North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Keith Benson <kgbenson@mindspring.com>]

list@ginda.us wrote:

> The two chief sources of outdoor mortality are cars and coyotes. 

Yep

> We  try to avoid the latter by keeping the cats indoors at night.

That will have a significant impact.

>   The  female hangs out around the house, and stays off the roads.  
> The male  may be killed by a car, but he was clearly an outdoor kitten 
> before we  got him, and he begged to go out from the day he joined 
> us.  The first  day we let him out (on purpose, when he knew we 
> woudn't try to grab him  and put him in) he was ecstatic, rolling and 
> leaping and climbing until  he was out of breath, and then going back 
> for more.  (Have you ever  seen a kitten pant?)

Yep, many.

>   Quality of life counts for something, and this  cat is meant to be 
> an outdoor cat.

Quality of life certainly counts - and that is a decision every cat 
owner must make.  Notice in my post I did not say keep them indoors, 
merely made you aware of the relative risk.  I have known many many cats 
that would have been ill-suited to live indoors.  There are those that 
think that every cat can be an indoor cat, and while I think that the 
vast majority are perfectly happy that way, I do not kid myself into 
thinking that this is 100% true.

>   That the two of them seem to kill  rodents is a plus, not the reason 
> they go outdoors.
>
> I think that 2 year figure is fake, or is driven by a lot of kitten  
> mortality.

It is not fake, though I will not bother to locate a reference as you 
have obviously made up your mind and will beleive what you will.  As to 
being driven by kitten mortality it is better described as being driven 
by novel outdoor cat mortality.  What matters is does the cat have 
expereince, not how old they are (outside of being 8 weeks old - that 
would surely have an impact).  The mortality also goes up when 
experinced cats are moved to a new area with new "rules".

>   I've know lots of outdoor cats, and ones who make it beyond  a year 
> live nearly as long as indoor cats.

Still a few years less, but you are right, outdoor cats in a stable area 
that have survived longer than a year tend to have considerable 
lifespans.  More of them die each year than indoor cats, but it is true 
that expereinced cats can do OK.  The question to be answered everytime 
one decides to make their cat an indoor vs. out door cat is will this 
cat make it past that year?  And FWIW - many cats that are experieinced 
do still get run over, or become ill and cannot get home and then taken 
for assistance.

>   There's a movement to avoid  all danger at any cost (see the link to 
> the bee-ban, earlier this week)  but danger is a part of life. 

Not a movement, but there is risk and there is stupid risk.  In my 
neighborhood having an outdoor cat is a stupid risk.  Three of my 
enighbors have tried in the last year.  Haven't seen those cats in a 
while.  And I am sure no one stole them.

Again - I am not telling anyone to never have an outdoor cat - just 
realize that about half will not see their second birthday.  

Keith