How to raise cats?

[Feline Goetland]

I keep my cat indoors and give her toys to play with which she enjoys a lot. Moreover I give her both dry and wet cat food.

I would like to ask how do you guys raise your cats.

Questions:
1. Do you think the very concept of pet cats is ethical?
2. Do you think pet cats need to be spayed / neutered?
3. Wet food or dry food?
4. Shall cats have access to human food that they are not allergic to?
5. Shall cats be kept indoors or allowed outdoors?
6. Shall cats share their beds with humans or not?
7. Shall cats be washed?
8. How often shall a litterbox be cleaned?

[Ethel mermania]

One does not raise cats, Cats raise you.

[Occidens Praseodymia]

Animal domestication is cruel.

[Earthbound Immortal Squad]

One does not raise cats, Cats raise you.

Truer words have never been spoken.

[Tranzoria]

When you get the Cat, it's more like the Cat get's you. Let it do what it wants, it's your Queen now.
Mine has been missing for two months though...

[Brettenwald]

I've got three lovely outdoor barn/garage cats and they seem perfectly content. Two dry meals a day plus cat snacks and all the mice/birds they want, comfy custom-built cat houses, and plenty of love and belly rubs.

One does not raise cats, Cats raise you.

This.

[Kowani]

Animal domestication is cruel.

If we stopped, most domesticated animals would go extinct.

[Occidens Praseodymia]

Animal domestication is cruel.

If we stopped, most domesticated animals would go extinct.

They shouldn't have existed in the first place.

[Neanderthaland]

One does not raise cats, Cats raise raze you.

FTFY

[Nuroblav]

I used to have some cats, but that was a while ago so there's little advice to offer here.

Animal domestication is cruel.

If we stopped, most domesticated animals would go extinct.

Not gonna lie, upon reading this I thought this was another 'ah yes, the floor is made of floor' moment.

[Bhang Bhang Duc]

One does not raise cats, Cats raise you.

True.

Animal domestication is cruel.

Utter bollocks. A cat in your life is something to be treasured.

Also to the OP.

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Either/Or/Both
4) Talk to your vet
5) Indoors, though it depends where you live - in countries like Australia and NZ outdoor cats cause a lot of damage to the native wildlife
6) If you want
7) Definitely if they are a long hair with a dose of the runs
8.) Depends

[Rusozak]

If we stopped, most domesticated animals would go extinct.

They shouldn't have existed in the first place.

Neither would civilization if so. The first civilizations were built on animal domestication.

[Kiu Ghesik]

I keep my cat indoors and give her toys to play with which she enjoys a lot. Moreover I give her both dry and wet cat food.

I would like to ask how do you guys raise your cats.

Questions:
1. Do you think the very concept of pet cats is ethical?
2. Do you think pet cats need to be spayed / neutered?
3. Wet food or dry food?
4. Shall cats have access to human food that they are not allergic to?
5. Shall cats be kept indoors or allowed outdoors?
6. Shall cats share their beds with humans or not?
7. Shall cats be washed?
8. How often shall a litterbox be cleaned?

1. Yes, especially if they earn their keep. Most people don't need ratcatchers, but if you ever have an infestation, a cat's good to have about. And there's nothing wrong with owning a pet if you treat it well and fulfill all its needs. Then it's a mutually-beneficial relationship.
2. If you're certain your cat won't run off, no, they don't need spaying/neutering. But you can never be sure, so it's just good practice to prevent feral cats from popping up all over the place.
3. Wet if you can, dry if you must. Our cat got mostly dry because it was cheap and we were tight on money.
4. Your choice, if the cat likes it and it's not unhealthy, then I see no reason not to. Make sure to do your research.
5. Depends. The cat I had for a bit was a feral cat we took in and gave food, medicine, and the snip-snip, he would run off all the time, but he always came back. We had to send him off to a friend after a while because my father had severe cat allergies, though.
6. If the cat wants to sleep with you and you don't mind, no reason not to let it sleep with you. It might be a bad habit if you plan on having someone else in the bed, though.
7. Yes. They need to be kept clean, just as we do, and grooming is an integral part of that.
8. I'm not sure. As I said, the only cat I've ever had was an outdoor cat, and he just went wherever.

[FNU]

Animal domestication is cruel.

1. State your evidence
2. Heard of evolution?

[Godular]

I keep my cat indoors and give her toys to play with which she enjoys a lot. Moreover I give her both dry and wet cat food.

I would like to ask how do you guys raise your cats.

Questions:
1. Do you think the very concept of pet cats is ethical?
2. Do you think pet cats need to be spayed / neutered?
3. Wet food or dry food?
4. Shall cats have access to human food that they are not allergic to?
5. Shall cats be kept indoors or allowed outdoors?
6. Shall cats share their beds with humans or not?
7. Shall cats be washed?
8. How often shall a litterbox be cleaned?

1. Ethical and --to me-- necessary.
2. Yes.
3. Dry Food with wet food as the occasional treat.
4. As an occasional treat, sure.
5. Indoor kitties live longest.
6. I have no problem with it, but I'd prefer the kitty had a place to call its own.
7. Either sparingly, or if they are trained into it from an early age.
8. Once a day at least.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

One does not raise cats, Cats raise you.

Aye aye. This is the mark of an experienced cat butler.

[Nattily Dressed Anarchists on Bicycles]

1. Do you think the very concept of pet cats is ethical?

I'm sympathetic to the point of view that holding animals to be merely property is probably unethical.

2. Do you think pet cats need to be spayed / neutered?

I've googled the wikipedia article on the topic, and I think I can spend a long time trying to balance the advantages and disadvantages according to some consequentialist metric. Although on the face of it, I find the argument that it prevents many types of cancer and the proliferation of unwanted/neglected animals compelling. I find the argument that it reduces spraying and other natural behaviors less compelling. With the exception of male aggression, I suppose.

