AIBU to think cats are difficult pets if you hate uncertainty?

I'm pretty sure my cat would say "Humans are awful pets to have if you hate uncertainty"

She's very much a creature of habit. Nags for her food at the same time, wants to go out at the same time (Why does it have to be 3:10am though!). She gets thoroughly miffed if we're not home when expected to be or things are different than usual. She's being a right little shit at the moment because DD has dared to leave for university.

I find it incredibly annoying, but I think I prefer it to having a cat as capricious as yours OP. Glad she's turned up for you and doesn't bugger off again any time soon!

Oh my gosh I’m so relieved for you. It’s such a horrible feeling. Very glad he’s okay! Has anyone asked you to pay the cat tax yet? <hopeful>

Usually in the first two years I believe, which drags down the average. The majority of our cats have lived to 17-19 and have died due to cancer or kidney failure.

Oh hooray! How long was it, OP? I stumbled across this thread while scrolling for things to cheer me up as my own feral little beast has been gone 48 hours and I'm so worried he's going to stay away longer, like he did a few months ago. We got a Tractive tracker collar after that, which is great - if he keeps it on. I'd definitely look down that route but be prepared for a cat who can get it off.

No wonder the cat goes missing when he’s clearly second best!

With (past) experience of both, I never get the line that dogs are more loving or rewarding. Of course animals are all different and will vary even within species but gaining the trust, respect and love of a cat is (in my experience) truly something special. It’s not freely given.

My cat thankfully just likes to potter and doesn’t go far. But in my new house due to the amount of dogs in my neighbours gardens I ended up cat proofing my garden. She is 16 and wouldn’t protect herself.

she can’t jump high so just had to cat proof the fence so she can’t crawl out and make sure I don’t accidentally but anything she can use as a jump. I did add lots of climbing plants to the fences

Sorry, I also meant to say I hope he turns up soon OP.

YANBU. One of ours frequently goes awol for weeks, especially in the summer. He hangs out at other people’s houses and gardens and manages to persuade some of them to feed him 🙄 It’s a bit of a ballache. Dogs are less stressful and more rewarding IMO. (We have both).

We had one in our garden - it didn’t obviously look like a stray so it wasn’t until weather was really cold we realised. We trapped and scanned him and he had been missing over 6 months.

he lived 10 minutes walk away, that said when we returned him it seemed he may have been being bullied by his brother.

we did see him a few times again but he obviously managed to get home those times.

we then just a couple of months ago adopted another stray - he just sort of moved in himself so we gave in and had him chipped to us etc. he was neutered and very friendly so obvisually had a home and some point.

We have a tractive collar - which unclips itself if pulled too tight- so minimal risk of strangulation/injury.
The couple times the cat has come back without it...you then just track the collar and get it back out of the bush. Using the app once you get near you can have the tracker flash and bleep.

I still don't like them though. Whoever had put the collar on him had used a basic one. When they come to me they get microchipped and the collar goes in the bin.

It is amazing just how many people still don't microchip their cats. None of the last 5 had been done.

We built a catio and installed some aerial walkways that span out into the garden through the trees. We also have leads and take them for walks.

Cats shouldn't be outside due to the impact they have on the local wildlife, unless they are farm cats used specifically for rodent control.

They are a bit of a menace to be fair 😁

Cat-proofing sounds like a good solution. Did your cat take long to get used to it?

We have car proofed our back garden for this exact reason. It’s so stressful when they wander and we’ve lost a cat on the road 😢

I hope your cat comes home soon.

Cats going missing would stress me out.

I'd never thought of them as a worry as in my experience mine are so ridiculously predictable it's almost annoying! None of them have ever gone missing except once but I could hear him somewhere and he was locked in a neighbour's garage.

I hope yours comes home asap.

Many collars now have a snap mechanism that releases them if they are under strain. Our rescue cat got through three collars in his first week, then settled down and has kept his collar on for months, but if it caught on something it would ping open before it could trap him in any way.

We got cat-proof fencing from Katzecure, which takes the form of horizontal poles along the top of the fence which rotate freely, so the cat cannot climb over. It was expensive, but it's kept him in for five years. We did this after he had been injured by a car (he did recover with treatment, a neighbour found him, and called the number on his collar, so it saved him).

I expect the cat haterz will soon be along to tell you that cats are feral beasts which murder birds and shit in other people's gardens, that they should be licenced, kept indoors at all times, and that they are a menace.

I think it depends on the temperament of the cat and how long you've had them.
My 2 seem to love being at home, they don't tend to be out more than a few hours at a time max. We feed them at set times so they tend to come back for that if they're out.
My tortoiseshell is female and won't go in other people's houses, doesn't go far from home at all. She was 10 months when we adopted her and she's 6 now.
The orange one on the other hand frequently visits neighbours and I know some of them feed him. He's very active and inquisitive but knows where his home is. We adopted him when he was 5 months old, he's nearly 5 now.
I do think adopting younger cats makes a difference as they probably don't remember life as a stray so are much more settled.
Mine don't have collars either and I wouldn't introduce them at this age as they wouldn't tolerate it.

Yes I agree but a tracker is an excellent solution! If your cat will wear a collar that is. I know not all will.

Can you cat proof your garden? I'm going to do that when I move (can't with current garden) to reduce my worry. I hate not knowing where mine are although most of the time they're just fast asleep under the thick garden bushes.