Re: Outdoor Cats
From: Elizabeth Stevenson (tamgoddesshome.com)
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 10:18:01 -0600 (MDT)
This is really thorny. I hope you can get somewhere with this, since we
haven't, really!

We've had a long term problem with cats, but mostly people object to their
poop, since we live in such a small urban setting. Two members specifically,
had outdoor cats that they were feeding outdoors. Naturally, other cats came
to the feast as well. One household moved away, but one remains. She also
happens to be my best friend and next door neighbor. She absolutely will not
change her methods.

My own cat is an outdoor cat, but only by necessity. She was a stray who
adopted me, and has never been able to use a litterbox. We have a new
kitten, and he will be an indoor cat.

As for making cats indoor animals, I think it will be difficult at best to
achieve. You could, however, make it a rule that all new animals will be
kept indoors, and only taken outside on a leash. We have this rule for dogs,
and it works. Eventually, all the animals who were brought to cohousing will
be replaced by animals that have been trained to be indoors. People have not
added any more outdoor cats to the community for many years, and we have had
a decrease by attrition.

But you do have a more compelling case, and perhaps you can get your
neighbors to achieve consensus on the fact that you live in an especially
sensitive ecosystem that will be devastated by cats running free. I
understand that in Australia, cats are almost exclusively indoor animals. I
don't think it is a nation of miserably unhappy cats. One of your
community's tasks will be to get these people to stop anthropomorphizing
their cats and consider the health of the ecosystem as more important than
whether fluffy can mark his territory every day. Any cat that can use a
litterbox can be kept indoors, however unhappy they may be. Maybe if you try
it for a month(even cats can get used to a new routine, methinks) and are
successful, you could convince the community to try it.

As for the uninvited cats, I just don't know. Getting the owners to keep
them away would probably be impossible. But you could take the strays to the
pound.

Sorry this is a bit disorganized.
-- 
Liz Stevenson
Southside Park Cohousing
Sacramento California

http://members.home.net/southsideparkcohousing/
tamgoddess [at] home.com

> 
> Do other communities have any policies about cats being outdoors.  I think I
> checked this in the archives and read some discussion of problems, but
> didn't see any real solutions.
> 
> We're trying to come up with an answer.  We're thinking of making use of an
> invisible fence to give cats a place to run.  This would give the lizards
> some safety in other parts of the community.  Apparently when we started
> moving in about a year ago, we had lots of lizards and now we don't.  Cats
> are being held responsible and I think there is good reason to do so.  Does
> anyone know if these invisible fences work for cats.  I've heard they work
> for dogs, but not for cats.
> 
> At various times, my mother and brother also made a large cage for their
> cats.  Neither of them used the cage very much although neither my mother or
> brother are really sure why not.
> 
> Another proposal is simply to say that all pets (including cats) must be
> supervised. Apparently in some places, people do walk their cats on leases.
> 
> Another problem is that there are cats who don't belong to anyone here who
> wander over.  So no matter what we do with our cats, other cats will still
> be around.  
> 
> As you might expect this is an emotional topic for some people as they don't
> want their cats restricted and unhappy.
> 
> A slightly related question:  I have a cat who loves going outdoors.  She
> has also brought me several lizards.  For her own safety and the safety of
> the lizards, I've been keeping her inside for the last 2 1/2 weeks.  I was
> hoping she would get used to this idea, but she still meows to go outside
> lots.  Does anyone have any tips on how to help an indoor/outdoor cat become
> and indoor cat.  Perhaps I should buy a lease for her.
> 
> Could people say how they've solved the outdoor cat problem?  Or what
> they've done to lessen the problem.
> 
> Becky Schaller
> Sonora Cohousing
> Tucson, Arizona

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