Wow, sounds like a nightmare, and I thought East London was dangerous
LOL!

You're in East London as well? Where?

I live on a very busy main road so I keep the Furballs indoors. Also
although most cats can avoid dogs or foxes which are the main predatos
likely to go for a cat, they can't avoid the biggest danger of
all...People...

A friend of mine had the sheer Hell of watching her 8 month old brother
and sister kitties die in front of her because a neighbour poisoned
them to "keep them off his lawn". Alas when she called the police the
guy denied he had done it and the police weren't particularly
interested. She has of course since moved away and her new kitties do
not go out

Incidentally a few years ago when we had nicer neighbours than we do
now, they would let us use the downstairs gardens and Fugazi (RB) would
come out and potter round for a bit but always keeping one eye on us in
case we went in. Meanwhile her sister Isis (also RB) would sit on our
bathroom windowsill and scream at us to come back up.

One day I made the very silly mistake of thinking that if she was taken
outside she would come to enjoy it so I picked her up. This cat was a
completely soppy lap fungus and when I carried her out of the flat and
she realised what I was thinking that was the first, the last and the
only time that she bit me...she was NOT going out!!!!!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

Wow, sounds like a nightmare, and I thought East London was dangerous
LOL!

You're in East London as well? Where?

I live on a very busy main road so I keep the Furballs indoors. Also
although most cats can avoid dogs or foxes which are the main predatos
likely to go for a cat, they can't avoid the biggest danger of
all...People...

A friend of mine had the sheer Hell of watching her 8 month old brother
and sister kitties die in front of her because a neighbour poisoned
them to "keep them off his lawn". Alas when she called the police the
guy denied he had done it and the police weren't particularly
interested. She has of course since moved away and her new kitties do
not go out

Incidentally a few years ago when we had nicer neighbours than we do
now, they would let us use the downstairs gardens and Fugazi (RB) would
come out and potter round for a bit but always keeping one eye on us in
case we went in. Meanwhile her sister Isis (also RB) would sit on our
bathroom windowsill and scream at us to come back up.

One day I made the very silly mistake of thinking that if she was taken
outside she would come to enjoy it so I picked her up. This cat was a
completely soppy lap fungus and when I carried her out of the flat and
she realised what I was thinking that was the first, the last and the
only time that she bit me...she was NOT going out!!!!!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

Whoops! Sorry I don't know why the message came through twice!

jmcquown wrote:
Karen wrote:
in article , jmcquown at
wrote on 8/17/05 10:27 PM:

There is definitely a cultural difference between the USA and the UK
then. It would not be seen as acceptable in the UK for a dog never
to
run off lead even if only at the weekend on a visit outside town.
A shelter here would not allow a dog adoption if it had to stay on a
lead all its life. They would rightly say you do not have the
facilities.

Tweed

I never lived anywhere a dog could run off a lead without
encountering a road and not be subject to being hit (by cars). My
Sampson didn't seem to mind being on a lead. He just peed and
pooped and then we went back inside. He curled up on the couch,
chased the tennis ball and was otherwise a tiny lap-dog :)

Jill


In Lincoln they have a special Dog park. It's a biiig area where
people come with their dogs and let them off to run that is all
fenced in. It's right down the street. It's extremely popular. I
suspect that it is also a "great place to meet guys/chicks". But
people come in droves everyday. I was wondering if other cities had
such a place.

I'm sure most cities/towns have similar places. However, you have to take
into account the temperament of the animal(s), as well. My dog was like
Persia is; he didn't like other dogs and would try to attack them (and she
doesn't like other cats). He once broke a leash and went charging after a
German Shepherd that was trotting loose down the road; luckily the G'Shep
didn't care about this little whippersnapper. He could easily have killed
Sampson before I caught up to him.

Jill

You're absolutely right, Jill. This is how my Doxie got killed. He
spotted another dog, broke off the leash, and ran straight in front of
a car. He hated other dogs too.

Sherry

Britta,

Vino is very cute! I love his pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Kathryn

Who are Kathryn & Siega?
http://www.CardsYourWay.US/about_me.html

"Phil P." wrote in message

"Ivor Jones" wrote in message
...

For my part, if I were unable to allow a cat outdoors
through risk of predators or any other reason, I simply
wouldn't have a cat.

That's not practical or even realistic in the USA because
that mentality would result in millions upon millions of
homeless cats and a 10 times increase in shelter
killings.

Something else we don't do here.

Ivor

On Fri, 19 Aug 2005 23:45:49 +0100, "Ivor Jones"
, clicked their heels and said:



Something else we don't do here.

Ivor


do WHERE? Wherever it is, the population doesn't compare to the US.
Human or feline or canine.


--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

Dr.Carla,DVM wrote:
Oh and before I get off my soap box, I forgot, indoor only cats don't need
vaccinations unless they spend time at kennels, etc.
Vaccinations in cats have been shown to cause VASTS (vaccine associated soft
tissue sarcomas) or tumors. Its not clear yet which part of the vaccines
are causing this terrible outcome.
There is a new safer rabies shot for cats, ask your vet about it next time
you go for vaccinations.

What about indoor-only cats and obesity? That can't be very healthy.

Mark

wrote in message
oups.com...

Dr.Carla,DVM wrote:
Oh and before I get off my soap box, I forgot, indoor only cats don't
need
vaccinations unless they spend time at kennels, etc.
Vaccinations in cats have been shown to cause VASTS (vaccine associated
soft
tissue sarcomas) or tumors. Its not clear yet which part of the vaccines
are causing this terrible outcome.
There is a new safer rabies shot for cats, ask your vet about it next
time
you go for vaccinations.

What about indoor-only cats and obesity? That can't be very healthy.

Mark


Being an indoor-only cat should not lead to obesity. Some cats (and dogs)
are overfed and underexercised, but that has nothing to do with being
indoors. It has *everything* to do with their caregivers.

MaryL

Phil P. wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

It seems natural for a cat to want to venture outside, and to me it's
cruel to keep them inside (unless they're not interested).

Its a cultural thing. Most (60%) cat owners in the U.S. feel that its
cruel to expose cats to the stress and dangers outside of a safe home. An
outdoor cat lives a more stressful life than an indoor cat.

If you know a little about cats, and if you're sensitive to your cat's
needs, you can provide your cat with a rich, happy, healthy, and safe life
indoors.

Phil

My wife and I adopted a neighborhood stray about 2 years ago. He loves
the outdoors. For him, stress would be being locked up inside.

I suppose we're lucky that whatever dangers and risks a cat faces
outside, ours had learned to avoid them before we took him in. It is
just amazing to watch him climb 40 feet up a tree, or chase a squirrel
across the yard (he's only ever caught one once, that we have seen).

But the best part is, he will only "go to the bathroom" outside, so we
never have to worry about maintaining a litter box! :-)

Mark

p.s. We live in the northeastern U.S.