Sometimes it takes a village to raise an obese cat.
Sam spotted this somewhat presumptuous notice while house-hunting in South London. “We looked everywhere for the monster cat,” he says, to no avail. (Perhaps if you’d tried slipping a few opened tins of tuna fish in your pockets?)
related: To whom that wanted to be a superhero and take my cat to the pound
241 responses so far ↓
#1
Amber
Dear cat owner: stop letting your cat roam around outside, and your problem will be solved. It’s not the neighborhood’s job to police Fatty’s behavior.
Oct 26, 2011 at 11:28 pm rating: 243
#2
Julissa
ha ha ha ha ha!!
Oct 26, 2011 at 11:30 pm rating: 3
#3
Erin
I need to put one of these out for my husband!
Oct 26, 2011 at 11:30 pm rating: 111
#4
Heidi
Everyone else is just helping to keep the bird population alive. The fatter this cat is, the less likely s/he is able to catch birds. Just sayin’…
Oct 26, 2011 at 11:52 pm rating: 16
#5
Somebody Else
I hope this settles it once and for all -
You see what happens when you leave the butter out of the icebox?
Oct 27, 2011 at 12:03 am rating: 35
#6
juju_skittles
I kind of wish they had put a black rectangle over his eyes so his friends couldn’t identify him. Do cats even get embarassed? Or would he be all like “Yeah it’s me, what of it?”.
Oct 27, 2011 at 12:07 am rating: 40
#7
Penultimate
I read the last line as
Voluntarily,
Thank You
Oct 27, 2011 at 12:17 am rating: 4
#8
weene
Cats are outdoor animals – they enjoy freedom and being allowed to roam. It is NOT against the law in the UK to have an ‘outside cat’ – not letting a cat have opportunity for fresh air and exercise could be considered a welfare issue. cats, by nature, will eat when they have opportunity to do so – they are hunters and when there is a big kill they will eat their fill. domestic cats may well still do this . I think the note is fine – many people see a cat yeowling for food and assume it is a hungry stray & feed it not knowing that it has a home and a dinner up the street.
My cat has a bladder condition that requires a special diet – he is also a greedy beggar – he has a collar with a tag on it saying ‘on special diet – please do not feed’ – his condition is exacerbated by stress so we gave made the decision to let him out as , on balance, this is better for his health & out vet agrees, suggested it actually.
Oct 27, 2011 at 12:30 am rating: 37
#9
Me
Um, so have any of you “Ooooh naughty, letting your cat outside!” commenters actually realised that if this cat is getting into these people’s houses to eat other cat’s food, then the other cats would probably be able to get outside the same way fat cat was getting in? Or is fat cat some kind of stealth ninja kitty that can break into houses through the ventilation system?
Oct 27, 2011 at 1:03 am rating: 20
#10
Leorale
Yeah, it doesn’t strike me as such a ridiculous request. It’s over-wordy, sure (it’d be more effective to just say “please don’t feed my overweight cat” with a picture). But people are wordy about their cats.
And 7+lbs in 4mo really is a lot of weight gain for a cat. My stocky, healthy cat weighs ~10lbs. This person is probably just freaking out for their cat.
Oct 27, 2011 at 1:08 am rating: 18
#11
weene
pfffft
The note-writer isn’t blaming others – they are simply asking their neighbours not to feed their cat & the reasons why.
I am finding some of these comments a bit, well, aggressive!
Oct 27, 2011 at 1:16 am rating: 34
#12
jobo
Yes, it is true, us Brits are cruel enough to let our cats wander about outside enjoying the freedom of catching birds, chasing leaves and getting lost occaisionally. That’s what cats are supposed to do. It happens all the time over here, except for the fact the owners would probably actually make the effort to tell their neighbours in person!
Oct 27, 2011 at 2:15 am rating: 1
#13
gus
Color picture of cat-check
Well-written plea-check
Plastic Sheet Protector-check
Worst staple job ever-check
Oct 27, 2011 at 2:41 am rating: 26
#14
Yougottabekidding
Your pet; your responsibility. This is like chastising someone else when you let your dog roam the streets and it ends up dead. It’s not the fault of the person who ran over your wayward dog, that’s for sure.
Many cities in America have leash laws for cats, BTW.
