Does anyone leave their cats out all day?

tandraig

Ive had two cats one spent his first 8 years as a cat who disappeared in the morning came in for breakfast and dinner then to spend the night -and another FIV cat who was totally a 'housecat'.
the first cat - timmy - got into a few fights (vets bills) and finally met his match - which the vet thought may have been a fox. then he was housebound - and TBH he became a nicer cat - though the vets nurse still hated him with a passion! lol - he didnt like her either! er - while he was an outdoor cat - he liked to bring home 'live' presents - usually feild mice, and would watch unconcerned when we let them go as they were unharmed. we got a bit concerned when he brought home kittens though! and we had to find homes for them! we still have no idea where he found them!
the second cat timmy was FIV and i 'found' him. i suspect he wasnt a house cat as TV amazed him and he seemed to find living rooms strange and he never even investigated stairs! he was also a very calm cat - and just viewed visiting animals from his perch on the sofa arm. he didnt mind an inquisitive dog nosing him either. and considering the area where i found him i thought that was amazing (the estate seemed to consist of staffies rotties and pit bulls. and a distinct shortage of cats)

shelly

paddypaws101 wrote: »

Cats grow out of the hunting game...give it a year or so and they will be too lazy to bother.

At what age would you say this happens?
We have had Lily for 2 and half years now, she's 5 yrs old and brings in prey pretty much every night. Usually she will eat most of whatever it is, if not all of it and we have either body parts or blood to clean up in the morning. Though twice now they have gotten away from her but we don't know it until a few days later when they start to smell then we have to find the body. Couple of weeks ago one was under the washing machine and just tonight we found one in the cupboard where the water tank is.
These gaps are being sorted this weekend!

Kimberley

I would only be concerned about the night time but as you keep them in at night then leaving them out all day is fine but maybe have a shelter in your garden for them to use as a place to rest. You can get or could build some nice ones that have cat flaps in like in this link below.

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Outdoor_Cat_Houses.html

rita-rabbit

good luck with that - the morgue issue

I don't think it's cruel - well apart from other cats wanting a fight & dogs harassing them - esp if you get one of those out door huts (pets @ home sell them)

birduk

Thank you for your help folks. The worst of the winter is over now (I hope), when the weather is bad, they are so cheeky and stay in all day. They also don't kill things in the winter- which is quite a relief. They currently have two identity tags and two bells on EACH, so I don't know what else to do with them. I don't think I can stop them killing, but I am pretty fed up with the bodies- and half bodies!

In repsponse to the 'when do they grow out of it?' question, Marvin is at least 4 and Buffy is nearly 11, so I don't think that is going to happen very soon! In fact I have just found them on Google street view and it looks like Buffy is pouncing on something!

I am not too worried about dogs as we don't have them round here (just one elderly one and one tiny one next door that stay in all day). Our garden is fenced off as well. We do have an old outside toilet, used for storage that I could leave open, plus there are plenty of places for them to shelter.

I do wonder about them finding an alternative home though- they are very affectionate cats! Very very needy! I left them out on Friday and they were both waiting for me when I got home- bless.

BitterAndTwisted

Your outside lav sounds like the ideal kipping-spot for cats outdoors during the day-time. The main concern is that cats don't stay awake for eight or nine hours at a stretch, so they will need somewhere sheltered and comfy to cat-nap. My boy Stanley sleeps for about four hours, has a feed then a bit of a play and then beds down again for another four hours or so.

If you put a nice big cardboard box or two in your outside lav and put something with their own or your smell on it, they'll find that spot in about two minutes flat.