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  #11  
Old August 17th 05, 08:33 PM
MaryL
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wrote in message
oups.com...
First let me say I'm not being antagonistic, I'm just interested in the
(apparent) culture difference between the US & the UK as regards our
feline friends.

With regard to letting cats out: All the cats I know go outside, they
(usually) learn their way back home from their local neighbourhood,
they don't go too far but suss out gardens, wildlife, other cats and
people, and hopefully realise that traffic isn't for playing with.
There's not too many birds in London and no-one seems to care about the
pigeon population anyway. Some get lost, some get hit by traffic (mine
for example isn't allowed out the front to the road, only the back
garden where he doesn't seem to want to climb the fence to escape from
but if he did I'd let him).

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).

It seems that in the US people are much more likely to force cats to
stay indoors, or take them out on a leash (something I've NEVER heard
of over here and to be honest I think people would laugh over here if
they saw a cat on a lead, but fair play for succeeding in training a
cat to do it), or build these enclosure thingies for them, to protect
the wildlife, also I've never seen one over here.

It's interesting, do you think it's a cultural thing? How long have
people in the US been doing these things? Perhaps it's not the general
population, just people in cat groups As I say, I wasn't saying
that either way is right, it's just interesting how people do things
differently.

Marcia
Lord Otis's slave and minder


It may be partly cultural, but I think it is also at least partly
environmental. There are numerous natural predators in the U.S. (predators
that prey on cats, that is) that apparently are not a problem in England.
We sometimes have problems with acts of deliberate cruelty plus instances of
accidents (such as, ingestion of antifreeze). I can't really address that
last point in a comparative sense with any real accuracy. In addition,
there is a problem that surely occurs in *both* Britain and the U.S. -- that
is, automobiles. It only takes one car at the wrong time to kill or badly
injure a cat.

All of my cats have been very happy as indoor cats, even the one that
started life as a feral cat. He showed a great interest in going outdoors
for about the first year but not afterwards. None of my others have even
shown an interest in going outdoors, although I realize that this is not
true for many cats. I do provide lots of attention, toys, scratching posts,
and cat trees. I personally think that they are happier -- and certainly
more healthy -- than many outdoor cats that have been injured in cat fights
or other ways. I do realize that I may be rationalizing and there is room
for a true difference of opinion, but I also believe that each situation
(indoor vs. outdoor) has some advantages and some disadvantages.

MaryL

My cats --
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e



  #12  
Old August 17th 05, 08:37 PM
Janet B
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On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 19:13:55 GMT, "kilikini"
, clicked their heels and said:

You can't have an indoor/outdoor cat without
infesting your house with fleas, mites and ticks or whatever. I just don't
see the point.

kili



While my cats stay in, for their safety and wellbeing, the above
comment is absurd. Dogs go out every day and don't infest houses with
fleas, mites and ticks, and cats are no different.

My cats can go on the deck or patio with us, but never unattended
outside, and I don't trust the dog behind me not to come over the
fence at them, so close to the house or not at all. Skipjack say not
at all - he will stay in an open doorway.

As far as cultural differences, the US is a very different place from
many other countries. The population (human, feline,, canine, wild
animals) just can't be compared, nor that vicious beast, the
automobile.


--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album
  #13  
Old August 17th 05, 08:46 PM
Ajanta
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wrote:

: First let me say I'm not being antagonistic, I'm just interested in the
: (apparent) culture difference between the US & the UK as regards our
: feline friends.
:
: With regard to letting cats out: All the cats I know go outside, they
: (usually) learn their way back home from their local neighbourhood,
: they don't go too far but suss out gardens, wildlife, other cats and
: people, and hopefully realise that traffic isn't for playing with.
: There's not too many birds in London and no-one seems to care about the
: pigeon population anyway. Some get lost, some get hit by traffic (mine
: for example isn't allowed out the front to the road, only the back
: garden where he doesn't seem to want to climb the fence to escape from
: but if he did I'd let him).
:
: 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).
:
: It seems that in the US people are much more likely to force cats to
: stay indoors, or take them out on a leash (something I've NEVER heard
: of over here and to be honest I think people would laugh over here if
: they saw a cat on a lead, but fair play for succeeding in training a
: cat to do it), or build these enclosure thingies for them, to protect
: the wildlife, also I've never seen one over here.
:
: It's interesting, do you think it's a cultural thing? How long have
: people in the US been doing these things? Perhaps it's not the general
: population, just people in cat groups As I say, I wasn't saying
: that either way is right, it's just interesting how people do things
: differently.

