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"Sheltering an Animal’s Perspective"
My cat, "Lucky," purrs restfully each night as he snuggles next to me on the bed. When someone in my family opens a door to the outside, he runs in the other direction. You see, Lucky, was a stray or abandoned cat, rescued by my wife and me from the frigid January outdoors. Now he wants nothing to do with going out.
I adopted another cat after he was found starving and unable to move due to his entanglement in a flea collar. He, too, will not go outdoors now, even if the door is left wide open.
As my mentor, Ellen Perry Berkeley, author of the seminal book on feral cats, Maverick Cats, wrote to me, "…we have since brought in three more feral cats…. All three seem hugely happy indoors. As my husband says, ‘They’ve been outdoors.’"
Yes, the perils of outdoors negatively affect the health and life span of cats. Cats that go outdoors live on average 4-5 years, while indoor cats average 15 years or more. This is not surprising when one considers the potential threats. I have seen so many cats killed on the highway that I keep the telephone number for state and local highway crews in my Rolodex. I never fail to be saddened by the sight and think how that ending could have been averted had someone kept that cat as an indoor companion. Such outcomes can be expected when cats are left to roam, no matter how busy the streets or highways.
Rural cats do not fare any better. If not hit by a car, they can succumb to ingesting tasty, but nevertheless fatal, antifreeze or toxic plants. They can become mangled by fan belts when sheltered under car hoods for heat. While working with an animal welfare group years ago, we received a call about a cat that had ridden under the hood of a car from Boston to Hartford. Fortunately, that cat was unharmed, but ended up needing to be found a new home.
For city cats or country cats, there are always dogs with which to contend, skirmishes with other felines, and an assortment of wild animals. Coyotes are present in all areas of Connecticut, as are raccoons that can spread rabies. Cats can also be caught in steel-jawed leghold traps, losing a limb or dying.
Connecticut statutes do not allow dogs and young children to roam solo. Yet many think cats can fend for themselves. Sadly, they do not. Animal shelters can attest that stray, lost, and injured cats are brought in regularly - victims of outdoor living. The classic comeback, of course, is citing the outdoor cat that lived to a ripe old age. That example is much like citing the cigarette smoker who lives to be one hundred. Statistically, both are long shots.
Those wanting their cats to have fresh air or see the outdoors should consider using a leash and harness, installing a window cat shelf, a fenced in cat run, or invisible fencing (it works for cats as well as dogs). These will eliminate worries of why a cat does not return home and the subsequent "missing cat" posters. It will also allow the feline that provides you with unconditional love to continue purring contentedly on your bed for yet another night.
For the animals,
Gregory M. Simpson, Vice-President
MERIDEN HUMANE SOCIETY, INC.
Gregory Simpson is Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Meriden Humane Society, Inc., a no-kill shelter incorporated by Connecticut legislative charter in 1893. He is also past state advisor to the national organization, Friends of Animals, Inc. In the December 2005 issue of CAT FANCY, he was named one of the 40 Ultimate Cat Lovers in the U.S.
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