# Dear TVeblen **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309 "2004-07-09T16:32:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shaolinrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Shaolinrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaolinrabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309/61 "2004-07-10T20:24:57Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > **Shaolin** , the big difference between keeping a cat strictly indoors and keeping a horse stabled all the time is that the average home is plenty big enough for a cat to get enough exercise to keep it healthy. The average barn, or more accurately, the average stall, is decidedly not big enough to give a horse adequate exercise for good health. Our house (just the finished part, not counting the basement) is roughly equivalent to a five-acre pasture for the cat. If you had a 5-acre barn where your horse had free roam and plenty of sunlight, and wanted to keep it stabled all the time for safety reasons, I’d say go for it. I agree. I’m certainly not about to start a movement for people walking their cats. I just find people’s perceptions totally interesting. For example, I think it’s somewhat cruel to keep a bird in a cage, but I’m sure bird owners have a whole list of good reasonings and such to go along with that. We should have an animal habitats thread in GD. I think it’d be pretty sweet. I don’t really want to rehash arguments here or whatever, I’m just pointing out that there are neat aspects here that would make for good discussion. Excellent, **porcupine** , who else has one? **astro** I worked with a dog trainer for a couple years who specialized in violent dogs and made a good living undoing the damage owners had done to their dogs. Your assertion in that thread was beyond idiotic. Some dogs, of any breed, are prone to violence due to mental issues they were born with, like any animal, but the vast, vast majority, if properly cared for and trained can be wonderful, non-threatening pets. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309/62 "2004-07-11T01:39:34Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Well, I guess you could construct some kind of elaborate outdoor caged in yard-with a chain link fence, and chain link roof-kind of like a batting cage…but all that just for a cat? Well, sure, why not, if you had the room, the money, and an agreeable zoning board? That’s one of my hit-the-lottery fantasies: When I build my dream horse farm, one room of my house would be the cat room – full of neat stuff to climb on and scratch and hide in. There’d be a catdoor to an outside play area, screened in at the sides and top, big enough to run in, with interesting plants to sniff and chew, sand to dig in instead of a litterbox, and comfy sunning spots. My seven cats would no doubt love it, once they got over the horror of The Great Unknown Outdoors. Since barring a lottery hit I’m stuck here in my townhouse condo just off a busy road, the kitties stay in. With four floors and the connecting stairs to race up, down, through, and around, they get all the exercise they need. Most of them flee and hide when the door is opened. To **Shaolinrabbit** : You said > [@](#): > > For example, if you owned a horse, all of those reasons for not letting it go outside would be perfectly valid, but if you told someone you kept the horse in the stable for those reasons, they’d call you an idiot. As **CrazyCatLady** pointed out so well, the cat and horse cases are not comparable. The reasons for keeping cats indoors have very little relevance to the pros and cons of stabling horses. As it happens, [I own two horses](http://community.webshots.com/photo/735286/128041607qXSSvk), and make my decisions about their care based on their individual needs. The 22-year-old chestnut, whom I’ve owned for 12 years, is spending the summer at my friend’s farm in New Hampshire, a two-hour drive away. I miss him terribly, but it’s better for his health. I’ve just, in fact, returned from a visit to bring him a refill on his arthritis supplement and to lavish attention on him, which he inhales as greedily as his treats. The 13-year-old bay lives in a boarding barn 10 minutes away, where I do most of his care myself, including seeing to his regular turnout. For both horses, I willingly inconvenience myself in many ways so that their lives are as happy and healthy as our circumstances permit. Is it the perfect setup? Nope. Would I do things differently if I could? You betcha! But the best I can do as it stands is pretty damn good, and they both thrive. As to keeping a dog indoors all the time… depends on the dog, the owner, the place they live, and so forth. Even a fat little city-apartment pug needs daily walkies. Even a sheepdog living on a farm needs shelter from the weather. The sheepdog would be miserable in the pug’s life; the pug might or might not thrive on the farm. I happen to like dogs, but I wouldn’t own one because my particular circumstances wouldn’t permit me to keep the kind of dog I like (big, shaggy, playful) in the kind of milieu it would require. I was going to write more, but [Sylvia](http://community.webshots.com/photo/782975/784354) wants attention. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309/63 "2004-07-11T01:42:23Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > **Guin** , I’ve seriously considered building an outdoor run for the bully cat when we buy our next house. (The weenie cat flatly refuses to have anything to do with being outdoors, so it would be an utter waste for her.) Ideally, I’d like to have it attached to the house, with a little cat door, so she could come in and out as she pleased. Hey, if **Dr.J** can build his Monster Kitchen, I think he can budget in a little extra for my cat run and waist-high dog tub. OH hey, if you can do it-go for it! I guess I should have added that for most people, that isn’t always feasible. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309/64 "2004-07-11T06:54:50Z")
Oh yeah, I just remembered [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=263118) little gem. Classy, that was. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309/65 "2004-07-11T12:24:17Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > I call you a troll, because that’s how you’ve been acting. From Arnold Winkelried, board administrato: > **[FAQ - guidelines for posting at the SDMB](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=106617)** > > SDMB registration agreement as of 30 March 2005 > [@](#): > > Q: What should I do when I see a user “trolling” at the SDMB? > A: Do **not** publicly accuse someone of trolling at the SDMB. Use the “Report this post to a moderator” facility below the “trolling” post. Do not reply to the troll in any way in the thread, that will only encourage the troublemaker. > > Q: What if I’m not sure if the person is a troll? > A: Treat the person as a user in good standing. Respond to the post if you have something useful to add, otherwise say nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309/66 "2004-07-11T17:19:42Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > From Arnold Winkelried, board administrato: > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=106617](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=106617) He asked why his post had been closed, and it had been closed because of "shit-disturbing " or “stirring the pot.” I didn’t come out of the blue with this accusation. Still, in all, if I’m against the rules, so be it. I’ll take my buttwhipping like a man. Hey **Lib** , isn’t there a rule a little higher up on “trying to be a junior Mod?” dubious: Practice what you preach. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309/67 "2004-07-11T19:42:12Z")
I expressed no opinion whatsoever, so you must be accusing Arnold of junior modding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-tveblen/254309.md?page=3)