Is it ok for my cat to be out at night in this weather?

zzzLazyDaisy

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

If you leave your cats to their own devices as an experiment and keep a door or window open all the time for a week, you will see that your cats will favour being out at night and will come in during the day and sleep more..

Are you seriously suggesting that OP leaves an external door open during the night in sub-zero temperatures as an experiment? Thousands of cat owners have cat flaps - their cats are free to come and go as you suggest, and many will tell you that their cats spend most of the night indoors asleep.

cyberbob

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

Cats are nocturnal creatures although some experts believe that todays humans have, somewhat, taken away their nocturnal instincts by keeping them in at night and they have adapted to that.

They are actually semi nocturnal in the wild most cats prefer to hunt at Dawn and Dusk. Most domesticated cats will normally adapt tto there living environment anyway so will keep a lot of the same hours there owners dou

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

If you leave your cats to their own devices as an experiment and keep a door or window open all the time for a week, you will see that your cats will favour being out at night and will come in during the day and sleep more.

Thats a bit of a genralisation I would like to see the study that backs that opinion up. It doesn't stop the fact that more domestic cats are killed during nightime on the roads then any other time. The RSPCA , PDSA and most animal charities agree on this fact. Also who would be that stupid and leave a window or door open all night.

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

Also, to think that a cat is incapable of finding itself some warm shelter if it wanted some is to label your cat stupid. A cat will be as warm as toast curled up under a thick hedge but the problem is that some humans can't possibly think it can be warm enough and so over protect. Hence them not feeling the cold as we do.
It is not cruel to allow a cat freedom to be the animal it is.

It depends on the cat some domesticated cats if they are not used to being outside will have problems keeping warm or gaining shelter. I have known feral cats to die of exposure so its not unknown.

To assume all cats are like there wild ancestors is just a bit silly as you are ignoring thousands of years of domestication. Yes some cats will survive perfectly well outside in a semi feral way but offers will not. You cannot genralise about this and its ridiculous to do so

kindofagilr

Our old cat Pip used to go out all night in weather like this (our snow is currently about 2cms deep if that) she used to go out at 10pm and come back in at 6am.

If it got really bad like so deep her legs would sink lol then she went out for a wee and stayed in that night

Ruby_Moon

geri1965 wrote: »

Not true, according to CPL. They recommend that cats are kept in at night. I guess they know better than anyone.

Just because the CPL doesn't give cats to people unless they sign to say they will keep them in at night doesn't mean its the right or natural thing to do. That is their rule and they are entitled to have it. Just as the RSPCA are also entitled not to rehome a large dog to a family with no garden. That certainly does not mean that people with large dogs and no garden cannot possibly look after it.
Its just a rule.

Ruby_Moon

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Just because animals behave as if they don't feel pain in the same way humans do does not mean they do not experience it in the same way. All animals in the wild instinctively hide it when they're unwell or injured for very obvious reasons and it's just completely obtuse to assume that they don't feel the same pain or discomfort we do. Where is your proof, in any case? Wasn't it Pavlov who poured scalding water on dogs in an attempt to justify the terrible cruelty inflicted on them?

I don't dispute that cats LIKE to go out at night but do think that it's cruel to shut them out in sub-zero temperatures without ensuring they have decent shelter somewhere if they can't get back indoors. Cats are pure sybarites and I utterly dispute that any cat would be content to sleep in a hedge if it had the choice of that or a comfy spot, safe and warm at home.

It seems to me that you're looking for an argument just for the sake of it here but that often appears to be your modus operandi on threads in this forum, and elsewhere actually.

Another one who wants to 'have a go' at Ruby just because you don't agree with what I have to say.
The OP asked a question about letting her cat out at night. I answered that the cat would love it. What is so wrong with my reply?
How is it that I am not 'allowed' to have a debate about the rights and wrongs of cats being out at night...but for others its ok. Just Ruby right?
Why on Earth would I want to have an argument? I stated my answer to the OP and people replied by saying I was cruel or whatever. Am I then not allowed to reply to that? Only me not allowed? Because other people seem to be able to say things without anyone commenting.
I haven't been nasty or rude so I don't really understand your problem with me. The fact that you are replying to me rather than the thread would suggest that its actually you who is looking for the argument. The only comments you have made on this thread have been to me, to disagree. YOu are entitled to do so, of course, but don't then say its me looking for an argument. Maybe you just like to bully.
I don't think its fair to say that your opinion is more valid than mine.

