Uncategorized

Dudley is obsessed.

46 Comments

.

Obsessed with the great outdoors…

.

.

And it’s plethora of feathered inhabitants.

.

.

It was my original intent to keep him an indoor boy… no fleas, ticks or fear of being run over. We live in a rural area and there’s not much traffic, but we’re also on one of the only straight sections of our road and people fly by when trying to pass. We lost a cat that way and it was heartbreaking.

.

.

All our previous kitties have been indoor/outdoor.

.

.

But I’m thinking how pissed he’ll be if we start traveling again and he’s stuck inside after a taste of freedom.

.

.

Thoughts?

.

46 thoughts on “Dudley is obsessed.”

  3. I saw somewhere an enclosure by a window that allows him out but is contained…it looks like a cage. I’m not sure how practical that is but it would give him access to the outdoors without being ‘free’ so to speak.

    I’d be inclined to keep him indoors, too…Let us know what you decide.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Some of our cats were roamers which leaves them open to predation around here. . Others stayed close to the house which was fine. Maybe we’ll test his personality and go from there.

      Like

      Reply

  4. That’s a hard one, Rivergirl. I would let the cat out because I hate keeping animals cooped up…rather a shorter life but a richer one, is my thinking about myself and any pets in my orbit. I lost a few hamsters and budgies that way, as a child 🤣. But I totally understand and support those who decide otherwise, to keep their beloved pets safe.

    Deb

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. It’s hard to decide, cats are naturally curious creatures. But after my experiences with Charlie getting hurt, not to mention the vet bills that come with it. He’s become a permanent indoor feline, and when I finally buy a house, I’m going to build him a catio. An enclosure that allows him to be outside without actually being “outside.” Only because I worry about all the things you worry about, and after the mockingbird murder incident, not worry about him eating diseased feathered creatures.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. It’s a tricky one. I guess only you can decide how safe he’ll be. I think cats are meant to roam outside. They are natural hunters and being out keeps their claws in check (rather than the sofa)!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Indoors is so much safer. Our last cat was an indoor cat. I’d take him out on the patio once in a while so he could experience the outdoors. I’d keep a close watch on him, though, and the funny thing is he’d always try to eat grass. When I’d tell him to stop he’d run to the door as though saying, “Fine, I didn’t want to be out here anyway!”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Indoor vote here. It’s hard to be the bad guy sometimes, but Dudley will be safer and the birds in the area will be safer. In some ways, rural areas may be more fraught for kitties — more predators. His desire to go outside will eventually wane. Good luck!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. We had 3 cats ~ 2, then 1. We took them outside . . . on a leash. If they wanted to go out, they would walk to the door. if we were able to accommodate them, we got a leash and took them out. But we got them as kittens so it was pretty easy to get them used to the leash. Getting a cat to cooperate would be more iffy.

    Pluses: No squashed kitty on the road. No run-ins with other cats, raccoons, coyotes, etc. No dead squirrels, mice, snakes, etc.

    They also had screen porches and kitty doors if they wanted the outside when we weren’t around. If we didn’t want them to use the kitty door, we could slide a panel down and close it off.

    Where we live now, the HOA rules preclude pet owners from letting pets outside unsupervised, so if we ever replace Tigger (as if he could be replaced), s/he’ll be an indoor kitty trained to a leash.

    BTW: The leash training paid off when we traveled and took the cats with us since we could give them some fresh air at rest stops, etc.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. I let my guy out and he is no trouble. Even knocks to come back in. We lost Emmy to the highway and it terrified me to let him out. But he runs to the back of the house away from the loud traffic. So I no longer worry as much. He’s ok.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. All three of the cats I’ve had have been strictly indoor. Too much crap that can happen out there…. especially since two of them were black cats. I think your main concern that he’d be unhappy about being confined inside for several weeks once the great outdoors were opened to him is a valid one…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. Agnes goes outdoors when the weather is nice only because it’s hard to keep her inside when she’s determined to go out and she’s so completely miserable when we make her stay inside for extended periods of time. If it wasn’t for the fact that she starts getting bald spots from being cooped up in the house, I wouldn’t let her out. I don’t let any of her kids out, even though they’re 2 years old now.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. Both of our cats are indoor/outdoor. Mostly outdoor. They just come in to eat and get a quick pat once in a while. They spend most of their time killing every pest that comes into the yard – moles, voles, rats, mice. I draw the line at birds, though, since I stock up the bird feeders and I won’t put up with too much of that. Still, the other day they caught a mourning dove and I thought, “Well, they’re stupid anyway”. I mean, honestly, we have a history with mourning doves doing stupid things around our house. One tried to build a nest over the front door and only had about 2″ to work with. Only took about 3 days to find eggs smashed all over the porch. When we were cat-less a few years ago, we went to the local animal control to adopt and when we told them the cat would be indoor/outdoor they would not adopt it to us. They literally all said “You can’t let your cats out. They’ll never come back.” – she was completely serious. My cats must be boomarang cats, because you can’t get rid of them if you tried.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We’ve had cats that roamed well off the property. One even took long weekends away….. but we’ve never had one leave for good. We have however, had them attacked by predators and killed by speeding cars. It’s a tough choice.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  20. Maybe get a mesh enclosure of some sort? There’s cat runs available – but its visibility may impact the visitor numbers…which isn’t a bad thing if they’ve become over reliant on you because they’d be impacted too if you went away. You love him, but cats are natural born killers – they kill for fun. There’s an issue with too many ferals killing our wildlife in Australia because they breed out of control. Give him some freedom to ease your conscience but set very firm boundaries.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment