Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Indoor versus outdoor
Yesterday my next-door neighbor knocked on my door. Please could I unlock my back gate so she could come into my back yard to try to catch her cat Dixie who had come into my garden?
This happens about once a week. It can be very inconvenient as I am expected to interrupt whatever I am doing - eating, cooking, talking, watching TV, working on my computer - to go outside and unlock the gate and wait around until she (or her daughter) has caught the cat, or more usually failed to catch him.
The ridiculous thing is that Dixie is an indoor cat, i.e. he is not allowed out! All the same, he does get out regularly, but because he has not been trained to come home, they have to try to catch him. Usually he refuses to be caught. Yesterday he jumped on the garage roof and she threw a stone at him to try to drive him home.
To my mind this is a ludicrous situation. All the foster cats who come through my home have to stay indoors for at least three weeks, or until they have been fully vaccinated, whichever is the later. During that time I NEVER under any circumstances allow them to get out! At the end of the period I let them out, but for the first three or four days the outings are accompanied, and get gradually longer, until I am absolutely sure they know the way home. After this I can relax knowing they will come home and they are always in by bedtime at night.
This happens about once a week. It can be very inconvenient as I am expected to interrupt whatever I am doing - eating, cooking, talking, watching TV, working on my computer - to go outside and unlock the gate and wait around until she (or her daughter) has caught the cat, or more usually failed to catch him.
The ridiculous thing is that Dixie is an indoor cat, i.e. he is not allowed out! All the same, he does get out regularly, but because he has not been trained to come home, they have to try to catch him. Usually he refuses to be caught. Yesterday he jumped on the garage roof and she threw a stone at him to try to drive him home.
To my mind this is a ludicrous situation. All the foster cats who come through my home have to stay indoors for at least three weeks, or until they have been fully vaccinated, whichever is the later. During that time I NEVER under any circumstances allow them to get out! At the end of the period I let them out, but for the first three or four days the outings are accompanied, and get gradually longer, until I am absolutely sure they know the way home. After this I can relax knowing they will come home and they are always in by bedtime at night.
# posted by bizwrite @ 7:24 AM 
