05-20-2012 at 1:13 PM

The way I look at it is, if you wouldn't let your dog, rat, hamster, bird, ferret, etc run around outside unsupervised, why a cat? Cats are not immune to death, they aren't immortal.

05-20-2012 at 11:00 AM

I'm against any Pet roaming free.<br /> I lost every cat I ever owned because I allowed them to roam outside without me. the 1st one was taken by a Hawk or Coyote. the other one was killed in my front lawn by a dog. <br /> <br /> As for dogs... last year I was seriously tripped by a neighbor's australian shepherd -- who was off it's leash. I fell on our concrete parking lot, which Skinned up my hands, knees and bruised me. By some miracle, I didn't hit my head!<br /> <br /> So, in short, decidedly No! Pets should be put on leashes.

05-19-2012 at 1:54 AM

I realize this is an older thread but I found this interesting nonetheless. The link is a Canadian site and can't be viewed by those out of Canada <i>(I tested with a friend, he couldn't watch it :( )</i> buuuut I have provided a transcript! :) Hopefully I can find it on Youtube sometime.<br /> <br /> Amy Watts of Athens has three cats who roam outdoors, she thought she knew them.. now, she knows them much better.<br /> "I knew that Booker-T's favorite place to go is down in the storm sewers, and now I know what the storm sewers look like."<br /> She knows that because UGA researcher Carrie Ann Lloyd recruited Booker-T for a project to view the secret lives of outdoor housecats. When Lloyd equipped Booker-T with the three-ounce video camera attached to a collar, the cat obliged with an infra-red tour of the neighbourhood storm sewers.<br /> "It's kind of frightening, I wish he'd never go down there again."<br /> As part of her project, Lloyd says she gathered more than 2000 hours of kitty-cam footage. Much of it framed on top by the animals' fuzzy chin and wiry whiskers. They stalked their neighbours' chickens, they camped out under automobiles, they ascended the pitched roofs of their neighbours' homes, they had unnerving night-time encounters with opossums and other woodland creatures, and they stalked prey.<br /> Lloyed says her camera's documented dozens of encounters between cats and slower-moving critters, oftentimes resulting in the cat cheerfully relocating it's hapless victim.<br /> "Most of them left their prey, they would capture their prey and maybe play with it for a minute, and then leave it close to the site of capture, rather than bring it home as a gift for the owners."<br /> Lloyd says the research has a point, to show cat-owners what their cats really do outdoors, and to strongly suggest that indoor cats lead less perilous lives.<br /> "We were surprised to see that 85% of our sample of 60 cats experienced at least one risked behaviour while roaming over a week. So we thought that it was a pretty high percentage."<br /> The cameras told stories and in the case of Archie, the striped tabby, it exposed a double life beyond Amy Watt's property line.<br /> "He's got a whole other family, they held open the door for him and he walked in and then he just hung out in their house. I feel like one of those women on the talk shows, you know.. My Husband Has Two Wives.. my cat has two families."<br /> For an eternity these stealthy animals lived secret lives, now the lid is off and the cats... do they look like they care?<br /> <br /> <br /> Sooo just saying :) I hear a TON this "my cat never kills nothing" or "my cat never fights" or "my cat never leaves my yard"<br /> Proven wrong! and from the eyes of a cat ;)

05-18-2011 at 5:11 AM

yes, if you do have a free range cat,,, it should be fixed.

05-17-2011 at 7:00 AM

The other day I was walking down the street and I heard something weird in the short tree next to me. I looked over and saw a cat going down into the tree from the top and I thought maybe it was someone's cat stuck in a tree.. so I called to it and walked over to help it out and upon closer inspection, it was one of the mangy strays around here - eating baby birds out of a nest :\ I yelled at it and it ran back to my cat-hoarder neighbour that feeds them and shelters them. Same guy whose cat peed on my dang window. Won't have to deal with them for much longer though because I've contacted animal control to pick em all up.

05-17-2011 at 6:53 AM

For me cats are like any other pet. When you have a pet you take responsibility for that pet for both it's safety and best interests and the safety and best interest of other people and things. So I'm very against people who have cats who roam willy nilly. If you don't know where you pet is then you do not know what it is doing and if it safe. So for me it's just wrong. <br /> <br /> In some circumstances I find it less frustrating though. For example, my parents have a barn cat. The cat is always within a certain radius of the house and will come when it's called. They have also taken preventative measure to ensure the safety since he's fixed. Since we are in the country and secluded the cat does not go to other peoples houses or anything. It takes care of the rodent problem in the barn which protects our horses and cows. I guess I don't really "agree" with it being like that because since it has free reign they don't know where it is all of the time but I find it acceptable I guess. <br /> <br /> People who have unfixed cats that they allow to roam free especially in the city I find deplorable. Not only does it contribute to the huge population of animals that don't have homes it also leaves their pet open to being hit by cars, tortured by mean kids, and the list goes on. <br /> <br /> So for me... ideally and morally I believe all people if they have adopted/bought a pet and they take ownership for it ... that they know where it is and have it's well being in mind.

