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Tuesday, 28 March
(Names of said friends have been removed to protect them from angry reprisals. And yes, a few of these are mine.) (The list is only ordered because I'm curious as to how bloody many of these we thunk up. A lot, it seems.) (Note: You must at least make it to #113.)
~Movies~ | Cat Connor | 28 Mar, 2006
Comments Hello there! I remember reading Cat Trapper's Journal when you first started writing it (I assume you are the same cat trapper?). I not only think cats should be be spayed or neutered, I'm a believer in indoor-only cats. You're right, "frykitty" is of no consequence. My name is Cat, and I have a long-standing love of them, and I was just being contrary one day many years ago when I thought "kitty fritters" would be a funny online name. It is, but it's too long. Thus, frykitty. Why indoor-only cats? (Not asking to be critical, but out of curiosity.) I understand that indoor-only cats are generally healthier, and do less damage to the avian and rodent populations, and those two factors alone may be enough for many people to keep their cats indoors. And in Canby, we had indoor-only cats for years (followed by indoor-mostly cats). But since we've moved to Oak Grove, and live on 3/5 an acre surrounded on three sides by high fences and on the fourth side by a low-speed low-traffic road, we've taken to letting out cats out fairly often (though not as often as they could wish). It's true that they kill the occasional bird, but we hope our karma with our winged friend is balanced by the fact that we provide them with a bounty of food. (As you know, we have a lot of bird friends who visit us, and who nest in our yard.) It's also true that our cats get in an occasional fight, or wander into a neighbor's yard, but we're very conscientious about seeking vetrinarian care. Being outside makes our cats so happy, that I can't imagine not letting them out anymore. At least not while we're at this house. When I was a kid, it was perfectly normal to let the dog out. She got to wander around, have a great time, and poop wherever she liked. This was the neighborhood norm. Over time, people realized that loose dogs were a hazard to other humans, the cleanliness of the neighborhood, and to the health of the dogs themselves. So now the norm is much more responsible--take your dog out on a leash, and clean up after it. At this time, the norm for most folks is to let their cats roam free. They can do whatever they like in the neighbors' yards, catch and spread diseases, and decimate the local wildlife. Domestic cats are a non-native species, imported and bred for our pleasure. I love, love, love cats, but they don't belong outdoors on their own. We did take ours out on a harness for a while, but because we hadn't trained her for this from kittenhood, it ended up being too stressful for everyone. I do regret that. But not letting her out? Christ, I have a friend who has lost two cats in as many years, because she won't keep them in (W, I'm sorry if you're reading this, but it fucking KILLS me). She went through horrible grief and guilt each time. I've been there, and I won't be again. Because you know what? If your cat is killed by a dog, or a disease she picked up outside, or in some other horrible fashion because you couldn't keep her indoors, then it's your fault. Your fault that you couldn't take care of her in her last moments. Your fault that she died in fear. Last year, I lost a kitty. She was very old (something that rarely happens to outdoor cats) and had had a fantastic life. At the end, she had amazing care, and she died while Bill and I were petting her and soothing her. She slipped away even before she was given the euthanizing shot. If she had died somewhere outdoors, afraid, without me, well, I would deserve to die, too. The grief was horrible, but at least I knew I'd done all I could, and taken care of her to the best of my ability. Cats are a lifetime commitment, and sometimes doing what's best for them isn't the most fun. JD, you know I really like you, and consider you a friend, but this is one area where we vehemently disagree. I stopped following your photo feed because every picture of a cat with a dead bird in his mouth made me deeply angry, and I would rather follow the bits of JD that I like. Sorry this turned into a rant. It's an extremely hot button for me, especially after seeing my friend go through the awful grief and guilt once, and learn nothing, and then get the lesson again. As far as I know, her cats are still roaming. I meant to make it a post in a few days, and I may yet. There are a lot more thoughts, and some of them got jumbled up a bit. In re: kittyfritters, it seems others have had similar silly thoughts. In re: outdoor cats, are your cats spayed and neutered JD? The most serious environmental problem relating to cats is viable breeding populations of feral ex-pets and the resulting never-pets. I do not know whether there are enough pet cats for their predatory activities to have a significant impact on native species, though in the absence of data my feeling is that it's likely. In any case, each dead bird is a loss, and feeding your feathered friends (aka luring them into the claws of your cats) hardly makes up for, well, anything. Similarly, being conscientious about vet visits will not help a mortally wounded or fatally infected cat. A quick google turns up some hard data and a wealth of informed and reasonable opinion, all of which indicates that letting your cats outdoors comes pretty close to neglecting them. Cat, first let me say that I respect your beliefs and the polite (yet effective) way in which you express them. Thank you for sharing. This helps me understand where you are coming from. Domestic cats are a non-native species... This is an excellent point, and something I'd never really considered. I mean it's obvious is one respect, but I hadn't ever considered it from the "non-native" species perspective. Do you know what I mean? When I think of non-native species, I think of Scotch Broom and Starlings, and so on, but not cats. Thinking of them in this way sheds a different light on things. If your cat is killed by a dog, or a disease she picked up outside, or in some other horrible fashion because you couldn't keep her indoors, then it's your fault. Your fault that you couldn't take care of her in her last moments. Your fault that she died in fear. This, too, is valid. When we lived in Canby, we had one cat — Satchel — who could not grasp the concept of The Road. (We lived on a much busier street than we do currently.) One day he was chasing another cat across the road during rush hour, and Satchel was hit. I try to console myself that he died happy, but that's really just a rationalization. On another morning driving to work on the same road, I came across a cat who had been hits only seconds before. That