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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To leave my cat outside in the cold

49 replies

Ray81 · 21/12/2010 15:05

I probably am but she had a great big crap in DD2s 7months room on her playmat of all things.

Has seriously pissed me off and i put her outside, she is sat by the door wanting to come in but i dont want to let her in.

Btw she has not had a litter tray since she was a kitten and has never crapped in the house before.

AIBU or should i let her in?

OP posts:

SantasMadMissy · 21/12/2010 15:40

Your bathroom froze

Loie159 · 21/12/2010 15:41

did you think that maybe she didnt want to go outside becuase of the snow / cold / icey wind/ sleety rain - do you want to go out? Becuase you dont have a litter tray she had nowhere else to go? i doubt very much that she did it on purpose so fine to be angry / annoyed / feel a bit sick/ but YABU to punish the cat for gods sake. why not just put down a litter tray when the weather is bad? animal cruelty no matter how mild is not going to win you any fans is it?

Original poster

Ray81 · 21/12/2010 15:42

Santa honestly if you did that for my cat she would look at you as if to say 'yeah right'

Msklo no dont have a catflap and have considered getting one but she is abit funny about new things and i worry about spending the money on it and her not using it ifswim.

On a nicer note her and DD2 7 months absolutley LOVE each other. DD2 will sit there stroking her for ages its so sweet.

OP posts:

MassiveKnobOfBrandyButter · 21/12/2010 15:44

I hope he is back in now?

Poor cat.

FanjoForTheMincePies · 21/12/2010 15:44

am seriously shocked by the OP.

DooinMeCleanin · 21/12/2010 15:45

Yup. Our bathroom runs off our kitchen in old style single layer brick extension. There is no heating in the bathroom or kitchen and a fecking huge hole in the wall airbrick in the bathroom that is apparently essential.

We have had to stand the oil radiator in the bath to try and defrost shower pipes which are behind the tiles.

We will be leaving the oil heater on overnight from now on.

Original poster

Ray81 · 21/12/2010 15:46

Loie159 she was out for 10 mins at the most and there is no snow here and no rain or sleet and no wind either, so hardly animal cruelty.

the other day when it was 10 cm deep she 'asked' to go out, i let her out fully expecting her to come back in very quickly and she was gone for nearly 2 hrs. I kept going to call her and she was noweher to be seen so snow etc clearly doesnt bother her.

OP posts:

SantasMadMissy · 21/12/2010 15:51

I know! My cat is crazy!

DMC brrr chilly!

Lovecat · 21/12/2010 15:53

YABU, glad you've let her back in.

It is a worry, though - I had the same issues with DD when she was crawling, she always seemed to make a beeline for the litter tray, I ended up having to keep it in the downstairs loo with the door shut and the window open instead of by their catflap like it usually is. Thankfully this was the summer and once DD was up walking she seemed to lose interest - if it had been winter the house would have been an icebox.

I do feel for the cat, though, as well! I would hate to have to go out to poo in this weather!

bitsyandbetty · 21/12/2010 17:02

All the cats in our close are out in the snow.

Articulate · 21/12/2010 17:13

YANBU. She is a cat and has thick fur, she will survive.

smallwhitecat · 21/12/2010 17:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

greenbananas · 21/12/2010 17:38

Oh dear - I am about to go completely against the flow and say you might not be totally unreasonable... so long as the cat was not out there for more than a few minutes.

Okay, so this poor cat might have not wanted to go outside in the snow - but that's no excuse for weeing in the baby's room.

My (beloved and very spoiled )cat did a big wee on DS's play mat when DS was about that age. It was very clear to me that this was a territory thing - the weather was fine, she was not ill and she's not in the habit of weeing indoors. DS was actually lying on it before I noticed - I lost my rag totally and chased the cat outdoors, hissing and stamping at her. She came back in about an hour later, looking very sorry, and she has not done it again.

Myleetlepony · 21/12/2010 17:39

Cats (and other animals) don't understand punishment. If she did something 2 minutes ago and you then take some sort of punishing action like putting her outside, she will not have a clue why.

Having said that, unless it's really dire weather, it won't hurt a cat to go outside for 10 minutes, whether they understand your logic or not.

Confuzzeled · 21/12/2010 17:41

I know your not really going to leave your cat outside for long so YANBU.

