The Way of Cats

A reader writes:

We adopted a stray who is so loving. We got him neutered and all his shots, but we don’t want him to go outside anymore. But he still wants it. He’ll hang around all day, trying to shoot out the door. We worry about him getting hurt, but if he wants it so much should we give in?

Dear Readers,

No. You shouldn’t give in.

There’s very good reasons for not letting our cats outside. There’s cars, diseases, fleas, other cats, other people, wildlife he can eat to make him sick, and wildlife that can eat him. This is on top of the dangers of getting lost or trapped somewhere. Every time we let a cat out, we gamble that they will come home again. It doesn’t matter how many times they have done so successfully. Each new outing is a roll of the dice.

However, these good intentions often run contrary to what the cats think they want. Whether we have tamed a feral, rescued a stray, or adopted a cat whose former owner let them out, we will have cats who regard the outside world as a wonderful playground they don’t want to give up.

Of course, this is how our teenagers regard the world, and we don’t let them do anything they want. So it is with cats. If we have made the decision that we would prefer to live without the fleas, the vet bills, and the worry, we will decide to keep our cats inside. Now we must convince the cat.

This is not something easily explained to the cat. So we must persuade. We must make this the cat’s idea. My favorite way of making things the cat’s idea is with psychodrama.

more cat pictures

We need a squirt bottle with plain water and a willing volunteer, either someone the cat does not know or a friend dressed in a borrowed bulky coat and a weird hat, anything to make them look threatening and to keep the cat from recognizing them.

We pick the cat’s favorite door. We put our volunteer outside. The next act in our little play depends on the cat. Do they hang by the door with their nose pressed into the crack? Do they hide and wait for the door to open enough for them to dash through? Do they eel through guests’ legs when we are distracted? Whatever their favorite move is, we are going to re-create it under controlled conditions so the volunteer can act their big scene. Go ahead and ham it up by doing what you normally do when the cat sneaks out, and make it so the cat will have a clear path to beat a retreat.

When the cat goes for the door, they will be blocked by a roaring monster which is squirting water. Leave plenty of room for the cat to flee back into the house without hurting anyone or themselves. Don’t leave it there; let the monster roar some more and bang on the door jamb with something noisy, such as an empty plastic soda bottle. They make great big booming noises without damaging anything.

Leave the cat alone to think.

The cat will understand the outdoors is dangerous when we are able to tell them. What we have done is dramatize the dangers we know are outside. The cat now has a whole new outlook on the great outdoors. They had not known there were roaring water monsters out there. Now that they do know, they might still try it again. Repeat the experience for them. Two or three such experiences will convince the cat that the outdoors is no longer so appealing.

Back up their experience by explaining, when the cat next reappears, that you kept trying to tell them about the roaring water monsters. You only wanted to keep them inside because of the monsters. It’s because you care about them and don’t want the monsters to get them!

The dangers outside are not easily explained to the cat. They are abstract, and difficult to communicate, especially when translated from Human to Cat. The beauty of drama is that it reaches across all cultures. We have dramatized the dangers of the outdoors. They should only go out there when we are there to protect them, and ideally inside their carrier, where they will be safe.

We knew the outdoors were dangerous. Now the cat knows the outdoors are dangerous.

Psychodrama is how we give the cat their own ideas.

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How great are the distances a cat can cover to get home? How do cats navigate? What conclusions can we draw between cat abilities and how we make decisions about their care?

It is theorized that birds, dogs, and cats draw their homing abilities from a combination of internal clocks, sun angles, and the earth’s magnetic field. According to this article, researchers discovered tiny magnetic particles of metal on the ‘wrists’ of cats’ fore and hind paws, though I was unable to find a further reference. However they do it, it is undeniable that they can do it.

One of the most incredible stories is when Howie the Persian cat crossed the Australian outback, over 1,000 miles, to return to his home. With such amazing abilities, how do cats get lost?

Well, first of all, they don’t mean to. Cats such as Howie are the exception. Just because there are documented cases of sky divers surviving when their parachute fails to open doesn’t mean we should try this ourselves. Just because some cats are able to surmount incredible obstacles doesn’t mean they all can, or that enough luck was with them to help them along the way.

Many cats don’t get lost so much as they get trapped somewhere else. Cats have explored trucks, boxes, and containers, and the lucky ones get found and returned. Cats have gotten their collars trapped on something, which is why I’m not a fan of collars. If they are breakaway, they will break away, and if they are not, they can guarantee our cat won’t get back home. ID chips are something that the cat will not lose.

The cat’s “homing center” can be disrupted in a move, which is why we need to keep them indoors for at least three weeks, to allow it to reset for their new place.

Research shows the largest percentage of lost or missing cats involve an outdoor-access cat turning up missing very soon after a house move. If they have not come to understand where their new home is, they will instinctively try to get back to where home was, no matter how far away. This is not a product of thought, but of instinct, and cats find it very difficult to override their own instincts, which normally serve them well.

Keeping the cat indoors can be a controversial issue, since many cat people feel strongly about letting the cat do something they so obviously enjoy. My own cats are indoor only. The deciding moment, for me as for so many others, is when something happens.

I got my first cat as an adult. She was a stray who came around asking for food. The other people in the apartment complex thought someone had just moved away and left her. Ennui was a laid back orange tabby who fascinated me with her self-possession and quiet ways. I always let her go in and out. Sadly, I didn’t know about the moving thing, and when, in my new apartment, she cried to go out, I let her. I never saw her again.

I don’t risk my heart anymore.

Many people have told me similar stories. “Well, we used to let them out,” they will say. “But then…” and they follow with a sad tale of the cat getting hit by a car, poisoned in a neighbor’s garage, or simply vanishing. It’s true, cats do love exploring the outdoors. But they don’t know the dangers.

We have to remember they live in a world they did not make. Their skills, while amazing, are simply no match for the abundance and varieties of ways they can get in trouble outdoors.

It is something to consider when we make the decisions that will affect their life.

To read more about incredible cat feats, and how science thinks they do it, see this PBS site.

For great tips on finding a lost cat, be sure to bookmark Psychology and the Missing Cat.

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