Cats being allowed to roam at night

[Gidget]

Had a friend who let her cat roam far and wide at night - she said it was because he wanted to? Oh, ok then. He came back one morning with a leg hanging off. It had to be amputated. She started to keep him in, after saying the same thing to me "Oh I can't keep him in, he needs to go out, he makes a fuss etc." He stopped fussing and yowling after a few days. She still has her cat.

[DJKillaQueen]

Cats who want to go out find a way to get out eventually. They can not be trained in the same way dogs are, and I've had both cats and dogs throughout my life and know the difference. Similarly cats require less attention and looking after than dogs.

Where I live it is perfectly safe for cats to roam.....no dangerous roads for them to cross and backing onto the reservoir and nunhead Cemetary. Equally I've had cats that don't like to go out much. As long as the cat is speyed/ jabbed and chipped, it seems ridiculous to me to suggest it should not be allowed to go if it wants to, and the area is relatively safe for it to do so. The equivalent would be to suggest never taking your dog for a walk!

Most cats don't roam very far from their homes anyway, unless they are unneutered, which is why a high percentage of cats that are run over for example are unneutered males.

[RosieH]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> Cats who want to go out find a way to get out

> eventually.

skeleton key? tom, dick and harry? concealed in a basket of washing?

[spark67]

The RSPCA & most vets advise cats are kept in at night before we go to bed, they are more likely to wander or get injured by fighting (fox attacks can happen though rarely) or being hit by a car. We have four cats..two were strays we took in...well they decided to move in, one was pregnant, we kept two of the kittens who are now 5yrs old.

We always get them in at night, A/ because of the higher risk of injury B/ because one of them is a bit of a hunter (the other three can't be arsed) So as well as avoiding more chance of a hefty vets bill or losing one, we are also safe guarding wildlife and reducing the chance of stepping on a pile of small furry bodies in the morning outside the bedroom door.

Neutering is the best option, makes them lazy and less likely to wander as killaqueen says.

Ours are pretty well trained and tend to come in at night, in the winter you can't shove them out the cat flap.

As for fouling, well they use the litter tray ( two are quite old and now tend to prefer our patio, so dustpan and brush always on standby ) Neighbors on both sides have cats so there's no knowing who's poops belongs to who to be honest.

I can't understand people who get cats and shove them out all of the time, they can be trained, especially from kittens.

[DJKillaQueen]

lol Rosie.....I did once have a cat that could open doors by swinging from the handles. Was quite a shock to find my unlocked front door wide open one morning :D

I also make sure mine are in before I gotto sleep. I tend to think that if they can't come in when they want to come in then they are more likely to have accidents. Most cats when they go out just patrol the same route and come home...a bit like going for the daily walk (although cats are more nocturnal because that's when their natural prey comes out). And mine too won't go anywhere if they don't like the weather.

At the end of the day it's about balance. Every pet is different. The key is to let them be themselves whilst not putting them at any undue risk. That way they have the best chance of having a happy life.

[Pugwash]

One cat prefers our bed, the oldest the kitchen floor or if warm outside on the patio with sometimes cat number 2 for company. The black and white one kitchen stool or on top of the garden table. All use the cat flap.

The stray tabby (nicknamed Bill by hubby) who has been visiting us for the past year or so for food and shelter,likes the dining room table!! Our cats are usually found in our garden overnight.

[Sunlover00]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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>

it seems ridiculous to me to suggest it

> should not be allowed to go if it wants to

I don't see why suggesting cat owners keeping their pets in at night is such an absurb idea. The fact is that dogs aren't given the same privilege to go out as they choose, whenever they want. It's not about cats being "secondary" before Andy just in again - quite the contrary for the point I've just made. Cats can be trained - I've had cats and I had trained them to come home to certain sounds (rustling of their food bag eg) if they nearby.

What is annoying is seeing my neighbours cat given access to outside thro a open window 24/7 and in the middle of the night, cat sits outside the window on tge fence winding up my dogs. Not suggesting cats are kept in allllll day - just at night.

[DJKillaQueen]

You seem to think cats and dogs are the same. They are not.

[Sunlover00]

No I don't

[LadyDeliah]

Get a dog flap.

Edited cos I don't think a fog flap would be much use!

[*Bob*]

Sunlover00 Wrote:

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> cat sits outside the window on tge fence winding up my dogs.

Pulling faces, flicking the v's etc?

We keep the *BobCat* in a night though, no worries. And less massive vet bills. She comes scurrying in on the dot just before lights out, happy as Larry.

[scareyt]

Get one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strikeback-Advanced-Animal-Repeller-Strobe/dp/B001EPB18A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341919822&sr=8-1

and also shoot the cat whenever you see it with a water pistol or plant sprayer. There are loads of local cats that used to c**p in our garden constantly - day and night - but the combination of noise repellent and being sprayed with water every now and then seems to have mostly worked. Plus squirting water at them is extremely satisfying.

[red devil]

''...flashing strobe lights...''

The cats around here would love that, larging it all night long...

''Put your paws in the air,

like you just don't care...''

