Do you let your cat/s go outside?

[cyberunicorn]

Cyber, that is such a heart breaking and at the same time heart warming story!

22 years - WOW! But i feel so sorry for him and the other pets that were kept so poorly and then got put down I just wish everyone was as lucky as Bambi!

more like persistent 

he was an amazing cat and he never turned evil no matter what they did to him 

[Refuse to Dance]

Cyber, that is such a heart breaking and at the same time heart warming story!

22 years - WOW! But i feel so sorry for him and the other pets that were kept so poorly and then got put down I just wish everyone was as lucky as Bambi!

more like persistent 

he was an amazing cat and he never turned evil no matter what they did to him 

Gotta love cats who are persistent! Kessie is very much so and has persevered after what she went through too!

[Majesty]

My cat is indoors only.  You don't have to worry about fleas, parasites or getting hit by a car or hurt by another animal.

[nollilols]

I had cats years ago. They lived outside generally. And yeah, they ultimately met unfortunate fates - one ran away, one ate rat poison and the third got cat leukaemia, though whether that had anything to do with being an outdoor cat, I don't know. All that said, they were wild cats, taken from a wild litter at my uncle's place. They were never properly tamed, we more provided them with shelter and food than anything. I was a child at the time - if I ever had cats as an adult, I would ideally have an enclosed yard that they could go out into, and they would live in the house.

[shockponie]

My first apartment with my husb (then bf) had a TERRIBLE cat problem. Strays were allll over the place. I probably wouldn't have had such a problem with it if I weren't allergic or if they were at least semi-nice. I lived on the third floor and every time I walked downstairs, there were at least 3 cats on some part of the stairs/railings or chilling on or under my car. When I had to walk my dog down these three flights of stairs (3-4 times daily), cats would swipe at him with their claws out. The possibility of them scratching his eyes out was a huge concern!!! My dog was being friendly & just thought they were playing. He was only a little puppy then & let them swipe. I hate to say it, but it got to the point where I would use my leg to push them to the side if they came up to him aggressively. I never kicked them even though they made me very angry and at times I wanted to. I complained to the management and called animal control dozens of times, but neither would do anything about it.

ETA I hate neglectful owners.

[kezrob23]

My roxy girl is indoors only!! She's 7, and my other half adopted her for me after our ginger tigger died from cat aids, then a week later my ginger Leo got hit and killed by a car. Yep, 2 cats died in one week. So no way was she going outside!!! Also she has cystitis, and a special diet, so can't have her eating random stuff. My OH hates that's she in 24/7, but obviously, I rule the roost she's not the most pleasant of cats, my kids have copped plenty of bites and scratches, but she is the most gorgeous tortoise shell

[Refuse to Dance]

My roxy girl is indoors only!! She's 7, and my other half adopted her for me after our ginger tigger died from cat aids, then a week later my ginger Leo got hit and killed by a car. Yep, 2 cats died in one week. So no way was she going outside!!! Also she has cystitis, and a special diet, so can't have her eating random stuff. My OH hates that's she in 24/7, but obviously, I rule the roost she's not the most pleasant of cats, my kids have copped plenty of bites and scratches, but she is the most gorgeous tortoise shell

I know what you mean about special diets. My Kes is on a special diet as she can end up with a sensitive stomach and things like that. I put her on light wet food (low calorie) so she can have more wet and moisture in her diet. She's not even 2 yet and I had her since about 5 months old but she definitely only goes out occasionally and only if we are there with her on harness.

[Sky_Rocket_Sammie]

My cat is indoor only. For several reasons, mostly living close to the main drag in town. He'd be road kill in no time. Plus I'm in an apartment and can't install a cat door. He'd be stuck waiting to let him in.

Growing up my cats where indoor/outdoor with no problems. Though I lived in various houses with medium sized fenced back yards. Plus several dog doors, that they learned how to use.

My godparents lived in a rural area and always had to keep their cats inside. Hawks,eagles and coyotes.

[rybett]

My clowder is indoor only with the exception of Lily Blossom.  She's part Siamese and high strung/high energy. She occasionally gets to go out with a harness if it's not too windy.  Given where I live, not regularly.    Everyone likes to sit on window sills, sleep in sun patches.  If the deck door is open, I will have several kitties sitting in front of the screen.  Must find kit pics...

