I wouldn’t want anyone to do that to me so I won’t do it to them.
You’re not a cat, dufus.
No, but I think that most cats feel the same way about the outdoors as I do. I honestly don't think even a spacious 5 bed house is a good environment for a predatory animal that needs to explore a natural environment.
Every time someone posts on here about being miserable and dissatisfied basically all the responses are telling them to get outside into nature. Why is that good for us? There are loads of studies about this, it's something deep rooted in our animal origins that we need greenery, blue skies and a natural environment. I have no idea why people think this is any different for animals, since they are much closer to their animal nature than we are (being animals, of course) and they don't even know how to use the internet.
How are they going to feel anything about something they have no experience of? Ours have never been out of the house aside from vet visits etc, they can no more miss the outdoors than they can miss Egypt.
Ah, you edited.
I would agree with you, if our cats were ignored all day. They aren't. They're stimulated, played with, exercised, warm, well fed, happy. I have one purring away on my knee right now.
Would they be happier out chasing real birds, pooing in other people's yards, picking up flea infestations, dodging cars and cutting their paws open on the broken glass the previous occupants saw fit to cement into the top of the garden wall? I honestly don't know, but by the same chalk nor do you.
the article does seem to have touched a nerve amongst the pet owners given the amount of willful misunderstanding. The fact your pet may have a great life does not invalidate the arguments, nor does taking exception to how they're expressed, nor do pictures of dogs.
(We've had cats for decades fwiw. So what?)
Well, that's not fair. It's touched a nerve mostly because it's spurious bollocks of the highest order.
Cats are territorial animals, it doesn't matter if the territory is your house and the surrounding gardens, or just your house. If they have the run of their full territory, they are satisfied. In many ways, just being indoors means they are not competing for territory with other cats, so may be less stressful. They do need some extra stimulation indoors though.
My two are happy as larry indoors, but would probably wander out for a look if I left a door open. Trouble is, once they've done that, the area they've visited gets added to the 'territory' list so they would want to be let out so they can check it over.
Downsides: I really, really want to open a door and send them out sometimes, plus litter trays can be vile.
Bonus: Lack of fleas, fighting, squashed kitties, and carnage for the local birdlife, and not falling out with my neighbour because they shit on his vegetable patch.
There are loads of studies about this, it’s something deep rooted in our animal origins that we need greenery, blue skies and a natural environment.
With cats it is much more than that. It is akin to us watching the telly, reading a newspaper, or catching up with some gossip down the pub.
When a cat pops outside for ten minutes it reads a story. The smells left behind tells it who has been around, for how long, and how long ago.
Every twig potentially provides a multitude of news which is why they are so delicately sniffed. Information such as "ginger from four doors down was here about an hour ago but he didn't stay long" or "Tabby met that black and white cat that I can't stand about 10 minutes ago" or "that fox has been loitering around here again" and so on.
That is why cats often want to come back in not long after pestering to go out - they have caught up with the latest news and will catch up again later.
They also like to spend ages staring at life in their patch - the dogs walking past, the birds in the bushes, the screaming children, etc.
If there is one thing cats are known for it is their curiosity.
Pets (well cats and dogs that do not work for a living) are quite frankly a pain in the arse for everyone - the environment, the local wild animal population, the neighbours, the owners and the pets themselves. They push tonnes of Co2 into the atmosphere (metaphorically), they kill stuff that probably should be killed and eaten by other wild stuff or left to breed, they cost their owners a fortune, shite everywhere, bark, need constant attention and then just go and die causing grief to children and emotionally stunted adults everywhere.....there is literally no logical explanation why they have become so popular.
...looks across the room to a reclining useless ball of ragdoll shaped fluff which is currently shedding hairs all over my expensive sofa and regrets allowing daughter to have a cat.....then goes and strokes it and feels blood pressure drop
no logical explanation at all
they flee in terror when the front door opens
Which proves how the outdoor environment is totally different to the indoor environment to cat.
Suggesting they get the same from indoors as they do from outdoors is clearly false. It is a totally different experience. And one which cats overwhelmingly love when they are slowly introduced to it. It is part of their growing up experience.