Oct 27, 2011 at 3:09 am rating: 21
#15
SimonK
It’s weird how the culture around this is so different between the US and Britain. In Britain it’s fairly unusual for cats to be kept in all the time. We recently rehomed a couple of cats from Battersea Cats and Dogs home. Their advice – http://www.battersea.org.uk/cats/responsible_ownership/index.html – clearly says that “most cats need access to a garden”, and they were pleased that we have a catflap fitted.
Our cats are free to go in and out as they please, and the same is true of most other cats in the neighbourhood. When our last cat got cancer and we had to have him put down, one of our first tasks was to visit several of our neighbours and let them know, because he frequently used to visit other people’s houses and gardens and was a popular character all along the road.
Oct 27, 2011 at 3:54 am rating: 27
#16
SimonK
Mind you, the person who posted the original notice could have just dealt with it by putting a collar on the cat. I suspect he was putting on weight because there were at least two families thinking that it was their cat! There’s a children’s book (fairly well known in the UK) called “Six Dinners Sid” about exactly that situation.
Oct 27, 2011 at 3:59 am rating: 15
#17
Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
No one cares what the law is in the USA. It’s not relevent here. There’s a local by-law in the town of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in France which forbids the landing of flying saucers; shall we have a discussion about that too? No one else cares what your local laws are, whatever country you live in. Stop saying “X is illegal.” when you mean “X is illegal here, in this small corner of the world that I live in which no one gives a shit about.”
Oct 27, 2011 at 4:01 am rating: 45
#18
OriZA
This may be a bit close to home, so excuse me for my bias, but this is entirely justified imo.
My kitty also has a weight problem. I have a neighbour who refuses to stop feeding him. She puts cat food out 3 times a day, for the birds apparently. We are on good terms normally, and I accept it’s her culture, but i spend alot of money on the diet food from the Vet’s! He’s not hungry, no way anybody could look at him and think he’s hungry. He’s not a stray, he has a luminous collar that says DO NOT FEED ME PLEASE. So yeah, just putting this out there, if a cat doesn’t look mangey and if they have a collar, dont feed it. Please?
And illegal to let ur cat out? Good luck policing that. As someone said, if its used to going outside, it will find a way of going out.
Oct 27, 2011 at 4:35 am rating: 17
#19
Amy
I live in a city in the western US and we have foxes and even coyotes in our town. If you let your cat our here, in the city, it’s possible you might come home to it strewn all over your lawn, as my neighbor did.
Oct 27, 2011 at 6:43 am rating: 9
#20
Merve
There’s a ton of data that show indoor cats live longer, healthier lives than outdoor cats. The decision is still up to the individual pet owner, but it’s dishonest to go around claiming domesticated cats “need” to be outdoors because it’s healthier for them, because it isn’t. Outdoor cats die younger on average because they’re exposed to a wide range of pathogens and hazards that indoor cats are not.
Personally, I’ve had both. When I was a kid, we had an cat that spent most of his time outdoors. Now, I have indoor cats because I live in a second-floor apartment in a heavily urban area. I would certainly say the outdoor cat lived a more INTERESTING life, but then again, he was dead by the age of seven. My two indoor cats are both 12 and in exceptionally good health. Contrary to what the people selling overpriced wheatgrass at the pet store tell you, cats don’t “need” grass in order to digest their food. I’ve posed this question to more than one vet. Also contrary to what people believe, inactivity and a little extra weight are not as bad for cats as they are for people. The majority of species of the family Felidae, being predator carnivores, spend more of their time asleep and the rest of the time hunting. They’re not out jogging around the savannah just for the exercise. That said, my indoor guys get lots of exercise chasing each other around the apartment and playing with the toys we provide specifically for this purpose.
Oct 27, 2011 at 6:56 am rating: 20
#21
steve
For Pete’s sake; the note is funny because it is from an obnoxious owner who doesn’t take care of his or her cat but expects others to do so.
If you want a feral cat, let them out. If you want a house pet, keep them in or walk them on a leash.
Inconsiderate cat owners presume their interests outweigh the lives of the birds and safety of the neighbors.
It is estimated that between 30% and 65% of all people worldwide are infected with toxoplasmosis. [source - Wiki]
Yeah we get it. You let your cat run free because you are more important than the rest of us. That does not make it right.
Responsible cat owners keep their cats indoors.
Oct 27, 2011 at 7:25 am rating: 21
#22
Andvari
It is definitely a culture thing, it is seen as quite cruel to not let your cat outside to most in the UK, unless you live in the middle of a major city, in which case one could say you shouldn’t have a cat at all.
