Cats been gone for 2 days, how long before I start worrying?

Change the cats name to Sharki.

That's just cruelty for an animal that is used to having a large territory and walking about in it. I know someone else who keeps their cats in, they seem to think they're happy but anyone looking from the outside in can see they're climbing the walls and desperate just to get out and have a little fun even though they've known nothing else since birth

Cruelty.. Not sure about that, I live on a main road and the fact that some little chav in his mum's Clio going to fast isn't going to stop and my twin girls pet get stuck under the wheels, and would you leave £400 on the street for the same little chav to pick up and take home, I don't think so, so with that in mind he can stay in and be safe, loved and not flat!!! NICE

"Change the cats name to Sharki."

I don't get it?

Fergal sharki?

"Change the cats name to Sharki."

I don't get it?

Fergal sharki?

"Change the cats name to Sharki."

I don't get it?

Fergal sharki?

The joys of posting from a phone on a train!!!^^

is 3 times enough?

Cruelty.. Not sure about that, I live on a main road and the fact that some little chav in his mum's Clio going to fast isn't going to stop and my twin girls pet get stuck under the wheels, and would you leave £400 on the street for the same little chav to pick up and take home, I don't think so, so with that in mind he can stay in and be safe, loved and not flat!!! NICE

It's not a toy, it's an animal. Animals have needs. A nice warm flat is not one of them. Maybe you should have thought twice about paying £400 for a cat when you live near a main road. If you can't provide it with the correct environment you shouldn't have one. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I genuinely disagree with keeping cats in, even if it is in misplaced protectiveness.

I have to agree it is wrong to keep cats trapped in houses and flats. I used to cat sit for 3 such cats and they would sit in the windows longing to go out. When the owner moved to a 'safer' area they were finally allowed into the garden and were ecstatic. After that, they would wait by the door each morning crying to be let out. The trouble is, humans can play music, watch TV, read etc. but even then we get house-bored. Thing how much worse it is for a cat that needs scents and sounds and interaction with other cats. Sometimes you can destroy something from trying to be too kind and caring and from loving it too much.

Re USA cat owners – it is apparently common for cats claws to be removed to protect the furniture from scratches. This was suggested to someone by a visiting American at a meeting in this country and there was very, very, shocked and stony silence all around the table…!

The joys of having a house cat. Our cat has never ever ever ventured more than 50yds from our house in 14yrs. She will play in the garden and stalk the fence. She may even venture out when we are playing outside but always near the house.

I must admit to not showing her much affection but its always me who she comes to at night when i take my stinking socks off and she cuddles in to warm my feet whilst i watch telly. Its always me who finds his clothes covered in cat hair because she has sneaked into my wardobe to cuddle my clothes. I dont buy this cats dont love their owners thing. One of my neighbours actually tried to tempt my cat away. We found her trying to entice my cat into her house with tasty titbits. My cat looked at her as though she were scum, turned and walked back in the house 🙂

Cruelty.. Not sure about that, I live on a main road and the fact that some little chav in his mum's Clio going to fast isn't going to stop and my twin girls pet get stuck under the wheels, and would you leave £400 on the street for the same little chav to pick up and take home, I don't think so, so with that in mind he can stay in and be safe, loved and not flat!!! NICE

My cat looked at her as though she were scum, turned and walked back in the house

LOL class, cats are great at doing that. We humans know our place 😉

Hers the little bugger, relaxing last night after his adventures!!!!

Woo!

I do like a happy ending 🙂

if you look on US cat forums (I was searching for advice on a cat issue I had at the time) they are very down on cats being allowed out – they regard it as being cruel and dangerous for the cat, and seem to spend loads building runs and stuff for them

Tis true. They are convinced that any cat let outside will be instantly flattened. My wife wanted to keep an indoor cat but I would not have it. We live in a cul-de-sac which backs onto another cul-de-sac which in turn is near a dual carriageway – about 1/4 mile away. It's within cats territories in theory but there are loads of other cats there too, and a great big area of woodland full of bunnies on THIS side of the road. So I thought he'd be safe. My wife was terrified for him, and even suggested getting him de-clawed which made me sick to my stomach.

He's been fine for three years now, and seeing him really loving his life as an outside cat has mellowed my wife a lot. Cats in the US (in my experience) are often wretched messed up little things, which I suspect could be due to their incarceration.

On the subject of feline road safety though, I do have a theory. I saw loads and loads of dead cats by the roadside when cycling in the US, and I don't think I've ever seen one here. So I wonder if the cat population being predominantly outside here over the years has led to natural selection of road-safe cats?

Pleased to hear you got your cat back !!

Re de-clawing – it's not so bad – I had to keep my cat in for a couple of months when housesitting. She hated it and took her revenge on the furniture so I clipped her claws. It's like cutting fingernails really doesn't hurt them at all. And she likes cuddles and any contact so let me do it. The claws fall out routinely anyway I find them around the house and in her basket.

However you do need to let them grow back before they go outside as they can't defend themselves.

Cats are b@stards and dont give a second thought for those who love them and look after them. Bit like teenagers in that respect.

lol @ bigyinn – fortunately our tweenager is developing emotionally and loves to be affectionate with them… don't think they're so keen but that's the price they have to pay for a warm house, food, water

Hels – you are clipping claws, that's ok. De-clawing means amputating the ends of their toes at the last knuckle…..

