Cats in TV

[JackieandCharlie]

We closed on our home last Friday, and will be moving up from Miami, FL before the end of February with our old tom cat, Tommy.

Tommy is currently an "indoor/outdoor" cat and is "fixed". We know he is going to have to be indoors exclusively for a while so he can get acclimated to the new environment, but we never saw cats outdoors during our visits to TV. We were wondering if people let their cats outside unsupervised.

[graciegirl]

We closed on our home last Friday, and will be moving up from Miami, FL before the end of February with our old tom cat, Tommy.

Tommy is currently an "indoor/outdoor" cat and is "fixed". We know he is going to have to be indoors exclusively for a while so he can get acclimated to the new environment, but we never saw cats outdoors during our visits to TV. We were wondering if people let their cats outside unsupervised.


It isn't allowed. And it is dangerous with all of the critters overhead and prowling about.

[BarryRX]

It isn't allowed. And it is dangerous with all of the critters overhead and prowling about.

Hawks, eagles and gators have to eat too!

[JackieandCharlie]

really? he can't go out at all?

[Mr Hanky]

My kitty will be enjoying the enclosed lanai:-)

[JackieandCharlie]

What??

[JackieandCharlie]

so sad...poor tom will have to adjust his lifestyle:(

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I've seen cats roaming around only at night and I assumed that they were feral cats. The Villages is a dangerous environment for cats. As has been mentioned hawks and eagles circle all the time. If they go near the water, they are in danger of being eaten by a gator and I have seen a few fox around my neighborhood.
Keep your cat indoors if you want to keep your cat.

[uujudy]

so sad...poor tom will have to adjust his lifestyle:(

He CAN go outside, as long as you have him on a leash. You can walk him anywhere, and there are even cat/dog strollers if you prefer that method -- But ALL pets in The Villages are required to be leashed when outside your home.

Our Tommy Boy & Baby Monroe were always indoor/outdoor cats, but they adjusted well to being indoor/lanai cats. They can't catch the birds, but the birds can't catch them, either. :laugh:

[Barefoot]

really? he can't go out at all?

Really, Tommy can't go out at all, unless it is on a leash. People don't want your cat on their property, trust me on that one!

Cats and dogs must stay on your property and be under your control. There are coyotes, gators and other predators just waiting for Tommy to wander off your property.

There many feral cats living in parking lots and on golf courses. It is very sad. Almost daily, a lost cat is advertised on the local radio station.

[aussiemom]

We closed on our home last Friday, and will be moving up from Miami, FL before the end of February with our old tom cat, Tommy.

Tommy is currently an "indoor/outdoor" cat and is "fixed". We know he is going to have to be indoors exclusively for a while so he can get acclimated to the new environment, but we never saw cats outdoors during our visits to TV. We were wondering if people let their cats outside unsupervised.
Leash laws apply to cats as well as dogs, not just in TV but in most places throughout the country. And even if leash laws weren't there for cats, his safety alone should make you want to keep him indoors or on a leash. Also, probably most of us don't appreciate a loose cat prowling their property and we really don't care for their little piles and urine smell they leave behind. Plus it causes havoc when a cat is on a dog owners property.....causing many dogs to go nuts and start barking (even if they aren't barkers). Then the neighbors complain about the barking dog next door. Now the neighbors don't speak and all because of someone's loose cat who keeps hanging around. Why not invest in a screened in area extended out from your house and let him roam inside and out, but with safety from predators.

[skyguy79]

We closed on our home last Friday, and will be moving up from Miami, FL before the end of February with our old tom cat, Tommy.