Forum appears to be broken for me at least in terms of posting and I can't see any actual points being refuted, so cba going on with this, but
It’s touched a nerve mostly because it’s spurious bollocks of the highest order.
starting at the beginning...
The animals are harmed from the outset, regardless of whether they are sourced from puppy mills, the wild, or artisanal inbreeders. Often African grey parrots and other “exotics” are captured from their habitats, and many die en route to the market. Puppy mills are plagued by high mortality rates for the young, while mothers are kept perpetually pregnant until they are discarded. Pedigreed animals, whose genetics are equivalent to the offspring of siblings, are often plagued by health problems during their truncated lives.
^^which bit of that is incorrect? That's not your pet or all pets but it is a reasonable proportion. And in terms of how it's expressed I quite like "artisanal inbreeders".
Eg, “It is hard to fathom the boredom of pet fish” – well, yes, it is, but this is begging the question. Are fish bored? Do they bob about in fishtanks longing for a game of Canasta? Are they pining for you to get home and put the telly on because Arsenal are playing Man U at 7?
Wait till they pass their driving license....
Suggesting they get the same from indoors as they do from outdoors is clearly false. It is a totally different experience. And one which cats overwhelmingly love when they are slowly introduced to it. It is part of their growing up experience.
I think their fear of outside is because they were rescue kittens who were born in a park. The rescue group that we got them from has been trying to catch the mum cat for ages to neuter her, but she's too smart to get trapped and keeps having litters of kittens. The kittens' early experiences would have been of hiding from strangers, then they got kidnapped and taken to a shelter. They were utterly terrified when we visited the shelter. When we got them home, we put them in a fairly large cage with a litter box and water for a couple of days until they got used to the litter box, then gave them the run of the house. After a few days they started trusting us, but the moment a stranger comes to the door, they flee to either under the bed or under the sofa. They know that the doorbell means a stranger is coming and they can tell when a stranger is in the house (not sure if it's smell or sound, but they know). My sister -in-law loves cats and has house sat when we've been away on holiday, but she has never seen them. They wait until she's sleeping before sneaking out and eating and shitting. Even if the doorbell doesn't ring, they immediately go on high alert whenever they hear the front door open. They really do not want to go out and encounter strangers.
They have the run of the house, with a climbing pole and scaffolding to climb on. They chase each other round like mad things after meals, up and down the hallway, etc. They don't like doors being closed, apart from the front door. They are perfectly happy cats, they don't miss the outdoor life.
Dont worry – it won’t be long before they start drinking
And shortly thereafter it'll be you that's pissing and shitting on the floor
Thols2 your cats sound very similar to the girlfriends rescue cat.
Her cat does occasionally come down for human contact, but only when it is the two of us. If there is anyone else in the room the cat stays hidden upstairs.
She does have a cat flap but the cat doesn’t use it. I actually think it’s too scared to put its head through the flap. During the summer the cat will go on the patio if we are outside. As soon as we come in side the cat follows us.
Cats are territorial animals, it doesn’t matter if the territory is your house and the surrounding gardens, or just your house.
I think it does. For humans, there is nothing like seeing blue sky through green leaves, or the smell of the earth, a warm breeze on your face etc etc. These things are what ground our animal selves, they aren't an affectation. And cats are their animal selves. It does break my heart a bit to think of cats being shut inside all the time. We have two - one goes outside just to check out the back garden in winter and use the facilities; in summer she spends all her time sat under a bush in a sunny location chilling out. The other is still a kitten but is of course highly curious and is beginning to explore the woods and the less accessible bits of ground that link people's gardens. And good for her. There's a small chance she'll get run over, but then there is also a small chance I'll get run over out on my bike. It's a small risk I'm prepared to accept for a better quality of life for me, so I do the same for my cats. Regarding predation - there's no evidence they hunt right now, but I'm sure the kitten will end up doing so. But on the other hand, there are no natural predators at all in this piece of woodland, so I think it could possibly support a few cats. And their feeding strategy is designed so they don't get too hungry.
As for fleeing in terror of the open door - both ours did that at first. But we encouraged them to come outside and enjoy the outside with us, now they love it. Of course, we live at the end of a cul-de-sac with a bit of garden and not too far from a chunk of urban woodland, but these things factored into our decision to get cats.