And btw those claws you find lying around are the outer layers of claws which renew from the inside a bit like snakes skin.. not the actual claws falling out. It's why they scratch trees and posts and whatnot – it sharpens their claws by encouraging the dull outer layers to fall off.

Re de-clawing – it's not so bad – I had to keep my cat in for a couple of months when housesitting. She hated it and took her revenge on the furniture so I clipped her claws. It's like cutting fingernails really doesn't hurt them at all. And she likes cuddles and any contact so let me do it. The claws fall out routinely anyway I find them around the house and in her basket.

However you do need to let them grow back before they go outside as they can't defend themselves.

I could be wrong, but what they are talking about is in the States they are removing the whole nail, so it never grows back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onychectomy

Wow, I did not know it was illegal in the UK. It's not removing the whole nail, it's removing the entire end of the toe. Like some chopping off the ends of all your fingers to suit themselves.

cats do love their owners – mine are like babies sometimes with me (and there is plenty of food in the bowel so they are not looking to get fed)

I'm moving out soon (separating from wife) – I'm going to miss those little buggers 😥

There is a cat round here that will sit back well away from the main road, and won't cross until it is clear 🙂 Sits there for several minutes sometimes as its a busy two lane one way system.

Since he got run over, ours sits on the pavement and looks both ways before crossing the road now!

Glad he's back – they do like to wander. Independent little blighters.

Glad to hear your cat mad it home. happy ending 🙂

Though, I can't believe the attitude of UK cat owners to letting their pet roam the countryside decimating the local wildlife (and don't kid yourself, that's exactly what he/she will be up to a lot of the time!). Back home in Oz, if a cat is out in the wild it's normally considered feral and fair game for a shot from the .22 sorry to say… I've taken out a fair few myself, in truth I don't think I've ever shot a pet, certainly not one with a collar, but who knows really?

Glad yours came back too.

Back home in Oz, if a cat is out in the wild it's normally considered feral and fair game for a shot from the .22

Savages. Why shoot them, they only hunt rats and birds don't they? 😐

My cat is far too lazy to catch anything.

Savages. Why shoot them, they only hunt rats and birds don't they?

You're joking right??

smokey brings back squirrels and stashes them in the cellar for future eating…

Thing is psychle, there's always been cat-type carnivores in the British Isles, so the native prey animals have some knowledge about how to avoid them (quolls in Australia aren't really on the same level)
Anyway, everybody knows that Fluffy and Tigger (etc) only go after guilty animals that deserve to die 🙂

You're joking right??

Nope, what harm do they do?

In Australia, grum, cats are rather too efficient predators for the local wildbirds and marsupials.

Fair enough – my cat could certainly never be described as an efficient predator, and my old cats only ever killed rats and occasionally rabbits.

One of our Siamese dissapeared for three weeks once. I had done everything I could and eventually got round to cancelling his insurance. Two days later I got a call from a vet 4 miles across the city. He had plotted himself around a particular street and just decided to stay, seems some of the locals started feeding him and he was happy enough. Eventually someone must have thought he had an owner somewhet and took him to the vets who called me. Needless to say I was over the moon.

My cat was a fairly good birder, but on the other hand, in doing so she saved many innocent insects from their murderous unforgiving beaks…

(I'm learning by her example and am off on a mission to save countless millions of marine zooplankton… yes, I'm off to kill a blue whale) 🙂

(I'm learning by her example and am off on a mission to save countless millions of marine zooplankton… yes, I'm off to kill a blue whale) 🙂

😆

Yuck no – didn't know that ! De-clawing bad, claw clipping OK, I have it now.

My cat can't spend 5 minutes inside at the moment, I think territory wars are kicking off. I have the vet on standby, and my big bottle of squirty water for when I have to join in. Have to say I quite enjoy driving out the barbarian invaders.

We have 2 house cats. One is an aging lady who had access to the outdoors but didn't really like it, she prefers to curl up in little hiding places. The other is a young male from a rescue centre. He'd been hit by a car and had shattered his pelvis. He dragged himself off the road and was taken to the vet. The owner was located but refused to admit it was there's as they didn't want the extensive bill. He also lost a large patch of fur on his back from burns – either from the exhaust or friction from being dragged. The vet said he should be a house cat for his own safety, firstly as he wasn't fast on his feet (he couldn't walk for 3 months but made a full recovery in this area) and secondly because he has a high chance of skin cancer due to the bald patch, or being victimised apparently, as he looks a bit odd. Being the sucker I am we took him in 🙂 he's a bit of a shitbag tbh, scratching the leather sofa! But he has his moments

Glad he's back – they are a nightmare when they decide to do this.

It does settle down <i>eventually</i>, and this time of year is perfect for a young, fit male cat to be wandering about, neutered or otherwise. He'll have been asleep in the sun somewhere safe for most of his time out tho' – you know what they are like.

😉

My neighbours and I have a kinda conspiracy to limit the speed of 'new' drivers: It's odd how some people don't seem to be able to park very well at all outside their houses of an evening, or don't secure their garden timmings very well, so a stuff just seems to fall out of the boot on the way to the recycling centre and into the road – stranger still is why nobody picks it up for ages.

I know what you mean re drivers – I live in a 20mph zone too.

Not sure if I would get away with leaving shite on the roads to slow them down tho ! Perhaps a few dead dogs might do it.