Keeping a cat indoors - cruel?

~Chameleon~

Person_one wrote: »

I think its a bit optimistic to say that people should be able to walk small furries around parks without having to worry about dogs! :eek:

Why should dogs have the monopoly on utilising open space? If people were responsible dog/insert any other pet/owners there wouldn't be a problem.

lostinrates

I used to walk cats on Hempstead Heath.

Honestly, its a PIta. I took carriers but dogs are obvious still interested. Cats less cocky than mine could be really distressed by it.

They also just didn't enjoy it as much. Yes, I'd do it again in those living circumstances p, but it wouldn't be my first choice at all.


Not everywhere lives where lives in a place where of cats are in disproportionate danger from cars etc.

Some danger yes......danger has always been a part of life for animals...like people, I down my think a life totally free of exertions is that healthy in any sense for them.

Person_one

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Why should dogs have the monopoly on utilising open space? If people were responsible dog/insert any other pet/owners there wouldn't be a problem.

Oh come on, be realistic. Dogs have to be walked, its the only way they can get the exercise they need. Cats, ferrets, guinea pigs etc. do not need to be walked. If they were suddenly everywhere on leads it'd be a flaming nightmare and you know it!

Dogs aren't the only things that are a danger to a tied up ferret anyway, by a long stretch.

thegirlintheattic

Person_one wrote: »

I think its a bit optimistic to say that people should be able to walk small furries around parks without having to worry about dogs! :eek:

I don't think dog owners should monopolize public spaces. If your dog isn't trained well enough not to chase small animals, then it shouldn't be off the lead. If you can't control it on a lead then you shouldn't own that dog.

I live in a rural area and we have regular issues with dog walkers who let their dogs off the lead who then proceed to chase sheep, lambs and nesting birds. I actually used to go walking with a woman who insisted that her dog wasn't interested in sheep at all, yet every time she let it off the lead near sheep it would go for them. There was a very close encounter when it got a lamb in its mouth, and another when a sheep jumped a fence to escape the dog and could have easily hurt itself. Suffice it to say I no longer go walking with this individual.

paulineb_2

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Hmm - would I want and choose to spend my life in a relatively small building rather than go out and experience the seasons, the smells, the tastes etc of the outside world?

NO WAY.

So, would I impose that on another living being without a very good reason (rescued cat with special needs for instance) - no way.

Just because someone lives on a busy road, in a flat or whatever does not mean they should choose to get a cat and then keep it prisoner... if your location is not suitable, don't get a cat.

If the decision is all about you and not about the welfare of the animal then you are just being selfish.

One of my cats was a stray when I got him, hed probably have been dead by now if I hadnt taken him. The other 3 were sitting in a cat cabin in the SSPCA. I was actually advised not to take one of my cats as he was a biter, hes not, I suspect that he had been maltreated by his previous owners who had given him back to the SPCA, hes very frightened of sudden hand movements, we think he had been hit.

The other two I took when someone was moving into a private let and couldnt take the animals.

Seriously, how do people actually know that indoor cats arent happy? The first cat I ever got was a half persian and I took him because his owner was going into a homeless hostel and couldnt take the cat, he was 2 years old and was going to be put to sleep.

Its ridiculous to suggest that only cats with special needs should be rehomed in indoor homes.

If my cats hadnt been taken in by me, I would think that the majority of them would be dead by now.

Dead, or living in a flat with an owner who loves them? Also, my mum lost a cat on the road almost two years ago, shes in a back and front door. Some of her cats went out more than others and her young cat decided to run across the road and a car came out and hit her, she was killed instantly. It wasnt my mums fault but she was devastated and still is. My mum doesnt live next to a main road, theres a road a couple of streets away and for whatever reason thats where the cat went that day.

Its not just about hunting and roaming, it can be dangerous out there for cats and not every home owner has the luxury of owning space where they know if they let the cat out it would be safe. Its not just because I live near a bus route that I dont let my cats out although thats a big part of it, there are also idiots around here would might maltreat them.

The first cat I ever had lived here for 10 years until he died 6 years ago. That was 10 years of extra life with me because hed have been dead within weeks if I hadnt taken him in.

Owners can and should have the choice.

