I need opinions on this #caturday.
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I need opinions on this #caturday.
When we got cats, we intended them to be indoor cats. But they LOVE to be outside, and we also spend quite a bit of time outside in the warmer months, and its sad when they watch us from inside, also they escape a lot!
I added a catio, to give them some outside space, but they want more. Should we let them have more outside freedom, or double down on being indoor cats?
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I need opinions on this #caturday.
When we got cats, we intended them to be indoor cats. But they LOVE to be outside, and we also spend quite a bit of time outside in the warmer months, and its sad when they watch us from inside, also they escape a lot!
I added a catio, to give them some outside space, but they want more. Should we let them have more outside freedom, or double down on being indoor cats?
It's not good to let cats roam the world unsupervised: cats kill birds and other small wildlife even if not hungry, just for fun. however, supervised nature walks are good for their mental health, imho. take them on a forest walk on a leash, get them to a picnic, bring them with you into the garden.
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I need opinions on this #caturday.
When we got cats, we intended them to be indoor cats. But they LOVE to be outside, and we also spend quite a bit of time outside in the warmer months, and its sad when they watch us from inside, also they escape a lot!
I added a catio, to give them some outside space, but they want more. Should we let them have more outside freedom, or double down on being indoor cats?
@marbletravis our indoor cats are the same. It is never enough! But, we have harnesses for them and leashes and take them out when it's nice enough. During those months we also give them treatment against nasty outdoor pests. They sometimes want to go out at night and I explain to them that it's not all rabbits - there's bigger meaner cats, coyotes and the occasional bobcat in the neighborhood. They pretend not to understand.
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It's not good to let cats roam the world unsupervised: cats kill birds and other small wildlife even if not hungry, just for fun. however, supervised nature walks are good for their mental health, imho. take them on a forest walk on a leash, get them to a picnic, bring them with you into the garden.
@nest Agreed, that's why we opted for a catio. Right now I would like to just let them outside when we are relaxing on the porch/yard, but they don't like the leash, at least not yet. And otherwise they tend to run-off and are difficult to get back in.
I've considered a one-way-door, so we can let them out when we are outside, but we have hard time coaxing them back in, that way they can let themselves back in.
Our biggest issue is the escaping, when kids leave the door open long enough.
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@nest Agreed, that's why we opted for a catio. Right now I would like to just let them outside when we are relaxing on the porch/yard, but they don't like the leash, at least not yet. And otherwise they tend to run-off and are difficult to get back in.
I've considered a one-way-door, so we can let them out when we are outside, but we have hard time coaxing them back in, that way they can let themselves back in.
Our biggest issue is the escaping, when kids leave the door open long enough.
@nest If we double down on keeping them inside, which would be fine with me, do they ever learn to stop escaping? Our cats are relatively young, ~2 years old.
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@nest If we double down on keeping them inside, which would be fine with me, do they ever learn to stop escaping? Our cats are relatively young, ~2 years old.
i don't know if they can "forget" how to escape. it's more about training and "cat-proving" the garden. i did quite a few changes to our garden to prevent the cat from escaping.
we would let our cat out to the garden every day. she would stand by the door and ask us to open it. when we'd stop letting her our for winter, she'd stop asking after a few weeks. so, that's something cats can learn.
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