EDIT actually there is a sparrowhawk somewhere in the neighbourhood, but that seems to take pigeons and magpies.
Dreamies now !, or I'll spike your leg.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/166882394@N07/52677749297/in/dateposted-public/
Nice story thols2 🐱
I wasn't suggesting that in your case it isn't justified, sorry if it came across like that, I was using your example to emphasis that the outdoor experience is completely different to the indoor experience for a cat.
They cannot get the same experience from being indoors as they can from being outdoors.
starting at the beginning…
The animals are harmed from the outset, regardless of whether they are sourced from puppy mills, the wild, or artisanal inbreeders. Often African grey parrots and other “exotics” are captured from their habitats, and many die en route to the market. Puppy mills are plagued by high mortality rates for the young, while mothers are kept perpetually pregnant until they are discarded. Pedigreed animals, whose genetics are equivalent to the offspring of siblings, are often plagued by health problems during their truncated lives.
^^which bit of that is incorrect? That’s not your pet or all pets but it is a reasonable proportion. And in terms of how it’s expressed I quite like “artisanal inbreeders”.
You've answered your own question.
There are, without doubt, problems with some practices within the pet industries. But you could say the same of most anything we buy. Electronics, pharmaceuticals, clothing, food... The solution isn't "don't have pets" (or "don't eat") but rather to strive to do so ethically.
We can't just form an argument by grouping "animals" as one homogenous group, unless we're writing propaganda for PETA.
Let's break down that paragraph:
> The animals are harmed from the outset, regardless of whether they are sourced from puppy mills, the wild, or artisanal inbreeders.
Are they? All of them? How?
Animals are inherently harmed by... being born in the wild?
> Often African grey parrots and other “exotics” are captured from their habitats, and many die en route to the market.
I don't have a parrot, grey or African or otherwise. I don't know anyone who has ever owned a parrot. An ex had a budgie once. This is a weird point to be starting to form an argument from.
> Puppy mills are plagued by high mortality rates for the young, while mothers are kept perpetually pregnant until they are discarded.
I don't have a puppy. I'd never even heard of a "puppy mill," ten seconds' googling would suggest that this is largely an American problem. (I suspect the same is broadly true of the "exotics" mentioned in the previous sentence.)
> Pedigreed animals, whose genetics are equivalent to the offspring of siblings, are often plagued by health problems during their truncated lives.
This at least I know is true. There are many horror stories around designer animals. Plenty of 'pure' breeds do survive and thrive though. For every white tiger there's multiple golden retrievers.
But you could say the same of most anything we buy.
"what about..." 🙂
Are they? All of them? How?
my words were "a reasonable proportion"
I don’t have a parrot, grey or African or otherwise.
So what? This isn't about you.
I don’t have a puppy. I’d never even heard of a “puppy mill,”
So what? Unscrupulous breeders are not just a US issue. That's why so many on this thread are posting that their dogs/cats are rescued. Google a bit. Including genetic disorders of golden retrievers.They have quite a few (hips, cancer) that occur more in the breed. Sad for all concerned.
We've fostered 30 or so cats from a wide range of backgrounds, some long-term. None of them show any ill effects at all from being housebound. We do have a large cat-friendly house (open plan over 3 levels, stairs, lots to climb on). We have occasionally tried having some of them out in the garden but it was a pain in the arse with getting stuck on a dangerous roof, darting onto a road, and other stuff. I'm sure that many cats also enjoy the outdoors but the idea that it's necessary seems a bit far-fetched. Outdoor cats get injured and killed at a significant rate.
Animals are inherently harmed by… being born in the wild? Wut?
It's talking about animals who are abducted from the wild to be sold as pets.
“what about…” 🙂
Pff.
