This
week I was asked if I thought it was best for the cat to live indoors
and
normally
I would say yes to this because so many cats are left out of the
house with NO supervision and these cats are in danger of being
chased by a dog, tormented by people and getting into fights with
cats that are diseased; Feline Leukemia or Feline Immunodeficiency.
When
a cat lives indoors one does not have to worry about a cats outdoor
behavior. Cats are more aggressive when living outdoors.
They have to be cautious at all times.
I
have heard both sides this topic and what I heard was positive and
the negative. Many people believe that cats are meant to go outside
to urinate and to have access to nutritious grass. That a walk
around the block for a cat keeps them happier and healthier. Other
pet owners told me that “when I go to work the cat goes outdoors,
that my cat loves going outdoors and the cat is current with
vaccines, then there should be now worries. Followed by my cat has
claws, can climb a tree or fight off a dog
It
is a good thing that your cat is up-to-date with vaccines including
feline Leukemia then your cat will not be infected if it gets into a
fight with a diseased cat, but it does not mean your cat will not get
FIV. There is a vaccine for FIV but most veterinarians do not
vaccinate cats because the vaccine will show a false positive for the
rest of the cats life. Lets say your cat is lost and is found and
they test it for immunodeficiency feline disease at shelter, your
cats results are positive, you know it is false due to the vaccine,
but shelter does not. Most shelters euthanize sick cats.
Cats
have claws but a large dog can overpower them and a two or more dogs
are no match for a cat with claws. My neighbors cat was killed by
two stray dogs in the yard, her claws were no match to the dogs and
she had no access to a tree or getting back into the house because
the owner had shut the door, it was a nice day and they thought the
cat would like being outdoors for a few hours.
Know
that this same neighbor who let their cats out unsupervised lost
another cat because it was hit by a car. That’s two cats in less
than a year. Even though my neighbor has lost two cats in a year,
he still lets his other cat out of the house unsupervised.
There
are other concerns that a cat owner should be aware of and that is
kids that torment cats. Kids will be kids and some kids are not nice
to cats. They torment them and some kids and adults are down right
mean to cats. People that do not like your cat doing their business
in their garden may poison your cat. It has happened before in my
neighborhood, so I advice everybody to supervise the outdoor cat or
keep the indoors.
Yes
there are positive and negatives to cats being allowed to go
outdoors. I take my cat Leo outdoors with me. He has free roam of
the backyard and I watch him. I also take Leo for a walk around the
block. My cat is fitted with a harness
and I use a light weight extension leash. The harness and leash is
great because if need be I can pick Leo up and protect him from dogs
that are not on a leash.
So
there you have it, my recommendations on why a cat should be kept
indoors.
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