However, I can appreciate that in other countries where there are more predators, climate differences and other hazardous reasons to not let cats out then an indoor cat is more advisable. I don’t know why people need to be dicks about it.
Oct 27, 2011 at 7:27 am rating: 29
#23
Kelly
I usually only read the RSS of PAN, but I paid a visit today just to see how far along the Indoor vs. Outdoor argument had gone – actually not as bad as I expected!
Oct 27, 2011 at 8:13 am rating: 1
#24
aloria
I’m not going to debate whether letting cats roam outdoors is better for them emotionally, but as my last cat came home with half his face ripped from his skull because some wild animal or dog attacked him, I think I’ll keep this one inside, thanks.
Oct 27, 2011 at 8:14 am rating: 15
#25
RG
Feral cats need to be removed and put down. Roaming domestic cats need to be remanded to the proper authorities and put down. Indoor domestic cats need to be spayed/neutered and electronically tagged. If they escape they can be returned to their owners and a reward paid to their captor. Cat people need to be evaluated and if found looney put down.
Oct 27, 2011 at 8:17 am rating: 8
#26
Danielle
I have two cats that have never been outside and they are happy and healthy. We live near many busy roads and in an area where we have a lot of wildlife including coyotes. Having them inside, gives us piece of mind and they live a great life.
There are many outdoor cats in our neighbourhood and they’re a nuisance. They fight in our yard at night and use my herb garden as a litter box. Recently one even ripped our window screen when it was taunting one of our cats through the window.
When you let your pets outside you make they everyone’s problem.
Oct 27, 2011 at 8:47 am rating: 20
#27
HannahB
We lived in England where it was the norm to let your cats out and when we moved to the US, we lost one to Coyotes. We also lost another to our neighbours who house backed on to ours, who fed one of our cats, at first we shrugged it off because it was outside then they took the cat inside to feed it. We went over there and asked them politely not to. They said okay and they kept doing it and one day didn’t let the cat out! That was obnoxious.
Anyway I guess the point of the post is in the UK it is great to let you’re cats out. In CA not so much.
Oct 27, 2011 at 9:56 am rating: 6
#28
KillMeNow
Oh, my god. I don’t know why I read the comments on this particular post, but I did. And now my brain hurts. British cats vs. American cats. Indoor cats vs. outdoor cats. Emotionally well-rounded cats vs. dysfunctional cats.
I’m going to go make a donation to Oxfam, in honor of all the suffering humans who get ignored because its more important to debate Miss Kitty Fantastico’s dignity while she decides if she wants to sh*t in the ficus tree down the hall, or on an azalea bush in the great outdoors.
Oct 27, 2011 at 11:57 am rating: 26
#29
Parker
I don’t let my cat outside because I’m afraid she’ll be hit by a car.
Oct 27, 2011 at 12:54 pm rating: 3
#30
RandyinReno
In northern Nevada, outside cats (AKA coyote food) are part of the whole circle-of-life thing.
Oct 27, 2011 at 1:45 pm rating: 9
#31
TorachiKatashi
If there’s any justice in the world, someone in this neighbourhood will pick up this cat and find him a home where he’ll actually be cared for (and not fed crappy vet-prescribed foods.)
There’s no such thing as an “outdoor” cat. There are pet cats, who live in your home, and there are stray cats, which you may choose to allow into your home from time to time, but you have (or should not have) any right to claim ownership of. No in between, so far as I’m concerned.
Anyone who thinks an “outdoor” cat cannot become an indoor cat, shouldn’t own any animals. “What? You mean I might have to actually put some work into it? Pay attention to my cat, and play with him? Never! I’d rather he play in the traffic!”
Disgusting.
Oct 27, 2011 at 2:32 pm rating: 10
#32
Junebug
I’d be feeding that cat balls of Crisco every time I saw it.
Oct 27, 2011 at 4:07 pm rating: 4
#33
Wendybiird
My 2 emotionally deviant and dysfuntional neutered and microchipped hairballs will remain indoors only, thankyouverymuch. It’s my preference for them. Now if I could figure out how to keep the 70+ lb dog indoor only I could seriously save on the pet wash.
Oct 27, 2011 at 5:06 pm rating: 4
#34
moonkissed
I have three cats that are indoors only.
Letting your cats run outdoors freely is just bad pet ownership. Not only is it disruptive to neighbors & bad for bird populations.
