Cat question: would they like it alright in a dog-pen type cage,

[patrice]

with a lid of course, on my deck? They're not telling me, so I don't know. The deck is new, so I've never considered this before.

[electron_blue]

1. My guess is no

[jody]

2. Suggest you try it out first. If you don't like it, then you cats won't.

:hi:

[patrice]

5. LOL.

. . . . . They kill things if I let them loose. Should I let them do that? And get fleas? unless I put poisonous "medicines" on them, Or should I make them watch Outside from the window-sill Forever? Which one of these things do you find more acceptable/ethical?

Thanks for your concern. :sarcasm:

[jody]

7. I have two cats It's the nature of cats to kill things pick & up fleas.

My cats hate to be caged unless the cage is as big as a room. I have a cat door for them to enter and leave as they choose. One cat loves the inside and rarely ventures out. The other loves the outside and rarely ventures in except to eat and sleep.

Cats love their freedom as much as you and I, some more than others.

Have a nice day.

[patrice]

15. Okay, no cage.

(You sound like my daughter. That's the way she is with hers - in Portland!)

[Horse with no Name]

8. Seriously

They probably won't like it.
They would like being able to sit on a window sill and watch it from afar with having freedom than to be caged outside and still not able to enjoy it.

[Mairead]

9. The window sill.

They don't truly need to go outside, though most like to. But with a nice window-seat view of outside activity, most are fine. Putting them in a cage on the deck could be fatal if something were to happen (to you or to them).

[patrice]

14. I just feel guilty, which is dumb, because they don't seem to

hold grudges, like some other species I can think of.

[Mairead]

17. That's a nice way of putting it -- they really *don't* hold grudges

When I comb my ancient (23) furface too roughly, she'll sink her teeth into my hand in an affectionate way, but that seems to end it for her--thirty seconds later we're friends again (of course I'm still busy sopping up the blood :+, but the important part is that there're no hard feelings.)

[barb162]

19. 23? Wow!

[Mairead]

20. That's how I feel too!

She has some problems with her kidneys, and a little arthritis, and she's now almost completely deaf, but she still enjoys being petted, looking out the window at the world, and playing her favorite catch-the-quickly-moving-object games. Also sleeping and eating, of course.

When I moved here and took her to the new vet the first time, he misread her YOB on the form I filled up. He commented that she seemed perhaps a little more grizzled than most 11-y.o. cats but nothing serious and was dumbstruck when I, bewildered, said 'but she's not 11, she's 21'. After he got over the shock and finished laughing at himself, he said I evidently know how to take good care of cats.

[barb162]

21. My oldest cat is 17 and has chronic renal failure. May I ask

what brands you feed her. Do you feed her canned food. It is amazing how long she is living!

[Mairead]

24. Up til last year, I bought her the Friskies canned one whose

main ingredient is whitefish. I think it's called 'ocean whitefish in sauce' or something like that--it's the only grocery-store one where 'byproducts' isn't in the top 3 ingredients. I read years ago that fish is the protein that's easiest on cat kidneys, and that 'byproducts' represents very crude protein that's mechanically made edible, so I tried to maximise the one and minimise the other as much as I could.

This past year I've been feeding her the Hill's 'KD with chicken' I get from the vet. Its ingredients list is water, pork, chicken, pork byproducts... I felt and feel a little uncomfortable about switching away from fish-based food, and I wish I had enough money to get labs done on her every few months so I could see how much science there is behind the idea that KD is the best food to retard kidney deterioration. I suspect it's probably second-best---better than any of the usual byproducts-based stuff from the grocery, but not as good as well-chosen fish-based food.

I'm sorry to hear that your cat got a kidney diagnosis. That's what my idiot got, too. I hope yours is still in the early stages of failure, like mine is.

[barb162]

27. I use Hills KD also but he refuses to eat it and my female who is 6

and is totally healthy, will eat it. My CRF kitty only seems to want table food, like chicken breast, pork roast, turkey, etc. and canned friskies of any type. Drives me nuts. I have decided to let nature take its course rather than denying him what he wants and making him miserable with food he doesn't want. I get complete blood panels done on him every 6 months. I can find no rhyme or reason to whether his numbers go up or down. I think the important thing is that they eat. He used to be 12 pounds and is down to 6 pounds now. Yahoo has a feline CRF group where a lot of the people are making all these concoctions and doing special stuff. WHether it works I don't know. I went through hell with a beloved cat who had cancer and died 10/03 and I went to many specialists dragging him around. It finally hit me he wanted to be at home and not getting any more x-rays, shots, tubes in his arms, blood tests, the hated car rides, etc. It got so bad when he heard my car keys he ran and hid and shook.

PS he will eat Nature's Best chicken kibbles too as far a s hard food goes

[Mairead]

30. I'm so sorry to hear about your poor cat who died of cancer

That must have been hell for you that he'd run and hide from you.

Do you suppose your CRF guy would eat the 'with chicken' (gold tin) variety of KD? My idiot won't touch the regular KD either, but the with-chicken one seems to be okay with her. I occasionally supplement it with a little albacore-'tuna'-in-oil--she definitely likes licking up the fishy oil, and seems to appreciate finding the scraps of fish mixed in with the pork and chicken, too.

