How do i make my cat streetwise?

Graces7

cat v dog! Dogs have to be licenced and in rural area many are working dog o are valued. Cats in rural areas are little more than vermin to many. I once lived on a remote island where this was the case and when I sold a pure Siamese kitten for a good price there was disbelief and astonishment. Of course cats do not kill sheep either. Dogs can be dangerous

OldNotWIse

username000 wrote: »

What total nonsense. We share a cat with some neighbours and her entire territory stretches from my front door to their front door with the very occasional foray to go to the toilet under a bush. Otherwise she sleeps on the couch all day. In this weather she barely stirs to even go to the loo outside.

We picked our second cat up off the street where she was starving, filthy, in need of medical attention and trying to raise kittens when we picked her up. Now she has her own room, proper food and medical care, and time and play with us every day. She has not once given any indication that she wants to go back outside. Outside was killing her.

Agree. These lofty romantic ideas about cats roaming are ridiculous. There are so many dangers out there. Only yesterday I noticed a large container of road grit has been left a few hundred metres from our house. That stuff is lethal. Another worry to add to the list. We have ten cats, and I know people judge us but they are all other people's rubbish. The last one that came to us was pregnant, malnourished and had been dumped. She faced having her babies outside in November if we hadn't taken her in. People might think we have too many, and of course we can't spoil them all, all the time, but they have warm beds at night, a bowl of food, veterinary care if needed and a rotation system ensures they all have at least a couple of sessions a week lazing in front of the fire etc.

Graces7

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Agree. These lofty romantic ideas about cats roaming are ridiculous. There are so many dangers out there. Only yesterday I noticed a large container of road grit has been left a few hundred metres from our house. That stuff is lethal. Another worry to add to the list. We have ten cats, and I know people judge us but they are all other people's rubbish. The last one that came to us was pregnant, malnourished and had been dumped. She faced having her babies outside in November if we hadn't taken her in. People might think we have too many, and of course we can't spoil them all, all the time, but they have warm beds at night, a bowl of food, veterinary care if needed and a rotation system ensures they all have at least a couple of sessions a week lazing in front of the fire etc.

It is a wonderful thing you are doing.lt really is, and I say that with no reservation, But there is no hard and fast rule for everyone. When I lived urban yes, but here no in deep rural heartland.. They come and go as they want. No road dangers. They sleep on my bed or in a huge box of tangled yarn if they are in. rarely are they out at night. They love the outdoors and I would not deprive them of that. Personal choice and different circumstances, and i have no fears for them

OldNotWIse

Graces7 wrote: »

It is a wonderful thing you are doing.lt really is, and I say that with no reservation, But there is no hard and fast rule for everyone. When I lived urban yes, but here no in deep rural heartland.. They come and go as they want. No road dangers. They sleep on my bed or in a huge box of tangled yarn if they are in. rarely are they out at night. They love the outdoors and I would not deprive them of that. Personal choice and different circumstances, and i have no fears for them

Oh no, I do let them out! But it's a constant worry and I will only do it when there is someone there. I know that sounds silly - they can just as easily be knocked down if you are in the kitchen as opposed to off out somewhere else

morgana

Our three - all rescues - are indoor outdoor cats as they please. But we in a very rural location in a cul-de-sac with very little local traffic. They hear a car coming when it's about a mile off. And then it most likely won't come near us. In this situation it is sage to give them the freedom. Cats one and two are now 12 and 10 and baby cat is 1 1/2 years. Neither of them goes very far mostly stick to our property or next door (unoccupied). They have their patrol routes and favourite spots.
They usually amble by after a while if called.
It helps to keep them to regular feed times they'll be home demanding their grub lol.
Ofc there is always some worry if one is awol for a while but the missing culprit shows up a few hours later with this this what's all the fuss about look. Or it turns out they were inside all along and just found a new spot.
Oh yea. Cats can teleport. Don't try to tell me otherwise ☺
So I am all for giving access to outdoors if your location allows. But I would never do it if there is Road nearby. Some cat proofing or enclosures would be the way to go then.

Graces7

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Oh no, I do let them out! But it's a constant worry and I will only do it when there is someone there. I know that sounds silly - they can just as easily be knocked down if you are in the kitchen as opposed to off out somewhere else

Ah I see.. worry is a dreadful thing! I let mine out at the door and wave goodbye!

OldNotWIse

Graces7 wrote: »

Ah I see.. worry is a dreadful thing! I let mine out at the door and wave goodbye!

