A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci..._neighbour.asp

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

On Sunday, August 12, 2012 5:17:36 AM UTC-7, Gas Bag wrote:
A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")

tall:



http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci..._neighbour.asp



She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. I

know full well that there are numerous commercially available products

that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. I'm

sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if

attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. I'm now thinking

about trying a home-rigged set up. I'm considering getting a whole

heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any

USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then

cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence

so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the

fence. I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and

slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. I have no problem

with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the

cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. Again, I am aware

of many commercially available products.



I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if

they can offer any advice. Thanks.



To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her

cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

It will not work on a cat in-heat.

Gas Bag wrote:
A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci..._neighbour.asp

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

Good luck with that.

Easier would be 6' sections of plastic drain pipe.

Anyway, even an inspired kitty cannot jump six feet in the air. Is there
anyway you can slickify the fence?

A few years ago, an asshole neighbor of the Ernest Hemingway home in Key
West bitched about the Hemingway cats getting out and bothering her, in
spite of a six-foot concrete block fence surrounding the Hemingway property.
Then the feds got involved.

"Make the fence higher" said the federal agency that looks out for the
welfare of display animals, like found in a circus.

"We can't" said the trustees of the property. "This is a federal historic
site and modifications are prohibited."

"Then get rid of the cats," said some pompous federal bureaucrat.

"We can't," said the trustees. "It's part of Hemingway's will that the cats
go with the donation of the property. If the cats go, the estate reverts to
Hemingway's heirs."

In the end, I think they disposed of the aggravated neighbor.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:17:36 -0700 (PDT), Gas Bag
wrote:

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in.

What she wants to do goes against nature. Cats do what cats do.
--

In Oren
wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:17:36 -0700 (PDT), Gas Bag
wrote:

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in.

What she wants to do goes against nature.

You mean like keeping a cat as a pet?

--
St. Paul, MN

On 12 Aug 2012 17:41:41 GMT, Bert wrote:

In Oren
wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:17:36 -0700 (PDT), Gas Bag
wrote:

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in.

What she wants to do goes against nature.

You mean like keeping a cat as a pet?

No. "Herding cats".
--

On 8/12/2012 8:17 AM, Gas Bag wrote:
A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci..._neighbour.asp

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

On the TV show, "Cats from Hell" or something like that, they pointed
out that you can, at the top of a balcony rail, put a "fence" part
jetting in at 45 degrees for about 18", I think. This was to keep a cat
on its owner's balcony and not allow it to crawl over to the neighbor's
balcony. He said cats won't crawl upside down and around it. I'm
skeptical.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 14:35:01 -0400, Art Todesco
wrote:

On 8/12/2012 8:17 AM, Gas Bag wrote:
A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci..._neighbour.asp

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

On the TV show, "Cats from Hell" or something like that, they pointed
out that you can, at the top of a balcony rail, put a "fence" part
jetting in at 45 degrees for about 18", I think. This was to keep a cat
on its owner's balcony and not allow it to crawl over to the neighbor's
balcony. He said cats won't crawl upside down and around it. I'm
skeptical.


It should work. That's the basic premise of all the "cat fence"
products. I had more or less that setup all along my perimeter fence
and since installing it my cats have not been able to get out.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 14:35:01 -0400, Art Todesco
wrote:

On 8/12/2012 8:17 AM, Gas Bag wrote:
A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci..._neighbour.asp

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

On the TV show, "Cats from Hell" or something like that, they pointed
out that you can, at the top of a balcony rail, put a "fence" part
jetting in at 45 degrees for about 18", I think. This was to keep a cat
on its owner's balcony and not allow it to crawl over to the neighbor's
balcony. He said cats won't crawl upside down and around it. I'm
skeptical.
Cats will not - but you just created a "jungle gym" for every
squirrel in the neighbourhood. A six to 10 inch 45 degree slope in at
the top of a six foot fence will stop all but the most determined cat.

Done at both sides it stops travel in both directions. And makes a
runway at the top for whatever makes it half way. And for all the
local squirrels.

On Aug 12, 8:17*am, Gas Bag wrote:
A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci...bour/good_neig...

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. *I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. *I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. *I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. *I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. *I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. *I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. *Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. *Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

LOL, what else is inside the yard ?

"animal proof" the fence where the fence is only the
boundary indicator and not likely to be at fault...

How close to the fence are any plants ?