It is horribly dangerous to your cat- that you are supposed to love & care about. Cars are dangerous and many many cats get hit by them every year. People are sick and cruel and could easily kidnap your beloved pet or put out poison for them.
It could also be attacked by wild animal, other cats & dogs. It doesn’t have to get a disease but could still be seriously hurt.
All of the above I have seen happen to other people’s cats.
The lady who put that sign up is a bad pet owner. She should be glad that people are only feeding her cat food and no one is putting down anything mixed into it
sigh.
Oct 27, 2011 at 6:35 pm rating: 9
#35
Tara
Coming from New Zealand, where there’s no real predators for a cat, I find it inconcievable to keep a cat inside – I don’t think I’ve ever met an inside cat, including the 12 breeding Burmese a friend has.
Oct 27, 2011 at 11:25 pm rating: 15
#36
SpudTater
Americans, seriously; what the fuck is wrong with you?
Oct 28, 2011 at 7:50 am rating: 9
#37
charliechaplinpants
Am I the only one who thinks this pet owner’s actual problem is that her vet is a douchecanoe? The cat has gained seven pounds — which for most cats is going to be something like FIFTY PERCENT of starting body weight, if not more — in just four months, and the vet’s conclusion is that it’s mooching too much off the neighbors? Seriously?
Every cat I’ve ever had has been provided with all the food it wanted to eat — dry food out all the time, and wet food at least once a day, in a quantity that ensured the cat left just a small amount in the dish — and they don’t eat themselves into blobhood. And if for some reason this particular cat lacks the ability to tell when it’s satiated, well, why wasn’t that the case 4 months ago? Sudden and dramatic weight changes indicate a problem, and eating the neighbor’s cat food isn’t it.
It’s like a person who’s been happily going along at about 150 lbs, and then suddenly balloons up to 225 over 4 months, and having their doctor say, “Well, Fatty McFattypants, maybe you oughta lay off the potato chips!” instead of, say, doing some testing to find out why their metabolism has apparently stopped cold. It’s kind of idiotic.
Oct 28, 2011 at 8:59 am rating: 11
#38
britbike
After having one cat go missing, one get hit by a car, and one come home with a 4 inch wound across her tummy, my husband was finally convinced to keep the herd indoors. However, we rescued a 3 or 4 year old lost cat, and tried our best to have her be indoors-only. After 4 months we started letting her out. She had obviously spent most of her life outdoors and was losing her kitty mind. I expect, sadly, that she will be gone within a few years. None of the outside cats in our neighborhood seem to be around more than 2.
One thought – if the norm is for cats to roam around loose, maybe the people are more careful not to run them over, etc, out of habit, and that’s why they do better.
Oct 28, 2011 at 9:01 am rating: 8
#39
sob
I would continually feed the cat until it exploded – that would be cool
Oct 28, 2011 at 1:26 pm rating: 1
#40
seamoney
I would love love love it if my cat would stay inside. She would be safer and not be prone to the ailments that others have pointed out. However, when the weather is nice, she is insufferable. She rips open our screens and lets herself out if we don’t let her. With no A/C, keeping windows closed is not an option. Cats are not obedient and subject to training.
Oct 28, 2011 at 2:36 pm rating: 5
#41
meiosis
If we didn’t let our two cats (aged 12 and 9) outside, how would they be able to bring back live mice and dead birds as gifts for us?
Oct 28, 2011 at 3:01 pm rating: 9
#42
lyx
In summation:
American kitties enjoy leading longer, pampered, coyote-free lives. British kitties prefer to roam, and are willing to risk the consequences.
Concerned PAN-author loves her fat cat, overestimates her neighbors’ concern for said cat…and apparently has very little regard for trees.
And possibly has never used a stapler before.
…did I miss anything?
Oct 28, 2011 at 3:36 pm rating: 18
#43
Jami
Hey, if you want your cat to be run over or eaten by wild animals, by all means let it wander outside. But if you were a good owner you’d keep them indoors.
Oct 28, 2011 at 3:40 pm rating: 2
#44
quiteamused
Quite amused at the high level of cluelessness in these comments. Thank you for the amusement. My several glasses of chardonnay and I thank you for putting that special edge on the evening.
I can see that there are no country folks here.
