Here's the thing.....my cats are fully indoor but somehow among all my 18cats (sorry not 17 as quoted somewhere )

.....1 has always loved the outdoor life so very much......Yeah that will be Ashley(avatar)......sometimes she will manage to find her way out and enjoy the outdoor swings and later return home for her meals....(kalau bukan aku yg bagi makan siapa lagi nak bagi dia makan kan......kikikik)....


So the question is......should just let her be the outdoor/indoor cat or make her sit in the house also....like the rest ?


Oh yeah just incase you all wondering when Ashley does her escape all the rest will just have a look with much surprise but they won't follow her go out (not yet, later dunno).....

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xxxxx Saribaiduri @ sedap nama tu aku suker xxxxx

Let's Stand Together And Celebrate Our Domestic Cats Day- 31/12/2008 !

Suzy,

kalau safe tak per la, sian gak dia.

sometimes they all pun nak gak berjemur dibawah sinaran matahari, syoookkk o

Bab safe tu yg aku kurang confident.........memang ler setakat ni nothing happen...tapi bila semlm aku balik dia tak der & sampai malam tak der & sampai aku bangun pagi ni pun dia tak masuk2 ikut tingkap bilik aku, aku mulalah panic......last2 aku klur bilik ada dia meow2 kat tingkap cats room..........minah ni jarang jalan atas tanah selalu duk kat bumbung jer........

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xxxxx Saribaiduri @ sedap nama tu aku suker xxxxx

Let's Stand Together And Celebrate Our Domestic Cats Day- 31/12/2008 !

bab ni aku tak pasti sebab rumah aku apartment dan aku blm mengalami bagaimana keadaannya klu rumah terrace house kecuali kucing siam aku kat KK yg namanya si Nurul.tp cuma seekor je & mak aku dah spay dia.Dia pula jenis yg tak jalan jauh2.main2 kat kawasan rumah and mostly aku punya neighbour kenal kucing mak aku.

Tp kucing2 aku kat rumah aku di KL aku bagi durang pelepasan main2 kat luar tp mata aku tajam menengok.so far mmg takde problem sebab durang kuar dgn aku.yg kitten aku tak kasihlah cuma kucing besar je.

Hmmm… this is a toughie….

Well… i do have 4 kids, Murphy, Lucy, Cassie & Mummy, who are indoor /outdoor cats. Mummy’s 10 years old & the rest are 8 years old.

Yes, I worry about them when they’re out, but I’ve also noticed how happy they are when they’re outdoors. And except for Murphy who had FLUTD twice when he was 4 years old & mange just recently, the other 3 have never been sick for even a day in their extremely happy lives. Actually, I’ve noticed that my indoor/outdoor kids are much happier & healthier than my totally indoor ones.

I did try to turn Murphy into an indoor cat after he had FLUTD but he was totally miserable & always trying to find ways to escape. He ate very little & cried all day long during the whole 1 month period. My heart gave way & I gave in to his incessant requests to be let out again.

You should have seen the gratitude he showed me for granting him his freedom again. All the endless gentle head butts, nudging, rubbing & manja-ing just to let me know how much he loved me for being such an understanding mummy!

Just like the rest of your cats, the rest of my kids too, are not that interested in the outdoor life yet. I hope & pray they remain that way.

As for these 4 kids, I’ll continue to let them have their freedom & be happy. I pray for them a lot when they’re out though….

Yeah I kind of get the idea of Ashley wanting her outdoor adventure especially after leaving 5years of her life like that......having said so, my worry is I'm unable to keep an eye on her all the time since I leave home in the morning and will only be back at night.......Sigh this is difficult... but I want her to be happy too.......

__________________
xxxxx Saribaiduri @ sedap nama tu aku suker xxxxx

Let's Stand Together And Celebrate Our Domestic Cats Day- 31/12/2008 !

why dont u let her out when u were at home. on the weekenf may be

Eh boleh pakai gak idea ko in Zarul......is like a win win situation....on top of that maybe I'll get her a collar with engrave of my contact number....

__________________
xxxxx Saribaiduri @ sedap nama tu aku suker xxxxx

Let's Stand Together And Celebrate Our Domestic Cats Day- 31/12/2008 !

Only you are able to best gauge which is the best choice because only you are able to first hand scrutinise your home environment (both inside and outside the house), Ashley's adeptness for caution and self survival (climbing, watching out for traffic, evil 2 legged beings, etc, etc), just like a direct and physical examination done by the vet.

Based on my own experience with my cats (I have more than you, dear) your having 18 cooped up in the house is waaaaaay over-crowded for them even though they have the whole house to roam.

The grown ups especially need their own personal space and will tolerate one another and work out their own routines around each other. The ones who have never known freedom will be more accepting of the cooped up environment, but those that have known the outdoors will definitely have more stress, especially as they grow older. Cats may huddle and sleep together when young but do so more infrequently as they grow older and will prefer to maintain their individuality and personal space. This is what I have observed in my cats and understood through the explanations of the famed animal scientist Temple Grandin. I understand the animals better now and are better able to care for them, I'm so glad.

This is one of the reasons why even though spayed or neutered, some of the cats still urinate and mark areas with their urine. It is their way of insisting on their presence in the midst of so many. My Mandy had suddenly one day started urinating on the floor of her cage which is the upper partition since the day Bonnie (who lived in the partition below her) started bullying her when they were let out to play together. Till today, Mandy gives her a real dirty look of disdain and Bonnie looks at Mandy with real vengeance in her eyes and adamant to leap up to bite and scratch her! (Not play-play one!) And Mandy will always seek to creep up my lap and bury herself there for protection.

Well, seeing is believing ... and kalau orang cerita this kind of animosity in animals pun I tak caya ... thank God this is only one single incident of cat animosity (macam cara orang membenci pulak ...) in my whole experience with all my kids.

However, from the way you cerita and describe Ashley, my gut feel is that she is competent enough to be free, and will not wander off to leave you unless she has an unfortunate accident. But then, we are only stewards and one day, all of them will leave us. Outdoors (at least controlled outdoor environment with our watchful eyes always on them) is their natural environment and they need the freedom and stimulation and they need to be the cats that they are. Loving is being able to let go, dear, and Ashley will be a very happy girl.

However, what I say here applies specifically to Ashley alone, not the other cats that have not know outdoors because they lack the street-smartness of Ashley who had the opportunity to sekolah outdoors dulu.

That is why domestic pets suffer more and are more sick when abandoned by owners to live outside on their own compared with strays. They were deprived of the chance to sekolah and be street smart. They were also deprived of precious life lessons from their mothers - what can be eaten, what to ignore, what to watch out for, social skills, who to attack and who to run away from.

Hope this helps. I love dear Ashley.

p.s. ... and since you mention that she is a heights girl (she climbs) - no collars whatsover even an elastic one. Though they look cute and can serve identification purposes, none of my cats wear any for absolute safety. That one I take absolutely NO chances!

Thanks furkids for the long thoughts (mcm National geography pun ada )

(1) yes, i know and that's why i'm equally confused since there is no 100% gurantee the outdoor is safe.....controlled outdoor in Ashley's case is impossible or it can be possible with me sitting on top of the roof too (imagine that , in no time the whole taman will be watching me, luciky enough whole malaysia would too)

(2) Yeah she has a cert too....but i still worry...

(3) Agreed!

(4) Even safety collars, which will give way in case of emergency ?

p/s : I surely wish I got a big house with a large compound........

__________________
xxxxx Saribaiduri @ sedap nama tu aku suker xxxxx

Let's Stand Together And Celebrate Our Domestic Cats Day- 31/12/2008 !