The box cat

by Marie
(Santa Barbara, CA)

Almost all of my cats have been indoor at night and outdoor during the day. 7 cats total, 1 that was hit by a car and 1 that had to be left behind when we moved because he would take off for weeks or months at a time in the mountains and we couldn't find him when it was time to leave.

The only one that was outdoors all the time now comes in at night to keep her safe from wild animals.

I've lived in both cities and rural areas and will NEVER have a cat door again. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the kitchen one day and found a skunk eating the cat food! "AH! That's not my cat!"

My latest cat, Drooler, started off as the neighbors cat before she decided that she liked us better. I'm not really sure how the name stuck... She lived in a box for 2 years and we never even fed her.

We had two other cats at the time and couldn't let her come inside without them peeing on everything. She was bitten twice by other animals at night and we had to come up with a solution. We set her up in the shed with a 1 way cat door that was locked at night.

We would open the cat door in the morning so she could come out as she pleased and we would put her back inside at dusk and lock the cat door completely. This kept other animals out of the cat food! She hasn't been bitten since.

The other two cats have since passed, both of natural causes. One was 14 and the other was 17. Drooler now comes inside and rules the house. She still loves boxes, enjoys riding in the car, and loves to cuddle!

She's not much of a hunter but she did bring me a bird once. She was very proud until I scared her by yelling at her to keep it outside :) I didn't mean to make her feel bad but I didn't want it in my house!

I might be paranoid but she's all black so I make sure to keep her in on Halloween.

I'm not home enough to entertain a cat that's inside all of the time. I think indoor or outdoor depends a lot on where you live and they should ALWAYS come in at night.