[LJ23]

Blimey. The only reason I keep my cat in at night is the foxes, my family cat was killed by a fox recently and I just don't want to run the risk of it happening again. Mine seems happy as larry, but he loves sleeping and is prettty lazy!

[uncleglen]

Some years ago there was a tv programme about cats in New York. From what I can remember they are not allowed out of their dwellings but people still keep them as pets. One of the cat owners had a workman in who climbed a ladder and the cat attacked and badly scratched his leg. The owner had the cat de-clawed and the animal psychologist said that the cat needs to express its hunter/killer instinct and therefore attacked the workman.

Personally since my mother and sister used to treat our house cat like some kind of baby and spoke to it in a most stupid tone of voice and even let the thing sit on the dining table-I would only bring one into the house if we had mice and then it would have to be a bad infestation.

[Ridgley]

Red Devil said

--------------------------

''...flashing strobe lights...''

The cats around here would love that, larging it all night long...

''Put your paws in the air,

like you just don't care...''

:)

My Cat is normaly at home at night but there are times when (Hetty) my cat does not want to come in.

[civilservant]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> You seem to think cats and dogs are the same. They

> are not.

No indeed.

A handy guide for the perplexed below:

Dog: dog craps in street and owner fails to clean up, this forum hears about it before the night is out

Cat: cat craps in someone else's garden/street/etc - owner supports cat's freedom to dump anywhere

Dog: dog attacks squirrel - this becomes headline news on this forum, eliciting cries of 'tsk tsk' and 'barbarians'

Cat: cat kills defenceless squirrels and small birds - owner supports cat's freedom to 'be itself'

Since our neighbouring cats moved away, we've had a (very welcome) population explosion of squirrels and small birds.

So if any cats visit my garden, they will have to discuss their right to roam freely there with me or my dog.

[DJKillaQueen]

A: Cats bury their crap.

B: Most cats are pretty useless at catching birds and squirrels have never been the natural prey of cats.

[Sunlover00]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> A: Cats bury their crap.

>

> B: Most cats are pretty useless at catching birds

> and squirrels have never been the natural prey of

> cats.

So cats can crap anywhere they like so long as they dig the hell out of gardens to bury it??

This is turning into something off the Discovery channel. Cats roam because owners allow them to roam - the point is that this can be controlled to a poiny by some owners. Just like dog owners can control their dogs.

[civilservant]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> A: Cats bury their crap.

>

> B: Most cats are pretty useless at catching birds

> and squirrels have never been the natural prey of

> cats.

A: Maybe the cats that crapped in my garden could be trained by a crap-burier cat? Oh, I forgot... cats can't be trained

As for B; having watched a pair of cats savage a baby squirrel in my garden, which was then left to die, and having had to deal with bird carcasses before my small daughter saw them, I can be excused for being very sceptical about this claim

I'm generally inclined to make excuses for animals behaving 'badly', but cats test my patience, as do people making excuses for them.

[RosieH]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> B: Most cats are pretty useless at catching birds

> and squirrels have never been the natural prey of

> cats.

So it's just the odd one or two killing 275 million prey each year? Dick Whittington didn't know the half of it...

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/gardening/unwantedvisitors/cats/birddeclines.aspx

[Annette Curtain]

My nettecatboy stays out most nights

He hates being kept in, though I do see him sleeping sometimes on the logpile, near the bay window. So I know he's close by

But during Winter, he's in by the fire most nights

We did suffer with mice here (before he came) though not any longer. In all, he's just doing "cat-stuff" and loving it.

I do remember when I lived cheek by jowl in ED , the close proximity of others AND their cats seemed all to noticeable

However, up here in open/leafy Sydenham. It just ain't as bad

And for those 'pussys' that do break the rules, i've got a GIANT PUMP ACTION WATER PISTOL

Netts

[civilservant]

Annette Curtain Wrote:

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> We did suffer with mice here (before he came)

> though not any longer. In all, he's just doing

> "cat-stuff" and loving it.

We too had a mouse problem until our pup arrived. In fact, he's rubbish at chasing mice (I saw him watch a mouse scamper across the room in front of him, while he gazed at it with mild interest) but THEY don't know that and stay away...

> And for those 'pussys' that do break the rules,

> i've got a GIANT PUMP ACTION WATER PISTOL

You tell them, Nette!

[Voyageur]

My three (kitties) bravely helped me fight off a rat infestation some years ago, which has kept me forever in their debt. They don't go out much , although they are free to do so, and haven't killed any mice/birds for some years now - too well fed and lazy guess.

There is a stray ginge that partly lives in our communal garden - it has done us a huge favour by killing (and eating) a couple of the pigeons that have been nesting in my attic space and causing shed loads of mess over the windows/paths etc, with the result that the other pigeons have moved on elsewhere. It has been semi-adopted by a neighbour but prefers to live outside.

[woodrot]

Why oh Why oh why do reasonable people continue to argue the toss with cat owners ?

for a less futile exercise, pop across to the Oral Roberts University to hold an open 3 day seminar on the truth of Evolution.By Yourself.