~Chameleon~

Everyone's experience will differ according to where they live and facilities available to them. My cats were never forced to walk with us, it was their choice. They couldn't understand why doglets got a walk and they didn't, so they tagged along, to much hilarity of the neighbourhood. As I said, I was not alone in this. It certainly was a sight to behold, two hulking great Rotties with a succession of little kitties in tow :rotfl:


Oh, and if another dog even so much as sniffed in the direction of the kitties, my girls soon put them straight with a warning growl

Person_one

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I don't think dog owners should monopolize public spaces. If your dog isn't trained well enough not to chase small animals, then it shouldn't be off the lead. If you can't control it on a lead then you shouldn't own that dog.

I live in a rural area and we have regular issues with dog walkers who let their dogs off the lead who then proceed to chase sheep, lambs and nesting birds. I actually used to go walking with a woman who insisted that her dog wasn't interested in sheep at all, yet every time she let it off the lead near sheep it would go for them. There was a very close encounter when it got a lamb in its mouth, and another when a sheep jumped a fence to escape the dog and could have easily hurt itself. Suffice it to say I no longer go walking with this individual.

Not really relevant, every decent dog owner knows not to let them chase livestock.

lostinrates

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I don't think dog owners should monopolize public spaces. If your dog isn't trained well enough not to chase small animals, then it shouldn't be off thbe lead. If you can't control it on a lead then you shouldn't own that dog.

I live in a rural area and we have regular issues with dog walkers who let their dogs off the lead who then proceed to chase sheep, lambs and nesting birds. I actually used to go walking with a woman who insisted that her dog wasn't interested in sheep at all, yet every time she let it off the lead near sheep it would go for them. There was a very close encounter when it got a lamb in its mouth, and another when a sheep jumped a fence to escape the dog and could have easily hurt itself. Suffice it to say I no longer go walking with this individual.

Dog owners shouldn't monopolise space.

However, there is a huge difference between not chasing livestock and never having off lead running and not chasing any small furry.

My sight hounds never chase their 'own' cats, I have to admit I wouldn't trust them not to chase someone elses all the time. (They wouldn't hound it down, catch it and kill it, I know that, but they might lurch to go after it, and then have to be called back, I' cannot guarantee 100 percent they would not)

Most farmers also understand this. I've yet to met the farmers dog that never gets an off lead run in case he worries livestock. Just a well timed one. E.g. My dogs don't run with the dairy cows when I milk for next door, but they do run on my land. Not all farmers dogs are collies! Worrying livestock, of any nature, is , you are right, really really bad news. And sometimes dangerous. My neighbour has had problems with peoe insisting on walking through a field ( no public right of way) when the bull is out there) and cows with calves. Its really , really stupid thing to do.

Arachne_2

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I can think of far more breeds of dog that your cat would be at risk from than a "pitbull-type". And what exactly is a "pitbull-type"? Or are you just trying to sensationalise the fact he probably owned a boring old staffie or some other innocuous type of bulldog, none of which would likely have been a threat to your cat.

The dogs themselves were lovely dogs, never once did either one go for me or my cat, it was my landlord putting the fear into me that if I let my cat outside they'd have him. Obviously I wondered then if the landlord knew something I didn't. As far as I was concerned, their owner was more of a problem. He didn't exactly treat his pets well.

The dogs actually *were* both red-nosed pitbulls, not Staffies, however I am aware that you get good- and bad-natured dogs of all breeds.

So I'm sorry if I gave the impression that it was because they were pitbulls that I was advised to keep my cat inside. If my landlord had warned me about *any* dog the neighbour owned, I would have kept my cat away.

meritaten

Pippin12 wrote: »

Thankyou for all your replies - it's giving me plenty to think about. Another thing I'm wondering about is whether there are certain breeds of cats, like Siamese for example, who prefer to be indoors, or am I barking up the wrong tree entirely?

Expensive cats have usually been kept indoors I would think. I certainly keep my Barney indoors! Flat Face Persian - worth about £500! plus he is not street smart and thinks everyone loves him.
My son keeps his American Ragdolls indoors. worth twice Barney if not more. and they have been raised as 'indoor' cats. it would be cruel to expect them to cope with outdoor life.
not to mention that cats do like the finer things in life! a nice warm home and an adoring owner is a basic requirement.
The argument that cats like to be outdoors to hunt etc is spurious to me. Cats are lazy - they wont hunt if food is provided.and a cat which has been brought up indoors doesn't crave being outdoors. even outdoor cats which because of illness are confined indoors adapt easily. Cats do whatever its best for that cat to do.