Originally Posted by markwm (Post 10729292)

Because if you love animals why would you keep them imprisoned in your home? That is very cruel and totally selfish.

Originally Posted by markwm (Post 10729686)

How do you know they are contented? Just because they become fat and lazy and don't do too much?

The shelter analogy does not hold true: they are for a specific purpose; they are not meant as long term housing for the cats.

Originally Posted by Poppy girl (Post 10730593)

.... keep him with the his mummy he would never survive without us.

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 10730609)

I agree 110% with everything you say except:
He's a cat, he's tenacious, intelligent, and adaptable. I'm sorry to have to break this news, with a good owner, he'd do just fine without you. :sneaky:

Originally Posted by Poppy girl (Post 10730621)

Nooo, he hates other people jumps under the sofa or bed covers, bless him he is the child I never had ...anyways he is staying with me until death do us part and it won't be because of road kill or a coyote

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 10730723)

We've lost two in the past year. One to failing kidneys/ old age, and another to anticipated heart failure (his annual checkups usually reported a noticeable heart murmur), but it was still a shock to lose him at the age of only seven. :(

Originally Posted by Poppy girl (Post 10730730)

Oh I am so sorry to hear that :( they become our little friends....I have heard and read that it is better to lower thier level of http://www.felinecrf.org/phosphorus.htm

Originally Posted by Poppy girl (Post 10730621)

Nooo :lol: he hates other people jumps under the sofa or bed covers, bless him he is the child I never had ;)...anyways he is staying with me until death do us part and it won't be because of road kill or a coyote :)

Originally Posted by Michael (Post 10729692)

I didn't say they were contented but seem contented. But you on the other hand, know that keeping a cat indoors is cruel.

Originally Posted by markwm (Post 10730831)

Yes, I do: keeping any animal locked up for your entertainment is cruel and selfish. What purpose does it serve other than to do something for you? And the notion that you think they seem contented is risible: how on earth can you know how an animal feels? Do you speak cat? Are you telepathic? Are they contented the same way as a convict is contented on death row? They are just used to their cage, nothing more.

And, yes, letting them out is risky. They could get hurt but they can, at least, hunt and explore and play the way that nature intended (well, not quite but that's another fun thread) and when they come inside it's because they choose to, not because you locked them in. How would you like being treated like that?

Originally Posted by Tegwyn (Post 10730797)

As someone that has spent many years both here in the US and overseas volunteering for the Humane Society, I assure you a pet in a loving home, whether kept indoors or otherwise is far better off than in the home of someone that discards them when they become inconvenient. I have seen far too many abandoned animals put to sleep after their stint in the cage at the Humane Society simply because the owners moved on and there is no chance of rehoming them. What is even more tragic is that no-kill facilities now make it even harder for people to turn in their discarded pets there as they are already overloaded with the pets they already have. People walk away from their responsibility too easily and that is truly a disgrace.



No doubt these very folk go ahead and get another pet at the next location and keep it until that next inconvenience occurs. Anyone that takes the time to interact with animals will find pets do bond with their owners and perhaps that needs to be considered as more important than stressing whether that animal can roam the streets.

Originally Posted by Sally Redux (Post 10730816)

This will make me even more unpopular, but I feel sorry for most pets. Who would honestly want to be neutered, de-clawed, tricked into thinking another species is your pack, kept in a cage, ridden with a bit in your mouth, or whatever? Let's be honest, it's for the humans' benefit.

Originally Posted by Michael (Post 10730839)

I guess I'll have to concede since you are obviously the expert and must have the brain of a cat.

Originally Posted by Tegwyn (Post 10730797)

.... People walk away from their responsibility too easily and that is truly a disgrace.

No doubt these very folk go ahead and get another pet at the next location and keep it until that next inconvenience occurs. Anyone.