 Hi, Lisa Larson here, Animal Communicator. I'm here with Alicia Aletrieste. Hi, Alicia. How are you doing? Fine, Lisa. How are you? Pretty good. How you like my shirt today? Oh, I love it. My little, my little glittery cats. I don't know if you can tell that they're glittering, but they're glittery. Oh, there we go. There we go. There was some glitter there for a second. There we go. There we go. There we go. There we go. Okay. I love it. All right. So today's topic is actually about kitties, and it's about kitties specifically and keeping your cats indoors. So I know that that's a bit of a controversial topic, but I do feel it's important to help my viewers understand what we feel the dangers of having an indoor-outdoor cat is rather than indoor only, and the importance of keeping those kitties indoors. And we're going to have that discussion here. And again, I understand that there's a lot of you out there that probably will disagree. And that's why we just want to have this discussion today. Exactly. And you know, I hear a lot about that with the cat parents. I don't think they're really aware of the problem having the cats indoor-outdoor and the dangers. And I love this topic because we're going to be educating people about having the cats indoor and instead of having them outdoor indoor. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's important because we're not going to change everybody's mind and we're not trying to, but we want to give you our take on it by working with animals. We've been working with animals. Both of us have been working with animals for many years. And we have a lot of experience in that and a lot of experience through our clients with this. And this is why we both, I think, have come to this conclusion because I used to have outdoor cats. You know, I used to have it until two of them got killed by a car within a year. You know, I mean, that'll do it. But you know, and I agree. I think that some people don't understand it. Look, everybody has their own opinions on what's right for their animal. And I get that. But I do feel one of the things that I get a lot is people saying, well, I can't see locking them up and not letting them go out and play. There'll be so much happier because it's a natural state for them to be outside. And I will say, no, not really, you know, because we have actually domesticated them. And there are so many people that think that cats just go outside and they do nothing but play and do all sorts of stuff. And of course, there's some of that. But in general, anytime a cat is outside, they naturally have to be in survival mode. So there is a tension. Even if they're playing, even if they're doing whatever, there's a tension and an awareness that they have to have because that is a natural instinct to be in survival mode and have to raise that stress level so that they understand that there are things that can happen to them. I mean, there are rescues out there that will not even, in fact, most rescues will not even adopt out unless you sign an agreement that you're going to keep them indoors only. And it's for that reason. And it's not even just the dangers to the cats, which we're going to talk about, but it's the dangers to wildlife, to birds. You know, I mean, cats go out and they catch birds. So the bird population is at risk when your cats are out. And again, people say, well, this is natural. And you just can't be inside. They can't be inside all the time. But that's not true. They can be motivated. They can be just as happy and just as motivated inside with toys and windows. And we're going to talk about the things that you can do to help them be happier inside. But I do agree that I don't think that people are as aware as they could be of all the dangers that are out in the world for cats and how that level of stress and survival mode affects them. Can you define or be more specific of the dangers? Yeah, there's so many. I mean, there's predators not just from the ground, but also from the sky. I mean, owls have come down and taken cats. Owls have come down and taken dogs, hawks. Of course, there's not many places left in even urban areas where coyotes aren't around. And I mean, we live in a really urban area in a suburb. And we've got coyotes and bobcats that we catch on our security camera here all the time. And so they've got predators, all sorts of natural predators, but there's human predators as well. There are people, number one, that don't like cats and will set out poison for them. There are cars that run over them. I mean, it's hard to say how many people have had that experience. I mean, I know I have, and it's just a horrible, horrible experience. There's toxic chemicals that people put on their lawns that, what is that stuff? Roundup and all of that stuff. And cats go and eat the grass. And then they come home and you can't figure out why they've gotten so sick and why they got sick and died. They've been eating all sorts of toxic chemicals or just toxic plants. I mean, I actually did a video, a full video on the dangers of lilies. If they go out and eat just one chomp of any part of a lily, the leaf, the stem, anything, they can go into acute renal failure and die within three days. And if they're outdoor