When we adopted Tonka in 2013, we kept him indoors. He inappropriately urinated a few times, which I understand is a sign a cat is insecure and wants attention. (He’s never lacked for attention.) He also yowled. YOWLED! It was so bad sometimes, we’d have to put him into a bedroom and shut the door until he shut up. Eventually, we let him start going outside. The late Creamsicle wandered into our lives in 2014, and she seemed to be a good influence on Tonka (once he got used to her). Since then, Tonka has seemed much calmer and much happier. No inappropriate peeing, and no yowling. But…
A couple/few weeks ago he disappeared for a much longer time than usual. There was construction across the street, and I think the heavy equipment spooked him and he didn’t want to get near it to come home. Mrs. L.A. decided he should stay inside. We did let him out though, and he seemed fine. Then last week, a neighbor from down the block told Mrs. L.A. that Tonka was in her yard, growling at ‘her’ feral cats. Mrs. L.A. went and got him.
Now she absolutely will not let Tonka go outside. When I say we should let him out, she says I don’t care about him. ‘Do you want him to get torn up by a raccoon? Do you want an eagle to get him?’ And then there’s the issue where he was staying away from home longer, and the issue with the feral cats. Yes, there are raccoons; but I’ve only seen them face off once, a few years ago. Generally, the raccoons stay away from the house. The crows warn us when one is about, and we take Tonka inside if they’re making a ruckus or if we see a raccoon. I have a .22 air pistol to discourage the raccoons. (I just show that I can reach out and touch them; I don’t pump it enough to injure them.) Though there are coyotes in the area, we only hear them far away. In the almost-16 years I’ve lived her, I’ve seen two in the yard. Tonka is inside during the times coyotes might be near. Eagles? We had one land in a tree in the back yard. It was eating a fish. The eagles here generally eat fish. As for the feral cats… The neighbor is going to be moving soon, so she won’t be there to leave food out for them. Tonka and his nemesis, a tuxedo kitty that is someone’s pet, hate each other; but it’s all noise and no fighting. I’m sure the interactions with the feral cats don’t go any farther, and Tonka has shown no signs of a fight since he lost a fang in 2014.
I think keeping Tonka inside is making him depressed and neurotic. Mrs. L.A. says he was an indoor cat when we got him. (We got him from a shelter, which got him from a shelter. There’s no telling his living arrangements before that.) Yesterday, Tonka peed a little on the new scratching board I made. Then he almost pissed in my shoes, but I caught him in time. The yowling, and now the inappropriate pissing, is making Mrs. L.A. very angry with him. I think all of this can be solved simply by letting him roam during the day. She refuses.
I adopted two declawed bengals from a couple who could no longer put up with them peeing on the carpets and wall while they were both away for a week due to their work. When I got them they had never been outdoors, but I started letting them out into my fenced in yard and they loved it. They learned that racoons where not to be messed with and I have even seen them hanging with them while they ate their food (now I don’t leave food out for them). They have their shots and I don’t worry too much about them getting into fights with feral cats, they seem to know that they are no match for them and are fairly submissive when I see them around. The cats have since learned to climb my fence and roam the streets while I am at work on sunny day. In the winter time they howl and cry to get out, but then I just toss them into a snow bank and let them figure out that they need to come back in. I don’t have eagles, but I have thought about owls and don’t think they are a real issue.
Your cat may have started as an outdoor cat but now he is definitely an indoor/outdoor cat now, there is no going back since you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Unless of course you like coming home to pee in some of the most unlikely places.
If you live in a dangerous area but want to enable a cat or other pet to go outside, one solution is to install an outside fence or enclosure. The well-designed fences pivot when a cat tries to climb over the top.
My cat, Cosmo (RIP), was an indoor cat for 18 years. He had slipped out the door a few times over the years but I was pretty staunch about him not going outside. At some point he started peeing in the house, including all over my bookshelf and my bed I took him to the vet and they couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him so I tried some kind of mood stabilizer (for him not me) and even a plug in thingy that supposedly emits calming chemicals. NOPE.
Finally my bf suggested letting him outside for a short amount of time each day. I was terrified at the thought but that was the only way I was going to be able to keep him. Once I started doing that he never peed anywhere but in his litter box.
Some cats can have much better lives if they can enjoy the outdoors. Outdoor cats have much lower life expectancy than indoor cats.
I would use a leash, catio or cat tree in front of a screen window/door. He could also perhaps use some more playtime with a laser pointer or other toys, especially toys that tire him out.
