I am devastated and not sure what to do next

MissPoppy_3

Thank you all so much for replying it has given me a lot to think about.
Just got home from work and the place is so quiet and empty without her.
I grew up with cats on a busy road and a few of them did get run over but at no point was it thought about keeping a cat indoors so I have no experience of having an indoor cat. Where I live now I really thought was safe compared to where I grew up which is really making me think an indoor cat(s) is the way to go. However on the other hand there are neighbours who have had cats for years and they are ok.
I do believe that some cats are street smart we had one at my parents,a big ginger tom who ruled the roost, wasn't afraid of anything but he wouldn't go anywhere near the road.
Unfortunately cat proofing my garden is nay on impossible, having a run I am not too keen on as to me it is like being in a locked chocolate shop and not being able to eat any of it.
I also have always had rescue moggies so never thought about pure breeds, so thank you I may do some research in that area. I have also thought about getting an older rescue/indoor only cat, there is a small cat rescue near by where we got our wonderful girl from and I am going tomorrow with her food as really don't want to see it go to waste, I was also going to ask for their advice re getting new cat.

Thank you again, having support from people who know how hard this is really helps. She was part of the family and I really miss her.

dandelionclock30

Sorry to hear about your cat, what a horrible shock.I would if I was in your shoes get an older cat, that was previously a housecat.The cats protection league often will pay all the vets bills if they are older and difficult to rehome.

hostertlady

so sorry to hear about your little one xx
let me tell you my story about indoor/outdoor cats..

i have 5 cats now..... used to have 6 but one has gone to the rainbow bridge......:(
anyway, we used to feed a stray cat that was always out and was in a terrible state... always fighting, weeing, blood seeping down his face etc... we decided to add him to 'our lot', (what's one more anyway)

we had him neutared and he quitened down a bit and used to come and go... then he got shot with an air rifle... he survived after many operations and I decided that when he was better he was never going out again .....
and to this day he has never been out the door..... he has got used to it.... he never makes a dart for the door when it is opened.... he smells the other cats when they come in to get his 'fix'( they are in a lot at the moment cos it is cold and they are always in at night) ....... and he is such a lovely, clean well groomed and contented cat.........he uses his litter tray like a good one and when he has just one wee i have to remove it straight away............and spray the area and add more litter.... he doesnt like his tray dirty!!!

i must add that hubby thought it wasnt fair to keep him in but i took no notice and he doesnt mention it anymore.....:rotfl:
so dont worry about keeping a cat indoors.....

Spirit_2

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your cat. Over the years we have had four cats killed on roads and each time it has been very hard.

At the end of November one of our cats was knocked down, my daughter saw it happen, it was not the drivers fault in any way at all, but our silly moggy. He is doing well and should make a very good recovery in the next few months. He is currently confined to barracks, and very annoyed about it.

The road we live on is very quiet, rural, occassional fast car. We are surrounded by fields and woods but the temptations of hunting in fields and woods across the road has been too much. All of the RTA incidents have been with our male cats. All have been kept in at night and only one incident was after dark.

Our lessons learnt are that girl cats are more cautious about crossing the road. We still let our older cat out - although I tend to pop her out and then call her back in rather than letting her out all day.

Could you get an older rescue cat who is happy to have a comfortable home and with less desire to roam. It sounds like you have lots of love and care to give.

topsales

So sorry to hear about your cat - the same thing happened to ours about 3 months ago. We have since got 2 kittens and I too am really unsure about letting them out but I know that cats love to be outside chasing everything, lying in the sunshine and generally having fun. So I will doubtless allow them out when the weather improves and hope so much that they avoid the road...keeping them in the house seems cruel to me.

mgdavid

BTDT, it's not pleasant as we all daftly become so attached to our moggy masters. As you can see from the above, all shades of opinion from black to white - you can only do what seems right for you. Not knowing your personal circumstances it's impossible to say if you can give the extra care and commitment to a housebound cat, or indeed whether you can catproof your garden . But if the new one has no over-riding reason to be kept in then it should roam IMO. If you kept it indoors would you have it de-clawed?

Croatoan

mgdavid wrote: »

BTDT, it's not pleasant as we all daftly become so attached to our moggy masters. As you can see from the above, all shades of opinion from black to white - you can only do what seems right for you. Not knowing your personal circumstances it's impossible to say if you can give the extra care and commitment to a housebound cat, or indeed whether you can catproof your garden . But if the new one has no over-riding reason to be kept in then it should roam IMO. If you kept it indoors would you have it de-clawed?

So none of these reasons seem "over-riding" to you?

krlyr wrote: »

Being stolen and tortured (it happens - sick teen went around murdering pet cats in horrific ways in the neighbouring town a few years back)
Being hit by a car and not being killed instantly - dying from fatal injuries in a slow, painful death in a cold, wet ditch.
Being attacked by the local fox, scrapping tomcat, or neighbourhood dog who's garden it unfortunately fell asleep in.
Being trapped in a garden shed and roasting to death in a heatwave, or freezing to death in a cold winter (or starving, at any time of year)

Why would an indoor cat be de-clawed?

MissPoppy_3

There is no way on earth I would ever de-claw a cat, but you do have a point regarding having indoor cat, physically we can look after one but it is the mental element i.e boredom, I am worried about as we both work long hours so it would spend alot of time alone.

rising_from_the_ashes

I wouldn't worry about that side of it ....... my big cat - when he does go out when I get up - has the option of staying out during the day but 99% of the time comes in when I call him just before I leave for work (wee cat has to be in when I'm not here as she's a dodgy knee). However ..... probably around 50% of the time he doesn't even get out his bed in the morning and is frequently still in the same place when I get home (although I assume he has got up at some point for something to eat & the loo!).

My old cat was an indoor cat (when I got him from a rescue) and was indoors quite happily for nearly 9 years (until I moved to a farm in the middle of nowhere - it took him a year to venture out an open door & his last 18 months were spent lazing in the garden - he never wandered out of sight).

Sorry, anyway, if they're used to it and don't know different & have lots of toys to play with ... they'll be fine and will probably sleep most of the time you're out anyway!

There_Goes_Trouble

mgdavid wrote: »

If you kept it indoors would you have it de-clawed?

I have a feeling that declawing is illegal in the UK. I'm not 100% sure but I think so. Anyway, it's a nasty operation, no animal should have to go through that for human convenience.

And I speak as one who has spent the last nine years having my home and posessions shredded by two cats, who I have never managed to teach to keep their claws to themselves.