Point was, the bulk of the article is just rash generalisations. We shouldn't have a pet dog because something about bored goldfish? Give over.
what's all this about "pestering", "opening doors" etc, have you people not come across this new cutting-edge technology known as a [I]cat-flap[/I] 😂That is why cats often want to come back in not long after pestering to go out
I have a smart cat-flap which tracks each cat in & out via their microchips, the data is pretty interesting (to me 🤣). One cat is more solitary and spends quite a lot of time outside (not at the moment so much as it's cold!) Another likes to be inside but uses the flap [I]much[/I] more frequently for quick "patrol missions" as you suggest and can be in-and-out 20 times or more per day! (Sod getting up to open the door for him each time 😂)
Even our newest rescue cat who is extremely timid loves going outside for brief periods when it's "safe" & accompanied by a human or friendly cat!
There's nowhere near as much to see and do indoors as there is outdoors. I don't think you can say that 'indoor cats are fine' when they haven't ever seen what they are missing.
We shouldn’t have a pet dog because something about bored goldfish?
It doesn't say that
For humans, there is nothing like seeing blue sky through green leaves, or the smell of the earth, a warm breeze on your face etc etc.
Human and cat desires are not neatly transferable. Cats feel the regular need to lick their own dirty arses, so it's obvious that humans should like that too. Projecting human desires onto cats is problematic.
No-one is claiming that outdoor cats are necessarily unhappy. Just that indoor cats can also be content, and not necessarily less happy than outdoor cats. And that outdoors isn't necessarily a stress-free nirvana for cats. Being unable to control your territory is a stressor for cats, which is why they need to check their territory regularly to feel secure. Sniffing around the garden isn't just about the joy of nature, it's because one of their drives is to check for scenting by other cats and potential predators.
My male cat does a lap of the house in the morning, cries to be let into all the rooms he is allowed in, checks everything is OK, then sleeps for most of the day. Wakes up, checks the place out, has a play, gets fed, then sleeps again. He never cries to go through the front door, that marks the edge of his territory. If I let him out, he'd probably then regard the back garden as his territory, and cry to go out twice a day to check it and mark it.
my words were “a reasonable proportion”
Right.
What's your reasonable proportion? 90%? 50%? 10%? I don't know but it sounds suitably emotive%?
So what? This isn’t about you.
Of course it is. That's exactly the point. The article title is literally "stop owning pets." I own pets. Ergo it's absolutely about me. There's no wiggle room being presented here, there's no "don't own pets unless..." It's a clickbait attack (and it's working because here we are debating it).
So what? Unscrupulous breeders are not just a US issue. That’s why so many on this thread are posting that their dogs/cats are rescued. Google a bit.
Legal and illegal breeding are different issues. UK and US animal welfare standards are very different beasts. Again, it's disingenuous to just lump them all together and go "yes but pets" unless you're pushing an agenda.
It doesn’t say that
It's the opening sentence: "Dogs lead lives of loneliness. Grey parrots die years earlier than their natural lifespans. And it is hard to fathom the boredom of pet fish."
“Dogs lead lives of loneliness. Grey parrots die years earlier than their natural lifespans. And it is hard to fathom the boredom of pet fish.
You honestly read that as saying because fish are bored (arguable) don't own a dog? 🙂
Legal and illegal breeding are different issues. UK and US animal welfare standards are very different beasts.
Why are most of the dogs posted about here rescues? It's because people do not feel good about the breeding industry...
https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media-centre/2022/august/be-puppywise-2022/
Which is where a third of owners say they get their dogs (what I would call a reasonable proportion, which I don't see as emotive?)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/541079/dog-getting-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
Legal and illegal breeding are different issues. UK and US animal welfare standards are very different beasts. Again, it’s disingenuous to just lump them all together and go “yes but pets” unless you’re pushing an agenda.
On this point, you may not see it as an issue, but down here in south Wales we get regular news reports about puppy farm prosecutions. A quick google suggests that Carmarthenshire tops the UK in terms of illegal puppy farms, and it's not just happening in that one county, It's not a recent problem either, it was a known issue when I got my first dog 35 years ago. And it will only have increased recently. Maybe you aren't seeing this problem because it doesn't happen near you?
You honestly read that as saying because fish are bored (arguable) don’t own a dog? 🙂
Sure. Because, once more with feeling,
It's lumping everything together. It swerves wildly between vegan diets, Australian horses carrying a virus, feral animals killing prey, dogs falling out of cars, something about frogs... and the bookend is New York banning the sale of rabbits, which is never mentioned again.
