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Comment by alchemism | Hacker News Reader

I live in a urban area with a freight train line running along the back of the house, apart from any roadways or people. Trains run a few times a day, and are slow and massive.

I take my three cats for an unleashed walk along the tracks a short way. They instinctively form a hunting party around me as we walk; they treat me like the platoon commander or some such. One is the scout, the senior maintains discipline, etc.

At the first sign of a distant train, they inform me, and we go back to the yard and watch the train pass. They must consider them some kind of mighty, blind worms.

It is not quite the same as a leash-walk through the forest, but I feel very lucky to have a little pocket for the cats to reveal their outdoor personalities in this way.

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Excellent.

I've "had" a cat for 10 years but it's completely free (hence the quotes: I don't feel I own it at all). It comes in and out of the house at will, sleeps in the house during the day and does things outside during the night (but sometimes it also does the opposite, sleeps at night and wanders during the day).

I keep food for the cat inside the house, but no litter box; it does its thing outside -- not sure where: not in our garden.

There are other cats in the neighborhood, also walking free. There has never been a cat hit by a car.

It must be wonderful to be able to herd cats! Ours kind of responds to voice commands when it feels like it (it seems to understand "no!" mostly) and is able to make itself understood when food is missing, but not much else.

I'm by no means a tree hugger, but seriously? "Outdoor" cats, whether feral or otherwise are absolutely decimating birds and small mammals.

Of all the low hanging fruit on the "stop destroying the planet for no reason", keeping your cats inside or on a leash requires basically 0 effort.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/moral-cost-of-...

Sorry, but no: Don't keep cats indoors or on a leash.

Cats are predators. And they need freedom. If you're concerned for birds et al. don't get a cat.

Don't be cruel to cats to satisfy your need for a pet by forcing your view of how nature should work onto them.

Cats are domesticated. They made the indoor outdoor decision a long time ago.

My cat lives more than 50% of its time outside the house. It also can sit for hours on a window sill.

Small mammals is kind of the point. There are mice in the garden that try to get into the house; the cat's job is to kill as many as possible.

Regarding birds, I'm not sure. It can't catch magpies and other crows. We don't see or hear other birds (we live outside Paris and don't have that many birds). I don't think it would make a lot of difference to keep our cat indoors since all other cats in the neighborhood also live outside -- except upsetting and depressing ours.

We brought a cat inside that was free roaming and an amazing hunter. She was so effective and cruel we couldn't take it. Half eaten lizards, wrens on the wing, a wounded hummingbird. That was it. She's now a fat sleepy lap cat. God bless her.

A few weeks ago I heard the claim that you have to supervise your cat while it is outdoors or else you will be responsible for extinction of certain species... That sounded a bit ridiculous to me so I read a few articles on that topic. (the first few sources of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_predation_on_wildlife are a good start)

While cats do kill a lot animals, including endangered species, many articles that claim your outdoor cat is irreversible destroying wildlife seem quite sensationalist. Many articles make it sound like pets are the real threat but only mention on the side that feral cats are responsible for the majority of killed animals instead. It would be far more beneficial (for wildlife, pets and feral cats) if people would support projects for controlling feral cat population than confining their pets.

The group patroling might encourage communication, it is very interesting. They are quiet when in the field, with the exception of the senior cat hissing and growling at the others when they get too rowdy.

One cat will deliberately yawn when she wants to come in the closed window, and observes that I spotted her from inside, every time. She is mimicking the opening motion, I am positive of it.

Much of their communication may be silent, and they are talking to us all the time. The meows are just an extra effort for our benefit, I think.

Dude you need to capture this whole scene on a camera and upload it on YouTube. Sounds so exciting and entertaining to watch.

Seconding this request; the idea of domesticated cats behaving like this is kinda mind blowing, I've never seen that kind of ordered social behavior.

Yeah, normally trying to get them all to do the same thing is like herding cats.

It was far more ordered than I expected, yes.

I have a tiny clip of a walk with 2 of the 3 from earlier this year. The rear-guard likes to play catch-up after I snap my fingers.

https://youtu.be/3ylsCp692f0

They’re so cute.

That is one awesome thing to do with cats. Do you let them outside without you?

Two of the cats are interested in exploring the back on their own, one will only step outside if I go. After escorting them for awhile when training them, I generally let them go.

I think the randomness of the long trains deters them from going far, or even to the other side, and they understand that the yard square is “home base.” There is no chance anything larger than a fox from appearing this deep in the city, and there is enough foliage to escape a stray dog if it came along. So the train is the only threatening thing, which they are (appropriately) in awe of when it passes.

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