That is so effin’ cute. The picture and the idea of making him a Purple Heart.
I sure wish that would work for mine. There seems to be no leash, harness, or kitty-bondage-gear that they cannot wiggle out of.
I’m also sorry to hear about your kitty.
And while I do come down on the side of the “keep your damn cat from howling outside my window at 3am” crowd, I do it with a caviot. When one of our neighbors wanderin inside/outside cats became a problem like that I went out and bought a bb gun. A pump one so that I could go from “sting you on the rear” to “go right through you” if the problem wasn’t resolved. Then I walked over to said neighbors house and explained to them that the cat was keeping me up all night and what measures I was prepared to take. Haven’t had a problem since. I wasn’t nasty about it, but just explained that I needed my sleep and that while I would try to just sting the kitty the first few times to discourage it from coming around if that didn’t work I’d be much less kind. So if at all possible, do try and find the home of the irritating little shit and talk to the owners. Let them know the cat is a problem before going all Mad Max on the little thing.
I hope your kitty comes through it…Do they make those electric fence things for cats? I’d try to find some way of keeping him a bit closer to home.
And, on the other hand, I have a young male, Cuervo , who has been fixed, and yet still enjoys the company of his girlfriend. The poor, used up little gray toy on these pictures is affectionately known as “Cuervo’s bitch”. He drags her all over the house, and every so often, climbs aboard.
**ForumBot, ** I’m sorry for your cat, but I’m on the side of cats being indoor animals. Of course, where I live, we have coyotes, running around so the stray cat population tends to be small, and somewhat temporary.
Thanks for clearing that up, ForumBot. I’m so relieved he’s doing okay so far! I honestly couldn’t tell from your OP whether he’d lived or died. 
Give him a hug for me - my three cats Mina, Sophie and Therblig send their best too. Well, they would if they weren’t all slothing about as usual.
Now that I know he’s okay, I’m gonna put my oar in with the rest of the folks entreating you to keep your cat inside. Here’s a story. My cat Choie (hence my screenname) was a stray who ended up on my family’s doorstep back in 1983. We took her in, and yes, she was largely indoors but would often go out roaming in our extremely suburban neighborhood - little traffic, no wackos with rifles, just lots of grass and squirrels. She would whine and moan whenever we wouldn’t let her outdoors (if it was raining, say), and it was hard to resist.
Well, a couple of years after we first got her, I was driving along a nearby road when I saw a black and white cat lying dead in the gutter. As little traffic as there was in my immediate neighborhood, this particular street was a fairly busy area for cars. I didn’t really process it until I’d passed it by, but when I did I realized it looked just like Choie. And when I’d left the house, Choie had been outside as usual. My heart froze and I continued on my way home, praying I was mistaken. (I couldn’t stomach turning back … what can I say, I was only 17 or so at the time.) Anyway, I reached my driveway, got out, started calling for her. Usually whenever I’d call her name, I’d hear her little bell collar tinkle as she’d bound her way back to me. But there was only silence.
Hoping against hope that my mom had brought Choie back inside while I was gone, I tore my way through the house, yelling her name, growing more certain she was dead. Finally I reached my bedroom where Choie lay sleeping in what I’d call a “cho nest,” i.e. a circular impression on my pillow. Thereupon I collapsed into hysterical tears, falling onto my bed, hugging her and promising I’d never let anything happen to her. (She eyed me suspiciously, as cats are wont to do with such vulgar displays of emotion.)
After that, Choie remained indoors whenever I had the power to prevent it. (My parents weren’t as assiduous.) And Choie lived to be nearly 20 – a happy, healthy cat, with plenty of toys, window boxes and other cats to keep her company.
I wish the U.S. were like Britain, which seems positively bucolic and much more cat-friendly. But the U.S. isn’t. From the sound of your neighborhood, it’s way too dangerous for a cat to be roaming. Unhappy he may be for a while (I recommend Feliway spray, a great natural product to help calm nervous or unhappy animals), but in the end it comes to this: do you want a live cat or dead cat?