cats, you don't know they've done that. All you do is if they come back, if they come back, you just see them get sick and then you have no idea why they got sick. But I mean, it's not just lilies. I mean, there's all sorts of toxic plants out there. And I mentioned the predators. There was even a client, even the people that say, well, they only go into the backyard and I always watch them or they never leave the backyard. Well, first of all, when anybody ever says they never leave the backyard, I always say, until they don't. Because you never know when a bird is going to fly by and they're going to go chase that bird or something's going to, whatever. Cats get focused on things and then all of a sudden, they're several blocks away, they don't know where they are and they get scared and they're lost. But one client I had, she said that he never goes out of the backyard. He's safe there. And she and her husband had gone on vacation, I believe, and they had a good close friend or family member was taking care of the cat. And the cat was in the backyard and a big bully cat that was in the neighborhood, a stray cat, climbed over the fence and attacked it. And the cat almost died. It attacked it so badly, the cat almost died. Now, since then, they've, they made her into an indoor cat. So there are just so, so, so many dangers. And basically, if you have an indoor outdoor cat, or just an outdoor cat, the lifespan is around five to six years. Now, that doesn't mean there's not going to be a lot of people that comment on this. And I have an indoor and outdoor cat and you're 16 years old, yes, it happens. But this, the statistics are, if they are outdoors, they have a less of a lifespan. If they're indoor only, we're talking 18 to 20 years. Should be the lifespan of a cat. So, you know, it's, it's, I understand people feel very, very strongly about this, but I do, you know, I do want to use this platform to at least express the things that I have learned through the people that I have worked with, whether their cats have gotten lost that way. And so many cats get lost because they're indoor outdoor. Well, they were supposed to come home at five o'clock, you know, well, they always come home at five o'clock. Well, they didn't today because they got caught by a coyote or they got hit by a car or whatever it is, you know, and they can be happy indoors. They absolutely can be happy indoors. There is one of your viewers that asking a question. What, and it is, what about the difference between keep, uh, keeping cats indoors from the time they are kittens and changing the routine of a cat being outdoors? Oh, that's a great question. That's a great question. Well, first of all, if you keep them indoors from the time they're kittens, they're not going to know any different. You know, that's just their home. That's what they know. That's their roaming area and they are happy as clams, you know, but that doesn't mean that if you bring a cat in from outdoors, if, if you get a rescue cat that used to be outdoors or whatever, it does not mean that you can't transition those cats into being indoor cats. It's, it really is not as hard as people think. I get so many people saying, well, you know, I tried to keep them indoors, but he was crying and scratching at the door and I just howling and this and that. Yeah. Well, they're going to do that at first. You have to be able to, you know, but if the first day you hear that, you say, okay, well, I can't leave them indoors and you let them out. Well, then that's what they're going to learn that that howling and scratching is means they're going to be let out. Now, when we brought Pono in, he had been out on the street. He was only about, I don't know, about five months old, but he had been out there for, I know, for several weeks because we'd been hearing him and we brought him in. We just started keeping him indoors and at first, yeah, he was scratching at the windows and wanting to get out and then two, three weeks later, I mean, now he's just as happy as he can be. You know, he lies by the window. He never asks, go out. We don't even knock on wood. We don't even worry. You know, we used to worry that he was going to be a bolter, but he, you can do it if you know how and same thing with Koa. You know, she was out on the street for at least six months and she, of course, boy, once she realized that, you know, she was going to get fed and get love and all of that stuff. There's nothing that would make her want to go out now. Yeah. Can you give us, for example, some examples of how to change the habit of being outdoor and indoor? Transitioning. Yeah, transitioning an outdoor cat to an indoor cat. Yeah. Well, the first thing as I kind of alluded to it, it takes time and it takes patience. It's not going to happen overnight. It's not like one night, you say, I'm going to keep the cat in and then expect the cat to just not ask to go out. You're going to have to listen to them cry a little bit. You know, that's part of the thing. I mean, when you, when you're teaching a child anything, you know, to break a habit for a child, you're going to have to listen to them whine for a while until they learn that their whining is not going to get them any place. Well, it's the