image has stuck with me for a decade, and will stick with me the rest of my life. It saddens and sickens me. I grew up in the country, and all of our cats were outside-only. We lost a number of them to the road, at least one each year. Perhaps that's why I'm desensitized to it. Our friends who still live out here constantly lose cats to the road. I agree: this is a bad thing. (My approach has always been "ban cars", though, which has several other advantages in my eyes. It's also not a very pragmatic solution.) Sorry this turned into a rant. It's an extremely hot button for me It's no problem. I understand, and I respect your position. We all have hot-button issues. And even though we may recognize the validity of a friend's logic on a hot-button issue, it may not match our own. You might not think that television and advertising are the scourges I believe them to be (to use a hypothetical), but you might understand my reasoning, even if you don't agree with my conclusions. I stopped following your photo feed because every picture of a cat with a dead bird in his mouth made me deeply angry I will make a vow: no more such photos in my Flickr feed, and if I feel absolutely compelled to post such a photo to my weblog, I'll be sure to post warning at the top. (But I'll try to refrain from posting such photos to my weblog.) All this agreement having been stated, I will still choose to allow my cats outside, despite their bird-hunting, and despite the chance they may be struck on the road. My cats at least are happy outside, especially Simon. When Simon is trapped indoors on a sunny day, he is miserable. He was born outside (his mother was a barn cat), grew up outside, and has been allowed outside privileges all his life. In my mind, it is a greater moral wrong to keep him cooped inside the house than it is to let him outside. If we still lived in the house in Canby, I'd be torn. (I was always torn when we let the cats outside there.) I'm not torn now. Yes, he will kill a couple of birds a year, and yes, there's a chance that he may suffer some tragic fate, but he will have lived an happy life. I guess that in my mind, the inside/outside issue is contingent on a number of factors, including the nature of your cat, the location of your home, the amount of traffic, etc. If a cat is happy indoors, or if it cannot be let outside safely, then I agree: the cat should be kept indoors. Otherwise, it's my opinion that other factors should be considered. Thanks for discussing this. I apologize for any past stress my cat photos may have caused! JD: Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. I have to admit I would have a hell of a time keeping a barn cat indoors, and therefore probably would never take one in unless it was unavoidable. These things happen. Your consideration on the photos is extremely generous, and I thank you. And why did we have to start this conversation on such a long post? ;) Heh. It always amuses me when tangential conversations begin on weblog posts. I often transpose them into real posts on my site, but then conversation just dies for some reason. Never have figured it out... Back to work. JD: I don't agree that (your assessment of) your cats' happiness outweighs your responsibilities to the animals they kill, or to the cats themselves. Be that as it may, your present cats clearly have established patterns of behaviour which you are unwilling to disrupt. So, what about future cats? Will they also be outdoor cats, or will you take the opportunity to establish in them patterns of happy indoor living, so as to avoid the same problem? What about future cats? Will they also be outdoor cats, or will you take the opportunity to establish in them patterns of happy indoor living, so as to avoid the same problem? Ah, this is a Good Question, one to which I do not have a Good Answer. It probably depends on the cat. If we adopt from the Humane Society (as we've done on occasion), or we are certain that the cat has always lived indoors, or we adopt a kitten, then I'm sure we'll do our best to keep the cat indoors. But if we adopt an adult cat who is already used to being outside, I'm sure we'll allow it outside. We currently have three cats. Simon loves outside more than anything else, and he is completely miserable when he's not allowed outside in good weather. Nemo likes outside, but he'd be perfectly happy inside all the time, too, so long as he got to wrassle from time-to-time. Toto used to like outside, but now she's old and bitter and doesn't like anything or anyone. She rarely goes outside. She'll follow me around the yard if I'm gardening sometimes. And often in the evening she'll ask to be let outside for two minutes (why? we don't know -- she's a cat). But other than that, she doesn't want to be outside. She's inside and likes it that way. Kris and I love our cats. They are like children to us. We don't take their health and happiness lightly. (As my pocketbook demonstrates.) We just feel that in our situation, with our cats, it's best for them to have outside access. How many cats do you guys have by the way? I know you've posted photos, but I can't recall ever actually enumerating them... We just have KC now, since Prisolm died about a year ago. She absolutely loves being the only cat--her personality changed quite a bit for the better--so she'll probably stay an only cat. ^Selfish little bugger.^ Incidentally, KC was adopted as a stray, and would prefer to be an indoor/outdoor cat, but for all the reasons we've discussed, she is not. I've managed to save up roughly $42457 in my bank account, but I'm not sure if I should buy a house or not. Do you think the market is stable or do you think that home prices will decrease by a lot? The housing market depends on where you live. It's going down a little in some areas, but in desirable cities like San Francisco and Portland, it's going strong. But that may not be the biggest consideration. The housing market, like the stock market, will always have dips and surges, but is good over time. What you want to consider is loss of cash. Sit down and add up everything you've paid in rent over your lifetime. That money is *gone*. Continuing to pay rent is throwing good money after bad. Post a comment. Comments are moderated, so it may take a while to show on the site. |
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May I ask why you call yourself Frykitty. I am only curious, being a cat person. Perhaps a crazy cat woman, and a cat trapper. Crazy is an ok title. I think. Considering the world is basically nuts. So, I'm surfing the web meaninglessly and stumble onto your site and the question popped up, "Hmmmm, I wonder about the origin of Fry Kitty, although it's most likely completely unimportant. Have a nice night, fix your pets and possibly also your teens. Remember, a fixed cat is a healthy cat and rarely pees on a neighbors car tire.