Well. He hasn't had one yet, but I'm sure he'll be having plenty in the future because... the Teenager and I have decided to make Theo an outdoor cat.
Now, you all know I have no objection to cats being indoor only. It is my preference, both for safety and health reasons. My girls couldn't care less. They've shown no inclination to go out and the one time I tried with Ava and Sofia I was very quickly persuaded it wasn't in their interests. Both were terrified and Sofia even tried to climb into my coat sleeve (with me in it)
But Theo, Theo has always been interested in the outside world. As a kitten, before he came to me, he was allowed out (I hadn't realised this until the day he came home) and spent most of his day prowling the garden with the grass under his paws. If he'd never been out, would he have missed it? I don't know
Every summer, Theo asks, several times a day, for a walk, and I can't always take him out. He prowls his boundary restlessly every day, coating it liberally in urine, and meows dismally by the door. I can't bear to have him communicating his needs to me so clearly and for me to respond, metaphorically at least, by sticking my fingers in my ears and saying 'lalalala' for another year. It just feels wrong, even if I've been doing it for the best reasons.
The teenager and I had a serious chat about it the other day and weighed up all the possibilities (Theo being stolen, getting lost, being injured...) and the courses of action we could take. Theo is the Teenager's cat, and the teenager was very against sending Theo to live somewhere with secure outside space, and I wasn't keen either, after all, Theo is our cat and we love him. So we came to the decision to let him out. The car insurance is due at the end of the month, so as soon as I can get the money together after that, I'll be buying collar, tags and possibly a GPS, and off he goes.
Those of you who have outdoor cats, what do I need to know? Has anyone tried/ used a cat GPS? What collars are the best to use? Tags? Spam me with links and information, it's all good!
You could e-mail the University of Bristol, they did that programme on the BBC where they put GPS collars on cats. They might be able to tell you where to get them. Good luck with Theo.
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