Tommy is currently an "indoor/outdoor" cat and is "fixed". We know he is going to have to be indoors exclusively for a while so he can get acclimated to the new environment, but we never saw cats outdoors during our visits to TV. We were wondering if people let their cats outside unsupervised.Many years ago we had an indoor/outdoor cat, and halfway throught it's life we had a Raccoon rabies scare in our neighborhood. From that point forward we have never allowed any of our cats loose outside again. When we stopped her going out she adapted and she stopped asking to go out within a week or sooner. So I believe your Tommy will also adapt quickly, especially coming into a new environment. He'll be too busy exploring and sniffing all the new nooks and cranies of his new home, at least when not napping.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/customavatars/avatar153496_13.gif
It is also a well know fact that cats have a longer life as an indoor cat. The indoor cat's average life expectancy is more that twice the years of an outdoor cat. Here is an interesting read on outdoors vs. indoors:

Indoor vs Outdoor Cats | General Cat Articles (http://www.cat-world.com.au/indoor-vs-outdoor-cats)

[JackieandCharlie]

Thanks for your encouraging experience with your cats. I am sure it will all work out. He is an old cat...he'll adjust, I guess. I bought him a leash with a harness but he HATED it (humiliated him I think). A stroller is a fun idea. I wonder if he would go for it???

He CAN go outside, as long as you have him on a leash. You can walk him anywhere, and there are even cat/dog strollers if you prefer that method -- But ALL pets in The Villages are required to be leashed when outside your home.

Our Tommy Boy & Baby Monroe were always indoor/outdoor cats, but they adjusted well to being indoor/lanai cats. They can't catch the birds, but the birds can't catch them, either. :laugh:

[shalomuall]

we have a group of coyotes roaming in Fernandina after dark and they approached some of the neighbors while they walked their big dogs. Better safe than sorry.

[Joaniesmom]

Don't know what type of home you purchased. We own a CYV and. with all the walls/fences surrounding our property, we leave our cat out sometimes but only when we are there to supervise. The other posters really aren't kidding when they mention hawks, eagles, etc. They are everywhere. Cats have a way of getting themselves in trouble when allowed outside alone and unsupervised.

[Scoops]

Keep your cat indoors. We had a coyote in our backyard yesterday.

[duffysmom]

Thanks for your encouraging experience with your cats. I am sure it will all work out. He is an old cat...he'll adjust, I guess. I bought him a leash with a harness but he HATED it (humiliated him I think). A stroller is a fun idea. I wonder if he would go for it???

I'm impressed with your devotion to your Tommy. The most important thing for Tommy is to be with his loved ones, he will learn to adjust. Too
many cats in TV are lost and never seen again.

One day I was out in my yard with the landscaper and Duffy was standing beside me when a huge hawk kept swooping down eyeballing my 4lb dog.
The landscaper was surprised at how bold the hawk was.

Welcome!!

[ohhappyday]

I've seen cats roaming around only at night and I assumed that they were feral cats. The Villages is a dangerous environment for cats. As has been mentioned hawks and eagles circle all the time. If they go near the water, they are in danger of being eaten by a gator and I have seen a few fox around my neighborhood.
Keep your cat indoors if you want to keep your cat.

Don't forget coyotes...yep we watched a hawk swoop after a little critter the other day down here in Sanibel.

[graciegirl]

Our two cats, Mikey, Harry and Hershey love the Lanai. They watch the birds drink from our fountain and watch the geckoes running around outside and have a nice snooze on the furniture or in a patch of sunshine.

I bet Tommy will like it too. I think every house has a lanai.

Welcome home.

[gadaboutgal]

I don't know who or where the erroneous idea started that all pets had to be on a leash. In Sumter County, if the animal is in your yard or under your control you do not have to have it on a leash. "http://sumtercountyfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=110Animal Services
Show All Answers
1. What are the leash laws in Sumter County?
County Code 4-10 states that all dogs must be confined on owners property at all times or under direct control or on a leash when off the owners property.

Otherwise a citation will be issued for the animal running free."

There is no "leash Law" for cats.

Now, as far as covenants in the villages within Sumter County, go-read them very carefully. The same information contained in Sumter County's law also is contained there. No more, no less.

Our pets are kept indoor or on the screen lanai for their protection from people!!

