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#21
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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
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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
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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
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#25
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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. |
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#27
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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
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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
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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
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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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