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Coping with Cats

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141–150 of 163 posts

Re: Coping with Cats

#141
post #8

It's an alright list, but that's some beginner level stuff. Where's things like -cat is obssessed with plastic bags whenever he wants attention and ends up wearing them like a cape trailing it through the house causing havoc. -cat likes to knock over your breakable things just cause it likes to see them smash -wake up at 2 in the morning to some weird noises only to find the cat spiderman-ing up the screen on the win…

Almost all of these sorts of behavioural issues (with the exception of the food-motivated ones) tend to disappear when you allow your cat the freedom to go outside whenever it wants. They're not well suited to confinement and it always shows in their behavior. Sometimes they just get depressed and mopey, which a lot of people interpret as their cat "not minding" its confinement. Other times they try to relieve the so…

Yes and no.

I've had quite a few cats in my life.

In Belgium (w/ my parents) we had a (big) garden and our cats could always freely roam outside. Some of them stayed near, others disappeared for many hours and probably went relatively far.

It's true that they are fantastic hunters: it's in their genes. Even if they won't eat the prey, the amount of birds, mice, even small rabbits they returned was staggering. Cats are dicks though, they kill for fun and kill billions (?) of other animals every year. And won't eat them.

We also had a neighbour that thought it was fun to shoot animals (including cats) in his garden. Took a while before the neighbourhood found out why cats kept disappearing (having a cat come home with a tiny lead bullet wound gave it away). There's also roadkill and thieves. I'd say for a long period (before we found out someone was shooting cats) cats we disappear quite regularly (every 2-3 years a cat would never come home).

But I still agree cats should be allowed to roam outside: they'll be less bored, less destructive, and less annoying.

I have now moved to Singapore and adopted a lost kitten ("Tofu") roughly 2 years ago and an abandoned ~1 year cat ("Taro") (left alone on a 7th floor balcony without food in 30°C sun while the owners were out of town for several days) roughly a year ago.

Cats in Singapore commonly "fall out of the sky" -- meshing and protecting windows is not that common here, yet. Cats (including mine) love to sit on the ledge and stare outside, and once in a while they slip. I've moved from a 12th floor apartment to a 3rd floor apartment: in both cases you either keep the windows shut or make sure it's meshed up. It's a requirement here now before you're able to adopt a cat from a shelter. They come and physically inspect your home to make sure it's suitable, clear and big enough.

We're lucky both our cats are long-haired nice looking cats. There might be some pedigree in there, somewhere. We've had people randomly walk up to us and ask us how much we paid for the cats ($0) and if we'd be willing to sell them (no). That makes me believe if they were to walk alone they'd be stolen and sold off.

The abandoned-rescued cat is fine staying indoor -- he is pretty traumatised and scared of every tiny noise. The other cat we've taught from early on to walk with a leash.

We take her out anywhere between 1 to 3 times a day depending on whether she asks for it or not. Walks are unlike walking a dog: you follow the cat and the cat usually doesn't go very far (it'll often just sit in the grass and look at the birds/lizards). Once we reach a quiet area near the apartment I remove the leash, and she gets to hop or walk around a bit. She never goes far and actually waits for me. Needless to say it's a very quiet, green area here without roads and very little passer-by's.

So I'd say it really depends on the circumstances whether the cat should be allowed out (unsupervised). Yes, it makes sense as they are semi wild, but also a living cat is probably better than a dead cat.

FWIW we've started an IG account, just because. https://www.instagram.com/tofurawr/

Re: Coping with Cats

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the indoor vs outdoor debate wrt cats is a timeless one, but I don't think the answer is so clear cut as you make it seem. in principle, I would like for our family cat to have free rein of the outdoors, but we don't quite feel it is safe for him. in addition to the local predators that actually have to work for a living, my parents live right next to a six-lane death road in the city. the speed limit is 30 mph, but…

It's completely clear cut before you're responsible for the animal: don't bring a pet into an unsuitable living situation. This is why the safety and environmental arguments ring hollow for me - nobody forces you to get a cat.

I completely agree. It always breaks my heart to see locked up animals, be it a cat not allowed to go outside, a dog confined in an appartement with only one outing a day in the urban concrete or a bear in a cage in a zoo. Makes no difference to me.

I firmly believe animal rights movements should discourage pet owning but it's often the other way around, at least from where i'm from.

Re: Coping with Cats

#143
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bring him to the box, and verbally encourage him. 70% of the time, he'll poop.

Wow that’s impressive

Depends on the cat -- mine likes to follow me down to the basement and go when I'm in the middle of cleaning the litterbox.

Re: Coping with Cats

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the indoor vs outdoor debate wrt cats is a timeless one, but I don't think the answer is so clear cut as you make it seem. in principle, I would like for our family cat to have free rein of the outdoors, but we don't quite feel it is safe for him. in addition to the local predators that actually have to work for a living, my parents live right next to a six-lane death road in the city. the speed limit is 30 mph, but…

Cats do kill an insane number of birds. We've found that attaching a large, colourful collar with reflective bits helps immensely on our cat. Birds are highly sensitive to colours, and our observation is that the cat simply isn't able to catch any birds anymore. They see him coming far too early. As for the other points, I suspect you're overestimating the dangers, but that's not my call. I personally think no animal…

I've tried multiple collars. The magnetic ones always go missing, and the ones with a buckle have resulted in it being stuck in a hedge...