Ruby_Moon

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Are you seriously suggesting that OP leaves an external door open during the night in sub-zero temperatures as an experiment? Thousands of cat owners have cat flaps - their cats are free to come and go as you suggest, and many will tell you that their cats spend most of the night indoors asleep.

No, I am not seriously suggesting that. I said if one were conducting an experiment.
Yes they might tell me that. But 20 times more people will say their cat stays out most of the night.

duchy

Agreed CPL have a catch all rule that assumes that all owners, cats and homes are the same-and they are not.

My cats are often out all night-I have a catflap so they choose-in all weathers but with snow on the ground right now all three have opted to stay in with brief visits out to relieve themselves then back in again. I wouldn't put a cat out with no way of getting back in when it's sub zero as it is here in Kent today

Ruby_Moon

cyberbob wrote: »

They are actually semi nocturnal in the wild most cats prefer to hunt at Dawn and Dusk. Most domesticated cats will normally adapt tto there living environment anyway so will keep a lot of the same hours there owners dou
Thats a bit of a genralisation I would like to see the study that backs that opinion up. It doesn't stop the fact that more domestic cats are killed during nightime on the roads then any other time. The RSPCA , PDSA and most animal charities agree on this fact. Also who would be that stupid and leave a window or door open all night.
It depends on the cat some domesticated cats if they are not used to being outside will have problems keeping warm or gaining shelter. I have known feral cats to die of exposure so its not unknown.

To assume all cats are like there wild ancestors is just a bit silly as you are ignoring thousands of years of domestication. Yes some cats will survive perfectly well outside in a semi feral way but offers will not. You cannot genralise about this and its ridiculous to do so

I am not generalising. I am using a law of average. Some cats will not like being cold. Some cats will love it. The majority love it.
There is no evidence to suggest more cats are killed at night than during the day. Some vague suggestion and assumptions but no hard and fast proof.
If a family don't have a cat flap they often do leave a window open all night, as I do. The cats are free to come and go. I also know that some of them are softer than others and a couple of them are virtually outside all the time.
The point is the OP wanted to know if her cat would be ok out at night at the moment. The law of average say "Yes, he will" because that is what a cat likes the most.

Fire_Fox

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

Talking out of my hat!? That is a funny one.
Cats do not feel pain as we do. I did not say "They do not feel pain" nor did I say "Cats like pain". I said they do not feel pain like we do.
When we get cut open during an operation, we are in considerable pain afterwards to the point where walking can be difficult, sitting up is a 10 minute effort and feeling anything like normal seems miles away.
A cat, however, will come back from the vet, will bend itseld this way and that to wash, will run for its food, will jump up high and down again and does not seem bothered one little bit about the several layers of stiches it has in or any trauma and bruising to the area.
Just a small example.

I don't disagree with your standpoint on the pain/ temperature sensitivity issue, but I think the above is a poor example. Felines have far more flexible joints and muscles than humans, so they will be able to bend and stretch without dragging on the damaged tissue. Plyometrics (jumping) and even rising from a chair unaided is, to many humans, a 'one rep max' lift which it is certainly not to a cat! My strong/ flexible human clients are able to continue with their activities of daily living and even train around an injury much more easily than the general public.

For those that don't understand what Ruby Moon is getting at, you may find this helpful.: http://www.messybeast.com/pain-perception.htm

cyberbob

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

I am not generalising. I am using a law of average. Some cats will not like being cold. Some cats will love it. The majority love it.
.

Wheres your evidence? Without that you are still genralising. The law of averages you quote is normally quoted when there is nothing to back a point of view up and wishful thinking and dodgy statistics rather than actual facts Not sure where you get your idea that the majority of cats liking the cold (wheres the evidence) If that theory was held any water my 6 would have spent all day outside. Only one poked its head outside for 10 minutes. Cats can put up with cold as can humans to a degree. It doesn't mean they like it. I would think that the fact that they always go for the warmest place they can find shows that they don't actually like cold they put up with it if there is little choice

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

There is no evidence to suggest more cats are killed at night than during the day. Some vague suggestion and assumptions but no hard and fast proof.

So you have just defeated your own argument that more cats are killed in the day (congratulations). Also if you actually speak to vets most vets will tell you that the most cats they see after being hit by a car are cats that have been out at night. I would personally believe an Organisation like the RSPCA who say most cats they receive after Road traffic accidents were from accidents at night. Considering the size of the organisation and the number of cats they receive. Also some cats like the cold so much they have been known to curl up in car engine bays which is of course dangerous

http://www.connpost.com/pets/ci_13711910
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/10/21/miracel-cat-survives-trip-inside-car-engine-1

Thers lots more instances of this if you just do a basic google search