I agree with you whole-heartedly. Love of confinement is not something
that comes naturally to any animal.

I do not own a cat, but have a "relationship" of sorts with "stray" one
that visits me almost daily. I give her some food and you might think
that's why she comes, and so would have I if it were not for the fact
that she visited me (actually my 3rd floor porch, I was a just a side
attraction) for 2-3 months before I started feeding her.

Some well-meaning friends have suggested I "adopt" her. Even if I was
tempted for a moment, I have been stopped by remembering the life two
of my friends' cats have, and then watching this one jump the fences,
sniff the entire yards, chase after a real or imaginary mouse, climb up
three floors to sun-bathe, scan three backyards from there and rush
down if she saw something interesting, and many such activities. She
comes inside, wants to be petted, sits on different rugs for 10-15
minutes each, even watches TV now and then, but always wants to return
to outdoors after 1-2 hours.

If you live in an area with lots of wild animals, or in an extremely
urban environment, confinement may make sense. However, in most cases
cats deserve more freedom than we give them. I am happy to hear about
their life in UK.


: Marcia
: Lord Otis's slave and minder
:
  #14  
Old August 17th 05, 09:07 PM
claudel
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In article .com,
wrote:
First let me say I'm not being antagonistic, I'm just interested in the
(apparent) culture difference between the US & the UK as regards our
feline friends.

With regard to letting cats out: All the cats I know go outside, they
(usually) learn their way back home from their local neighbourhood,
they don't go too far but suss out gardens, wildlife, other cats and
people, and hopefully realise that traffic isn't for playing with.
There's not too many birds in London and no-one seems to care about the
pigeon population anyway. Some get lost, some get hit by traffic (mine
for example isn't allowed out the front to the road, only the back
garden where he doesn't seem to want to climb the fence to escape from
but if he did I'd let him).

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).

It seems that in the US people are much more likely to force cats to
stay indoors, or take them out on a leash (something I've NEVER heard
of over here and to be honest I think people would laugh over here if
they saw a cat on a lead, but fair play for succeeding in training a
cat to do it), or build these enclosure thingies for them, to protect
the wildlife, also I've never seen one over here.

It's interesting, do you think it's a cultural thing? How long have
people in the US been doing these things? Perhaps it's not the general
population, just people in cat groups As I say, I wasn't saying
that either way is right, it's just interesting how people do things
differently.

Marcia
Lord Otis's slave and minder


My friend, Bubba,

http://www.sonic.net/~claudel/bubba/bubba.html

absolutely refuses to go outside. If I leave the
door open he will go to it and look out, but
won't step thru unless I'm right there and coax
him to do so. I think that the last time he was
outside he has at least one bad experience resulting
in him winding up in the pound, where he found me.

The other day I left the door open and one of
the neighbor's tiny kittens came inside. When
Bubba saw it he went over to check it out and
it arched and hissed at him. Bubba ran off and
hid behind the couch for awhile. All 20Lbs of
him afraid of a little black kitten 1/10 his size...

He's not at all skittish with people though. He's
very outgoing and friendly. I think he believes
that he's a human or something.

Claude

  #15  
Old August 17th 05, 09:09 PM
kilikini
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"Janet B" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 19:13:55 GMT, "kilikini"
, clicked their heels and said:

You can't have an indoor/outdoor cat without
infesting your house with fleas, mites and ticks or whatever. I just

don't
see the point.

kili



While my cats stay in, for their safety and wellbeing, the above
comment is absurd. Dogs go out every day and don't infest houses with
fleas, mites and ticks, and cats are no different.

My cats can go on the deck or patio with us, but never unattended
outside, and I don't trust the dog behind me not to come over the
fence at them, so close to the house or not at all. Skipjack say not
at all - he will stay in an open doorway.