This isn't how I'm reading it, it's how it - presumably deliberately - is being presented. It's insinuating an overarching conclusion from an absolute car crash of wildly unconnected (and largely US-centric) ideas.
Are fish bored? I have no idea. Nor do you, and nor does the author of the article. And that rather is the problem here.
On this point, you may not see it as an issue, but down here in south Wales we get regular news reports about puppy farm prosecutions. A quick google suggests that Carmarthenshire tops the UK in terms of illegal puppy farms, and it’s not just happening in that one county, It’s not a recent problem either, it was a known issue when I got my first dog 35 years ago. And it will only have increased recently. Maybe you aren’t seeing this problem because it doesn’t happen near you?
My mum's next door neighbour is doing it, and I rather suspect that the intended output isn't family pets. The RSPCA has been less than useless, refusing to act until my septuagenarian mother leans over the wall to take photographs.
Dogs are great company....when awake and not snoring
Are fish bored? I have no idea.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/fish-have-feelings-too/
You've not googled yet have you? Fish benefit from stimulation, apparently. Which I should know as I once tickled a trout. We were both young.
Australian horses carrying a virus, feral animals killing prey, dogs falling out of cars, something about frogs… and the bookend is New York banning the sale of rabbits,
it's a big subject as you say with many aspects and it is possible for several of these negative things about different things to be true simultaneously, whether or not this chimes with you personally.
Anyway,. I have now learned to embed quotes which is something. Nesting them I'll try on a different thread. Back to the cute dog pics.
You’ve not googled yet have you? Fish benefit from stimulation, apparently. Which I should know as I once tickled a trout. We were both young.
Does that make you a paedopiscophile? 😀
@cougar:
I have indoor cats, I’ve idly tossed about the idea of ‘controlled outdoors’ for a while now
Don't you mean, "I have prisoners" ? 🙂
The article, for me, raises a lot of good points and I'm with @manton69. Don't take it personally and try to read it with a view to how we conceptualise ownership and use of other sentient beings.
Full disclosure: I have a cat who rocked up to my house and wouldn't leave. I now feed it and keep it warm when it wants. I also have a bunch of farmed animals (poultry) that I leave to free range on my fields, keep safe from predators by locking them up after they put themselves to bed at night and some humanely kill and eat. So all of the questions in the article (and more) are ones I've posed to myself very seriously.
You’ve not googled yet have you?
I don't care sufficently, because (as I may have mentioned) I don't own fish. I don't eat fish, I don't interact with fish. I am, it might be said, fishless.
it’s a big subject as you say with many aspects and it is possible for several of these negative things about different things to be true simultaneously, whether or not this chimes with you personally.
Exactly.
Does that make you a paedopiscophile? 😀
One man's meat is another man's poisson?
Indoor cats exhibit abnormal behaviours. Cats are roaming / territorial / hunting beasts. Sure they may know nothing different and get a load of affection but you are kidding yourself if you think the behaviours indoor cats exhibit are normal for cats. Somone above said them chasing each other around the house showed they were happy - nope - thats an abnormal behaviour
Edit: its them seeking the stimulation they are lacking in an indoor environment - like caged big cats pacing
An abnormal cat, yesterday:
(Apologies for the Portrait video. I shall flagellate myself accordingly.)
Human and cat desires are not neatly transferable. Cats feel the regular need to lick their own dirty arses, so it’s obvious that humans should like that too. Projecting human desires onto cats is problematic.
Obviously. But you make a good example - both cats and humans feel the need to clean themslves, it's just the methods that are different. I don't think you have cause to assume that cats don't need the outdoors, when so many of them clearly greatly enjoy having access to it. Would you keep a dog inside all the time?
Indoor cats exhibit abnormal behaviours.
My Facebook feed is full of people posting about how their cats are arseholes. Deliberately knocking things off shelves etc. I do wonder if most of these posts are from Americans, where indoor cats are the norm, and they are just bored and frustrated. I'm sure they don't understand these feelings, but I think they still feel them.
