Cat Doors

[Nelly]

Or, ideally:

[Steve.IA]

Jeff Thies wrote in news:if59ak$l5v$ [e-mail]:

Masonite panel cut to fit the window opening. Skil saw a hanging door and attach with small hinges at the top to swing to/fro. I even sided the outside panel with leftover scraps from the residing job so it matches the house.

Steve

[aemeijers]

a5a$sbm$ [e-mail]...

Indoor-only cats aren't cats any more- they are self-propelled plush toys. Sure, they live longer- keep you locked up and you probably would, too.

-- aem sends...

[Jeff Thies]

messagenews:if3a5a$sbm$ [e-mail]...

No truer words could be said. In fact indoor cats have to be special low cal diets. Indoor cats are a study in inactivity.

My indoor/outdoor cats lead cat lives, are often on the go, and are much better behaved than the indoor only cats I've had in the past. I mean they have real cat things to do, not just play with the furniture and get fixated on having some treat or such.

They look happy to me, and they all have such different approaches to being a cat.

Jeff

[Jim Yanik]

Jeff Thies wrote in news:if59ru$m2t$ [e-mail]:

Have they brought you any? I had a cat once that brought me dead mice,and a live bird which it released indoors,that was hilarious;my mom a bird-lover trying to get the bird out of the house while the cat was leaping all over the place trying to recapture it. 8-)

it's not easy for a cat to catch a healthy chipmunk,squirrel,or bird. there's no shortage of them,either.

[krw]

messagenews:if3a5a$sbm$ [e-mail]...

Ok, he have a couple of self-propelled plush toys that just think they're cats. ;-) We had one to the ripe old age of 22, though for about half her life she did go outside. Our last four or five never have been outside alone.

[aemeijers]

alone.- Hide quoted text -

At least they get some time out in the exercise yard. Sunlight, fresh air, and sensory input- what a combination. Considering what a cat's senses and athletic skills are compared to a human, a suburban house must be like a sensory deprivation tank for them. No wonder so many go wacko, or get stuck at the adolescent stage, socially.

-- aem sends...

[Jeff Thies]

Quite a few, although not so many lately. I've got pics!

The Chipmunks usually show up live, the mice never.

Oh, I can imagine!

I believe that. It's a skill, I've seen the kittens going off with Mom to learn. Some cats are excellent hunters, some are failures. All are intensely interested. It's instinctive.

Not here, any ways.

I understand that down under, feral cats are a real threat to some birds. I rarely see them take a bird though.

Jeff

>

[krw]

messagenews:if3a5a$sbm$ [e-mail]...

alone.- Hide quoted text -

That's never happened with our cats. They've all been quite normal, cats. Both are sleeping on my wife now (one is normally on me, but I've been moving around too much).

[LouB]

My hunter friends usually shoot feral cats out in the woods.

[TimR]

:

Cats cannot detect or respect property boundaries.

The cats you let roam loose do damage in my yard, kill small critters and songbirds that live over here, claw my screens, spray their waste in my yard, and torment my dog (who is NOT allowed to go into your yard to do his business or his digging).

How about showing some responsibility for what you own?

[Higgs Boson]

s it exists for your gratification. Sure, we do keep pets for our "gratifi= cation", but that doesn't mean making them live an unnatural life. Even k= eeping birds in a case seems cruel.

After my terrible, expensive experience with cat accident, vet urged me to keep him indoors. They always do that, no doubt out of sincere concern for the animal. But I just don't think that's right, even in an urban environment. So "we" (cat and I) compromise by letting him go in and out during the day and keeping him in at night. No doubt this is the reverse of the animal's usual hunting behaviour, but it's the best "we" can do rather than make him a "plush toy" as one poster cogently expressed.

[Higgs Boson]

Harry, your world view is nothing if not consistent!

[Higgs Boson]

id:

Of course not. They're CATS, not people (many of who also do not "respect property boundaries"!

Spray them with water from the hose a few times and they will get the message. Also put mothballs in the flower/veg beds where the dig and they will get the message.

kill small critters - Nature, red in tooth and claw...

May sound harsh, but if they don't learn to get out of the way, TS. I have seen mocking birds in my back yard who TEASE the cat. Bad move!

claw my screens,

Hang mesh bag of mothballs over that part of the screen and they will get the message. Also ask owners (if known) to trim their nails. If they won't, you do it. NEVER, NEVER DE-CLAW!!!

spray their waste> in my yard,

Are these unfixed Tomcats? They're usually the only ones who "spray". Contact your local animal shelter and turn in the cat(s) to be fixed..

and torment my dog (who is NOT allowed to go into your yard to do his business or his digging). If you can catch them in the act, again, a good sharp blast from a water hose repeated a few visits in succession will convey the message.

Sounds like you might have irresponsible neighbors. Possible to negotiate with them? You do spray and mothballs and they get claws clipped and unfixed males fixed.

[krw]

It's nothing.

[krw]

Ours are already fixed.

[frag]

LouB wrote in news: [e-mail]:

They are ass hats. Maybe they'll shoot each other and make everyone happy.

[The Daring Dufas]

I remember reading something about hunters in England shooting stray dogs. I think it was a government sanctioned way to keep the feral dog population down. I don't know if it's still practiced there or not. I did a little search and didn't find anything definitive except the fact that there are people who care more about animals than they care about their fellow human beings. Darn, I'm going to have to start up PETI again "People for the Ethical Treatment of Insects".

TDD

[HeyBub]

Consider the following:

------------- STATE OF ILLINOIS EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT SPRINGFIELD, April 23, 1949

To the Honorable, the Members of the Senate of the Sixth-sixth General Assembly:

I herewith return, without my approval, Senate Bill No. 93, entitled, "An Act to Provide Protection to Insectivorous Birds by Restraining Cats." This is the so-called "Cat Bill." I veto and withhold my approval from this Bill ...

Furthermore, I cannot agree that it should be the declared public policy of Illinois that a cat visiting a neighbor's yard or crossing the highway is a public nuisance. It is in the nature of cats to do a certain amount of unescorted roaming....

Also consider the owner's dilemma: To escort a cat abroad on a leash is against the nature of the cat, and to permit it to venture forth for exercise unattended into a night of new dangers is against the nature of the owner...

The problem of cat versus bird is as old as time. If we attempt to resolve it by legislation why knows but what we may be called upon to take sides as well in the age old problems of dog versus cat, bird versus bird, or even bird versus worm. In my opinion, the State of Illinois and its local governing bodies already have enough to do without trying to control feline delinquency.

For these reasons, and not because I love birds the less or cats the more, I veto and withhold my approval from Senate Bill No. 93.

Respectfully, ADLAI E. STEVENSON, Governor

[Larry W]

That's not a translation, just a different font.