Indoor cats

They are exceptionally good at publicity ;-) Luckily we have a lot more
shelters, non-RSPCA, small, private charities, that do not euthanise
unless there is a medical reason to do so. I do not give money to the
RSPCA, but I do to my local small shelter, PACT, which does not euthanise
any animal that comes ito its care unless there is a medical reason for
it. It's one of the things that annoys me about the RSPCA. It is rich,
very rich, yet it euthanises where other organisations will not. It's why
the smaller organisations have armies of volunteers out day-in-day-out
raising funds, and they get by hand-to-mouth where the money goes on the
animals, not on flash new premises such as many an RSPCA place... The
RSPCA has its place, but I'd not willingly take a cat or dog to them.

Cheers, helen s


B*gg*r! I crossposted accidentally. Not awake yet. Apologies to rpca!

Cheers, helen s

"Ivor Jones" wrote in message
...


"Phil P." wrote in message

"Ivor Jones" wrote in message
...


"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.


That's a myth that has been fostered by the government to
promote a sterling image of a 'cat-loving' nation. - The
UK has an overpopulation problem, also, and *certainly*
does use kill-shelters.

Name one. Cats Protection most certainly do *not* kill.


RSPCA.

wrote in message
oups.com...

Phil P. wrote:

How do you know if your cat has a potentially fatal urinary tract
obstruction, UTI , straining or painful urination or defecation or
constipation or diarrhea if you can't physically *observe* your cat's
elimination behavior? Litterbox behavior and products are often warning
signs of internal disease.

You (and Mary and Cheryl) make a good point about the litter box. And
I suppose that one of these days he could very well run into an
accident or larger predator outside. He did disappear for 2 days in
the dead of winter once, and we were all but convinced we had lost him.
He turned out to be hiding in a neighbor's basement.

I do know that when we keep him in (eg., to be sure he fasts overnight
before a visit to the vet), he goes nuts trying to claw his way out at
the door. Perhaps he could eventually get used to staying in if we
forced the issue. But I have also heard that if you remove an
established outdoor-only cat from the outdoors, another outdoor cat
will simply take over the territory. As it is, our neutered male is
holding the territory instead of a cat that could be producing more
feral offspring.


If a cycling female can't find suitable mates in her territory, she'll roam
into other males' territories until she does. Remember, females determine
the population, not the males.

Your cat's neuter status helps reduce the overpopulation problem- not the
fact that he's an outdoor cat.

Phil.

Phil P. wrote:

If a cycling female can't find suitable mates in her territory,
she'll roam into other males' territories until she does. Remember,
females determine the population, not the males.

Your cat's neuter status helps reduce the overpopulation problem- not
the fact that he's an outdoor cat.

Phil.

When I started to read that, I thought he was talking about Helen. ;-)
--
Adrian --- Toungue firmly in cheak
A house is not a home, without a cat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"Adrian" wrote in message
...


When I started to read that, I thought he was talking about Helen. ;-)

Well, as a cycling female, I've had a mate for many many years now. Indeed,
I am even a speyed cycling female. The males of the household are not
neutered. But the cats of the household are all speyed/neutered ;-)

Cheers, helen s



--
Adrian --- Toungue firmly in cheak
A house is not a home, without a cat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

wrote:
Phil P. wrote:

How do you know if your cat has a potentially fatal urinary tract
obstruction, UTI , straining or painful urination or defecation or
constipation or diarrhea if you can't physically *observe* your cat's
elimination behavior? Litterbox behavior and products are often warning
signs of internal disease.

You (and Mary and Cheryl) make a good point about the litter box. And
I suppose that one of these days he could very well run into an
accident or larger predator outside. He did disappear for 2 days in
the dead of winter once, and we were all but convinced we had lost him.
He turned out to be hiding in a neighbor's basement.

I do know that when we keep him in (eg., to be sure he fasts overnight
before a visit to the vet), he goes nuts trying to claw his way out at
the door. Perhaps he could eventually get used to staying in if we
forced the issue. But I have also heard that if you remove an
established outdoor-only cat from the outdoors, another outdoor cat
will simply take over the territory. As it is, our neutered male is
holding the territory instead of a cat that could be producing more
feral offspring.