As far as cultural differences, the US is a very different place from
many other countries. The population (human, feline,, canine, wild
animals) just can't be compared, nor that vicious beast, the
automobile.



Ha! I've had dogs before that were indoor/outdoor dogs. I'm sorry,
Frontline doesn't cut it. I gave my dog frontline 2 times a month and I'd
still pick about 200 ticks off of him and he was infested with fleas. I
gave him baths weekly. The products don't work. Try to live on Maui and
see if you don't have the same results.

kili


  #16  
Old August 17th 05, 09:38 PM
chas
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I'm in the UK and my cat is mostly an indoor cat. She is a rescue cat and
was extremely nervous of everything when I first got her.

She also has health problems which mean ongoing medication.

However - we let her out in the back garden when we are at home, or sitting
out there ourselves and she loves it. She mostly sits around out there with
us, or sits sniffing the catmint!

But she's never left alone out there or let out at night etc....

It seems a compromise which she is happy with.

chas



  #17  
Old August 17th 05, 09:42 PM
Janet B
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On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 20:09:11 GMT, "kilikini"
, clicked their heels and said:


Ha! I've had dogs before that were indoor/outdoor dogs. I'm sorry,
Frontline doesn't cut it. I gave my dog frontline 2 times a month and I'd
still pick about 200 ticks off of him and he was infested with fleas. I
gave him baths weekly. The products don't work. Try to live on Maui and
see if you don't have the same results.



well, ALL dogs are indoor/outdoor unles you litter train them! And of
course, dogs are social beings, and keeping them enclosed in a house
24/7 would not be healthy for their behavior.

My dogs don't live outdoors, they live in the house. They spend
varying periods of time outside with me though, and I do not use any
flea/tick preventative products. I'm a big believer that healthy pets
don't tend to attract pests much.

I live in a climate where the summers are hot and sticky and humid.
Mosquitos never actually die here, nor do fleas. I do not have fleas
on my dogs, my cats, or in my house. A rare tick every year or so,
and I do field training with my one dog, so he's in a populated
environment.

200 ticks on your dog? Something is very, very wrong there.

--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album
  #19  
Old August 17th 05, 09:56 PM
Jennifer
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Jennifer wrote:

Here's a weird/gross people for the non-US folks:


Sorry, that should read, "Here's a weird/gross question for the non-US
folks:"

  #20  
Old August 17th 05, 10:59 PM
animzmirot
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"kilikini" wrote in message
. ..


I don't want my cats outside because cars don't stop for them, we have
raccoons (rabid), possums (rabid), rats (rabid) not to mention the fleas,
ear mites, feline leukemia, feline aids.........why WOULD you let your cat
out? Seriously? Do you like paying for vet visits? My female cat, Chloe
is very happy to be where she is; she's SUCH the sweetheart, my male cat

is
a devil in cat's clothing. I'd love to let him out just to get the

dickens
out of him, but at what cost? You can't have an indoor/outdoor cat

without
infesting your house with fleas, mites and ticks or whatever. I just

don't
see the point.

kili



I think you might be overstating this just a wee bit. I live in the US (and
have lived in England as well) and I let my cat out. Of course, we live on a
very large tract of land in the suburbs and he has never strayed off the
lawn, which gives him a couple of acres to roam around. He doesn't have
flea, ticks, or earmites. In fact, he is completely and totally healthy and
happy. My cat is innoculated and always has been. Yes, there are animals
that carry rabies in our town, but he has a yearly rabies shot (recommended
by our vet who thinks it's safer for outdoor cats than the 3 year shot) and
he's such a scardy cat that he would run under the house if he ever came
across anything wild anyhow. He doesn't go out at night ever, he's only out
a couple of hours a day in the warmer months and then asks to come in.

I've kept him indoors when we lived in a less safe place and he rewarded me
by peeing all over the house. You want to know why I let him out? Because I
am sick to death of roaming the house with a blacklight trying to find out
where the damn cat peed. When he goes out, the peeing stops. Period.

Marjorie




 




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