I have a 100 acre farm. People DROP their cats out here all the time thinking “Fuck, I bought a house I can’t fucking afford and acquired pets at the same time. Now I’ve lost the house so I’ll drop my cat somewhere nice in the country where those quaint farm folk will adopt it.”
We have hungry tame cats showing up here every winter, abandoned by people. We take them in and they become “our” cats. Some, if they tend to be more feral and less human-friendly, become “barn cats.” They are fed a mixture of store bought cat food and they also hunt shrews, mice, and chipmunks, plus the occasional squirrel, as much as they like.
Others, if they are very soft, tame, sweet house kitties, become our house cats. “House cats” for someone who lives in the country can be translated as “Cat who mostly lives inside but also spends a fair amount of time outside in the good weather.”
Other country folks like us, who, believe it or not, don’t live on hardscramble hobo farms but on 4 million dollar gentleman’s farms like we do, are participants in the “Zen” of animals as we are. If an unknown animal shows up, we try to find its owner, and since much of the time we can’t, we adopt the animals. If an animal is sick or ill-tempered, we call the pound to take it away.
But, mostly, we adopt these animals as our own.
We don’t call up policemen. Or lawyers. Or politicians. We don’t “THINK OF THE CHILDRENNNNNN!” (the accepted breeder manifesto whenever an animal shows up in proximity to their precious little chyllllldren.) We adopt these unwanted animals.
Just because YOU are an ignorant fuck who bought a house you couldn’t afford (or, as frequently happens, a breeder who got pregnant and suddenly became filled with a murderous desire to get rid of the cat you’d owned for ten years…..believe me, that’s an even more common tale of woe…..) doesn’t mean your animal isn’t valuable or worth caring for.
So, households like ours take these animals in.
FUCK YOU PEOPLE who don’t get the concept of looking out for domesticated, gentle, loving animals whose owners have abandoned them. With just a few minutes of checking you can determine that nobody is claiming them and that they are, indeed, abandoned. And you can kill them, eat them, or care for them.
It’s up to you.
Oct 28, 2011 at 7:00 pm rating: 17
#45
uncreative
I grew up in a quiet suburb. Kids could have safely played in the street most of the time, but we didn’t, because we had backyards and lawns. My family had an indoor/outdoor cat. She wasn’t that old when I found her body on my way to my bus stop when I was an Elementary School student. I remember her poor, ripped-open corpse. I don’t know if she was hit by a car or killed by an animal, but she was clearly dead. Since that point, I’ve seen a lot of sad and brutal things happen to cats that were let to go outside. But the indoor cats I’ve seen have generally been happy and well-adjusted. I’ve never seen a cat that was spayed/neutered and raised as an indoor cat who had a problem with being indoors. And most of the indoor cats I’ve seen are not overweight or are only a bit so. Sure, lots of outdoor cats do live good lives, but I’ve never known an indoor cat to be hit by a car. And lots of outdoor cats don’t. A cat doesn’t need to go out to be happy and well, and it’s a lot easier to catch and deal with health issues with an indoor cat. It’s also easier to make sure a cat stays on a diet so it doesn’t become overweight or the weight is corrected when you don’t let your cat out. However, I agree with the other commenter that the problem in the particular case of this note is the vet – a cat is not likely to gain that much weight that fast without some underlying health issue. Unless someone is feeding it something truly weird, but that seems unlikely.
Oct 29, 2011 at 12:23 am rating: 6
#46
Jessi
I *just* noticed the “voluntarily” bit at the end of the note. Now I’m picturing this cat holding old women at gunpoint and forcing them to feed him.
Oct 29, 2011 at 1:03 am rating: 4
#47
Cellist
I am a cat owner. I have lived in the US (am American) and now I live in London. It is just different here in the UK. Neighborhoods are laid out differently, drivers are more conscious of road obstacles, the houses are quite a bit smaller, and cat flaps usually open out into enclosed gardens behind the houses which means that the cat can wander from garden to garden without ever seeing the front and the road.
In the US I always had indoor cats. Here the cats are expected to roam, and cats are even a bit of a social tool and bring neighbors together. They are regular features of the neighborhood, and people look out for their neighbors’ cats. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the above note – part of the unwritten social contract that makes letting the cats roam outside possible in the UK is not feeding a cat that you know the owner doesn’t want fed. This person who is feeding her cat is breaking this social code – and this sign is the notewriter’s way of making sure that the errant neighbor is aware of it.