How accessible is the roof of the house to the fence ?
(cats love climbing and jumping)

Nothing you do to the fence will keep out other cats who
jump in from outside beyond the control of the fence
and cat keeper...

Sounds like this cat lady needs to build a kennel
in her yard where the cats can go inside and outside
of the house but when outside are completely enclosed
in a caged off area... That is the ONLY possible
solution that will prevent escape of her cats and block
ingress of strange cats...

Evan wrote:
On Aug 12, 8:17 am, Gas Bag wrote:
.... Cat containment stuff snipped...

Nothing you do to the fence will keep out other cats who
jump in from outside beyond the control of the fence
and cat keeper...

Sounds like this cat lady needs to build a kennel
in her yard where the cats can go inside and outside
of the house but when outside are completely enclosed
in a caged off area... That is the ONLY possible
solution that will prevent escape of her cats and block
ingress of strange cats...

The great Evan has spoken.

We may now close this thread.

Derby's Law of Usenet: When the Great Evan has spoken, the thread is closed.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"DerbyDad03"
wrote in message
...

Evan wrote:

Nothing you do to the fence will keep out other cats who
jump in from outside beyond the control of the fence
and cat keeper...

The great Evan has spoken.

We may now close this thread.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 10:35:12 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:17:36 -0700 (PDT), Gas Bag
wrote:

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in.

What she wants to do goes against nature. Cats do what cats do.

It's actually pretty easy. Our cats have never been off our property, except
to go to the vets, of course.

"Gas Bag" wrote in message
...

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences.

Zoos have practical experience with enclosures for cats and
other climbing animals. Why not inquire there?

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

On Aug 12, 4:56*pm, Evan wrote:
On Aug 12, 8:17*am, Gas Bag wrote:





A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci...bour/good_neig...

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. *I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. *I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. *I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. *I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. *I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. *I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. *Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. *Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

LOL, what else is inside the yard ?

"animal proof" the fence where the fence is only the
boundary indicator and not likely to be at fault...

How close to the fence are any plants ?

How accessible is the roof of the house to the fence ?
(cats love climbing and jumping)

Nothing you do to the fence will keep out other cats who
jump in from outside beyond the control of the fence
and cat keeper...

Sounds like this cat lady needs to build a kennel
in her yard where the cats can go inside and outside
of the house but when outside are completely enclosed
in a caged off area... *That is the ONLY possible
solution that will prevent escape of her cats and block
ingress of strange cats...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

How will an enclosure in the back yard prevent ingress of strange cats
into the yard?

BTW...what's a "strange cat"?

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:17:36 -0700 (PDT), Gas Bag
wrote:

A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci..._neighbour.asp

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

I have four cats and an 18' by 50' backyard with a 4' chain link
fence. I extended the fence with 4' of some fencing from Home Despot
and have the top foot bend in at a 45 degree angle. It does a
reasonably good job of keeping my cats in the yard but does not stop
other critters from entering. I leave a door open when my cats aren't
there so the other critters can get out.

We have possums and raccoons in the neighborhood even though this is
New York City. Raccons are a pain in the ass but possums are pretty
cool. And of course we have feral cats but we've neutered most of them
and we sort of try to take care of them as much as we can. They have
nice styrofoam houses lined with straw for the winter and are well
fed.

Once in a while some critter actually forces its way out through the
fencing, leaving a hole that my cats can use. That just happened last
week; one of the bolder ones was trying to get at a squirrel in a tree
next door and was halfway through a small hole when I grabbed him.

It works pretty well though, but over time almost any fence will
develop a weakness. I use the Loc8tor for that - each of my cats has a
collar with a Loc8tor tag and I can track them for a short distance.
One cat still has out priviliges (I took him off the street in front
of my house and he likes to visit his old friends once in a while). I
can track him pretty well with the Loc8tor so I know that it's
effective enough for the job.

There is always a risk in letting cats out of the house though. I know
many folks think that it's cruel to keep cats inside all the time, and
they have a point. My cats love going into the yard. But I keep it as
safe as possible yet there is always some risk.

One of my neighbors had six cats and one was allowed to roam the
neighborhood since he wasn't happy otherwise. It was sort of cute,
he'd be sitting on the air conditioner waiting to be let in most
mornings as I'm heading off to work. He didn't come home just three
days ago, and when we were asking around we found out that a black cat
had been hit by a car a few days ago. So he won't be sitting on the
A/C anymore.

