Keeping Tabby Safe - and Indoors

I apologize for veering off-topic for this week’s column, but I feel I need to offer an unofficial public service announcement about cats. On Friday October 20th, I let our cat Maxi out for the night; this is when she insists on her nature visits. If we don’t let her out at night, she howls and protests and keeps us awake, so we always felt there was no other choice but to let her out. Unfortunately, last Friday was the last time we saw her.

On Sunday, we went to WAG to see if our kitty had been reported or turned in, but alas, she is still missing. The folks at WAG, after letting us vent about our unfortunate loss, gave us some insight about how to look after cats in Whistler. We haven’t entirely given up hope, but it seems that many people in Whistler are missing their cats right now, and the cause is pretty much certain – coyotes are the culprit. The two women who greeted us at the WAG reception desk, Wendy Wahl and Joanne Russell, were incredibly sympathetic to our plight, and they gave us some very good information that we wish we had known before our cat went missing. I have decided to repeat some of their pearls of wisdom in this column so that others may avoid losing a beloved furry family member.

The first and most important lesson we learned is that Whistler cats should be trained to be indoor cats only. Until Sunday, I had always been fervently opposed to the idea of keeping cats inside, partly because all the cats I have ever owned have been allowed to go outside. I always felt that it was part of their nature to go out and explore and play in the great outdoors. Of course, there was also the rather selfish expectation that letting a cat out was a way to reduce the chore of maintaining the cat litter box.

Wendy and Joanne patiently explained to us that cats, by their nature, need to chase things. It may seem obvious that cats like to chase things, but by spending a little time playing with your cat and offering it some toys to chase, the outdoor chasing instinct can be supplanted with a little human play time. So if you are thinking of adopting a feline, you should expect to spend some time programming it to chase things that are inside your house. It was surprising to learn that a great deal of research has been done about modifying cat behavior, and training a cat to be an indoor cat takes about 2 weeks. There may be some cat-protesting that goes on during that two weeks, but if don’t want your kitty to become a wild animal’s next meal, take the time to program your cat to stay inside.

I don’t know much about coyotes, but apparently they are extremely cunning animals and they are very adept at hunting in numbers. They work as a team and they gang up on their prey. No matter how athletic or nimble your cat may be, it is no match for a pack of intelligent, hungry carnivores. Our neighbor told us that she witnessed her border collie get “rolled” by a coyote in broad daylight just the other day. Fortunately her dog got away unscathed, but be aware that dogs are targets too.

I really want to thank the folks at WAG, particularly Wendy and Joanne, for their empathy and insightful information last Sunday. If your cat has gone missing, fire up your computer and print some posters of your cat and distribute them around town; apparently there is a 40% chance you might get it back again. Not great odds, but enough to give us all a little hope. And if you don’t get your cat back, train your next cat to stay indoors so that it may live a long and healthy life.

Please let me know if our petite gray tabby shows up on your doorstep. She is/was an Emerald resident.