I thought the whole point of having a cat was that you could basically let it go wherever it wants and it'll come back because it knows you have food.
This reminds me a lot Sasha's favorite game when she was younger, which was "run down the secluded cul-de-sac to the incredibly busy cross-street and play in traffic." So much fun!
i think you may be confusing cats with party guests.
i mean, sure, if she existed in a world without danger or evil or misguided good, she could go out and paint the town whatever color it is cats would paint things if they had opposable digits, and she'd come back whenever she wanted food or shelter or attention or the comfort of the known. but i think a cat is almost as likely to encounter something unfortunate in the real world as a dog is. my biggest paranoia through basically any of her outdoor adventures would be that someone would decide she's a stray and would take her in and keep her. which is, ahem, exactly what i did five years ago, cough.
Yeah, I can't tell how much of this is you being paranoid, how much of it is you projecting, how much of it is due to your mom being paranoider, and how much of it is me not knowing much about cats. But other people have cats that hang out outdoors. I know it's theoretically possible.
Cat + Leash = Negative FunahansenMay 21 2008, 16:49:26 UTC
As far as I've seen and heard, cats will not tolerate wearing a leash. The one time I saw someone trying to put a leash on a cat: leash goes on, cat just stands there, looks at owner, lays down and cleans self. Like Myles said, getting cats to do things involves bribes.
I can has grass? NOM!ahansenMay 21 2008, 16:53:40 UTC
Cleo looks like the female, non-man-whore version of Ulysses, who was my first roommate's cat in CA. There are a few similarities. Few.
I don't know why cats like to eat plants (like grass). They're carnivores! But "ooh is that a ficus?" sets in and WHAM. No more house plants within kitty range.
Also in my feline experiences, you can not get a cat to do anything you want unless a food or toy bribe is involved (which you well know). You know, like children, but cleaner and more hairy.
Honestly I'm shocked she made it over the chain-link fence. Also, I'm shocked you didn't make it over the chain-link fence hehe.
Re: I can has grass? NOM!stalwartkumquatMay 21 2008, 22:44:10 UTC
yeah, the ascent of (and subsequent descent from) the chain-link fence was not her most graceful work. especially the second time around; she decided that an 8-foot drop to loose rock was too dangerous, and instead walked along the top of the fence for about 20 feet -- slipping dangerously every couple of seconds on the water-slicked pole, and convincing me she would just fall right back down on the other side of the fence -- before she could drop down onto my neighbor's bbq grill and reach the ground from there.
i read something somewhere, or possibly made it up in my head while in a daze, that cats like eating grass b/c it's a digestive aid. clears out the system. as evidenced by the little pools of grass-flecked kitty vomit that are often left for me as a gift of appreciation whenever she comes back inside from an outdoor playdate.
Now that I think about it ...ahansenMay 23 2008, 14:43:23 UTC
... I have seen "cat grass" that you can grow as a house plant for your cat to eat so that she won't just eat random plants and barf them up all over the place. I don't know if the cat grass would be barfed up anyways, but I remember reading it claimed to be a "hairball stopper" and "delicious." The cat in the ad's photo was chowing down like it was a buffet. ^_^
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This reminds me a lot Sasha's favorite game when she was younger, which was "run down the secluded cul-de-sac to the incredibly busy cross-street and play in traffic." So much fun!
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i mean, sure, if she existed in a world without danger or evil or misguided good, she could go out and paint the town whatever color it is cats would paint things if they had opposable digits, and she'd come back whenever she wanted food or shelter or attention or the comfort of the known. but i think a cat is almost as likely to encounter something unfortunate in the real world as a dog is. my biggest paranoia through basically any of her outdoor adventures would be that someone would decide she's a stray and would take her in and keep her. which is, ahem, exactly what i did five years ago, cough.
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Maybe you should take Cleo for walks.
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Or grass.
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I don't know why cats like to eat plants (like grass). They're carnivores! But "ooh is that a ficus?" sets in and WHAM. No more house plants within kitty range.
Also in my feline experiences, you can not get a cat to do anything you want unless a food or toy bribe is involved (which you well know). You know, like children, but cleaner and more hairy.
Honestly I'm shocked she made it over the chain-link fence. Also, I'm shocked you didn't make it over the chain-link fence hehe.
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i read something somewhere, or possibly made it up in my head while in a daze, that cats like eating grass b/c it's a digestive aid. clears out the system. as evidenced by the little pools of grass-flecked kitty vomit that are often left for me as a gift of appreciation whenever she comes back inside from an outdoor playdate.
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