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  #21  
Old August 17th 05, 11:01 PM
animzmirot
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"kilikini" wrote in message
...

"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


We don't all live on Maui, nor do we want to. I live in New England, and
although we do have ticks (Lyme Diesease was discovered in Connecticut) and
we do have fleas, I find that Frontline works magnificently well and neither
my dogs or my cat has ever had a flea problem.




  #22  
Old August 17th 05, 11:43 PM
223rem
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America is obsessed with safety. For example, everything
has to be 'safe for the children'. Political correctness
is another national obsession. Of course, the fact
is that we are a violent, inhumane society.
  #23  
Old August 18th 05, 12:28 AM
Dr.Carla,DVM
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My 3 cats are indoor only cats and here's why;
My 1st cat (when I was 4), run over by car
2nd cat (I was 16) died of Feline Leukemia
3rd & 4th cats run over by car (I was in college).
And the 4th cat was only allowed outside while someone was watching it....
So my mother got to watch the cat get run over by a car.
Its deplorable how long it took for me to learn this lesson.

About cats wanting to go outside; a heroin addict wants to shoot up too.
I don't think either is good for their health.
And all indoor cats aren't declawed.
And all vets don't agree with declawing cats and some of us out right refuse
to do it completely.

These are just some of my many un-humble opinions.

Oh yea, indoor only cats can live 20+ years (mine are now 14, 14 & 16).
Average life expectance for an outdoor cat (at least in these parts) is 8
years.

(I'll try not to fall off this very tall soap box).



  #24  
Old August 18th 05, 12:33 AM
Charlie Wilkes
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On 17 Aug 2005 11:07:05 -0700, wrote:

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 live in a rural area in Western Washington, and my experience has
made me wary. I see freshly killed animals on the road every day,
including a few cats.

My cat, Tweaker, came to be my pet because I found him on the road
after being hit by a car. He had been an outdoor barn cat. Once he
recuperated, it was very clear he had no desire to go anywhere. So, I
keep him inside. Once in awhile I let him outside for a little while,
but only if I am standing right there.

I was taking care of an elderly (14-yo) dog for a friend who got
flooded out of her home. Early this spring, he wandered onto the road
in front of my house while I was inside looking for my car keys, and
someone ran him down and splattered him down 150 feet of pavement. It
was easy to see what had happened. The driver crossed the center line
to hit the dog.

I have a lot of equipment and junked cars here, most belonging to a
tenant who is a mechanic and uses them for his projects. We stay on
top of anything important, but that's about it. My next-door neighbor
here is a yard & garden enthusiast, and he hates me, although we have
never met or spoken. He is also the macho type, and had a sign in his
driveway warning that he will shoot intruders, but I think maybe the
cops made him take it down. He complained to the county, but it
backfired because we aren't doing anything wrong. I'm pretty sure he
ran the dog down. I hear gunshots in his backyard now and then, and I
imagine he might kill any cat or dog that set foot on his property,
especially if he thought it belonged to me.

So that is the cultural milieu in which I am operating.

Charlie


  #25  
Old August 18th 05, 12:33 AM
Dr.Carla,DVM
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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.


  #27  
Old August 18th 05, 01:02 AM
shortfuse
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I know we get a 3-yr rabies shots for our cats. With 6 cats, that helps!
"Dr.Carla,DVM" wrote in message
news:1PPMe.35682$084.17489@attbi_s22...
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.



  #28  
Old August 18th 05, 01:05 AM
MaryL
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"Dr.Carla,DVM" wrote in message
news:1PPMe.35682$084.17489@attbi_s22...
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.


My vet agrees that the time can be extended significantly for indoor-only
cats, especially those that have previously had a series of rabies shots.
However, he still stresses distemper shots because it is airborne. Do you
agree?

MaryL


  #29  
Old August 18th 05, 01:08 AM
Cheryl
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On Wed 17 Aug 2005 02:58:13p, Jennifer wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
roups.com):

I live in the US, close to DC, and I keep my cats indoors
because:

- There are lots of animals out there that may cause physical
harm. Foxes, feral dogs and cats, skunks, etc. Rabies is
relatively common all throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Lyme
disease is also very common in my area.

- There's a lot of native wildlife that I don't think should be
pillaged by my non-native cats, including birds and insects.

- I see it as my responsibility to keep my pets off of other
peoples' property. My choice to keep pet cats should not affect
my neighbors - no pooping in their gardens, no digging up their
potted plants, no antagonizing their pets, etc.

- On a related note, there are people who do not take kindly to
having their yards and gardens disturbed by loose animals, and
they can and will call animal control, or deliberately poison
wandering pets.

- There is a ton of traffic everywhere in the DC area. Even if
traffic was slow, it only takes one car to flatten your cat. In
fact, one of my aunts lives in farm country where traffic is
light, and she's had two cats killed by passing cars in the last
five years.

When I decided to adopt cats, I took responsibility for their
welfare and their behavior. I provide an interesting,
continuously-changing indoor environment for them (luckily, that
often means moving cat trees around. As far as they're
concerned, if it's in a different room, it's a brand new toy .
I make sure they get a healthy diet and plenty of exercise, and
I'm still debating building them an outdoor enclosure.

Outdoor enclosures really seem to be the best solution. They
allow the cats access to the outdoors, which many seem to enjoy,
while protecting them from most of the dangers.

I don't think it's really cultural; it's just practical. Unless
feeling responsible for your cats health and for not bothering
your neighbors is a cultural thing

Also, keeping cats indoors really doesn't seem cruel at all.
Seriously - I know many many indoor cats, and the only ones that
seem "unhappy" (anthropormorphizing, I know) are the ones that
seem bored, but indoors does not have to equal bored.

It really is most common (and recommended) in the US to keep
cats indoors, or at least in outdoor enclosures.


I live in the same area, and mine are indoors for the all of the
same reason you cite, and then some. Coyotes have now been seen in
urban Maryland. Silver Spring of all places! Busy area.

Another reason is because in most counties around here, at least
the more urban areas, "at-large" domestic animals are not permitted
by law and carry heavy fines. And, animal control *will* pick them
up, especially if someone calls them, and then you better hope you
find them quickly before they're either adopted out to someone, or
euthanized.

This isn't the county I live in, but a pretty standard set of
"rules" in this area.
http://www.humanesocietycc.org/responsb.htm

--
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- W.C. Fields
  #30  
Old August 18th 05, 01:08 AM
shortfuse
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I know just to be on the safe side, I have my cats innoculated for all,
since I have a habit of feeding some homeless cats on/off and dont want to
take chances.
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
news:fhQMe.2585$Ix4.377@okepread03...

"Dr.Carla,DVM" wrote in message
news:1PPMe.35682$084.17489@attbi_s22...
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.


My vet agrees that the time can be extended significantly for indoor-only
cats, especially those that have previously had a series of rabies shots.
However, he still stresses distemper shots because it is airborne. Do you
agree?

MaryL



 




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