[Moony]

I have 5 siamese mix kitties and an orange and white tabby that are all strictly indoors only. My family has never had an outdoor cat. We also front declaw our kitties so they would not fair all that well outside. One of the kitties like to go out into the attached garage when my mom comes home xD The others have no interest in going outside even when we are letting the dogs out for potty breaks. They do all love sitting by the screen door when it is nice outside

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Absolutely not.  Too many risk factors.  I might think differently if they were a barn cat on my farm but even so, they are still mostly around one location... not wandering yards and gardens.

It really angers me that there are owners that let their cats wander...  if it likes the sunshine and the wind and the grass, put it on one of those 3 foot swirly ground spike things, and harness it up under supervision. 

Too many cats in our neighborhood choose our vegetable gardens as their bathroom - and toxiplasmosis (spelling) is NOT something to joke about when you have little developing ones about.    Not to mention cars, poisons, dogs, coyotes, hawks, geese (up here anyway), diseases, pests, injury, other cat/animal fights and sadistic people. 

When I was living in Utah there was a total creep/s in our neighboorhood - this individual/s came at night and hunted down all the cats outside, killed them and left them on their owners' doorstep with a manifesto about vermin.  *siiiiiiiiiigh*  We did not have cats but we lost a dog to the &@#^*@Q/s.

[Summer-blade]

When I lived with my mom we let the cats go outside until I was about 9 and my favorite cat was hit by a car I vowed from then on all my cats would be indoor only. It cuts back on health issues and safety concerns and keeps me from having heart palpitations over a cat gone missing for a few days.

I don't have a cat any more but where I live it would NOT be a good idea to let a kitty just run wild. The combo of a ton of dangerous spiders, snakes and cars is not good news for any kitty. I like the solution of a fenced in kitty yard my mom and I did the same thing at our old house and made a large 'kitty cage' out of wood and chicken wire and put it on the porch. I took our cats out there everyday before school and brought them back in after I got home.

[invaderhorizongreen]

well our current kitties were born in the old but looked after barn across from us and mom kitty was starving,so we stole all 5 of them and found homes for 3 of them 12 years ago. They go in and out as they please but bobo I think got attacked by an owl or something  and almost lost his tail, had half of his back left foot pad almost torn off, and wound up loosing a toe. He also wound up with puncture wounds on his head but is still a happy loving kitty even to the vet that took care of him, he was trying to hug everyone.  Our oldest kitties lived to be 16 and 17 years respectively, and I still miss them.

[Saber-Toothed Crow]

My kitty will venture outdoors, but her range is limited. She only will go out when we are at home' and then it's basically just to sleep in our gardens. We allow her out because we live in a very low traffic area, and because she stresses majorly when she can't go outside. She doesn't like the snow in winter, and she will actually become depressed and listless when she can't go out. We have to shovel a little pathway to keep her happy since she won't step in the snow. She also prefers to use one of the gardens as her litterbox (which we've dubbed cat poo alley!) and will only use her indoor litterbox if all else fails. She is basically like a dog, and will beg at the door to be let out if she has to go potty! And for those wondering, we keep her littlerbox very clean. We scoop it whenever she uses it, and give it a thorough cleaning regularly. She just prefers to go outdoors.

I know for my next cat though I will be keeping him/her strictly indoors, or else allowed out on a leash for supervised walks.

[BlackCurtains]

My cats have always been indoor and my eldest (13) has no interest in going out. The younger one (she's 10) will hang around the doors and cry or try to run out when someone comes in, but when she actually gets out there she freezes or crawls under the car and you have to go get her. I don't know why she wants to go out so bad, but it's always been that way. Maybe because she was a stray when I found her, but then you'd think she'd associate the outside with bad things. She's a weirdo though

She does go out on the lanai, which is screened in. I have a picture since it was recently rescreened-

Spoiler

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But you'll notice the very cat unfriendly pools of water, which were a cause of much arguing and panic between my family and I when we first moved in. Everyone would just let them out there, unsupervised. There were times when I would wake up, everyone would be gone and my cats would be outside! They had both fallen in the pool, Mouse completely head under once. I was livid. I would rant and rave about how I did not want MY cats outside unsupervised. How dangerous it was not just with the pool, but insects, and the freaking BOBCATS that stroll through the yard. I looked out once to see a young bobcat nose-to-nose with one of my cats through the screen

My family finally started taking me seriously after I blew up enough at them, and now only Mouse goes out when someone else is out there. Bass still has no interest, even if the door is left open. She'll smell the air but always comes back in. Mouse has gotten very good at coming in when you tell her. She'll race the dog to the door to be the first back in the house