I've always adopted from animal shelters, so I've had little say in the matter in any case.

While we on the topic of surgical alteration, declawing (a euphemism for the amputation of the distal phalanges, rather than merely the "claw") is always wrong and should be severely punished. If the journal cited by Wikipedia is accurate, and 95% of declawing is done to merely protect furniture, then 95%+ of declawing is straight-up mutilation.

3. Wet food or dry food?

Which ever is recommended by a competent veterinarian.

4. Shall cats have access to human food that they are not allergic to?

Not intentionally, no.

5. Shall cats be kept indoors or allowed outdoors?

There are almost never cars or coyotes indoors. At least not in my area.

6. Shall cats share their beds with humans or not?

Cats shall take what they like.

7. Shall cats be washed?

I've found that they can typically handle this themselves. Stories I've heard to the contrary typically involve abusive humans.

8. How often shall a litterbox be cleaned?

If you're finding poos in your shoes, more often.

[Mandicoria]

One does not raise cats, Cats raise you.

this

[Farnhamia]

One does not raise cats, Cats raise you.

this

And always remember, dogs have masters, cats have staff.

[Kiu Ghesik]

this

And always remember, dogs have masters, cats have staff.

My cat was broken, then. He acted like the dogs he grew up around.

[Ankuran]

I keep my cat indoors and give her toys to play with which she enjoys a lot. Moreover I give her both dry and wet cat food.

I would like to ask how do you guys raise your cats.

Questions:
1. Do you think the very concept of pet cats is ethical?
2. Do you think pet cats need to be spayed / neutered?
3. Wet food or dry food?
4. Shall cats have access to human food that they are not allergic to?
5. Shall cats be kept indoors or allowed outdoors?
6. Shall cats share their beds with humans or not?
7. Shall cats be washed?
8. How often shall a litterbox be cleaned?

1. Yes.

2. Yes. It can control aggression in male cats and it helps reduce the number of strays and ferals.

3. Combination. Free feed dry food with access to water, then wet food at certain times of day. In the wild, cats get most of their liquid from their food. On a pure dry diet, they don't maintain adequate hydration even with access to water (they just don't drink enough) which can lead to renal failure (which is high in domesticated cats, and this is cited as one of the causes). At the same time, without access to dry food, a cat's teeth can degrade from disuse (same with dogs). And don't go cheap on either one; you don't necessarily need to spend fifty dollars a bag, but don't feed them crap. Pay attention to changes in your cat's weight (both muscle and fat) and bathroom habits and adjust their food accordingly. Remember that if your cat starts losing muscle mass (beyond normal loss from aging) or becomes obese, it's your fault.

4. Generally, no. A small amount is fine every now and then.

5. I"m a little paranoid, so I prefer indoor cats. But some cats do just fine if allowed outside, and males in particular tend to hit a point in their life where they want to be outside a lot. Use your judgment. Limit outdoor time if you live in an area with stuff dangerous to cats (snakes, skunks, maybe large non-vulture birds of prey) or if they do stupid stuff (my cat liked to eat nightshade and start fights with strays; needless to say, I kept him inside as much as I could). Cats and areas are different.

6. Don't let them share beds with babies or people with breathing conditions. A lot of cats like to sit on people's chests, and it can be deadly. A lot of old superstitions about how cats will steal your breath, and they're not completely bull. But otherwise, yes, unless they're kittens. Don't want to roll over on a kitten.

7. Generally no. Cats are good at keeping themselves clean, and they generally hate to be wet. If the cat gets into something that'll kill them if they ingest it, it's probably wise to bathe them, even if it does leave you down a pint of blood. Spot-clean them if you can, for their sakes and yours.

8. My family has never really cleaned litterboxes. We buy a cheap litterbox and an appropriate amount of litter. We set it up, and then wait until it needs cleaning (pretty obvious; there'll be visible clumps on the surface, and the cats might start going elsewhere). Then we toss it (the whole box) and buy a new one with litter. Plastic can trap smells and make the cat not want to use it, but that's not the big reason. I'm actually blind in one eye due to toxoplasma gondii. Nobody told my mom not to be around feces during her pregnancy (it was the early 90's and Utah), so she was cleaning cat boxes, chicken coops, rabbit hutches... Needless to say, after she found out that I was half-blind and the reason for it, she adopted a method of cleaning a cat box that didn't require her to spend a lot of time around it. So, yeah, this one's hardly backed by science.

[Ethel mermania]

And now to answer your questions

Questions:
1. Do you think the very concept of pet cats is ethical?
I think it’s unethical not to have a cat to serve and give Your complete and unconditional love. A happy well kept pet is a sign of a human being capable of love and compassion.

2. Do you think pet cats need to be spayed / neutered?
Unless you are breeding them, i would. I am sure the animal would rather not be “fixed”. But unless you like your house sprayed, and listening to a cat in heat, it is better for you and the animal

3. Wet food or dry food?
As another poster said. Yes, Wet once a day, dry out all day, And clean water all day

4. Shall cats have access to human food that they are not allergic to?
Up to the human. We at times have been told to feed our cats only boiled chicken breasts for various conditions.

5. Shall cats be kept indoors or allowed outdoors?
Up to the owner, but intact males allowed out tend to get into scrapes that may require veterinary care. We do not allow our cats out, but if we lived on a farm we probably would

6. Shall cats share their beds with humans or not?
they often do sleep with us.

7. Shall cats be washed?
If you have too, some breeds have to be washed once in a while, most dont and only need to be washed if they have a run in with a skunk or something.

8. How often shall a litterbox be cleaned?[/quote]
Cleaned once a day per cat, and changed once a week.