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My Great Outdoor Cats

As many cat owners know, most cats have a natural curiosity about the outdoors. They love to sit at the window and watch everything going on out there for hours on end, This shouldn�t be a surprise. Cats, after all, are descendants of the wild cat. Their natural territory is the great outdoors. The natural instinct to hunt has been tamed a bit with the domestication of the house cat, but it isn�t completely gone, Just watch your cat inside for a  while. He will stalk you from room to room, peek around furniture, and jump out at you when you least expect him to. They love the art of the hunt. While keeping your cat indoors seems safer to some, I believe cats shouldn�t be pent up all day. All of my cats have been indoor/outdoor cats. They basically live in the house, but have the freedom to go outside when they wish to play, run, or just chase bugs and butterflies. The freedom they have is more in line with the nature of a cat�solitary, independent and self-sufficient. I provide them with food and water available to them both inside and outside the house, but usually the know that their living quarters is inside, so that�s where they eat. Thankfully I didn�t have to train them to go to the bathroom outside, that just comes naturally to cats. I made them a sandbox behind the shed and they found that in the first few hours outside. I haven�t had a litter box since! And as every cat owner know, there is no freedom like not having to worry about the cat box, the odor, or the germs. Doctors advise that there are several germs and parasites in the litter box that are extremely harmful to a woman who is pregnant and to the fetus as well,  so this is a great way to  transition your cats to indoor/outdoor cats  if you are expecting a child. There are many benefits to us as cat owners, but there are several benefits for the cats that are immediately apparent. They stopped clawing at the furniture, for one! I found that cats, though they like to sleep a lot, have a ton of nervous energy. That�s why they scratch and claw a things, as well as digging through the houseplants, the cabinets, and basically getting into everything they shouldn�t! When they go outdoors they expend a lot of that energy on things they love.. running, jumping, and chasing flies. Another great benefit is the exercise they get. Our vet has finally stopped telling us or cats were overweight ( though that�s not exactly how he said it). They get all the exercise they need through their outdoor activities. And that also translated to them being much more friendly and at ease when we�re all together in the evening, so we now have some great relaxing quiet evenings at home. Now if we could just get the kids trained�

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