Re: OT Cat Advice Needed

In a perfect world, I could let Diesel out with the dogs, and they'd all come in in a few minutes after a good sniff and patrol around the yard. We've got 2/3rds of an acre fenced and for dogs, it works. Our dogs have always been pretty good at coming when called, too. It made it a lot easier when I had to get them in for their own safety, or when I had to leave for work.
Diesel doesn't seem to have a clue about cars. Strange people scare him a lot, but even when he was a kitten, I don't remember him dodging the truck when DH drove in. Of course he lived under the tractor, so maybe he just was always there at the time. 

I don't understand cats at all.

d
----- Original Message ----- From: "Kitty" <kmrsy@comcast.net> 
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2007 11:22 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] OT Cat Advice Needed
I'm not really sure why a cat needs to come when called. Mine each do seem to respond to their own names, but are more likely to come to the sound of a cat food can being opened. Mine come and go as they please but when they are outside they generally stay in my yard or not far from it. If a car rounds the corner down the street they head for the back yard. They are all street smart; arrived that way. As time goes by, they seem to prefer being indoors more than out, but that could just be because they know they have the choice.
As to the data about the average life-span of a cat outside is only 2 years, it is skewed. That takes into account huge numbers of feral cats and a lot of cats with no benefit of preventative medicine, no options, bad diets, and on & on.. All my cats have been indoor / outdoor cats with decent food and the best medical care. I believe they have benefited from having the best of both worlds. Spot lived to 20, Orangecat and Mick died at 15 and 11 respectively from cancers that they could easily have gotten had they been indoor only.
If you don't want Diesel to go out, you're just going to have to be faster and more agile than a cat. Or devise a system that thwarts his escape. 

Kitty
neIN, Zone 5


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