[barb162]

31. I will try that; he doesn't like the KD kibbles at all and

the canned stuff , the same. The large KD cans cost about 3 bucks and I ended up tossing them. Maybe I will get some more and try mixing it with stuff he likes. He was always very finicky and he has become more so with the CRF. I have cups of water all over the house for him as he drinks more and more and more and more. Have you ever noticed the protein values on the KD kibble bag? It's 24%. Some other brands get close to that, like Royal Canin and some others that you can get off the shelf at Petsmart. I have been buying those lower protein brands too. Also my vet said never ever feed him off the table anymore, like pork or chicken or turkey because they are high in protein. Well I give that to him anyway especially when he isn't eating anything. I feel it is better to get something in their stomach than nothing. I will probably be starting him soon on the rehydration. One woman I met at the vet does it with her cat and she said it works wonders...she does it about three times a week. OH well, good luck with your kitty. And THANK YOU!

[zanne]

3. I gather you're talking about indoor cats?

I don't know if you intend to be in close proximity to them when you do this, but please provide them with an "out". Cats hate not having a place to go to "escape" or hide. Also, watch for weather extremes and precipitation. With cats, you never know what'll happen!

[radfringe]

4. depends on the cat

2 of our cats are content and quiet in a crate. When we foster greyhounds we set up a large crate and use it until we are comfortable that we can trust the foster dog

2 of our cats will go into the crate and lay down. the other two steer clear of it

when we have to take our cats to the vet we use a medium size carrier - again, 2 of our cats are ok in it - the other two whine, cry, complain and crap in it

[Horse with no Name]

6. 2 out of 3 of my cats will go into a carrier and come out without incident

However, Tabitha freaks out.
There has been an instance that I took her to the vet and we had to dismantle the cage around her because we couldn't get her out, then build it back up around her before we could bring her home.

[H5N1]

11. I use a double harness when taking kitties to the vet

No problems at all. I NEVER cage my cats.

[Horse with no Name]

18. We only have one vet in our town

And you are VERY likely to have very large very mean dogs in the same waiting room.
Tabitha is about 15 years old.
She doesn't like kids, she doesn't like other cats, she doesn't like dogs.She doesn't like strangers. She doesn't like cars.
She likes to lay in my bed and watch birds out of the window.
IF the dog happens to venture over to look in the window, she attacks the glass.
I really don't think she is a good candidate for a leash unless I would like to activate the food chain in the vets office, but thanks for suggestion.

[JNelson6563]

10. This stuff goes in lounge

FYI

[H5N1]

12. Don't do it

Cats are indoor life forms.

[ChiDem]

13. I don't have cats, I have 3 large huskies

But they have killed plenty of wild cats..sorry..

Anyway, I think a cat really needs to feel that it can flee at anytime. a cage puts the cat in a situation where it feels it is trapped.

But thats just me.

[JudyM]

16. Try it, see if they like it; keeps em from killing wild birds. Links.

My cat's happy in a cage - seems to makes her feel more protected whenever she's in a new environment. Makes no fuss about going in, maybe because she isn't always on the way to the vet... I take her fun places, give her treats.

I would never consider letting her come and go freely after seeing a PBS special about the number of creatures the average housecat kills in a day.

From a shelter's website: Nothing "natural" about letting a cat roam outside freely
http://www.littleshelter.com/library/cat_indoors.htm

Cats are not a natural part of the ecosystem http://www.wildbirds.com/protect_cats.htm

[ChiDem]

23. I agree about letting your cat run free

The neighbors cat raided a woodpecker nest on my property and left the remains below, caught him in the act...also caught him going after my chickens.

The neighbors don't like me ever since the election when they saw my Kerry sticker, now they are selling and they really hate my 4x8 'impeach Bush' sign in my front yard.

I really cannot blame the cat for going after birds.

[Mairead]

26. I'm not sure that littleshelter citation is a good one to use

It seems more like propaganda, to me. It's not up-to-date on how long cats and humans have lived together (at least 9000 years, not 6000), and it says cats kill for 'play' when it's actually instinctive rehearsal for teaching kittens--'play' is only when they 'hunt' a pecan, cork, pingpong ball, or something dangling from a bit of string.

And the idea that they're not a natural part of the ecology seems silly. Feral lybica cats have at least as good a claim to being 'natural' in the Americas as feral horses--and English sparrows!--do, since all were brought to the Americas by the European invaders.

They also do some propagandistic sleight-of-tongue when they cite toxoplasmosis as something cats are 'more likely' to carry if they go outside, but which can be 'avoided' if cats are kept in. Obviously 'less likely' is not 'avoided'.

Which isn't to say that they're wrong about the idea that cats are better-off indoors. It's just a little disgusting of them to use lies and half-truths to persuade.

[caty]

22. I think it would be a great

chance for them to get some fresh and look at different scenery. However, they are going to see birds, etc. that they will want to go after and when you bring them back inside they might try to sneak out when you open the door. :dilemma:

[HeeBGBz]

25. I work in a kennel. The cats have fairly small cages.

None of them seem in distress and some stay there for weeks at a time. We do let them out to run a bit every day, though.

[Mairead]

28. Cats show distress by being unnaturally quiet and alert, tho

Some even purr. It can seem as though they're okay when really their coping system is badly overloaded and their lives are being shortened by the unmanageable stress.

[LisaL]

29. Only one way to find out is to actually do it.

But beware of heart worm, it's transmitted by mosquitoes. Cats can get it too, and it's not curable in cats, unlike dogs.