Cats that are outside will die sooner or later (not very insightful I
know since we all will die). But the odds of something bad happening
go up rather quickly once they are out of the house. The fencing makes
it a tolerable risk.

On Aug 13, 10:00*am, dgk wrote:

Cats that are outside will die sooner or later (not very insightful I
know since we all will die). But the odds of something bad happening
go up rather quickly once they are out of the house. The fencing makes
it a tolerable risk.- Hide quoted text -


I'm not agruing at all, just passing along my experience.

We've had more than a few cats over the years, 2 of which were free to
roam (FTR) the neighborhood. The first one was someone else's FTR cat
that simply decided he liked us better. We ended up taking care of him
for over 5 years until he passed away from some kind of poisoning. As
far as we know, he was about 12 at the time and as far as we know he
was a FTR cat for his entire life.

Our current cat is 9 and has been a FTR cat since we adopted her as a
kitten. She comes in the house for a "walk through" every now and
then, and spent more time inside this winter than any other year, but
for the most part, she's happy to be outside and sleep in the garage.
We were on vacation last week and you could tell how much she missed
us. She slept with us the first night we were home, which is something
that hasn't happened in the summer for many years. Since that night,
she's been back outside all day and night.

You mentioned "cute". The cute thing that our cat does is walk with us
when we walk the dogs. As we leave the house with the dogs, she'll
come out of the garage, or out from under a bush or car, and follow us
through the neighborhood. The neighbors love it!

Sometimes my wife likes to take our younger dog on longer walks, out
of the neighborhood and near busier streets. When this happens, we try
to locate the cat and bring her inside until my wife is out of sight
so that the cat won't follow her. When we can't find the cat, my wife
will keep checking as she walks and return home if the cat has
followed her. The she'll toss the cat inside and head back out.

As far as longevity, the last indoor cats we had lived to be about 18
years old. We raised them from newborns, feeding them with eye
droppers until they could take care of themselves. That's older than
our previous FTR cat lived, but obvioulsy I don't know about our
current cat yet. 18 does seem like like a long time for an FTR cat to
survive.

On Mon, 13 Aug 2012 05:12:35 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Aug 12, 4:56*pm, Evan wrote:
On Aug 12, 8:17*am, Gas Bag wrote:





A friend of mine has one of these fences that's about 178cm (5'10")
tall:

http://stratco.com.au/products/fenci...bour/good_neig...

She wants to stop her cats getting out, and other cats getting in. *I
know full well that there are numerous commercially available products
that will stop cats (along with other animals) climbing fences. *I'm
sure they do work, but they're all fairly pricey, particularly if
attempting to cover a significant length of fencing. *I'm now thinking
about trying a home-rigged set up. *I'm considering getting a whole
heap of empty 2 Litre plastic softdrink bottles (Soda bottles to any
USA readers), then cutting off the base and neck of the bottles, then
cutting them lengthwise, then siliconing them to the tops of the fence
so the sides of the bottles "curve downwards" from the top of the
fence. *I'm thinking this curved plastic will be too smooth and
slippery for a cat to get any grip with it's claws. *I have no problem
with spending some time getting this to work, but I want to keep the
cost down, so spending lots of $$$ isn't happening. *Again, I am aware
of many commercially available products.

I was wondering if anyone has attempted anything like this, and if
they can offer any advice. *Thanks.

To any cat "lovers" out there, my friend isn't getting rid of her
cats, nor is she trapping/baiting any of the cats in her suburb.

LOL, what else is inside the yard ?

"animal proof" the fence where the fence is only the
boundary indicator and not likely to be at fault...

How close to the fence are any plants ?

How accessible is the roof of the house to the fence ?
(cats love climbing and jumping)

Nothing you do to the fence will keep out other cats who
jump in from outside beyond the control of the fence
and cat keeper...

Sounds like this cat lady needs to build a kennel
in her yard where the cats can go inside and outside
of the house but when outside are completely enclosed
in a caged off area... *That is the ONLY possible
solution that will prevent escape of her cats and block
ingress of strange cats...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

How will an enclosure in the back yard prevent ingress of strange cats
into the yard?

BTW...what's a "strange cat"?

I had one that thought he was a dog.

On Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:34:36 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Aug 13, 10:00*am, dgk wrote:

Cats that are outside will die sooner or later (not very insightful I
know since we all will die). But the odds of something bad happening
go up rather quickly once they are out of the house. The fencing makes
it a tolerable risk.- Hide quoted text -


I'm not agruing at all, just passing along my experience.
....

