---MIKE--- wrote:
I want to apologize for being too abrupt in my comments. I think back
to when I lost Ike ten years ago. I got him when he was nine and he was
used to going out. I could not keep him happily inside but I knew the
risk - lots of predators in the area. When he didn't come home one day
I wanted to look for him but my house is surrounded by dense woods on
three sides. I knew Ike liked to explore these woods and I have seen
him as far as a half mile from the house. There was no way to search
for him. Needless to say, Amber and Tiger don't go out. Ike was 14,
and suffered from Asthma so he could have gone off to die - but I'll
never know.

I sort of suspected there might be a personal experience behind your
post. You have never come across as a judgemental know-it-all.

I know I react strongly every time there is talk about rehoming a cat,
because I felt so bad for Frank who had been returned to the place where
he was born several times before I got him. But I know in my mind that
sometimes it can be better for the cat to be rehomed.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.