Somone above said them chasing each other around the house showed they were happy – nope – thats an abnormal behaviour
It might be play, or it might be them getting on each other's nerves, and being unable to keep enough space, constantly battling for territory.
An abnormal cat, yesterday:
Can't draw much from that. But I would think a cat toy is a poor substitute for hunting a real mouse, or even a fly. She doesn't focus on it for long.
You really think that is not abnormal behaviour Cougar?
@molgrips @cougar:
would think a cat toy is a poor substitute for hunting a real mouse, or even a fly
Yep. "our" cat only does that in the depths of winter when it's -5 outside and he doesn't want to go out. He substitutes that for his all-day outdoor behaviour and becomes a bit of a closed-in dick.
Again, the use of the word 'enjoyment' is just projection, really. I'd look at it in terms of whether they are able to follow their innate drives rather than the human ability to 'enjoy' something in an abstract way.
Cats are pretty simple machines. Territory, hunt, (mate), feed, sleep, repeat. Obviously the strength of these drives depends on the individual cat. An un-neutered tom will have a much stronger territorial drive. But, on the whole, domesticated cats do not need to roam across the savannah to satisfy these needs.
There is some research which suggests that indoor cats live on average much longer than outdoor ones, and while a lot of that difference will be the lack of fighting and getting run over, if an indoor cat is stressed to the degree suggested by its environment, I'd expect it to be vulnerable to various health conditions and not live longer.
You really think that is not abnormal behaviour Cougar?
Of course it isn't. It's just an instinctive hunting display. Which outdoor cats do all the time, just with sparrows on the receiving end, which they'll kill and not eat.
I don’t think you have cause to assume that cats don’t need the outdoors,
Equally, I don’t think you have cause to assume that they do.
My Facebook feed is full of people posting about how their cats are arseholes. Deliberately knocking things off shelves etc. I do wonder if most of these posts are from Americans, where indoor cats are the norm, and they are just bored and frustrated. I’m sure they don’t understand these feelings, but I think they still feel them.
No, you're correct, cat boredom is a thing. But the cause has nothing to do with being indoors or being American.
Can’t draw much from that. But I would think a cat toy is a poor substitute for hunting a real mouse, or even a fly. She doesn’t focus on it for long.
You really think that is not abnormal behaviour Cougar?
It was a trap. Sorry. Sienna isn't normal, she's brain damaged. I believe it's a (relatively mild) form of cerebellar hypoplasia.
But does she look unhappy? Distressed?
@cougar ahhhh thats what the headshake early on in the clip gave away. Does she also move her eyes from side to side quite a lot without focussing on anything?
And on that photo ☝☝
I picked her up and stuffed her in my jumper because she was squalling the house down asking for cuddles. It's a thing she does, when she wants attention she REALLY wants attention. And she gets it.
There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that if we hadn't taken her in, she wouldn't have survived kittenhood. Clearly, I'm a monster. (And all other factors aside I would be massively reluctant to let her outdoors because she's too gormless to cope with the outside world.)
Does she also move her eyes from side to side quite a lot without focussing on anything?
Yeah, she head-bobs like a pigeon. She has poor coordination (for a cat) and near-zero proprioception. Regularly she runs excitedly into my office to greet me of a morning and completely misses the doorway.
There's plenty worse than our C, the Internet likes to call it "wobbly cat syndrome" should anyone care to google. It's kinda both adorable and heartbreaking. We got relatively lucky, I'd like to think that so did she.
technology known as a <em class="bbcode-em">cat-flap 😂
I have a smart cat-flap which tracks each cat in & out via their microchips, the data is pretty interesting (to me 🤣).
We have similar and if the cats know we are in, they refuse to use it and just expect us to open / close the door for them (which we do). We have been trained properly.
I think they feel the cat flap is beneath them.
The girls, a year or so ago.
Of course it isn’t. It’s just an instinctive hunting display. Which outdoor cats do all the time, just with sparrows on the receiving end, which they’ll kill and not eat.
Errmmmm
Its nothing like the actual behaviour of a cat hunting. Cougar did say that cat is not right but no outdoor cat actually hunting will behave like that. Its obviously abnormal behaviour.
