JinxyCat

Hi all,

I'm genuinely curious - we have two lovely burmese (smaller cats) which we are hoping to bring over with us from London, if the move goes ahead.

I'm reading about having to make them indoor-only cats, whereas now they roam outside relatively freely.

What would the dangers in California (Santa Monica and surrounding suburbs) be that are so concerning?

I'm thinking that my cats already navigate London's foxes (not known for their meekness) and other cats/dogs in the neighbourhood - as well as busy (ish) roads.

They are scaredy-cats, so I'm thinking if there was anything like a coyote (would you have coyotes in residential areas?) they'd head inside sharpish...

Happy to be educated - currently just a little confused! Thanks for reading

Pulaski

Not sure about CA, but over here on the east coast, louts appear to delight in driving over them. I see more dead cats on the road each year here than I would in more than twenty years in the UK.

We have cats three have always been indoor cats, but we got a couple for outdoor pest contol (applied ecology ). We have a fair sized piece of land for them to roam on, and we live at the blind end of a cul de sac, but even they come in to the sunroom or garage at night and there are no cat flaps.

ChocolateBabz

In Texas:

Heartworm spread by mosquito bites (can get preventative medication)
Rabies (get them vaccinated) - seems like an extreme example but there was a lady in front of me in the vet whos cat had been attacked by a racoon and had 20 puncture wounds and wasn't up to date with it's shots. The vet told her not to let it out for 6 months under any circumstances, watch for odd behaviour and if it bit anyone to seek medical treatment immediately
Fleas & Ticks
Alligators
Snakes
Truck Drivers
Traps
Poison (often chemicals used on lawns are not safe for cats)

Two friends have had more than one outdoor cat dissapear.

Nutmegger

Not extreme at all. If that happened in CT, the owner would have two options: the cat could be quarantined for 30 days (at the owner's expense, of course) or euthanized and the head sent to the state lab for testing. Anyone who had been in contact with the cat would have to be vaccinated for rabies. No-one should ever let that rabies protection lapse!

JinxyCat

Ok, thanks for the replies so far. I'll definitely get them vaccinated for rabies then - as it wasn't on my 'to do' list as it wasn't officially required.

We still need to figure out where we will live, so I'll keep thinking about this.

Katsu

Where we are in San Francisco the threat is from Coyote and Raccoons. We can hear the Coyote howling at night and during their breeding season rangers put out signs warning people to keep pets indoors or on a leash.

Mountain lions (Cougars) are also native to the Bay Area and much of CA.

Pulaski

It isn't? It is mandatory to have cats and dogs vaccinated in every state I've lived in, and I had assumed that it is mandatory in all states.

Katsu

Definitely had to have our cat vaccinated against Rabies for our CA move - think at least 3 months before. To move them back to the Uk it's necessary to get a pet passport and evidence of up to date vaccinations to avoid quarantine.

Marc_ely

Rabies vaccine is required but doens't cost much and your local Vet will have stocks of it. I think ours were about 38-quid each.

We brought two older (12yrs) cats with us. We re-homed our young (1yr old) cat as she was a real outdoors cat and we weren't sure whether we would let the cats outside.

We have decided not to let them outside at all. We have a large 3 car garage and they sleep there overnight and have the run of the house in the day. As they are getting on a bit I don't think they particularly mind.

They show few signs of trying to get out. A couple of times they have escaped but haven't gone far. Presumably the smells etc here are vastly different to the UK and that spooks them a bit.

Keeping them in is a bit of a pain as you have to remember to keep the bugscreens shut on doors etc.

In 6 months I haven't seen a single cat wandering around the streets. It just isn't done. Whether that's because of the threat of Coyotes I don't know. They do roam suburban streets at night but you don't see them in the day!

md95065

California state law does not require vaccination for cats (although the Department of Public Health strongly recommends it).

There are, however, some places that have local regulations requiring cats to be licensed and some of them require rabies vaccinations.

Bottom line is that any outdoor cat should be vaccinated.

JinxyCat

Thanks for all the responses, I had read the import guidelines and they said that a rabies vaccine wasn't required - but I'd rather get them done so will ask the vet when we next take them. Thanks for the tips about the three month rule, I hadn't seen that anywhere.

audio

Main problem here (Florida) are snakes, raccoons and gators. Being on a river we occasionally have a gator wandering around and the same for snakes but my main concern are racoons. They roam around normally in pairs digging up turtle eggs and rummaging in trash cans that some owners forget to put a lid on. They are pretty nasty by all accounts so when my dog goes out for a late night pee I always go with him, armed. My cat though seems quite happy to stay out hunting (he is fed well BTW)

Bluegrass Lass

If people see a cat roaming the streets in a suburban neighborhood, they are going to assume it's a stray more often than not..esp where I'm from in KY. Many people do not like, and nor do they want, a cat on their property and will call animal control. Cats do not have a right to roam in the US, which means your pets need to stay on your land only - if they don't, you open yourself up to complaints from neighbors and your cat could be picked up and taken to the city shelter. If you insist on letting your cats roam, then you most definitely need to re-register your microchip here in the US so you can be notified if they have been picked up.

The best of both worlds, in my opinion, is to build a 'catio' for your cats (google for pics of them). Gives them a taste of the outdoor world, and keeps them in a controlled environment - esp when you are in a suburban area. But I would still keep them inside at night, to keep them safe from raccoons and coyotes.

markonline1

I'm in California, albeit 400 miles north of where you will be, and our cat stays out for the night. The critters round here don't seem to bother her.

mollykins74

Hi

I have two British Cats that now live in California. I have a snow spotted bengal age 7 and a British Short hair age 6, both are outdoor cats. Mine have been here 3 years and have had no issues. As long as they are micro chipped and up to date on all vaccines they are good to go outdoors. You have to have all this in place for their EU passports anyway. Depending on which CA county you live in you may need to get a pet licence, not all counties require them. The law states though that all rabies vaccines must be kept up to date.

I live in rural Lafayette in the SF Bay area, my cats have been fine, we do get coyotes around but my cats are smart and very good at running up trees. Only problem I have had really is my bengal fighting with next doors cat, but that happened in England too.