Getting a cat

[Ignignokt]

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If you decide to keep your cat inside (or even if you don't) you should probably have him neutered. If he's not neutered, he will want to go outside to find ladies.

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And if it's a female, have her spayed, unless you like hearing the obnoxious sounds of a cat in heat + the neighborhood's unneutered males queueing up outside your doors and windows.

Really, it's a difficult proposition to allow a cat outside. In Seattle we have a number of coyotes around the city - they basically live on cats. Raccoons will tear a cat apart. Stray dogs, cars, nasty people, etc., etc.

I've been very lucky that my cat never wanted to stray far from home (females have shorter ranges in the first place, but mine seemed to stick to ~30 yds from the house) and that she knew enough to run full speed back home when she saw raccoons. (Now we're in a townhouse development with a completely enclosed courtyard, which is the best of all possible worlds.)