Our cat catches birds and rodents about equally judging on what he leaves at the door. I really appreciate that it catches mice and rats. It's unfortunate with the birds, I try to make up for it with a garden where they have ample opportunity to nest and find food.

Re: Coping with Cats

#145
post #8

It's an alright list, but that's some beginner level stuff. Where's things like -cat is obssessed with plastic bags whenever he wants attention and ends up wearing them like a cape trailing it through the house causing havoc. -cat likes to knock over your breakable things just cause it likes to see them smash -wake up at 2 in the morning to some weird noises only to find the cat spiderman-ing up the screen on the win…

Our cat (we used to have two but sadly his brother died) was named by the breeder Purfedelis Tasmanian Devil - which perhaps gives some indication of his temperament. He is a bit aggressive with other people but is friendly and very affectionate with me (and to a lesser extent my wife).

I'm definitely in the "love the furry little bastard" camp.

Re: Coping with Cats

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's completely clear cut before you're responsible for the animal: don't bring a pet into an unsuitable living situation. This is why the safety and environmental arguments ring hollow for me - nobody forces you to get a cat.

I completely agree. It always breaks my heart to see locked up animals, be it a cat not allowed to go outside, a dog confined in an appartement with only one outing a day in the urban concrete or a bear in a cage in a zoo. Makes no difference to me. I firmly believe animal rights movements should discourage pet owning but it's often the other way around, at least from where i'm from.

Discouraging pet ownership, while I agree with it, would put you into an extremely fringe category akin to advocating veganism. The world just isn't ready for that level of compassion for animals. We still live in cultures where five minutes of pleasure for our taste buds trumps all ethical concerns.

It's extremely socially acceptable to get two dogs in your tiny apartment and keep them in kennels while you're at work for 9 hours, and again for 9 hours overnight. People will even come out of the woodwork to convince you that the dogs actually prefer that.

I also think we need to dial back breeding. Breeders just dump unwanted animals into street/pound circulation while breeding the most gimped animals (purebreds) out there, the last thing we need.

Re: Coping with Cats

#147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cats do kill an insane number of birds. We've found that attaching a large, colourful collar with reflective bits helps immensely on our cat. Birds are highly sensitive to colours, and our observation is that the cat simply isn't able to catch any birds anymore. They see him coming far too early. As for the other points, I suspect you're overestimating the dangers, but that's not my call. I personally think no animal…

I've tried multiple collars. The magnetic ones always go missing, and the ones with a buckle have resulted in it being stuck in a hedge... Our cat catches birds and rodents about equally judging on what he leaves at the door. I really appreciate that it catches mice and rats. It's unfortunate with the birds, I try to make up for it with a garden where they have ample opportunity to nest and find food.

Doesn't that also give the cat ample opportunity find food?

Re: Coping with Cats

#148
post #8

It's an alright list, but that's some beginner level stuff. Where's things like -cat is obssessed with plastic bags whenever he wants attention and ends up wearing them like a cape trailing it through the house causing havoc. -cat likes to knock over your breakable things just cause it likes to see them smash -wake up at 2 in the morning to some weird noises only to find the cat spiderman-ing up the screen on the win…

Almost all of these sorts of behavioural issues (with the exception of the food-motivated ones) tend to disappear when you allow your cat the freedom to go outside whenever it wants. They're not well suited to confinement and it always shows in their behavior. Sometimes they just get depressed and mopey, which a lot of people interpret as their cat "not minding" its confinement. Other times they try to relieve the so…

Our cat was a half-rescue and the previous owners said "Oh, she doesn't like going outside. She's definitely an indoor cat."

In fact she loves going outside. She poops and pees outdoors, so the house doesn't smell. There are some wild areas near the house and she's all over those. She gets very, very unhappy when kept indoors.

She also needs at least 15-20 mins a day of play attention. Slap-the-bouncy-ball, chase-the-laser-up-the-stairs, hide-and-seek-in-the-tunnel, smack-the-ring-binder-spring-on-a-string - which she particularly likes, for some reason.

Enough stimulation and attention and she's a happy kitty. No angry biting, no 2am zoomies, no breakages, plenty of purrs and affection.

Re: Coping with Cats

#149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree. It always breaks my heart to see locked up animals, be it a cat not allowed to go outside, a dog confined in an appartement with only one outing a day in the urban concrete or a bear in a cage in a zoo. Makes no difference to me. I firmly believe animal rights movements should discourage pet owning but it's often the other way around, at least from where i'm from.

Discouraging pet ownership, while I agree with it, would put you into an extremely fringe category akin to advocating veganism. The world just isn't ready for that level of compassion for animals. We still live in cultures where five minutes of pleasure for our taste buds trumps all ethical concerns. It's extremely socially acceptable to get two dogs in your tiny apartment and keep them in kennels while you're at wor…

I don't discourage pet ownership, in fact I think it's an extremely positive thing for many reasons. I do encourage making responsible choices when it comes to pet selection.

Re: Coping with Cats

#150
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow that’s impressive

Depends on the cat -- mine likes to follow me down to the basement and go when I'm in the middle of cleaning the litterbox.

I wonder whether that’s a neurotic thing about wanting clean litter or an emotional support thing. Your cat might only feel safe enough to go potty with you nearby. Just guessing with little info admittedly.
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