazy Cat Lady

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cat will, eventually, get hit by a car. You may or may not ever find its body. If you're ok with that, then go for it.

OP's DC will be traumatized though.

???all pets die...

Not all die because Mummy wouldn't allow them in the house.