I agree about the anthropomorphism of the fur babies tho. You cannot ascribe human emotions to animals - but you can observe behaviour for what is normal to a cat and what is not
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My dogs steady state. I hope our home is better than her racing life. She seems pretty content, the ability to tear arse after rabbits & squirrels in the woods probably helps.
but no outdoor cat actually hunting will behave like that.
Hunting displays are not the same as an actual hunt. Yes, an actual hunt will look different, but this is more like a cat playing with a half-dead bird/mouse, Or kittens learning to hunt via play. You'll see outdoor cats behave like this too. It's not even remotely a sign of stress. The movement of the toy triggers this response.
Cougar mentioning the relatively young age of the cats makes it even more normal. Must admit I didn't really notice the disability. 🙂
was going to say, I've very much observed my cat do exactly this with a live mouse - playing with it without injuring it (it later ran off unscathed when the cat got distracted 😂)Hunting displays are not the same as an actual hunt. Yes, an actual hunt will look different, but this is more like a cat playing with a half-dead bird/mouse, Or kittens learning to hunt via play. You’ll see outdoor cats behave like this too.
Of course each particular cat has its own needs. We're not talking about your specific cat, Cougar, but cats in general.
An abnormal cat, yesterday:
Is it playing with a frozen sausage ?.
Has anyone else noticed that the front page of this "mountain biking forum" has two threads about bikes that have more responses than a thread with pictures of cats and a thread about Fawlty Towers, not to mention Wordle, Airfix, and Brexit.
This thread was always going to turn into amusing analysis of what constitutes normal behaviour in a cat. My cat loves mango, banana and melon. I'm not sure that's normal. Or is it? Maybe in south America.
I did read a study ages ago that said that pets remain infantilised their whole lives rather than becoming normal adult animals. At first I thought this was a bad thing but now I'm older I'm not so sure.
Yup molgrips - thats why that behaviour is abnormal
Thanks for elaborating on my earlier 'why house cats' question. I get it. If you must keep cats I applaud this approach which means they don't crap in my garden or kill any wildlife.
There’s so much anthropomorphism going on in that Guardian article and in here. I’ve genuinely only posted this because I love the word anthropomorphic and all its tenses. Never normally get a chance to use them. So stop anthropomorphising.
Sounds like the kind of thing a cat would want to say.
In the OP - Instant comparison of children to pets! FFS!
I always feel desperately sorry for big, run around dogs like mine (GSPs) that don’t live in and get the freedom of the Forest for at least 2 hours a day. It’s the minimum they demand, amongst all my other dog servant tasks.
Of course dogs like sheep dogs that get to round stuff up all day outside probably feel desperately sorry for my poor pets.
I can’t believe a normal healthy cat is better off living it’s life inside though.
Of course each particular cat has its own needs. We’re not talking about your specific cat, Cougar, but cats in general.
And dogs, parrots, horses, fish, wolves, amphibians, rabbits, and people in a sci-fi novel...
I did read a study ages ago that said that pets remain infantilised their whole lives rather than becoming normal adult animals.
Seems conclusive.
Are these maccaws happy in Derbyshire?
If you've got a house cat, I do think a catio is a great idea. Ours love spending time in there, and there is plenty of space to chase each other, They spend ages on the various ledges watching the wildlife. We have one with cat flu, that is best kept away from other (non-vaccinated) cats, hence why he and the others are house/catio cats.
I can’t believe a normal healthy cat is better off living it’s life inside though.
Indoor cats live appreciably longer.
I'm sure there are some miserable indoor cats. I suspect a far far greater problem is dogs that are abandoned at home while owners go out to work all day. Now that really is a cruel and unusual way of life for a social animal.
I was thinking quality rather than quantity.
I do agree with you about dogs stuck home alone though.
You don't own cats. They own you.
I always feel desperately sorry for big, run around dogs like mine (GSPs) that don’t live in and get the freedom of the Forest for at least 2 hours a day. It’s the minimum they demand, amongst all my other dog servant tasks.
When the aliens invade and keep us all as pets they'll probably insist on making us exercise, because it's not natural for humans to be obese, but most of us would probably prefer to be slouched on the sofa watching Pointless.