Mark

That's one of the things I'd be worried about most. Fighting with the
other toms. There are diseases spread by fighting; some of which there
is no vaccination available.
I'm not totally anti-outdoors. I think common sense should dictate
whether or not a cat goes out. But I don't think, under any
circumstances except a leash, they ought to out in a suburban
neighborhood or urban area. Besides risk issues to the cat, it's just
not right to expect the neighbors to put up with cats walking on their
cars, pooping in their flowerbeds and such.
On the other side of the coin, I think cooping a lone cat up in a dark
apartme borders on abuse. They need a sunny window, a cat tree, toys,
and for most, the companionship of another cat.
A loving indoor home with an at-will enclosure is the best deal for a
cat ever, IMO. It's a great replacement for the outdoors. Here's a pic
of one we built a few years ago.
http://members.aol.com/sriddles/room1.jpg
http://members.aol.com/sriddles/room2.jpg

Sherry

"wafflycat" waffles*A*T*v21net*D*O*T*co*D*O*T*uk wrote in message
...


They are exceptionally good at publicity ;-) Luckily we have a lot more
shelters, non-RSPCA, small, private charities, that do not euthanise
unless there is a medical reason to do so. I do not give money to the
RSPCA, but I do to my local small shelter, PACT, which does not
euthanise
any animal that comes ito its care unless there is a medical reason for
it. It's one of the things that annoys me about the RSPCA. It is rich,
very rich, yet it euthanises where other organisations will not. It's
why
the smaller organisations have armies of volunteers out day-in-day-out
raising funds, and they get by hand-to-mouth where the money goes on the
animals, not on flash new premises such as many an RSPCA place... The
RSPCA has its place, but I'd not willingly take a cat or dog to them.

Cheers, helen s


B*gg*r! I crossposted accidentally. Not awake yet. Apologies to rpca!

Cheers, helen s

My fault, sorry I missed it first!

Hugs,

CatNipped

"wafflycat" waffles*A*T*v21net*D*O*T*co*D*O*T*uk wrote in message
...

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...




I have no time for the RSPCA.

Tweed




They are exceptionally good at publicity ;-) Luckily we have a lot more
shelters, non-RSPCA, small, private charities, that do not euthanise
unless
there is a medical reason to do so. I do not give money to the RSPCA, but
I
do to my local small shelter, PACT, which does not euthanise any animal
that
comes ito its care unless there is a medical reason for it. It's one of
the
things that annoys me about the RSPCA. It is rich, very rich, yet it
euthanises where other organisations will not. It's why the smaller
organisations have armies of volunteers out day-in-day-out raising funds,
and they get by hand-to-mouth where the money goes on the animals, not on
flash new premises such as many an RSPCA place... The RSPCA has its place,
but I'd not willingly take a cat or dog to them.

Cheers, helen s

Yep, that's exactly the same here with SPCA. They get a lot more money, but
do so much *less* with it!

Hugs,

CatNipped

"Adrian" wrote in message
...
Phil P. wrote:

If a cycling female can't find suitable mates in her territory,
she'll roam into other males' territories until she does. Remember,
females determine the population, not the males.

Your cat's neuter status helps reduce the overpopulation problem- not
the fact that he's an outdoor cat.

Phil.

When I started to read that, I thought he was talking about Helen. ;-)
--
Adrian --- Toungue firmly in cheak
A house is not a home, without a cat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk


ROFL!

Tweed

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Adrian" wrote in message
...
Phil P. wrote:

If a cycling female can't find suitable mates in her territory,
she'll roam into other males' territories until she does. Remember,
females determine the population, not the males.

Your cat's neuter status helps reduce the overpopulation problem- not
the fact that he's an outdoor cat.

Phil.

When I started to read that, I thought he was talking about Helen. ;-)
--
Adrian --- Toungue firmly in cheak
A house is not a home, without a cat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk


ROFL!

Tweed



The truth will out... why do you think I've been doing all these 40+mile
rides ;-)

Cheers, helen s