Hee hee! I got curious and clicked through your photos, stopping to howl at this one.
He’s gorgeous.
The General is a beautiful kitty.
I loved the pictures of Cuervo and his pussy too. 
Wow! The general looks a lot like Mr. Spock!
I too have to chime in. All of my cats came from the streets and one in particular at first was not too thrilled about being kept indoors. But I held my ground and eventually he got used to it. It really didn’t take long at all and years later he is actually afraid of being outdoors!
I hope your kitty gets well, please consider keeping him inside. He’ll get over it and it is so much safer and healthier.
Damn, dude, I know you shot Billy, but that’s cold.
Forumrobot, sorry about your cat. What happened was just wrong under any but the most extenuating circumstances.
I mean ForumBot.
Sorry about the cat, but that is just nasty thing to do.
Cats should be outdoor animals, fixed or not (mine always were)
But spending (upto) $1300 that you don’t have for a cat? That one I couldn’t imagine. Just pay to have the thing put down and then bury it in your back yard. Maybe insensitive, but heck - cats are cheap. People give the things away.
My brother makes it his personal mission to kill all cats he comes in contact with outside of someone’s property. He will run them over in the car, shoot them if they are on his property, shoot them from his car if he sees one outside while traveling. He keeps a pellet gun in his car for such occasions.
He looks at it like this, a cat is designed to kill everything it comes in contact with, rabbits, birds, etc. My brother loves birds and bunnies, they deserve to live but a cat belongs inside a house. Cats that roam outside are murderous creatures that deserve to die, and he will distribute justice.
Just as well, then, that geography will prevent me from bumping into your brother and rearranging his physiognomy with a claw hammer.
Ask your jerk of a brother how he gets from “I look at it like this” to “…Therefore, I have the right to kill any cat I like, by whatever means I see fit.” 'Cos there seems to be a link missing there.
Who the fuck made him the cat judge and jury of the world? He’ll “distribute justice” my ass. One day I hope he gets HIS justice as many states have laws on the books recognizing animal abuse as felony and misdemeanor crimes.
I agree that cats do belong indoors or if outdoors on a leash BUT that doesn’t give anyone the right to hurt or kill them if their idiot owners let them out.
Don’t punish the animal, they behave on instinct. They are not responsible for killing .
I don’t understand people that claim to have love for one type of animal and yet despise others? I’m a lover of all creatures (well except humans!)
Maybe you shouldn’t have animals. Taking care of an animal is a responsibility meaning if they get sick, you pay for it. In my mind, if there’s a chance for recovery, you pay for it. You euthanize when it’s in the best interest of the animal, not for your pockets.
I can’t stand when people won’t cough up the bucks for their pets well being. WTF do they do when they need care for themselves ? Oh then they somehow can afford it. 
Cats should NOT be outdoor animals. Try googling for some info and learn a little something. Cats lifespan increase dramatically when kept indoors.
Fucking ridiculous. Cats didn’t evolve into lean mean hunting machines to spend their days without claws cooped up in a house. All animals are by nature ‘outdoor’ animals. Pointing out that domestic cats have been bred by humans for thousands of years doesn’t change that. So-called cat-lovers are showing their beloved utmost disrespect in keeping them prisoner. If you live in a built-up area where it would be unsuitable to let a cat outside, try not buying a cat in the first place.
As for longevity, you are assuming that cats would prefer a longer life stuck inside over a shorter life catching animals, climbing trees and sunbathing.
That said, I don’t think indoor-cat owners are fuckwits. Not when there’s Icerigger’s brother around, and Icerigger himself (by association).
The last paragraph is kinda “grading on the curve” though, isn’t it?
I’m fortunate enough to live somewhere where my cats can spend their days outside if they like. They’re all smart enough (so far) to stay out of the way of traffic, they help keep the local rodent population from death by starvation or old age, and, as per your second paragraph, probably have a much higher quality of life than my wife’s auntie’s pampered twosome, who spend most of their life indoors and are kinda psychotic.
Your brother sounds like he needs evaluation for sociopathic tendencies. Does he wet the bed and start fires, too?