Free-roaming or confined?
This is a question which is debatable and I guess there would be no right or wrong.
My vet recommends that all pets (including cats) be confined for their safety. He says even a large cage with enough toys for mental and physical stimulation is good enough, if one cannot wire-net one's home. He doesn't agree that cats need to be allowed to roam.
That is one school of thought - safety and health (in terms of not eating rubbish or drinking drain water).
The other school of thought says that cats ought to be allowed to roam freely as that is their nature. They are creatures of nature and are likely to remain so. The danger is of course they would be subject to the risks of accidents.
I suppose there is no right or wrong. A mix of the two would be ideal, of course, and that is what I'll be trying to give my cats when we move to our new place in December. We are going to do up the backyard as a cat-space. It would have grass, plants and sunshine, but there is a also shelter from the rain and they would still have access to my room at the back.
My husband doesn't want Cow & Bunny spraying all over the house (again), so they would be confined to the back. All six would have to be confined for a few weeks, to let them acclimatise to the new place. Then, we shall see how it goes. Being the territorial (this-is-my-3-metre-radius-space-you-keep-away!) cats that they are, I doubt all six would be willing to stay in the cat-space. World wars would break out and someone is bound to be injured or might attempt to escape. Indy and Pole cannot get along. Tiger is always someone's target for bully. Maybe Tiger can stay in the house since he is so docile. Tiger doesn't spray. But then again, cats' attitude will change once the environment changes.
Remember Wii? He was bullied till no end here and couldn't even come home, but at Roselin's he became an instant "tai kor" (big brother) and he bullied others till no end. Roselin just wrote recently to say that now, Wii has graduated from the kitchen to her bedroom. He sleeps with Roselin now - that's after more than 1 year of adjustment and training!
Back to the subject of confining or allowing cats to roam, yesterday, as Mr Teh had just left my house with the Blueys, he actually turned back after 3 minutes. He had found a dead baby kitten on my road. Mr Teh picked the poor thing up and turned back to my house to ask for a box. He would bury the kitten when he reached the office. He said the poor mother (who had similar markings as the kitten) was looking on. Isn't that sad? It was a beautiful little Calico kitten, smaller in size than the Blueys.
So, this is the plight of kittens that are allowed to roam freely in our housing estates. I've seen "mad" drivers zooming down my road without a care for the little animals.
That is the greatest risk if we allow our kittens to roam. That is also why I know I cannot adopt another kitten as long as I still stay in this house. Even for fostering, the moment they can jump out of my window, they would have to be adopted. The Blueys could already jump out about 2 weeks ago. We had to keep the windows shut whenever they played in the living room. Even then, Baloo escaped 3 times and we found her at the shoe rack outside the door. She is just so elusive.
I'm glad they are safe in Andy's office now.
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