According to you, is it cruel to...

[pmc]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Here in Newmarket, there's a bylaw stating that *all* cats must be kept indoors.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Having said that, we'd keep ours in even if there wasn't a law.  We got him as a stray from the OSPCA, and I'm sure, after a life on the lam, he thinks he's died and gone to heaven!   #ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys//smiley2.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#And he's never tried to make a break for it, either... #ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys//smiley14.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[chenders01]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#pmc, I think that those cats who have been strays at one time are more than happy to have a warm home to live in.  One of our cats was a rescued stray and he has NO desire to go outside.  He's blind now but even when he could see, he never tried to escape.  I think he realized how lucky he was to finally have a place indoors where he could stay warm!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Lix]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Well - as I said in my other thread, the vet had no objections with the outdoor life.  She said she may in fact be more used to that...#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm still not exactly sure how we'll work out the indoor/outdoor thing but for some reason, now that I know she is 10 rather than a kitten, I don't want her to wander off.  She's a fragile senior!  lol   #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'll probably leave her in the garage for the next couple weeks and as the temperature drops, we'll find her a place indoors so she doesn't get cold.  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Barnbrat:  Love the idea of those little discs!  I'll have to see where those are sold!!! #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[*Giddy Up*]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I don't see a problem with it as long as there is shelter and they have claws and are neutered.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm kinda weird about this situation- I have three cats, all indoor and I couldn't imagine letting them out- because I'd worry!!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#But, I have no problem with full time barn cats- I think because they have free-range shelter of a barn, opposed to my cats who would be finding random, possibly dangerous, places to sleep.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Once, my cat Tiger got out and it was cold, so he climbed up inside of a car (well, he did this twice, once with my mom's car, and once with a neighbours) and with my mom she didn't know, and started driving somewhere, shortly noticing there was cat fur flying out from underneath her car- Tiger was up near the fan belt and was like this <-----> close to the fan and ending up like his fur- so I'd never want him outside.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#But the idea with the cat door to your garage is a good idea. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Our barn cat is at least 16 years old and we live on Hwy. 400. He only comes in to eat and for some lap time AM and PM, other than that he is outside. When it gets cold he holes up in the hay bales. Our previous barn cat was declawed (she was dumped at our place), and she did just fine even without claws. I don't know if Tbbrat remembers Noir from Sagl, but he was a declawed barn cat too. While I don't think that's ideal, they do learn to compensate! #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We also have a stray tom that moves into our barn for the winter, this cat is completely feral and he does just fine. How he's managed to escape the coyotes this far is a miracle, and a tribute to his survival skills.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Anyway I don't think it's cruel at all, but I'm not a cat person and if I didn't have a barn I wouldn't have a cat - therefore the fact we live on a busy highway is a chance that has to be taken, but neither of our friendly cats ever showed interest in it and the stray doesn't either. If they get hit, they get hit. I don't wish it on them, but I need barn cats and I can't lock them in there. I used to work for someone who had a barn on Hwy. 11 and she lost cats to the highway all the time, but there's not much you can do about it when you need barn cats and live on a busy road. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I agree not to let them in with the dogs, especially 2 young ones. One dog alone would probably learn to respect the cat, like BT's dog, but I know when I had 2 dogs they would hunt cats like coyotes, one would flush the cat and the other would be lying in wait around the corner and would pounce on it as it came running away from the first dog. Luckily, they never hurt them, just trapped them and let them go. My Rottweiler had grown up with 7 cats, she learned how to avoid getting clawed and it never backed her off a cat, in fact, she was quite nice to cats unless they hissed at her then she was like, "OK, now you're in for it", she also used to drive them crazy because she could read them so well she would torture cats by backing them into a corner and "boxing" with them, she would poke her nose in and provoke them into trying to scratch her and she was quick enough to get out of the way, in the 8 years I had that dog she only got scratched once and that was because someone distracted her. Anyway, don't underestimate the killer instincts of dogs - particularly a #ed_op#STRONG#ed_cl#pair#ed_op#/STRONG#ed_cl# of dogs. 2 or more dogs are much bolder than a dog alone.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[rubberman]

Lix, with the new stray we now have 11 cats (and TeeDee the stay has a
suspiciously bulging tummy  so more kittens may be on the
way).  I do not think it is cruel to allow cats access to the
outside, as a matter of fact I think it is natural.  The barn
which is insolated has a cat door as well as a dog door and the two
dogs never bother with the cats.  Once the kittens are a little
older everyone will be spayed/neutured.  The cats get regular vet
visits and they all get there shots.  Even Easter the house/barn
cat views being house bound as a form of punishment and she is allowed
out (she actually asks for the door).