LogFAQs > #922094415

Kami_no_Kami posted...

Yeah, my first three cats were indoor/outdoor and none of them lived past 6 years. The third one actually contracted heart-worms, which I had to watch her struggle with for years. The former two just ran off one day, and I have no idea if they were killed or if they just ran off to hide. So, not only did they not live as long as the indoor cats ive had since then, I wasnt able to say goodbye to them and had to spend weeks hoping in vain that theyd come back home (one had left for a few days before).

The cats Ive had since switching to indoor-only have seemed just as happy as my outdoor cats, but lived to be 16, 17 and 13 (this last one had health problems and, based on the temperament she had when we rescued her, was most likely abused by her former owner) respectively.

Yeah not knowing what happened is a horrible feeling. When our second ran away, I was outside every day for about a week, looking for him and talking to neighbors to see if anyone saw him. It's heart wrenching. One dude was super suspicious too. He got real shifty eyed when I asked if he'd seen my cat. He claimed he did and fed him some of his granola bar and that was it. He seemed super nervous talking to me though. And the story was weird, who feeds cats granola bars? I always wondered if he took our cat, or if he harmed him. It still bothers me to this day.