A while back, I had to pick up a dead cat. It had no collar or I would have tried to find its owner. It had been hit by a car and thrown into my front yard. I had to keep my niece, who loves cats, away from the window so she wouldn't have to look at the corpse.

The great outdoors is the equivilant of Beirut for a cat. Cars, poisons, fights, mean people et. make free roaming very risky for a cat.

Now some are going to argue for the cat's quality of life. They talk about cats who look forlornly out the window at the world. What they do not know is that most of these cats would not go outside despite any opportunity. They enjoy the indoor life so much that they do not want to leave it. And who can blame them? Who wants to leave good food, protection, et. to take chances?

In order to convince those who would let their cats play in the streets to keep their kitties indoors, I have broken down a cat's day into a chart.

As you can see; sleeping, grooming, and eating are activities that do not need to take place outdoors. This leaves only five hours for the cat to do other things, like destroying your living room.

This brings us to another reason for outdoor cats, destruction. Most cats can be trained to be more civilized with simple tools like a spray bottle or a bean bag. When the cat does the forbidden act, spray him or throw the (little) bean bag at him. You don't have to hit him with the bag a near miss is enough for him to get the message.

If you and your cat are having litter box problems, check out Litter Box Woes and see if I have posted a solution.

But the best way to prevent destructiveness is to play with your kitty. Every cat that I've seen loves fishing poles that you can buy in any pet supply store. The more you play with him, the less likely he will be to get into trouble. The fishing pole is ideal because it encourages running and jumping which exhausts the cat.

Plus, check out my page, The Joy of Living with an Older Cat. You see they do grow out of it. Or if you are thinking about getting a cat, try getting an older cat. If you have valuable breakables, won't you feel much better knowing that your five year old cat doesn't have the energy to zoom through the house?

So keep your kitties indoors to live a long and healthy life.