Cat people. Do you let your cat out at night?

[Spidermama]

We're in the process of trying to get two rescue kittens but I'm finding it hard. Firstly they're not keen to home them with young children (understandable I guess) but then they (The Cats Protection League) adcise you to bring the cats in overnight and lock them indoors. When I was a kid my cats loved night time the best as they would hunt and enjoy themselves.

I'm not sure I'd want to keep a cat in at night. Surely the whole point with a cat is you put in cat door then they can come and go as they please.

I think they're preferred owner choice is potty spinsters and they get a little ratty if children might come first in the family.

oour cat is free to ocme and go as he likes.
We live surrounded by fields and he often is seen wondering around.

My SIL in USA had her cats declawed which seemed very cruel to me. Is this somehting that happens here?

My mum's cat was hit by a car one afternoon and sadly lost one of his legs. He was only 8 months old.
Understandably, she keeps him in at night as he isn't too quick now.

Re collar question - yes deff to collar as the bell is essential to warn birds.

Declawing is predominantly American and is certainly disliked by vets over here. Declawing is part of the whole, 'I want a fluffy little floppy puppet and not a real animal' mentality. Darn cruel.

I totally agree pointy. They said to me one reason they don't want to let cats out at night is that's when cats fight, but so long as there's a cat flap my cats can choose and if they want to fight with other cats in the hood, well, that's none of my business.

We seem to have one very out going one and one very timid one. The darker one is at large chasing a pine cone on a string, the other is still cowering under the cooker.

at de-clawing.

"Many sources recommending keeping cat inside permanently."

What many sources are these? Certainly not vets.

I have always let our cats out at night - IMO when they are old and frail they know to be careful and stay close to the house. And there are very few songbirds out at night, cats usually hunt mice at night and birds in the day.

Totally agree that part of being a cat is running up trees, yowling at the moon and scrapping - anyway if you keep them in they'll just piss all over teh carpet (or is that just my cats? )

Take the cats, tell the cats protection league what they want to hear and then do your own thing

Our 3 legged cat is well speedy LOL! Especially if there's a new collar in the offing......

We do the bells and trim claws safely (a vet can teach you how), but declawing? euch.

(their not they're in previous post, obv)

mandalay, that's just yoiu I'm afraid . My cat has never weed on the carpet and she's kept in most days.

I feared so - he was ok until we got DS and then I think he felt that since DS was pissing all over the place it was ok for him to do the same. Sigh...
[adds to TO DO LIST:
Potty train DS
Re-house train cat
Buy new carpets]

I have had 4 cats in total, only 1 now and O ahve always let them out at night. WE have a cat flap and she comes and goes as she pleases. Cats love roaming in the evening, that's what they do isn't it?

My cat goes to bed with us but then disapears at about 2am only to come back for breakfast!

Spidermama,

Sorry, haven't read much of the rest of the thread, but we got our cats from the Cat Protection League, and they advised us the same about keeping them in at night. However, I feel like you that cats should be out at night, as they're nocturnal animals by nature! We have a cat flap for ours, they come and go whenever they want, and we don't have to keep a lit tray indoors (which would be a nightmare with small children...).

Ours were really nervous at first, but once they were confident in the house and with us, we started letting them out. With us at first, but soon on their own. We lived in Ealing then, and it wasn't quiet roads, countryside etc.

The Cat Protection League won't give you a cat that isn't spayed. It's unspayed cats, ime, that cause problems re. fighting, roaming large distances, esp. tom cats, who also breed, leading to more strays.

Saw the question about de-clawing cats. I think that's really really disgusting and cruel. A cat without claws can't jump up a fence, or balance on one either.

I don't think a cat should be locked out at night but should have the option to go out if they wish. They are natural hunters and tend to come alive at night (or mine always have)

spider mine live outside and love the intrigue of the outdoors at night.they have a whole other life going on at night and they sleep all day.

We live on a boat and the CPL wouldn't even give us a home visit - they rejected us as cat owners sight unseen even though we wanted a new cat because our previous lovely boy had just died of natural causes aged 21. In the end, instead of giving a home to a rescue cat as we wanted to, we bought kittens from a breeder, thus encouraging the feline overpopulation. It made me SOOOOO cross!!!!

How bizarre. Ours cats are from the CPL and they never told us to keep them in at night. Perhaps they have changed their policies, as we have had ours for 8 years.

Our lovely mogs have a cat flap, and come and go as they please. They hate, and I hate, litter trays, so keeping them in at any time would be horrendous.

CPL people are crazy in the bean. You have to take that into account.

seeker, that's crazy . It makes me cross, why shouldn't you give a cat a perfectly good home on a house boat? It seems that they think cats have no sense whatsoever, and can't survive without our protection - not being allowed out at night, not living near water, not living with children etc. etc.

The woman we got our cats from, who was a CPL representative, had 22 cats in her house. It stank. Our two (siblings) were in 1 room, which they hadn't left since they arrived 9 months previously. They shared it with a ferral cat who spat and wouldn't let you anywhere near it. Our girl cat just hid in a corner behind her brother, shivering and mewing. We felt we had to rescue them from the CPL. They'd been picked up as strays when their mother's owner had thrown them out, and were incredibly nervous when we got them. TBH, I put that down to the conditions they lived in under the "protection" of the CPL.

sorry, hijack rant over. Glad I got that off my chest.

Mine prefer's to be out at night, and sleep all day! My cat's mother got ran over by a car in broad daylight about 3 days after I put a collar on her. Not sure if it was a coincidence but our old family cat died within a week of us putting a collar on it too. So my cat does not wear a collar, it's bad luck obviously!
Have to say though that if I had to choose between my cats having a 'normal' shorter life or a longer life shut indoors than it would be no contest. A cat needs to roam outside (unless it's one of those strange ones with no fur!)

did teh collar have anything to do with its death, rodeo?

Actually if you put a bell on a cat who isn't used to one it can seriously disorientate them.

Our cats don't have bells, they were never great birders even in their prime but now they're far too old and slow to even try, and the birds just sit and laugh at them.

lol at seriously disorientated cat with bell.

surely they've got to grips with it after a couple of days?