Fletcher
Kitty Klips©
The Cat Containment System
To Roam or Not to Roam ...
There used to be just two choices for cat owners. Keep your cats confined to the house, or let them roam. The roaming option, which seems to be the option most people choose (judging from the number of cats that circulate the neighborhood), can lead to increased vet bills and, sometimes, the even harsher reality of death. In some communities today, letting them roam is no longer an option -- cats, like dogs, must be licensed and controlled.
On the other hand, keeping them confined to the house is not only time consuming (from a house cleaning point of view), but can become expensive (from a reupholstering and curtain replacing point of view) if your cats are bored or unruly. Ours were very bored (despite spending a fortune on catnip and soft foam balls) and extremely unruly.
So despite knowing there would be risks with the roaming option, we chose to let our cats have access to the great outdoors, trying unsuccessfully to bribe them into staying home in the back yard with toys, good food, lots of love ... their own dog.
Although we have a fenced back yard, they easily climbed out to strut their stuff around the neighborhood. The six foot brick wall was no obstacle for the cat with springs in his hind legs. The even taller wooden fence was no match for the climber. And neither the wall, nor the fence could stop the smart one.
Our cats spent their days sunning in the neighbors' yards. Getting into the occasional disagreement. Risking the contraction of fatal diseases. We got lucky on the serious diseases, but had to put up with extra vet bills resulting from their little spats -- thinking that there was no other option.
However, no amount of money at the vets can bring back Fletcher, the wonderful big white cat with the luminous blue eyes. His roaming days were cut short - the hard way - by a fast car in a narrow alley. His options were over, but...
Now You Have Another Option...Kitty Klips©!