My cat has crapped on my bed and dd's bed over the last few weeks because she doesn't want to go outside. She has a litter that she uses normally but I think she is blaming me or dd for the snow. She is not unwell, she is just pissed off she can't run around outside without getting wet paws.

My mums cat have always gone outside all through winter and they're in the far north with loads of snow every winter. Cats can deal with it, not for long obviously, but long enough to do the business.

I love my cat but they are vindictive monsters and will crap where they know it'll annoy you most to get your attention.

I chuck my cat out for 10 mins after each meal and I make sure her litter is super clean.

Chatelaine · 21/12/2010 18:12

YABU, although I sympathise with your feelings of disgust at the cat using yery young DC's environment as her toilet. I also understand your intial feelings that made you eject her. Provide a litter tray in this cold weather to make her comfortable and confident that she has somewhere to "go" and make friends with her again. She has been punished enough already so you both need to rebuild your loving relationship.

minipie · 21/12/2010 18:31

YANBU (or not especially). If she is a healthy cat, it won't kill her and she probably knows she shouldn't have pooed there (cats are pretty bright).

But get a cat flap or a litter tray. Seriously. What happens at night or when you go out? Is the cat supposed to cross its legs?

BusyMisstletoeIzzy · 21/12/2010 18:34

Oh I get so angry with my cat sometimes, she miaows and wakes up 9mo DD, and hides behind her cot when she knows she's not allowed to stay there when DD is asleep. I might have wanted to put her outside in these situations, but I'd never do it (she's a housecat), especially in such horrible cold weather. So YABU, I'm afraid.

mugggletoeandwine · 21/12/2010 18:38

My cat never comes in, she lives outside all year round.
She will occasionally come just in the back door in summer if it's open, but runs straight out if you even try to close it.

She eats a lot more in cold weather, but still won't come in.

tribpot · 21/12/2010 18:40

I think cats can understand punishment (not to mention world domination and anything else they turn their minds to). Not long after we got Harry Potter the cat (and she had been using the litter tray perfectly) she went off the rails and pooed in the spare room. DH was very cross and showed her exactly where she should have put the poo (yes HP is a girl despite her name).

Next day she did a poo in the tray and then literally shot down the stairs to hide. When I came down to go out to work she went back up to sit by the tray but refused to purr when I went to stroke her. I said to DH "I think she wants your reassurance she's done it right today" and sure enough, that's what it was. After that she was fine. And it reinforced her belief that DH is in Chief of Police of the Litter Tray - how sad for me .

Very difficult with young ones and litter trays - Cats Protection said to us "you realise you'll have to keep ds out of her litter tray?" Errr- he's five YEARS old. You tell him not to because there's poo in there and he doesn't. 7 months is an entirely different prospect, although you know you can get those litter trays with a hood with a flap in? (They need to invent them to be chipped like cat flaps to keep little ones out really).

I wouldn't deliberately keep an animal out in the cold but my parents used to throw our cats outside every night except on the very coldest of nights. Which in fairness is where we are at the moment, -5 tonight and we look forward to a weekly high of 1 degree on Thursday. The cats had outbuildings they could sleep in but blimey.

So she needs to know she's done something wrong but equally she probably does need a pooing option in this cold weather.

MadamDeathstare · 21/12/2010 18:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bringmesomeFIGGYpudding · 21/12/2010 18:50

I was under the impression that my cat was out in the cold for ages (he is outside all the time out of his choice!), turns out I was wrong, little bugger has been going and sitting in front of the fire in the pub I kid you not!

He uses their cat flap and goes in, he has also been caught upstairs in the flat above . I only found this out when I went to pick up a delivery there, pub not worried and cat obviously not - he doesn't like the dog and having to go through the cat flap with the dog there so sees the pub and crisp remnants as a bonus really!

Confuzzeled · 21/12/2010 19:31

Oh I read it wrong, I thought it said she HAD a litter since she was a kitten.

In that case YABVU. Cats need a litter or a cat flap. I keep mine in a cupboard with a stairgate across it. Friend of mine keeps hers in a cupboard with a bit of string on the handle so it can only be opened enough for cat to squeeze through.

onceamai · 21/12/2010 19:41

Utterly cruel. It's cold and snowy and surely you know that there will be accidents when it's like that. YABU for not having put down a litter tray.

If I had treated my darling youngest son like that the dc would have contacted Cat Chat and had him taken into care.

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