Biscuit Finds a Friend

Our poor boy was going nuts in my aunt's little one room apartment without even a window to look out of.  So she has taken to keeping him in a harness and letting him outside on a tether.

Now, I don't like the idea of cats on leashes.  But I totally understand my aunt's fear that Biscuit will get run over or eaten by a passing dog.  And of course I'm all for keeping little birdies and bunnies from death by claw or tooth. 

( A question for other cat people - how do you deal with the inside / outside issue?  How do other cats live? )

While I was there visiting, we let him off the leash.  He romped and sniffed and rolled and had a great time.  And then the real fun began. 

Dakota, the neighborhood tramp showed up.

Who's this in my territory?

I bet I can sneak up without her seeing me...

Hallo.


Don't hallo me, you sassy little twerp.

Aw, come on and play with me!

I want none of this, back off!  Can't you see my ears and the hackles on my back?  Don't you understand cat-speak?  I'm old, and this is MY turf.

Damn little upstart pipsqueak won't leave me alone.  Maybe he won't see me here.  If I sit like stone and don't look at him...  maybe he'll go away.

She wouldn't play with me!  I didn't mean to scare her, honest.  I just wanted to runandjump and playandwrestle!!  Oh well, I'll pounce on this fluffy stuffed thingee. 

Hey, it looks a lot like my new friend!





Update: Don't miss this week's Friday Ark for more animalius.  (is that a word?  feh, don't quibble...)  And this week's Carnival of the Cats will be purring at Boxing Alcibiades.

Comments

[Lyvvie]

My Mom used to travel around the country in a 37ft motor home and she took her four cats with her. Where ever she stayed she'd tie the girls up with harnesses and let them lie about in the sun. Whenever they're home, they just come and go as they please, but on the road it's crate and leash time. they've adapted just fine to this arrangement.

[Sissy Willis]

We tether Tiny and Baby here in our urbanesque yard in Greater Boston (busy street nearby) and then give them free range of field and forest when we -- regularly -- visit my father at his secluded home on the coast of Maine. Guess which lifestyle the kitties prefer? :)

[Kat]

My two stay inside all the time. When I was younger, two of our cats were deliberately poisoned. That made us confirmed keep the kitties inside people. Now coyotes roam nearby and critters are disappearing, especially cats. Inside is safer for my two.

[Kris]

When I was a kid, our cats were indoor/outdoor cats. As I got older, I realized they needed to stay indoors (different cats) for safety's sake.

My first cat was a stray and used to being outside until he found us. He hung around for about a week until I let him in the house (I was a year old). So he knew his turf early on.

[David]

Good to see the boy having fun. Here, our three are indoors cats. They have the run of upstais and down, so it's not all that restrictive. One was a "stray" who adopted us as a kitten and roamed the neighborhood for her first couple of years. We let her use our garage for shelter and fed her until one day she sneaked in past me and hid, refusing to leave.

Still here, refusing to go outside. Must be something really mean she doesn't wanna face. heh

[srp]

Our seven cats have always been indoor cats. One or two have been brave enough to venture outside but stay close enough to get back in quickly. To satisfy their longings, they have access to a sunroom with cat trees and a high hot tub lid to sleep on. They have bird feeders outside the glassed in walls to watch the wildlife and wind chimes for diversion.

Put a leash or halter on them and they lay flat on the floor, will not move, and try to make themselves as small as possible.

[Christine]

Thanks for your comments everybunny!

Cat trees. Great idea. I saw a show on tv where a family had built cat walks in their place. Shelves and steps and climbing things along every wall and hallway. The cats could climb and walk literally all over the house, 8 feet up. I think that's such a great idea! But sadly, my aunt's place is really REALLY small. One room, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. Maybe one of those climbing hutch things in a corner would help keep Biscuit entertained.

[Nio]

Indoor or outdoor, that is the $64,000 question.

My first cat, Kitty, was an outdoor cat. We tried to keep him in but he howled and whined and made such a PITA of himself, my mother's husband got fed up and let him outside. Kitty used to come in to be fed, when it was yucky out, or whatnot. He was happy this way, but never much of a lapcat.

Claw the Chill Kitty was my next cat. I kept her in because I lived on Mission Hill then Central Square, Boston and Cambridge, respectivly. When I moved back to my mothers in suburban Boston Claw was let out by my mother after Claw ruined the dining room curtains. She was still a lapcat once she was allowed out.

The cats I have now one goes out and two stay in. Harely is my outdoor cat, but started out as an indoor cat. He's a wicked lapcat still. Caesar stays in and can only go out on a leash due to the fact that he's declawed (he came that way, I think it's torture and inhumane to declaw a cat). Francesca, my kitten, will go out once she is fixed, probably in September.

So I guess the short of my story is that I believe in outdoor cats when it's appropriate. We live in rural NH now so there aren't many cars for them to get hit by. And although I don't want Harley to become food for someone else, I would be less upset if he was part of the food web and nourishing something else than if he became a speedbump on a busy road like Claw did. Her death was senseless and very upsetting to me due to the fact that her death was caused by a hit and run.