same thing with a cat. They can scratch and go outside, scratch to go outside. And if you don't let them do that, then they're going to understand that that's not going to be possible, that that crying isn't working. But instead, when they're scratching and asking to go outside, if you go and get them a really fun play toy and start playing with them and make the inside as interesting or more interesting than it is outside, then they're going to start to understand that this is pretty, this is a pretty good life. So, you know, you're going to want to expect pushback and know that you're going to have to give it time. It's going to take a few weeks. You know, you would expect, I don't think sometimes it doesn't take even that long, but, you know, give it a few weeks, at least. But you want to give them plenty of play, lots of things to play with. They can be interactive. If they are animals, if they're cats that will play on their own with things, you can get them, you know, interactive toys, or you can get a bunch of, you know, you can get like the bird or the bee or some of those ones where they fly through the air. I mean, there's just so many good toys and I do want to make a list for those. Maybe I'll try and put a list in the comments or the description. But you want to give them plenty of play. Of course, you want to give them a nice perch so that they can sit and look out a window. And because for them, sitting and looking out a window is like watching TV to us. You know, we don't expect that we want to jump inside the TV screen, you know, that we have to get inside the TV screen to see, but we're just watching. And it's interesting and we see the things going by. It's interesting to them. So you want to give them that. If you feel more comfortable, there is something called animal safe screening so that you can put screens, screening material, you can replace your regular screens with screening material that animals can't scratch through. And that goes both ways, both they can't scratch to get out, but nobody can scratch to get in either. You know, so if you've got an open door, open window and you're, you know, that you've got coyotes go by or, you know, whatever other predators that might come along. So, you know, there's that option if it's necessary. Certainly a kitty condo, you know, you want to, you want to put the kitty condos, you want to have cats superhighways so they can run a lot, run around things. They love being in high places, give them, think of cats, they like vertical things. They don't just stay on the ground, they like to get up high. So give them places up high, put shelving up and their kitty condos. And if you really want to give them a little bit of an outdoor experience, make them a patio. You know, take a patio, screen it in, you can screen it in with the animal safe screening if you want. They, you know, you can have like a little kitty door that goes in and out from the house. We saw one, we used to go to this fundraiser for the rescue house which is a rescue and a cat rescue in the San Diego area. And this was the most amazing patio. They had a walkway from the window that the cats would walk over and then there was this big area that was all enclosed and screened in but they did it around a tree. Oh, so they could, they had a real tree that they could, they could climb up on and they had all sorts of plants and, you know, cat safe plants and all sorts of things and shelving and it was amazing. Of course, these people were wealthy. Let's just say the word, they were wealthy. So, you know, people are going to be able to do that but you can make a little, you can make a little patio out of like a patio area or a cat room or something like that. You know, because it's doable. You know, I think I mentioned to you when they brought me a cat to work. It was indoor outdoor. I say no in my watch and when the clan came pick up the cat completely outdoor in her house. So, because I was entertaining the cat all the time. Wait, wait, wait. I don't understand. Say that again. So it was in, you told her you would not let the cat out. Yes. Okay. And she say, okay, do whatever you have to do and so I kept the cat for a week and a half and the cat never meow. Never, he was not even mad or anything like that. When my client came and pick up the cat, went home and the cat never say meow to her again to go out. So it's doable. So it not only is it doable but that to me says that once a cat understands what a good deal it is being an indoor only cat, they get the idea and they say, oh, okay. And I see your cat jumping down there. That's Leo. Okay. I'm sorry. That's okay. Hi, Leo. So, you know, that to me says that, you know, that cat just realized, just like Pono realized and Koa certainly that, you know, boy, being indoors is not a bad thing because of course, when we first got Koa, she was so terrified. She was trying to scratch her way out but she she was just terrified of everything. But once she realized, boy, oh boy, she's just like indoor haven't right now, you know, I mean, I think they truly do understand. It's like once they get into a situation where they're indoor only and they realize how what it feels like to fully relax and not have to worry about predators