Well sure. If you locked humans inside a safe place it would probably emerge as a statistical fact that they live longer as well. Cats aren't kids. They are subject to risks like any other living thing, but they can largely take care of themselves.
Examples please?
What does a cat need claws for to sit around and eat and shit all day?
I don't understand this point. What is it about the outdoors that is supposed to kill cats? Ours is 13 years old and has roamed at will that entire time. She's fat as a basketball but still catches mice and the occasional bird. Cars are a danger, as they are to all small animals, but cats are pretty good at avoiding them.
Im not usually one to stand for animal rights or any of that nonsense but as a cat owner the thought of declawing my cat makes me sick, its something I would never even consider
I dont care if she scratched the couch or whatever, she is worth more than the stupid furniture
Super fucked to declaw an outside cat. Inside it's still fucked, but at least they won't get torn apart.
My cats destroyed my furniture at my condo. Ripped up some of the carpet. Curtains, whatever they could scratch. Tried all the tricks, had numerous scratching toys, chewed off their soft paws, and wouldn't stop scratching shit.
I moved, bought a new house, new furniture. Wife wanted them declawed but I refused.
Got a couple of these:
http://www.amazon.com/SmartCat-3832-...cratching+post
Ever since first picking the cats up and letting them grasp this thing, this is all they scratch. They freakin love them. Set one right next to the couch. My new couches don't even have a mark after 6 months.
Assuming you couldn't take care of them, would you choose to declaw or end their life?
I can't imagine a situation where de-clawing a cat would magically give me the ability to take care of it. If I can't take care of it, the cat is fucked with or without claws.
A true outdoor only cat has an average lifespan of one year, mixed indoor/outdoor can push that to 3-6 years, and indoor only cats average out to about 15 years.
First are you truly clueless to the potential dangers?!? Cars, dogs, poisons and people.
A true outdoor only cat has an average lifespan of one year, mixed indoor/outdoor can push that to 3-6 years, and indoor only cats average out to about 15 years.
Your cat is one of the 'lucky' ones or you are living in a very rural/sparcely populated area.
no, but what if you're looking at a shelter cat where the owner is balking at adopting the cat because they don't want their furniture damaged?
would it be better for the cat to be left in the shelter to wait for a new owner or being put to sleep, or to be declawed and adopted by the guy who's overprotective of their furniture?
training isn't exactly a foolproof solution... half the damage my cats have caused wasn't even intentional, but every wood surface in my house has scratch marks from them chasing after eachother with their claws out.
We live in a subdivision that has a fairly high amount of traffic, but overall I would consider it right on the edge of suburban and rural. The woods are full of foxes and racoons, and we have a lot of birds of prey around, as well as the occasional coyote and lynx.
I think those lifespan stats came from bird lovers, personally. Just googling around you find a lot of variation in the numbers, and I have known way too many feral and barn cats in my life to buy that stat without further examination.
Nice job using a bandaid for being a shitty owner.
I'm fairly skeptical of that stat as well. I would guess closer to a 2-3 year average for strictly outdoor cats in environments where there are predators. But, suburbs without foxes and coyotes? Or cities? I'd think they'd last more than 2-3 years, unless maybe you're including cats that are trapped and sent to a kill-shelter. In fact, I think Alky mentioned that he had most of the cats in his feral colony spayed and neutered. If 1 year is the average, then he shouldn't have had many of the original cats after a year, making euthanasia a cheaper alternative with a similar outcome. Indoor/outdoor? Only based on personal experience, I'd expect a much longer lifespan.We live in a subdivision that has a fairly high amount of traffic, but overall I would consider it right on the edge of suburban and rural. The woods are full of foxes and racoons, and we have a lot of birds of prey around, as well as the occasional coyote and lynx.
I think those lifespan stats came from bird lovers, personally. Just googling around you find a lot of variation in the numbers, and I have known way too many feral and barn cats in my life to buy that stat without further examination.
If you get a cat or a dog, there's the risk that stuff is going to get chewed, clawed, or ruined with some sort of bodily fluid. It's part and parcel of bringing an animal into your house. It doesn't understand that what it's doing is wrong. That's why you have to train them and establish boundaries. Our family has never let any of our pets have complete run of the house. Never had problems with them clawing at the furniture.
A lot of folks assume cats can't be trained, and that's just not true.
If you get a cat or a dog, there's the risk that stuff is going to get chewed, clawed, or ruined with some sort of bodily fluid. It's part and parcel of bringing an animal into your house. It doesn't understand that what it's doing is wrong. That's why you have to train them and establish boundaries. Our family has never let any of our pets have complete run of the house. Never had problems with them clawing at the furniture.
A lot of folks assume cats can't be trained, and that's just not true.
A true outdoor only cat has an average lifespan of one year, mixed indoor/outdoor can push that to 3-6 years, and indoor only cats average out to about 15 years.
Oh, and declawing?
Yeah, having your scrotum sliced wide open, and your testicles plucked out - or your abdomen sliced open and your ovaries chopped out - no one's against those procedures on humane grounds, but declawing is, of course, cruel.
I'd never have an older cat declawed. But, I couldn't care less if someone wants a kitten declawed.
[citation needed]