As far as longevity, the last indoor cats we had lived to be about 18
years old. We raised them from newborns, feeding them with eye
droppers until they could take care of themselves. That's older than
our previous FTR cat lived, but obvioulsy I don't know about our
current cat yet. 18 does seem like like a long time for an FTR cat to
survive.

Only one of my indoor cats made it past 16, so 18 is quite good. It
depends on the area to some degree. I had friends who were living in
West Virginia on a pretty open meadow, and all the cats wandered
around. There were real predators and the roads were dirt so no one
drove fast. Of course there were real roads nearby but the cats pretty
much stayed in the meadow, which I guess is much more interesting for
them than concrete and asphalt.

I'd let all my cats roam in that circumstance, but living in NYC
they're lucky that they aren't stuck in an apartment 15 floors above
the street.

On Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:14:59 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:34:36 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Aug 13, 10:00*am, dgk wrote:

Cats that are outside will die sooner or later (not very insightful I
know since we all will die). But the odds of something bad happening
go up rather quickly once they are out of the house. The fencing makes
it a tolerable risk.- Hide quoted text -


I'm not agruing at all, just passing along my experience.
...

As far as longevity, the last indoor cats we had lived to be about 18
years old. We raised them from newborns, feeding them with eye
droppers until they could take care of themselves. That's older than
our previous FTR cat lived, but obvioulsy I don't know about our
current cat yet. 18 does seem like like a long time for an FTR cat to
survive.

Only one of my indoor cats made it past 16, so 18 is quite good. It
depends on the area to some degree. I had friends who were living in
West Virginia on a pretty open meadow, and all the cats wandered
around. There were real predators and the roads were dirt so no one
drove fast. Of course there were real roads nearby but the cats pretty
much stayed in the meadow, which I guess is much more interesting for
them than concrete and asphalt.

I'd let all my cats roam in that circumstance, but living in NYC
they're lucky that they aren't stuck in an apartment 15 floors above
the street.


Oops, that as "NO real predators".

On Aug 15, 8:56*am, dgk wrote:
On Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:14:59 -0400, dgk wrote:
On Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:34:36 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Aug 13, 10:00*am, dgk wrote:

Cats that are outside will die sooner or later (not very insightful I
know since we all will die). But the odds of something bad happening
go up rather quickly once they are out of the house. The fencing makes
it a tolerable risk.- Hide quoted text -

I'm not agruing at all, just passing along my experience.
...

As far as longevity, the last indoor cats we had lived to be about 18
years old. We raised them from newborns, feeding them with eye
droppers until they could take care of themselves. That's older than
our previous FTR cat lived, but obvioulsy I don't know about our
current cat yet. 18 does seem like like a long time for an FTR cat to
survive.

Only one of my indoor cats made it past 16, so 18 is quite good. It
depends on the area to some degree. I had friends who were living in
West Virginia on a pretty open meadow, and all the cats wandered
around. There were real predators and the roads were dirt so no one
drove fast. Of course there were real roads nearby but the cats pretty
much stayed in the meadow, which I guess is much more interesting for
them than concrete and asphalt.

I'd let all my cats roam in that circumstance, but living in NYC
they're lucky that they aren't stuck in an apartment 15 floors above
the street.

Oops, that as "NO real predators".- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Last night I watched my cat stalk something in the woods for about 10
minutes until it must have flown/scampered away.

After 10 minutes of crouching down and stealthily walking towards the
woods, she just sat up and started cleaning herself, like "Yep, that's
all I came out here for. Hunting something? No, not me. Just walked
over here to lick my paws, yep, that's all."

Liar!

DerbyDad03 wrote:

Last night I watched my cat stalk something in the woods for about 10
minutes until it must have flown/scampered away.

After 10 minutes of crouching down and stealthily walking towards the
woods, she just sat up and started cleaning herself, like "Yep, that's
all I came out here for. Hunting something? No, not me. Just walked
over here to lick my paws, yep, that's all."


Not long ago I saw a study reporting that feral cats (and I presume tame
ones) catch their prey every third pounce. Just imagine, only three leaps
away from a snack (lizard, bird, frog, grasshopper, mouse, mole, moth, baby
anything, and thousands of specific prey - not including opossums).

"HeyBub" wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

Last night I watched my cat stalk something in the woods for about 10
minutes until it must have flown/scampered away.

