Outdoor cat?

[tombokinz]

I live by a lake and there are lots of cats by one of the places. Some of the cats have kittens and my mom said I could keep 1 or 2 of them. Here is the thing. My whole family is allergic to them so we would have to keep them outdoors. Could we do this? If so, could we just leave them out there to live on their own or would we have to keep them inside for a while while they are still little. Thanks

[DSJ]

I think you would be unwise to even contemplate keeping a cat, either inside or outside, if members of your family are allergic to them. It wouldn't be fair on them or the kittens.

Why don't you ring the RSPCA and explain that there are feral cats with kittens living near the lake. They will come to catch them & take them away to be checked over. When the kittens are old enough to leave their mother(s), they'll be sterilised and re-homed.

[tombokinz]

We are getting allergie shots so we aren't as allergic and my brother and dad are not allergic. I do see your side of the story though. :)

[wiggal]

My partner is allergic to cats, but it only affects him if he gets scratched or when they are kittens.

Or are your family like my nephew who goes within 50 metres of a cat and it sets of a full blown reaction!?

If its the first, well then, me & my partner have 7 cats!

If its the 2nd, then I wouldnt even dream of having a cat, even an outdoors one.

[wildwood]

Keeping a feral kitten takes a fair amount of time to tame them down. They've never seen a human close up so you need to be careful as they will hiss, scratch and rarely become proper housecats.

Even if you do decide to keep one of the kittens, you'd still be well advised to report the feral cats so they can be removed from the wild as they decimate the wildlife. I am sure that when you have children you'd like the native birds etc. to be still around.

[lankeela]

Why not just put food out for them, and hopefully they will carry on living their normal life but may become tame enough for you to play with them or stroke them. Best of both worlds, they get to live their life but won't have to worry about finding food, and you get a pet or two without too much hassle.

[DSJ]

The trouble is that they'll all breed within the year & you'll have dozens of hungry mouths to feed.

[happyjo]

we recently adopted a young cat, and we were concerned as one of my daughters and myself are both allergic. However, neither of us have even sneezed.. If she scratches me than it does itch for an hour or so, but that's it.

My vet told me that it is the dander (?) that makes people sneeze, not the fur, and some cats produce very little, hence no allrgic reaction to our flossy.

Aside all the othe issues mentioned re, ferrel cats, being allergic may not be the biggest worry.

J x