rural people: are any of you still letting cats outside?

Lucas Silva · 12 likes

Leash train if he's that desperate. embarrassing at first, useful later.

Quiet Comet · 2 likes

He flops over like a Victorian widow in the harness but maybe I just need to stick with it.

Urban Fern · 2 likes

That phase passes. then they start dragging you toward bugs.

Maksym Bondar · 5 likes

Your neighbor does not have to peel your cat off the road.

Silver River · 4 likes

Indoor with serious enrichment. bird feeder by the window, shelves, puzzle feeders, the whole circus.

Isha Menon · 4 likes

I'm in Montana and ours are indoors with a catio only. coyotes are not theoretical here.

Rapid Atlas · 3 likes

Ask your vet what they see locally. ours was like 'please keep them in, I beg you'

Noah Miller · 2 likes

One thing nobody mentions is parasites. I got tired of surprise worms.

Quiet Comet · 7 likes

The parasite angle alone is making me want to build a catio this month.

Cozy Lantern · 2 likes

There is a middle ground too: enclosed porch, catio, supervised yard time. doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Achieng Njeri · 2 likes

People call indoor cruel and then casually mention their outdoor cat vanished. drives me nuts.

Aarav Sharma · 1 likes

Also if either cat was adopted recently, don't underestimate how much of the door obsession is just novelty

Isha Menon · 1 likes

Farm cat culture is hard to unlearn. we lost three when I was a kid and everyone acted like that was just weather.

Anna Gruber · 0 likes

I'm in Ireland and mine go out, but our risks are way lower than coyotes + big birds. local context matters.

Tiny Lantern · 0 likes

I still let one old tom out in daylight because he'd go insane otherwise, but I don't recommend that choice to anyone else.