Oct 29, 2011 at 2:44 am rating: 19
#48
meh
out all night? growing a gut? droopy eyes? slurs his purrs?
Sounds like your cat might be an alcoholic.
Oct 29, 2011 at 9:18 pm rating: 6
#49
Cooper
Wow. I didn’t realize letting cats out was that big of a controversy. I have two cats, one indoor, one indoor/outdoor. Both were adopted, and we kept the lifestyle chosen for them by the previous owners (to an extent. The indoor/outdoor was put on a no-junk-food-diet.)
The indoor cat is allowed outside when she wants, typically only on the porch in five minute spurts, and the outdoor cat typically spends a half hour in our yard, or in the lower part of our neighbor’s yard, which they don’t mind.
Oct 30, 2011 at 12:34 pm rating: 0
#50
The Elf
Damn, I missed a cat thread! Oh well, I’ll catch it the next time I see a passive-aggressive everyone-raise-my-cat-for-me note. I’m sure it won’t be long.
Oct 30, 2011 at 7:16 pm rating: 1
#51
Lisa H
Just thought I’d jump in and clarify 1 little thing. This is not from London England. It’s from London, Ontario, Canada. It was posted in my neighbourhood. In Canada it is against most city’s bilaws to allow any kind of pet to roam unleashed but it isn’t really enforced for cats like most places with such laws.
Oct 30, 2011 at 10:08 pm rating: 5
#52
Fox
You know, I keep reading all the ‘reasons’ people keep posting for keeping pets entirely indoors, and proclaiming them as bad owners if they let them outdoors. Yet apply those same standards to children (You have the same disease, injury risk, and other hazards in both cases–including interacting with their own kind, given that children can and will be *nasty* creatures to each other given the chance), and your ‘indoor child’ advocate is a smothering nutcase, or depending on degrees actually considered abusive. Then again, given some of the feral-behaving packs of humans wandering around in the evenings instead of staying at home (and I’m refering to the ones who do have homes here, not the homeless which are a different matter entirely), I could *almost* see the whole ‘gather them up and take them to the pound’ thing applied to them.
Oct 30, 2011 at 11:27 pm rating: 5
#53
bookworm
Notewriter: Invest in a collar (can’t tell if the cat already has one from that photograph) and a bell. Problem solved!
Oct 31, 2011 at 8:42 am rating: 0
#54
Jemima
If my memory serves correct, I had a book as a child about the note writer’s dilema…it was about a scheming, oppurtunistic cat who realized that he could stuff his belly by having a sort of rotation of families who would take turns feeding “their cat” while he pulled the same trick on other unsuspecting animal lovers in order to maximize his daily meal allotment. Tricky bastard.
Nov 1, 2011 at 12:55 pm rating: 4
#55
Gloria
Hmmmm…instead of posting a flyer for people to stop feeding him, keep him inside, where it is safe, and he will stay on his special diet. It’s not true that an outside cat will not stay inside. Humans have doors and opposable thumbs to open said doors. I have a former stray in my house, and yes, she would love to go out and roam and make friends, but like I said, I know how to operate the door, she doesn’t.
Nov 2, 2011 at 11:20 am rating: 2
#56
Maya
tl;dr ahead.
I, myself, have two cats with medical problems. One is a tw0-year-old Himalayan with feline cutaneous asthenia (her skin can literally split open and bleed if she even so much as rubs up against a wall wrong), and the other is a nine-year-old, half-blind domestic longhair whose eye was taken out in a catfight before I adopted him. Both have kidney problems. And yet this is not what precludes them from outside time. They just do not LIKE to go outside – I have tried to get them to go out into the run at the side of the yard on occasion when they start clawing my window screens, and both will just stand at the door for a few minutes, sniff disdainfully, and then look up at me with the look that clearly says “Ma, you CRAZY. I ain’t goin’ out there. Fun to look, NOT fun to touch.”
Plus I live right in the middle of farm country. Fleas, anyone?
However, on the other side of the story, my family has owned indoor/outdoor cats before – the youngest died at around ten (a jerkface neighbor became convinced, in these exact words, that we clearly wanted someone to kill our cat because we let him out – said cat then swallowed a wad of dental floss left on our driveway by jerkface and had to be put down due to his entire intestine being perforated by the floss) and the oldest was twenty-nine. Yes, you heard me right, twenty-nine. I do firmly believe going outside, rolling on the driveway in the dirt and chomping a cricket or two contributed to her incredible longevity.