05-17-2011 at 5:04 AM

i wouldn't want to have an outdoor cat, im a very overprotective and paranoid person, but i think they're well equipped enough to 'take care of themselves' cringes, i don't like how that sounds. yes cats do get themselves in horrible situations, but i think if people hated cats less and helped them out more, it would decrease so much. and frankly it happens. however if you can't afford expensive pet bills, Keep It Inside!!! less pain on everyone!!

05-15-2011 at 7:24 AM

My neighbour lets his cats mate and stray and pee on my outdoor furniture and tonight one of his cats came over and peed onto my window and now my room reaks of cat pee and I'm worried about my birds.<br>I'm not putting up with him letting his cats roam anymore and I'm gonna' start trapping them and bringing them to the humane society. People need to <b>STOP LETTING THEIR CATS ROAM.</b>

04-8-2011 at 8:18 AM

A woman was caught grabbing pets that roam or from their yards and killing them in front of her kids. Just another reason why pets should not roam. I can't even begin to explain how I feel about this or I'll get banned.

04-7-2011 at 8:21 PM

Lol I went out to the car today to get some change and forgot to close the front door fully, came back and saw both cats on the porch. One was smelling a bag of rock salt and the other was smelling pieces of grass on the front porch. Soooooo weird.

04-7-2011 at 3:02 PM

Ahh, I wasn't sure if that's what you meant or not. I'm not sure what to do about that one.

04-7-2011 at 6:47 AM

"If you mean the cat is actually puncturing the screens"<br /> <br /> no i meen he uses his body waight and pushes the screan out compleatly, the bottom parts of the screans just flap open now, there compleatly pointless.<br /> <br /> dang cat is costing me a forchen.

04-6-2011 at 10:24 PM

If you mean the cat is actually puncturing the screens, <a href="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100711202227AAFnFgf">maybe this might help</a>. :)

04-6-2011 at 10:23 PM

...Yeah, my mother is rather irresponsible about that and leaves our windows wide open even though she KNOWS the cats will claw them open. She alone has cost me and my grandmother 9 screens, and stress trying to find our cats.<br /> <br /> We keep it closed. If you have a window stopper, you can crack it slightly.<br /> <br /> <br /> She's also the one who stands with the door wide open and the animals get out. -_-<br /> <br /> I'm just lucky I can run when I need to. Dogs, they're usually fine and will stop when told. But the cats will bolt out.<br /> <br /> It doesn't help that my mom's cat only comes to her and she won't even try to get him back.

04-6-2011 at 9:50 PM

Yep and cats, like kids, will learn how to get what they want.<br /> <br /> We leave a window open in our house no matter what Jasper will find it, hes broken about 4 or 5 window screens so far. :/

04-6-2011 at 6:02 PM

Yep and cats, like kids, will learn how to get what they want. My cats will do loud, urgent screams at me and run in and out of my room when they're hungry. They know that if they do it I'll race them to their foodbowl and put food in it.

04-6-2011 at 5:59 PM

For anyone arguing that "my cat's gonna die if I don't let him out", look at it like this. You take your kid to the toy store, and he finds something he really likes. However, you tell him he can't have it. He is going to whine, complain, cry and scream, and really make it seem like it's the end of the world. <br /> <br /> By the time you get home, it'll be over. A week later, he probably won't even remember. <br /> <br /> As far as I know, cats aren't capable of understanding the concept suicide, so he's not "going to die". He's going to be fine. You just have to dedicate a little more time to him.

04-6-2011 at 5:43 PM

A friend of mine built a HUGE oudoor enclosed yard for the FIV+ cat she adopted who was DRIVING her INSANE trying to get out. It has a small tree in it even. So the cat has free access to the enclosure and never tries to run out the front door anymore. The neclosure is probably around 10ft x10ft x8ft tall

04-6-2011 at 5:43 PM

My cats will howl sometimes if they see a cat or something outside and will run from window to window, but I don't let them out because I care for them and don't want to see them injured. They give up after about 2 minutes and chase a toy mouse around :) I tied a furry mouse to a string and drag it around the house and they love it lol

04-6-2011 at 5:36 PM

<i>because no, your cat doesn't' always win. You know what cats do when they fight? [not play fighting], they jump on eachother, grab with their front claws, bite, and kick. A cat with no front claws doesn't stand a chance in a fight.</i><br /> <br /> As I said before, if I had it my way, I wouldn't ever let my cat out, but he'd be miserable the rest of his life. I kid you not, he'll run around the house, howling at the top of his lungs until we let him out. It's a fact of life. I can't control what my cat does when he's outside, and yes, I fear for his life when he gets into fights. I take measures to protect him, like updating his vaccinations. It's not that I don't love him. I love him a lot, enough to protect him without making his life utterly miserable. I believe he'd die if I didn't let him out once a day.<br /> <br /> When I do see him get into fights, I'll step in and break it up. Most of the time, when I step in, the other cat is in much worse shape than Tigger. Granted, Tigger has come home with bites and scratches and he's hobbled around the house a bit.<br /> <br /> Believe me, it hurts to see him hurt, but it also hurts me to see him whine pitifully when he can't go out. He'll destroy our house if we don't let him.<br /> <br /> Yes, my worst fear is that Tigger won't come home, but I have to trust him that he will.<br /> <br /> On a side note, this is just a debate, so please be polite and courteous.