[Barefoot]

I don't know who or where the erroneous idea started that all pets had to be on a leash. In Sumter County, if the animal is in your yard or under your control you do not have to have it on a leash. "http://sumtercountyfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=110Animal Services
Show All Answers
1. What are the leash laws in Sumter County?
County Code 4-10 states that all dogs must be confined on owners property at all times or under direct control or on a leash when off the owners property.

Otherwise a citation will be issued for the animal running free."

There is no "leash Law" for cats.

Now, as far as covenants in the villages within Sumter County, go-read them very carefully. The same information contained in Sumter County's law also is contained there. No more, no less.

Our pets are kept indoor or on the screen lanai for their protection from people!!

A responsible pet owner will NOT let their animal run free on other residents' properties.

[graciegirl]

I don't know who or where the erroneous idea started that all pets had to be on a leash. In Sumter County, if the animal is in your yard or under your control you do not have to have it on a leash. "http://sumtercountyfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=110Animal Services
Show All Answers
1. What are the leash laws in Sumter County?
County Code 4-10 states that all dogs must be confined on owners property at all times or under direct control or on a leash when off the owners property.

Otherwise a citation will be issued for the animal running free."

There is no "leash Law" for cats.

Now, as far as covenants in the villages within Sumter County, go-read them very carefully. The same information contained in Sumter County's law also is contained there. No more, no less.

Our pets are kept indoor or on the screen lanai for their protection from people!!

The challenge is.......that homes do NOT have fences. so that means that if your dog sets his paw off your property than you are not following the rules. Invisible fencing is allowed but doesn't work for cats, they are leapers.

Better to do what others do and keep kitties indoors and pups on leashes or live in a courtyard villa with a walled in backyard and then you will have friendly neighbors who smile a lot....and THAT is why most of us moved here.

[aussiemom]

I don't know who or where the erroneous idea started that all pets had to be on a leash. In Sumter County, if the animal is in your yard or under your control you do not have to have it on a leash. "http://sumtercountyfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=110Animal Services
Show All Answers
1. What are the leash laws in Sumter County?
County Code 4-10 states that all dogs must be confined on owners property at all times or under direct control or on a leash when off the owners property.

Otherwise a citation will be issued for the animal running free."

There is no "leash Law" for cats.

Now, as far as covenants in the villages within Sumter County, go-read them very carefully. The same information contained in Sumter County's law also is contained there. No more, no less.

Our pets are kept indoor or on the screen lanai for their protection from people!!

There is a leash law which includes cats in Marion County and some of us are in Marion County. Check Chapter 4, Sec 4 - 10. As for being on your property without a leash.............most allow that, however they need to be under your control to ensure they don't go off. I don't know of any cats that stay within your yard if you are not out there with them, especially without a fence. Even six foot high fences don't stop most casts. So please don't jump on those of us who talked about there being a leash law. But leash law or not, you are responsible for your animal if it leaves your property.

[gadaboutgal]

A responsible pet owner will NOT let their animal run free on other residents' properties.
I made no reference nor offered encouragement to letting an animal "run free" on any property- with the exception of the owner's. I only provide legal reference to Sumter County and its leash laws. It is regrettable if anyone reads into that info as "jumping" on anyone's opinions.

[mfp509]

I adopted my cat when she was 2 yrs old and she had been an outdoor cat. She adapted very well to being an indoors and never bothered to want to go outside. She loves lying on her kitty perch in front of the open window on the lanai and I have a stroller for her which she loves. I take her around the neighborhood and it is a real treat for her. When we are not walking, she uses it as her bed. She is now 12 yrs old.

[Kimandhim19981@gmail.com]

In the UK my cat is an outdoor cat (if she can be bothered) in her TV home she is happy to lie on her window bed watching people go by, and in the Lanai she sits and watches the golf balls on the golf course out the back, she does have a leash and she does go for walks round the property when she feels like it she chases the lizards and frogs, she would love to play with the squirrels and snakes but is content to stare at them out of the windows.

[Steve & Deanna]

Our cat has the run of the house and a locked lanai. I would not recommend letting a cat out just due to 'critters', flying and land bound. Keep your cat safe and spend more quality time with him playing games or just chasing him throughout the house.