Monday, September 05, 2005

welcome to fortress lim

this is the latest cruel attempt to turn us into indoor pets. the man and woman finally have the chicken wires up. so no more sitting by my nasty neighbour's cactus, no more snitching tibby's food on the 4th floor landing, no more visits to abscess cat, no more nibbling at the hdb landscaping and no more lazing on 2nd floor roof landing.

now all i can do at my age is look forward to mealtimes and death. swell. the argument for keeping us indoors is usually that an indoor cat lives a good 12 -18 years compared to a street cat that has a life expectancy of 2-5 years. like to point out though, is a cossetted uninspired life really worth prolonging??

the woman is torn but becomes that bit more pro-indoor when she discovers a bowl of dubious liquids (washing detergent?) left at our stair landing. i know better than to lick something like that but she doesn't quite trust in my intelligence. after all, i am a dumb animal.

so here i sit on the wrong side of the chicken wires while she reads an insidious piece of propaganda Things You Should Consider Before Allowing Your Cat to Free Roam Outdoors. and Healthy & Happy Indoor Cat.

Franny Syufy of About.com adds fuel to fire with her offensive Balance Sheet of the pros and cons of keeping cats indoors:

Pros:
1. Injury or death by vehicles
2. Poisoned intentionally or accidentally
3. Injury or death by fighting with other cats
4. Infectious diseases contracted from other cats: FIP,FIV,FeLV,URIs
5. Parasites: fleas, ticks, ringworm
6. Injury or death by sadists
7. Injury or death by dogs or predators
8. Killing of wildlife by outdoor cats
9. Getting lost, picked up by A/C
10. Theft for sale as laboratory animals or "bait" for illicit gaming
11. Problems with neighbors: cats littering their yards

Cons:
1. Indoor cats are lazy, and don't get the exercise they need.
2. Cats by their very nature deserve the freedom of outdoor life.
3. The cats love the outdoors, fresh air and sunshine, and I love watching them there.

simply put, we love the outdoors but it doesn't love us back. sucks to live in an imperfect world.

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