On the other hand, the neighbor who we used to live just across the road from had seven outdoor-only cats – she honestly refused to let them in, even in the wintertime, because “oh, I can’t keep them inside, it’s so CRUEL!” – and as she never kept even the slightest tabs on them, every last one of them was either killed by the jerkface neighbor’s multitude of smog-belching turbo-charged cars he owned for no other reason than illegal street racing, by picking fights with the other neighborhood cats, or by tangling with the local multitude of foxes and raccoons drawn by the cans of cheap-ass cat “food” (a fifty-cent can of slop, no matter how prettily packaged, is probably the feline equivalent of school lunch mystery meat. Yeuch.) However, despite every single cat either ending up as a road smear or a mutilated corpse outside her house, she can’t stand having her cats meet an untimely demise, and if one does, she will then get one to replace it and start the whole asinine cycle over again.
Therefore, we can now imply:
1 – Cat indoors = good.
2 – Cat outdoors + supervision = also good.
3 – Cat outdoors with no supervision = no bueno.
4 – My former neighbor is the very model of the crazy cat lady who believes the little beasts are far better off outside than being CRUELLY BROUGHT INTO THE HOUSE HOW COULD YOU THEY WILL LANGUISH AWAY AND THEN YOU’LL WISH YOU’D LET THEM OUTSIDE WON’T YOU? (Yes, she did actually say that once. My jaw still hasn’t come completely off the floor.)
Ahem.
Getting back to the point, I see nothing wrong with letting your cat out. Just keep a bloody eye on it, ferchrissakes.
Nov 2, 2011 at 3:21 pm rating: 6
#57
HatesDumbasses
Dear Dumbass cat owner:
Notice people with indoor cats don’t have to post such nonsense since they aren’t morons like you. Your cat will probably be eaten by something larger or run over by a car before they die from obesity.
Sincerely: not a dumbass
Nov 4, 2011 at 8:09 pm rating: 3
#58
Steve
Wow, I didn’t realize it was other owner’s responsibility to keep track of how many times your cat had eaten? Or to keep your cat our of THEIR yards/food bowls/etc? Honestly, whether you have an indoor, outdoor or mixed housing cat it is ALWAYS YOUR responsibility to look after it. And while there may be tons of anecdotal stories about feral cats and cats allowed outdoors that live long healthy lives, ask ANY vet or shelter worker and they will tell you indoor cats, by a huge margin, live longer healthier lives. no indoor cat is ever eaten, stolen, hit by a car, taken an tortured by neighbors, shot at with guns, bow and arrows, poisoned, trapped and sold for research, tazered, thrown down wells to drown as MANY outdoor cats are simply because some get their rocks off doing inhumane crap or just hate cats. Owners like this really shouldn’t have cats if they are not willing to do what it takes to properly care for them-cats can eat and overeat in any number of ways including food scraps, garbage cans, and shock of shocks-Hunting! this woman needs her head removed from her ass. Stop feeding my cat? Bitch, stop letting him out all over town to overeat in the first place!
Nov 5, 2011 at 9:04 am rating: 5
#59
bookworm
There are an awful lot of people here who have an unreasonable hatred for cats, and it’s not the people who choose to keep their indoors.
Nov 5, 2011 at 10:58 am rating: 6
#60
stephanie
this thread was hilarious! that kermit is pretty dumb, why you so bent out of shape, dude? people can do whatever they want on their property, if you don’t like it then keep yourself/animals/kids away.
Nov 9, 2011 at 4:04 pm rating: 2
#61
Peggy
I don’t know how it works in the UK (which is where that cat on the poster lives), but in New Jersey it is up to each town/city/twp. to issue an ordinance against cats being unleashed outside. There are other towns that don’t have any leash law. It’s a “local” law that’s different from state-to-state and town-to-town. Our animal control won’t even TRY to catch a cat that’s loose because they know they’ll never catch them. They’re too fast and unless they’re declawed, they’ll go right up a tree out-of-reach.
Nov 10, 2011 at 5:00 pm rating: 1
#62
anna
yall got way off topic. We were talking about Fatty McFatterson and and his food thievary and/or his ability to score some good tuna. Maybe fatty needs a hobby to avoid mindless eating.. also, a collar with tags would be nice.And maybe some positive feedback from his owners wouldn’t hurt either!
Nov 15, 2011 at 11:33 am rating: 1
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