Does anyone take their kitty outside?

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Sugar_Bear0915

Sugar_Bear0915

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Luke and I have been taking Bear outside his entire life. Our vet said we can't take him outside anymore with his diabetes. I thought that was a little dramatic. I understand that we don't want him eating grass.

Do any of you take your cats outside?

The issue is that Luke and I live with my father-in-law who takes our other cat outside. Bear just sits by the window and cries. It's heartbreaking :(

Also, we are going to start the cats on wet food tonight. What does everyone suggest?

Luke & Lindsay
 
As you scan topics, you'll see lots of people take their extra sweet cats outside. Some kitties just wouldn't be happy without it. Mine are strictly indoors, with what I call birdy vision - I have a screened porch with lots of kitty perches for mine to watch birds at the feeders and bird baths.
 
in general i don't think they should be wandering the streets alone because if their blood sugar drops too low they could die out there or the neighbors could feed them stuff they shouldn't be having, plus just the natural dangers to a cat outside.

but, i don't think there's a problem with them going outside if they are being monitored. like let's say your dad is doing yardwork and the kitties are hanging out with him, i would think is fine. as long as they won't take off.

some people have taught them to be on leashes and some, including myself, have an outdoor enclosure they can hang out in

eta: also, there's no problem with eating grass. as long as it hasn't been sprayed with pesticides or chemicals or whatever. in my experience it helps them with hairballs so i actually will pull a handful occasionally and hold it while the kitties munch on it
 
Sugar_Bear0915 said:
Luke and I have been taking Bear outside his entire life. Our vet said we can't take him outside anymore with his diabetes. I thought that was a little dramatic. I understand that we don't want him eating grass.

Do any of you take your cats outside?

The issue is that Luke and I live with my father-in-law who takes our other cat outside. Bear just sits by the window and cries. It's heartbreaking :(

Also, we are going to start the cats on wet food tonight. What does everyone suggest?

Luke & Lindsay
Click to expand...

I think it depends a lot on where you live. What kind of traffic you have around you etc. We live out in the country and Tigger, who is sixteen, has been going in and out his whole life. Not at night though - he has to come in before dark.

And Tigger has had diabetes for eight of his sixteen years. That is just us though. Maybe your vet has other reasons for saying that.

I don't know why he shouldn't eat grass though. If there are no chemicals or fertilizers on it, grass eating is perfectly fine for cats.

As far as the wet food, here is a link from this site:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=115
 
Maxwell is my diet controlled diabetic, and he goes outside on a harness and leash, we also have a fenced in garden area that he gets to go to when mommy is working in the garden and even has his own catnip plants growing out there. He loves his outdoor time. My non-diabetics also get to go outside, but again only with human supervision and on leashes. At first none of them were too crazy about the whole harness and leash idea, but just like with testing, they quickly figured out that if they wanted to go out then it required a harness and leash. That and we had a long talk about the drooler goes out on a leash, kitties go out on a leash...outside just equals leash..lol

Mel, Maxwell, Musette, & The Fur Gang
 
Sugar & Bear,
I have always taken Bean out! She goes out every day with mommy for her 10-15 min. of time.. The vet never mentioned not taking her out. I wait til it is cooler out and we hang..The vet thinks her diabetes was onset from stress...If Bean does not get to go out, she stresses EVERYONE!
I would supervise and let Bear visit the out doors if it is safe!
 
My kitties go outside with harnesses and leashes, all the time. They love to go outside. They also love to eat grass, and I have never heard anything wrong with it. I grow cat grass for them indoors in pots, to tide them over in the winter time.
I'd like to know the reason why the vet says your kitty should not be eating grass.
 
HA! I guess I should have been more specific about "outside"......they are never without supervision, confined to our yard and wear a harness :) We're going to take him out tonight. Actually we didn't ask about why no grass. I'll ask next time we see or call our vet.

We are thinking of getting a few different kinds of food to see what they like best.

What are some of your personal favorites? We went the best for our baby. He deserves it.
 
Well with a herd of 12 (2 diabetics + 10 civies) most of whom are street toughs that we rescued, around here the favorites are Special Kitty: Chicken & Tuna Dinner and Turkey & Giblets. Those were the only two flavors I could get 12 cats to agree on...lol. Coming in a close second and when a change in menu is called for, they also all agree on Friskies Marnier's Catch, Country style dinner and Poulty Platter. I have tried all the 'better' quality and more expensive foods out there, and apparently no one but Maxwell and Musette have refined enough palates to eat them :roll: Although I'm pretty sure Amon Ra would eat dirt if I topped it with bacon bits. ohmygod_smile

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Some people take their cats outside with a harness and leash or in a pet stroller.

Cat grass and catnip are fine for diabetics. Just make sure that they haven't been treated with chemicals. If you can, grow your own pot of cat grass or catnip. It's easy to do.

Sugar_Bear0915 said:
We are thinking of getting a few different kinds of food to see what they like best.

What are some of your personal favorites? We went the best for our baby. He deserves it.
Click to expand...

Tip: buy one can of a few different brands and varieties to see what your cat like and don't like. You don't want to buy a case of new food and have the cat refuse to eat it.

If you want high quality premium food, you can try brands such as Innova EVO, Nature's Variety Instinct, Merrick, and Go Natural. You'll find the higher end foods at non-chain and specialty pet stores.

I've fed Nature's Variety Instinct, Innnova EVO, Go Natural, Merrick Before Grain, SOrganics (no longer available now), and Weruva to my diabetic. My civies eat raw and get the occasional Nature's Variety Instinct and Weruva.
 
I've always taken Bandit out on his leash, and as long as you're keeping an eye on Bear there's no problem with it. Bandit likes to eat grass (our back yard is not treated with chemicals), and it's never had any impact on his blood sugar. He doesn't go out in the winter, but he loves to go out when there isn't snow on the ground. There isn't any reason I can possibly think of why a diabetic cat can't go out supervised.

We use a harness and a shorter leash for walks, but he has a very long leash for our back yard that I hook him up to and let him roam while I sit and read a book. Every so often he likes to get it tangled on something which is why I like to keep an eye on him when he's out. One day he caught a huge rat while we were out for a walk on the gorge trail near my house...I told him to let it go but I made sure he got treats for that feat!

I am very proactive about preventive treatment with Frontline during the summer months, because a flea infestation could cause problems that could affect his diabetes, but that's the only thing I can think of, and it's easily prevented.
 
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