I don't stay with them all the time, but I make sure when they are out that I close all the gates and I stay around the house/garden cleaning out their house or playing with the dog in the garden. I'll give them a call every twenty minutes or so and do a head count to make sure they are all accounted for. We're lucky to have a large garden with different levels and places for them to explore. There are fields at the back and so the temptation to roam further is (hopefully) diminished somewhat. Since they are all neutered, the chances are further lessened. The only worry is the road out front. A country road but there are peak times when we'd get a few wh*res taking shortcuts and flying too fast for the area and who clearly don't know every twist and turn and danger spot. Sundays afternoons are bad as you get the day trippers out to "have a look at the mountain" - to which I say get out of your feckin car and WALK if you want to enjoy the mountain. Also Friday/Saturday late at night - joyriders etc. We lost one cat to this road a number of years back

Another thing I find that keeps them nearby is hunger. They are fed when they come back inside. This has a twofold effect. 1. They will always come back as soon as you bang a dish and 2. I can check on them every so often and throw down little pieces of ham for them when they come running. Although, I have considered this to be a risky strategy as hunger might increase the risk of them consuming something poisonous they find lying around on farmers lands. Sure, we can't take care of every possibility, only do our best

ShaShaBear

My family have always been pro-pet (more so my dad and my mum simply compliant :P ). We had an array of small animals (who all lived the extent of their lifespan, including our 14 year old goldfish) and finally my folks decided we were ready for a long-time family pet. We went with cat, because my mum had heard there was barely any need to house-train. Tigger dragged herself home one evening and was dead before we could get her to the vet. She ingested poison that the neighbour had been putting down in her greenhouse. It took a year before we recovered. Then a friend of my dad's adopted a pregnant cat and we took two of the kittens - a gorgeous pair of long-haired gingers (funny, they were both female, which I know now to be odd enough) named Mork and Mindy. Both were dead within a year killed by cars in a bloody housing estate - ergo they shouldn't have even been going fast enough to kill a cat. We've never had a cat in the family since, although my mother sometimes feels she would love one, now knowing that you can keep them indoors and fully stimulated without being cruel.
When I fostered Sugar and her litter of 6 I never dreamed in a gazillion years of letting her anywhere NEAR outside.

Yes our domesticated furries need a certain amount of physical exercise daily, but the reason why we advise against a large garden/property for them to run around in all day is because they need adequate mental stimulation to compliment it. IE a walk for them to sniff new scents, meet new people and other animals, and get used to new sounds. Running around in the same garden every day for 12 years is not going to mentally stimulate anyone. Cats are easy - they are small, agile and easily entertained. There are a million and one toys you can buy for a cat that take up next to no floor space and simply moving them to different places can be enough to burn the brain energy

Graces7

ShaShaBear wrote: »

My family have always been pro-pet (more so my dad and my mum simply compliant :P ). We had an array of small animals (who all lived the extent of their lifespan, including our 14 year old goldfish) and finally my folks decided we were ready for a long-time family pet. We went with cat, because my mum had heard there was barely any need to house-train. Tigger dragged herself home one evening and was dead before we could get her to the vet. She ingested poison that the neighbour had been putting down in her greenhouse. It took a year before we recovered. Then a friend of my dad's adopted a pregnant cat and we took two of the kittens - a gorgeous pair of long-haired gingers (funny, they were both female, which I know now to be odd enough) named Mork and Mindy. Both were dead within a year killed by cars in a bloody housing estate - ergo they shouldn't have even been going fast enough to kill a cat. We've never had a cat in the family since, although my mother sometimes feels she would love one, now knowing that you can keep them indoors and fully stimulated without being cruel.
When I fostered Sugar and her litter of 6 I never dreamed in a gazillion years of letting her anywhere NEAR outside.

Yes our domesticated furries need a certain amount of physical exercise daily, but the reason why we advise against a large garden/property for them to run around in all day is because they need adequate mental stimulation to compliment it. IE a walk for them to sniff new scents, meet new people and other animals, and get used to new sounds. Running around in the same garden every day for 12 years is not going to mentally stimulate anyone. Cats are easy - they are small, agile and easily entertained. There are a million and one toys you can buy for a cat that take up next to no floor space and simply moving them to different places can be enough to burn the brain energy

Just ejected my two off my bed for playfighting! And their main stimulation and exercise is hanging through the banisters ( open plan house) and leaping down when they hear a ring pull and occasionally racing through the garden and up a tree when the feral sees them.... I sometimes see them across the back filed and they race in when I call them and my landlord was highly amused one day to see one trotting up the lane. Huge black and white cat and he thought it was some exotic wild thing. Never have bought any toys for cats or dogs. Once gave the collie a stuffed toy, She tore an ear off and swallowed it...And if outdoors they have birds to watch,..