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Every cat I've ever owned knew how to get their collars off themselves, usually 5 minutes after i put it on them. My currnt kitty wears a harness, and she knows she's not allowed outside without her harness and leash on. (Not everyone around here is kind to animals, so we needed a way to keep her where we can see her.) She only goes out during the daytime anyway because of the owls and coyotes. How do you guys keep your cats safe at night? Are there just that few cat-eating predators over there?

Sorry for the typos, my keyboard keys are sticking.

My cat whom we left with my sister when we emigrated, he was a bit of a social butterfly even when we had him but after we left he apparently got worse.
He was a very beautiful pedigree cat and just so friendly he may as well have been a little dog, he visited all our neighbours doing the social rounds and then quite a few streets beyond.
One Xmas he came back home to my sisters with a brand shiny new xmas collar lol, he still visits all the neighbours all these years on but is getting a bit old now so his wanderlust is waning

Ellendra wrote: How do you guys keep your cats safe at night? Are there just that few cat-eating predators over there?

There really aren't very many cat-eating predators over here. There may be the odd dog lurking in a neighbour's garden that might try but the cats can usually get away. The only other wild predators are foxes and badgers but both usually have a healthy respect for cats and keep away.

Sadly, the biggest predators of cats in this country are cars.

Zoe

Just spent a tearful day searching for our cat who seems to have disappeared completely - hope he has just gone roaming, as some of yours seem to do, but afraid he might have been spooked by fireworks which started up suddenly yesterday teatime.

BTW, anyone read the kid's book 'Six Dinner Sid'? Its a lovely story - the cat got fed by six different people, all of whom believed themselves to be the owner (and he adopted an appropriate personality to suit each person).

Oh Yvette I'm so sorry . I do hope puss comes home soon and you can give him a cuddle. I think fireworks should be banned........but that's another topic. Good luck love.

I do hope puss is alright. Give him a cuddle for me when he gets back home.

Zoe

I haven't checked back here for a while, but here's an update for anyone who is interested...

A few weeks ago we got a phone call from the RSPCA who gave us a number for a lady who had Salem's chip scanned after he had been visiting her for a couple of weeks (he must have been between our house and her house the whole time). So I called her up and arranged to go get him, she only lives a couple of streets away.
She was dead nice, had been feeding Salem lots of meaty cat food and a had a saucer of milk out (we only feed our cats dry food as too much of the meaty stuff seems to give them bad stomachs, as does milk) and her grandchildren had been playing with him etc. no wonder he liked it there!

So after I brought him home we kept him in the house for a few days but he didn't seem himself and was dying to go outside so I let him out, and he hasn't been back since.

I've seen him around a few times in people's front gardens, or down the alleyway behind our row of houses...but when I call him or try to go near him he spints off. I miss him being at home, but if he doesn't want to be there I guess there's not much I can do. At least he looks healthy whenever I see him, so I guess he's doing a "six dinners Sid" or something!

Sonuds a lot like parenthood....

Sorry to hear he's off and left you but what can you do........cat's do what they want whatever. Shame as he had a loving home and is missed but you either give him up or get another cat who needs a good loving home and hope for the best. The very worst that would happen is he'd move back in and you'd have two cats. At least he's alive and happily eating his fill. Do you think you'd get another cat?

We already have another cat, one of Salem's offspring actually...there's no chance of her leaving home, she doesn't even like going outside much! I think this is due to her being the runt of the litter, my OH had to hand rear her as a kitten so now she thinks she's part-human!

I don't have a cat (my terrier would chase it) but I don't really get cats, they are nice on the house to stroke etc, but I'd be too worried about letting them out alone and they aren't very loyal pets.

My friends family have a cat that was their neighbours, they for a new kitten which he didn't like and basically moved in with them, they kept throwing him out and taking him back but he always broke through thee catflap or jumped through windows etc and eventually they stopped trying to chuck him out they did fall out with their neighbours for a bit about it though.

Also I have seen a collar cause the damage you have mentioned I found and injured cat
And saw a poster for a lost cat which looked the same, I thought it wad a car accident but the rang and said it was where cat got caught on a tree branch, put his paw through collar trying to get out, it cut into the cats (armpit?) area and eventually snapped the collar and it got free.

we just had another incident with our neighbours and our cat.I heard someone knocking at our back door tonight around 7pm,and as I went to answer it,the neighbour(a guy)opened our back door(he's good mates with my OH)and in jumped our cat.As I let the neighbour in,our cat jumped inside.The neighbour said "Oh its freezing outside,the poor thing,why is she outside"Me:She only went outside(her choice)5 minutes ago!Grrrrrrr I really don't like the way these people speak to us about our cat.The cat is 12 this year and we've always taken the best of care of her.She has her regular needles,goes into a cattery if we go away,and yes we let her inside when she wants to come in.When we moved here,our cat for some reason visited these neighbours alot and they started feeding her(they have 4 cats of their own)so she kept going round there.She is fed twice a day by us but I think they got it in their heads we were starving her!Ridiculous.Then tonight the guy assumed she might of been outside all day,which could'nt be further from the truth.She had actually been in most of the day.I think people should mind their own business!

It does annoy me when people feed other peoples' cats. It encourages them to stray. There's a woman across the road from me who apparently puts food out for all the local 'strays'. Personally, I've never seen a stray cat around here, just well fed, healthy pets who get enticed to cross the busy main road and then get run over. I just keep hoping mine are too scared to cross the road.

Zoe

Somnophore wrote:I don't have a cat (my terrier would chase it) but I don't really get cats, they are nice on the house to stroke etc, but I'd be too worried about letting them out alone and they aren't very loyal pets.

IMHO, complete toms tend to wander the most. Apparently they can have a territory of up to 5 miles. Cats are more independent than dogs, and they're a bit of a challenge which is probably why cat lovers like them. They will move out if their home doesn't suit them such as if a new baby or another cat comes into the house. Or if a change in the owners lifestyle means that they are left at home alone all day when they've been used to company.

Oh, and they make great hot water bottles on a cold winter evening - until they stick their claws into your toe (ouch).

Zoe