After 10 minutes of crouching down and stealthily walking towards the
woods, she just sat up and started cleaning herself, like "Yep, that's
all I came out here for. Hunting something? No, not me. Just walked
over here to lick my paws, yep, that's all."


Not long ago I saw a study reporting that feral cats (and I presume tame
ones) catch their prey every third pounce. Just imagine, only three leaps
away from a snack (lizard, bird, frog, grasshopper, mouse, mole, moth, baby
anything, and thousands of specific prey - not including opossums).

My cat likes to hunt the chipmunks around our house. One time I saw him
hovering over one in the front yard so I chased her away. The chipmunk was
lying on its back and not moving so I reached down to pick it up and toss
it in the woods.

As soon as I got within a couple of inches, the critter flipped over and
ran off under a bush. It had been playing dead so that my cat wouldn't play
with it.

Scared the sh*t out of me when it jumped up!

On Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:06:30 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote:

DerbyDad03 wrote:

Last night I watched my cat stalk something in the woods for about 10
minutes until it must have flown/scampered away.

After 10 minutes of crouching down and stealthily walking towards the
woods, she just sat up and started cleaning herself, like "Yep, that's
all I came out here for. Hunting something? No, not me. Just walked
over here to lick my paws, yep, that's all."


Not long ago I saw a study reporting that feral cats (and I presume tame
ones) catch their prey every third pounce. Just imagine, only three leaps
away from a snack (lizard, bird, frog, grasshopper, mouse, mole, moth, baby
anything, and thousands of specific prey - not including opossums).


On a hot August day a few years ago I was sitting upstairs when I
glance out into the hall and saw Nipsy and Espy sitting in the hallway
looking at something between them and I couldn't tell what it was but
it wasn't a bird. The backdoor was open and they were free to come and
go so whatever it was had just been carried in. Turns out it was a
baby possum - some mother possum had held a graduation and the kids
were scattering in the backyards.

I thought it was dead but picked it up with a paper towel and it
moved! So I took it downstairs and put it through the chain link fence
(so it was still a very small possum) into my neighbor's groundcover.

DerbyDad03 wrote:

My cat likes to hunt the chipmunks around our house. One time I saw
him hovering over one in the front yard so I chased her away. The
chipmunk was lying on its back and not moving so I reached down to
pick it up and toss it in the woods.

As soon as I got within a couple of inches, the critter flipped over
and ran off under a bush. It had been playing dead so that my cat
wouldn't play with it.

Scared the sh*t out of me when it jumped up!

I'd have jumped too! Goddamn chipmunks are vicious little devils!

If you ever visit Mt Rushmore, the second most impressive thing you'll
notice are hundreds of signs, all saying "Don't touch the chipmunks. They
bite!"

On 2012-08-17, HeyBub wrote:
notice are hundreds of signs, all saying "Don't touch the chipmunks. They
bite!"

If you use a 5 iron, they hook.


--
Definition of objectivism:
"Eff you! I got mine."
http://www.nongmoproject.org/

"HeyBub" wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

My cat likes to hunt the chipmunks around our house. One time I saw
him hovering over one in the front yard so I chased her away. The
chipmunk was lying on its back and not moving so I reached down to
pick it up and toss it in the woods.

As soon as I got within a couple of inches, the critter flipped over
and ran off under a bush. It had been playing dead so that my cat
wouldn't play with it.

Scared the sh*t out of me when it jumped up!

I'd have jumped too! Goddamn chipmunks are vicious little devils!

If you ever visit Mt Rushmore, the second most impressive thing you'll
notice are hundreds of signs, all saying "Don't touch the chipmunks. They
bite!"

A couple of decades ago, when my son was about 4, we went camping up in the
Thousand Island region between NY and Canada. As we were moving things from
the truck into the cabin, we were keeping half an eye on my son.

Well, the next thing I heard was him saying "Look, Daddy, Look!" I turned
to see him holding a chipmunk snugly between his 2 little hands. How he
managed to catch it, i have no idea.

I told him to him drop it, which he did, but not quite fast enough. He
released his hands slowly, giving the chipmunk time to nip him before he
had fully let go.

We drove back to the ranger station who told us that the odds of a chipmunk
having rabies was extreme minimal and that they thought that he would be
fine. They told us how to get to the hospital (an hour away) leaving it up
to us whether to go or not. We chose not to and nothing bad came from it.

Coincidentally, we did end up at that hospital many years later when my
other son broke his finger while trying to stop a log from rolling into a
car in the same camping area.