Edna, that's exactly what I tell people about letting their cats out just because they want to. I ask them if they would allow their 3-yr old to play in the middle of the street just because he/she wanted to? When I hear "but the cat gets out", I tell them that they control the door, period! Our adoption contract stipulates "strictly indoors" - but, there's no real way of enforcing it except to spot check wherever the cats live and hope that adopters understand the reasons for it. I have removed several adopted cats over the past 18 years. A friend, who also has a cat rescue group, doesnt allow declawing (we don't either), came to her vet, and noticed one of her adopters picking up her cat after spaying....she looked into the carrier and noticed the poor kittens front paws bandaged.....she gave her an earful, but what was she to do, take the cat back and have this person declaw yet another one? Since then, we made it perfectly clear to that veterinary hospital that no cat that was adopted from us can be declawed, and should a customer ask for it, we must be notified immediately! Thank God that my other veterinarian would never declaw!
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Edna Taylor Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 11:40 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors Just because your kid likes to eat McDonald's every day or binge drink or do drugs because it makes them happy is NOT a reason to allow it. The same reasoning goes for cats, just because they LIKE it doesn't mean it's good for them. My cats may be "prisoners" in my house but I sleep well at night knowing they are loved and safe and from what I can tell, they are pretty freakin happy. I have picked up enough broken and battered bodies off the roadways to know that NONE of my cats or fosters will EVER be allowed outside unless it is in a safe enclosure or on a leash. There was a young "individual" (can't call him a man because real men do not torture animals) in Dallas that took his neighbor's inside/outside cat and over a course of several hours beat and tortured the cat and video taped the entire thing. THAT is what happens to outdoor cats. While some may be lucky enough to escape being tortured, hit by cars, eaten by coyotes or hawks or owls, most do not escape this fate. Sorry but I 100% DISAGREE with "cats are wild animals and need to live outside" point of view. Just my 2 cents. Edna > Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 09:13:09 -0400 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors > > As an adopter, my views on this are very strict and well-defined - I am > responsible for placing cats in the safest possible homes, and I would do no > less. I need to be able to sleep at night, knowing that the cats that I > rescued and invested so much time, energy, and emotion will be safe and > happy for a long time. > Yes, I agree, there still are a few safe area left, but not many and none > are 100% safe, ever. It is true that times used to be safer for cats to be > outdoors - ours always had been, especially when I was growing up, until one > of our kittens was killed by a car....Unfortunately, it takes many people to > understand this only after a tragedy occurs. When an adopter tells me that > their cat ALWAYS sat on the front porch, and never left....and they intend > to do the same with a new adopted cat, I say NO! Their old cat may have > indeed done that, but it doesn't mean that a new cat will do it: It takes > ONLY ONE TIME - chasing a squirrel or bird across the street, and WHAM! > Cats can be perfectly happy indoors with tall cat trees by a window, a > window perch, the right kind of toys to keep them interested and active. > More and more people construct outdoor enclosures; simple ones to really > elaborate ones, even just a little window screened porch. I don't believe > that cats need to hunt; if they are homeless and hungry, yes, but there's no > need for a well-fed cat to kill small wildlife, not for food, but for fun > and the reflex of chasing something (could be a toy). > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Lorrie > Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 7:56 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Keep Cats Indoors > > This is a hot topic, but I agree humans and loss of habitat > are the main threat to birds. > > As for keeping cats inside. I've had cats all my life and they > have always been indoor/outdoor cats. All of them have lived to > 16 to 17 years of age unless they've had some genetic problem like > heart disease. My cats were all rescues and they lived outside > before I had them, and they are totally miserable inside. > > It's really only the last couple decades that cats have been living > indoors, but the invention of cat litter and urban sprawl have made > us think all cats have the perfect life indoors, when in reality, > cats are happier if they can live outdoors. They are programmed to > hunt small animals....which is the best nutrition for them. They need > to climb trees, stalk at night with their night vision, and be free. > Cats were not made for sitting in a window sill, and a prison is a > prison no matter how many cat toys and kitty kondos we buy for them. > > It's true that some outdoor cats have a shorter life expectancy, but > this mostly depends on where they live. If they live in a safe area > with little or no traffic then I feel they should be allowed to be > outside. There are some cats who will never willingly settle for the > indoor life. We live in the middle of the woods on a dead end road > with no traffic and our cats are allowed to go outside. I rarely see > them catch a bird, but they catch many mice & moles. I feel sad to > see anything killed, but cats and dogs are predators and this is what > they were designed to do. > > Lorrie > > > > Sorry but that information is outdated or biased. The number one > > killer of birds is humans due to habitat loss or construction for same. > > > > Humans: The Number One Threat to Birds > > > http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=325 > > > > > > SomeWhere Sam > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