and not have to worry about being in that survival mode, then they go, what was I thinking? What was I thinking? I don't know. I don't need to do that. I've got it pretty, pretty good here. So anyway, I know that that we are just one side of this conversation. You know, I'm sure there's a lot of people that have a lot of other things to say that the reasons why they feel that a cat should be indoor outdoor and certainly never outdoor only certainly never outdoor only that don't even get me started on outdoor only. That's not even having a cat. That's that's not even having a cat, you know. And so in that case, they can share their experiences, doing the transition, asking you questions, because sometimes people they're not they don't know that that is an option. I think you're right. Yeah. And so just leave the comments here and and we'll answer your questions. And please, thank you. And that will be great hearing from you in your we want to hear what you think about this subject. Yeah. And and hopefully, you know, hopefully we have given you some insight into the mind of cats and how they think of these things in a way that maybe you hadn't thought of before, you know, because I think that in and of itself is a lot of the problem. They have an idea about what a cat is. And they think a cat is a wild animal so that they need this other stuff. But, you know, bobcats are wild animals, lynxes are wild animals. But the domestic cat has been domesticated. Mm hmm. And and that's why they need our protection, you know, and and we have to make some of these decisions for them just as we wouldn't let a five year old go play in the street. Just because they wanted to just because it makes them happy, you know, I mean, a five year old will say, I want to play in the street. It makes me happy. Exactly. As a parent, you say no, you cannot do that. Well, as parents, as cat parents, we have to make that decision that no, we're going to make it so wonderful for you in here that you don't want to go out there because it's we understand that there are dangers out there for you that you have and that that we are responsible for keeping you from. And this is the way that we've done. We're we're doing it. I was thinking that if people are thinking to do the transition, maybe they can talk to you and you can help the cats to understand. Yes, what it's going to be that the option to be out, you know, with in the house. And and that will be faster than the parent trying to educate the cat that is always being in the router with the animal communicator, you or somebody else, you know, and I wish you you can help them do the transition faster. Yeah, I mean, they're still going to have to do all of those things that I said, but I have had plenty of people call me and I've talked cats for specifically that reason to explain to them why they are becoming indoor cats to explain to them that they are now, you know, kept kitties. And that's a wonderful thing to be, you know, that they don't have to worry about predators anymore. They don't have to worry about food anymore. They don't have to worry about anything that they're going to have everything that they that they need and that these four walls are their safe place. And so yeah, I've had a lot of a lot of clients that have done that. And yeah, it's all worked out very, very well. And it just adds I thank you for that because it adds one more layer. It doesn't mean that you don't have to do, you know, have the patients and do all of those other things. You still have to do all of those other things and do your part of it. But yes, that is is one aspect that you could add into that so that the cat understands why you're not listening to him at that particular point in time. So if somebody wants to contact you for animal communication here, or healing for the cat, can you give us the, you know, work to find you? Yeah, it's paustalk.net, P-A-W-S-T-A-L-K.net. And also your book, can you tell us about your beautiful book? My book is on Amazon in both softback print version and ebook. And it's on ebook version in at the Apple Store, which I love the Apple Store. I just love the Apple Store. So I think people don't use it enough. But that's where I like to get my ebooks. And you, your cat boarding is Oh, it's csinkatskittiresort.com. csinkatkittiresort.com. Okay, for cat boarding in the San Diego area. Thank you. Okay, well you guys, thank you very, very much for joining us. I hope that you are enjoying these videos, these podcasts, and that you're getting something out of them. I hope that your animals are getting something out of it. And you know, if you, if you are, please do us a solid and hit that like button and the subscribe. That would really help us out. And then you can hit that bell if you want to be notified of future podcasts, which I was, I usually do teas at the end, but I don't know what our next one is going to be. We still have that to, to, to figure out. I guess that will be after my vacation. So it'll be a couple of weeks. But I appreciate you guys. Thank you, Alicia. As usual, I appreciate it. And I thank you. Thank you. And I thank you guys as well. I appreciate it. And we'll look forward to seeing you again. Take care. Bye bye. Thank you. Bye.