Thread: First time owner

Originally Posted by Lollypop

My partner and I had a silver tabby maine coon from kitten Tinkerbell Twinkletoes and she was supposed to be an indoor only coonie, we raised her this way for months and I had to deal with so many people at work/friends and family who thought I was basically being cruel and it wasnt fair on her etc etc. However her breeder would have preferred we keep her indoors (as most do) and I trusted him- so it angered me when others put their experience with their moggies on our beautiful and what I presume not very street wise pedigree.

HOWEVER, despite having more toys than most 1 year old children, Tink soon became interested in the great outdoors and with her it didnt seem enough to just watch the world through the window- she wanted to be In it. Building a cat run didnt seem an option due to the set up of our garden and it was only a rented house.. Tink would love going into the back room to the airvent and getting some 'fresh air' from that. So much so that I started to feel like the 'bad parent' and that keeping her in was the wrong decision, it just started to feel mean as soon as we realised how much she wanted to go out for fresh air, and then I started to think hey this isnt natural, cats are meant to go outside, not at all hours and for days on end, but surely it isnt 'right' for any animal to be cooped up with no fresh air. These were my thoughts..

So we started by using a harness and leash and only letting her out in the garden with me, so supervised of course. It is not like having a dog you can walk on a leash though!!! You cant walk a maine coon- you are dragged into every bush they want to explore and behind every nook and crany they can fit in! She did all this last summer, and then slowly and surely the level of supervision became more and more reduced until we unlocked the cat flap in the day time and let her come and go as she pleased. And most of the time, she was only out for ten minutes before wanting to come back in, and a lot of the time she didnt even bother going outside when she knew she could- she preferred to be in our company and followed me around the house like my shadow. She was my best friend. I must say I got the sense that she was happier being able to explore a little- and i know from following her she stuck to our garden and the neighbours. It was traumatic at first for me, worrying about her and if she was out for a longer time I would go and look for her. She would always be fine. If it got to the time of the evening after work when its just starting to get darker and she wasnt in, we would go out with dreamie treats and get her. She came when we called her name Tinkerbell, always with a chirrup so we felt as long as she was within shouting distance we could always find her. Then i would lock the cat flap- she Never went out at night.

So she was a very happy and pampered cat, but then we moved house and something happened to Tink.. she just didnt seem herself and her behaviour was 'off'. I thought she was depressed because of the house move-cats dont like change- but it turned out to be more than that.. Her breathing rate one day was alarmingly fast and so we rushed her to the vet who diagnosed Pyothorax- fluid in the chest cavity. She was drained of this fluid to help her respiratory rate, and was in the vets every day/every other day for about 3-5 weeks to be re-drained, plus we had to administer aerobic and anaerobic antibiotics and painkiller twice a day, having test upon test and x rays to try and discover what was the cause of this fluid accumulation- everything was suggested from cancer and FIP to a torn lung lobe and infection..she was transferred to The Oxford Cat Clinic and then the incrediable Langfords in Bristol whereby it was determined that actually what she had was 'just' an infection.. but this was a severe, life threatening infection and wasnt responding to the antibiotics.. she had to have an operation to physically remove the infection but it had spread to too many organs and she was losing too much blood during the op- devastatingly I had a call mid surgery asking for my permission to euthanaze her as she was not likely to survive the surgery, and if she did would only live a few more days and not survive the car journey home :'( :'( :'( This was May 11th this year.

They never found out the cause of the infection- they very very rarely do- so we were left not knowing why. Devastating. I do wonder whether it was something about the house move- cleaning products for example- or something In this house that caused the problem, but then again she could have been ill for a longer time than we realised as cats hide illness, and this would point to it developing earlier. So was it hereditary? She was a bit sneezy as a kitten.. Was it something in the old house? Was it something she picked up Outside??

Quite simply, we do not know. However going through this has made me far more cautious with the next baby, as me and my boyfriend were in absolute bits when we lost Tink. It has been so surreal and heart breaking. We needed another coonie in the house as without Tink here I just wanted to die. So now we have a new baby Merry and she is Not going out!!! Definately not in this house anyway as we hear cat fights at night and she is much too precious to be involved in that. I think that when we buy our house we will build a cat run, and for now maybe put screens across the windows as I feel this is a far safer compromise..

There are many dangers outside, and not just car accidents, fights and nasty people either harming cats or stealing them. think about my experience as you wouldnt neccessarily be worried about infections but it killed my Tink. She died at 15 months old and I could sob and sob my heart out just thinking about her. She was so content and perfect whilst she was with us- but the life expectancy of an outdoor vs indoor cat is mind blowing. I want this baby to be with us much longer. It is a risk if you let them out but it is a personal choice and you need to weigh up the pro's and con's of each. Dont let anyone make you feel guilty for what you decide, use your instinct and be prepared to deal with the consequences of either decision.

Also, note that some breeders will require you to sign an agreement that they will be indoor only MC's. Though not all- our new breeder openly admits she is happy for new owners to decide on either indoor or outdoor.

Hope i helped and didnt confuse lol xx

Just want to say that was so sad what a shame poor Tink. Thank you for sharing it although you got me a bit worried when you mentioned kitten sneezing Basil does this.

I lost my Phoenix (Beenie) in November he was indoor and then let outside at 3 years old. If it wasnt for Phoenix I would of never got a maine coon. Basil is staying an indoor cat we have plans to build a run. We are also in rented accomodation but we are hoping to build it in a way that we can remove it and take it with us.