I don’t think it’s dangerous for him. He doesn’t go after the raccoons, and he’s the biggest cat in the neighbourhood so even if he did get into a fight, I think he’d be OK. I got a harness and a leash for him when we first started letting him out, but he’s so fluffy it wouldn’t stay on him. As far as a catio, the only real option would be to screen in the porch. This is problematic because of the layout and the size. Also, I’m looking at selling off stuff to pay my bills. No way I could afford a catio.
If he’s a big lad he’s probably safe from most raptors*, but there have been coyotes spotted in your specific area so I wouldn’t be 100% confident if I were you. Also cars don’t discriminate and free roaming dogs can be an issue if there are any around.
An enclosure would seem a sound compromise - Tonka gets out time and the Mrs. gets some reassurance that he is safe.
Eagles and Great Horned Owls, particularly the latter, will take cats, but they’re less likely to go after a hefty one. Though you can never be 100% sure if other prey becomes momentarily scarce.
Too late to edit, but you can probably scratch eagles as a threat. Just checked and it doesn’t look like you get many golden eagles west of the Cascades. Bald eagles shouldn’t typically go after a mammal that big - they like fish, carrion and water fowl mostly.
Regarding the level of threat with cat being outside, yeah, there are dangers, but the cat made it this far in life, ISTM they have developed the necessary skill for survival.
I am of the opinion that the choice is very binary, a cat is either an indoor cat 100%, or a cat that you let go out. It’s really unfair to try to impose an indoor only life on a cat that is accustomed to being outdoors.
I think I would let him out. But you also have to live with your wife. Maybe only let him out while youre out there supervising. I spent way too long fretting over my cats going out. Harnesses never worked. When I’m out on the deck they step out and explore. That seems to be enough for them. As soon as I stand up to go in they run in the door.
Good-luck.
Sounds like the neighbor lady did not want Tonka in her yard. Does she have a vote?
I don’t like the idea of letting cats out because it’s dangerous for them AND because lots of neighbors don’t want cats in their yard. Since Tonka did better indoors when you had a second cat, sounds to me like your next visit should be the local animal shelter/pet rescue.
A simpler option might be to install a cat window crate. Assuming the weather permits you opening a window for much of the day, these can be a wonderful and safe way for your feline friend to get some outside time.
I would tend to let him roam though but (and this is an enormous “but”), is it more important for you to keep your cat happy or your partner?
Oh man, that sucks. Sorry for the unhelpful thought. Most of mine don’t open either and in the heat of a Nebraska summer without AC, it’s a sweaty, miserable pain.
Having lost a number of cats to dogs, cars and unknown, I’m firmly in the “Don’t let your cats outside” camp. Especially since one of my recent cats that would dart outside every chance he got eventually disappeared on me.
Your cat doesn’t have to lose a fight to be hurt by getting in a fight - has he been tested and vaccinated for FeLV? He is going to lose in a fight with any dog larger than him, and any car at all.
In addition, cats are very destructive to local small animal populations. (of course, since there’s a feral population down the street, Tonka is probably not going to be any greater threat than is already there)
Have you taken him to a vet since he started yowling and peeing? That should be your first step if you haven’t already.
Has either you or Mrs. L.A. changed routines lately?
Outdoor hazards are very variable by area. I live on a street where every third house has an indoor/outdoor cat (including our own fuzzcat) … yet the only animal I know to have been taken out by an outdoor hazard since we lived here was next-door’s dog.
On the other hand we don’t have coyotes. Or eagles.
Was the “didn’t come home for a while” incident a disappearance of more than a day? Because I wouldn’t necessarily say that less than a day times were all that long. I would also say - talk to the neighbor. How are the ferals doing? How often do *they *get taken out by outdoor hazards?
Safety versus happiness is a tradeoff. If I were in your position I would probably be leaning towards “we seem to be trading off a small safety increase for a large happiness decrease”. But that’s not necessarily going to convince your wife.
How’s Tonka’s relationship with New Feline Overlord?
I’m guessing about four hours. He’s usually gone for a couple of hours or less. As I said, there was unusual activity in the neighbourhood. As for the feral cats, a couple of them were taken out by raccoons when they were very young kittens.
I took him to the vet and they couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him so I tried some kind of mood stabilizer (for him not me) and even a plug in thingy that supposedly emits calming chemicals. NOPE.
