curious:indoor vs outdoor

Anyone know (or a source for knowing)

-how many USA cat owners
-% of cats indoor vs outdoor

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)...

Please, Brad, Let's not start THAT controversy again! Many
of us (on both sides of the issue) feel quite strongly about
it, so in the interest of harmony here, it's best to avoid
the subject.

avalanche*...

Sorry. Didn't know I would start anything. I was just curious, not
taking sides:)

krazy...

TOO LATE !!!

The "cays already out" now.

How about starting a declawing debate also ?!?!

May as well go whole hog !!

Outdoors only and declawed cats are the way to go !! That should get
people stared !!

tension_on_the_wire...

MaryL...

I'm not familiar with that book. I'll have to check into it -- sounds like
I might like it.

Maybe one of the SPCA - type sites
would have that data?

gracecat...

I doubt it. I imagine it would be a headache.

Now my cats love the front porch. Luna spends most of her time there.
Jinglebell comes and goes with Abi. If they were in any danger that I
perceived, it would be different. I'd have and enclosure and they'd be
inside-only. They're fairly consistent and "safe". IE: They represent a
constant. Another example would be Mark Edwards and how he "adopts" outside
cats. He keeps a good eye on his charges and gives them proper care.

Dad has barn cats. Technically he "owns" the cats as he feeds them and
whatnot. But they're not pets and (grumble growl) he doesn't spend a whole
lot of vet care for them. They're working cats. His outdoor ownership
represents something completely opposite of what my indoor-outdoor
ownership. To be fairly blunt, he has no idea how many he has running
around, sometimes it's 2 and for several months after a litter it might be
three or four or five.

(And yes, I realize he should neuter them. I don't mind the barncat idea but
the multiple litters upset me)

The point is that my indoor-outdoor kitty statistics could be picked up from
my vet's office during a national survey, as could Marks. People like my
father who has cats running all over the place outside without rhyme or
reason would be impossible to make those numbers accurate however. The
variables are too inconsistent.

I think that made sense???

sriddles...

It makes perfect sense. (do we have the same father????) LOL. Mine is
just like yours. I hated it. Even though (by his standards) he took
good care of the cats (i.e. fed them)..they would always have litters.
Overpopulation was never an issue because Mother Nature usually did the
culling. Which was even sadder.

I don't think there's any way to get accurate statistics either, so any
statistic you find out there is just gonna be moot. I've seen
"statistics" on the HSUS website that I suspect are not exactly
scientific, and published strictly to support their agenda. For
instance, I read once there that outdoor cats have a lifespan of 2
years. Whoa. There's no way *anyone* that can be anything other than
someone's guess. Like, what are they? Outdoor owned? Outdoor rural
cats? Outdoor city cats? Stray cats? Are indoor-outdoor cats included
in that?

Don't get me wrong, though; I support their agenda too. But I think you
have to use common sense when you read "statistics" also.

Like they say, 54% per cent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
(heh)

gracecat...

Hehe... Dad's "original" barn kitty is still going strong. She's five or six
years old now.

I don't think a barn full of horses can do without a cat. There is something
very special about a barn kitty. But I wish they'd be taken care of and

Adrian A...

My grandfather was owned by a cat that aged 18 refused to enter the house,
he lived outside until the age of 27.

sriddles...

Perfect example. I've known lots of cats too who lived to a ripe old
age as outdoor cats, and even more as indoor/outdoor. There's just so
many factors to consider, it is impossible for them to accurately say
that "outdoor cats only have an average 2-year lifespan." If the cat is
vetted, fed well and lives in a relatively safe area, they can live

Helen Miles...

My uncle has 38 barn cats who were the result of a feral relocation
program by the local rescue. All are spayed and neutered and all are fed
daily. The youngest is 10 and the oldest is 14.

Oddly enough, vermin are not a problem on his farm. ;o)

Helen M

sriddles...

Forgive me for veering off the original topic, but your post (bless
your uncle!) reminded me of a funny (and sad!) story that just
happened Friday. I was at the shelter, and the kennelmaster was
weed-eating the tall grass from around the cat enclosure. He flushed
out a mouse, who ran straight INTO THE CAT ROOM. You never saw 30 more
excited cats in your whole life.

Randy...

I would be more inclined to think it said "Oh S**t".

Matthew...

I hate to say when we were in the barn when we were young. The horse feed

tension_on_the_wire...

Oh, you were raised in a barn? (asked very politely) 8^P

Matthew...

Most of us were were do you think country folk come from

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)...

Well, you notice he DID say "raised", not "born"! ;-)

Matthew...

I am not that country ;-)

< raspberry>

was kept up top when we found a mouse sometime a rat. We whistle the barn
cats would come running we move the feed bags. The rodents would go running
away from us right into the lions den. Parents always wonder why the cats
would go nuts when we were up there.

certainly a lot longer than 2 years.

Nik Simpson...

I'd have to agree, my three come and go as they please and have a
combined age of 35. They've taken it upon themselves to control the
local rabbit population, which I can live with, it's the catch and
release that gets to me, those rabbits can be tough to get out from
behind the furniture :-)

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)...

Try getting a California fruit rat out of the mechanism of a
sofa bed! (I had one cat who'd invariably "bring 'em back
alive" and promptly lose interest.)

appreciated.

sriddles...

Absolutely. Never underestimate the value of the "working cat." And
being a barn cat is actually a pretty good gig. Warm shelter, food, and
a plentiful supply of mice is *so* much better than a lot of cats
have. These old rancher/farmer guys just don't get it though. They are
always coming in the shelter wanting un-neutered cats for barn cats. We
let them have the ferals, but only after they're neutered. It's pretty
hard to convince them that spaying a cat won't affect its mousing
abilities.

MaryL...

My grandfather (who I just wrote about in this thread) kept his barn cats
very well fed. He always said that well fed cats were just as good mousers
as cats that were not cared for because much of what they did was instinct,
and he considered it to be an act of cruelty to let any animal under his
care go hungry.

Will in New Haven...

My friend Bruce had barn cats as he grew up. When his father passed and
Bruce was in charge it stayed the same for quite awhile. They had
always fed the barn cats and his dad had the vet in for OBVIOUS
problems, which amounted to one or two times in a decade. In the worst
weather, the ones that wanted to could shelter in the house. On an
ordinary evening, some of them would visit the family in the livng room
and there was some petting and lap-sitting going on. They had it pretty
good, for barn cats.They even had a big previously-feral d*g, Konrad,
who did not tolerate other dogs around "his' cats and could make it
stick.

Then several things happened in short order. First Konrad passed away
after a twelve-year career of bullying (gently) and protecting the
cats. Almost immediately, the barn cat populaltion went into decline
and coyote tracks became very common around the house. The population
decline reversed itself, probably because the cats learned to use trees
and the barn itself to avoid coyotes but then Bruce started a spay and
neuter program which stabalized the population.

In the next few years, Bruce started allowing the youngest generation

MaryL...

Thank you. He really was!

the run of the house. Actually, all the cats had the run of the house
but three older cats would not come in except for the usual visit.
After the older cats passed away, he was left with three young house
cats who had no INTENTION of going to the barn. So the barn would be
full of mice except that nothing that would attract mice is kept there
anymore. That was years ago and sometimes Bruce gets nostalgic for the
old days but there have never been any complaints from any cat.

Will in New Haven