I have a dog and 8 cats (one of those 8 we rescued from a breeder who had kept her outside in all weathers and as a result suffers badly with colds and a poor chest) All of mine have free run of our home they are allowed to come and go where they please. The cats are all indoor cats but they are allowed out in the garden when we are there to supervise them (apart from our old 11 year old boy who is allowed out when he wants) I would never dream of sticking them in a cage even if it's just for an hour or so. They are our pets and very much part of the family. It amazes me that some breeders who are supposed to love their pets, subject them to spend most of the day locked away in a cage.
What sort of life is this for the poor animal? It may be ok for them only having to clean a small area but should people like that be allowed to keep pets?
I have visited many cat breeders and most of them keep their cats in catteries or cages in a back room. How does the animal socialise and learn to interact with humans if it spends most of it's life in a cage. To me this is cruel. If they don't have time to properly look after their dogs and cats, play with them, talk to and cuddle them then in my opinion they don't deserve to have them. Most of these people are nothing more than puppy and kitten farmers in it to make a profit because they can't be in it for love or can they?

Here's a couple of mine enjoying a cage free life.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/Peak-District/Cheeky.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/Peak-District/Charlieoutsidemay.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/Peak-District/Cheeky.jpg
What a lovely pic :thumbsup:

i really dont agree with keeping dogs locked up all the time but mine do have a cage for the night time, its their bed and they love it, its always filled with clean bedding thats warm and cuddly more like our bed than a dog bed! cages are good when used in moderation, nobody should ever lock a dog up all day its cruel and disgusting!

Well if my sons hammy isn't caged he vanishes under the floorboards :D ;)

Yeah, you might want to change the title, I was about to ask what I was meant to do with the cheeky rats whilst I'm at work.... they do like a good diet of cable which isn't entirely safe unsupervised :hihi:

What a lovely pic :thumbsup:
[COLOR="DarkOrchid"]Cheers I just love photographing them ..here's one I touched up a bit taken on the same day

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/Peak-District/CharlieFlowers66.jpg

He's such a character!



LOL fox trust me ..best place for him;) I still have a scar on my finger from trying to clean my sons out. I think rats make the best rodents for kids, they hardly ever bite and very friendly.

Yeah, you might want to change the title, I was about to ask what I was meant to do with the cheeky rats whilst I'm at work.... they do like a good diet of cable which isn't entirely safe unsupervised :hihi: Good point, I just tried to but it still says 'animals' Dogs and cats didn't change maybe if a mod sees it they can do it for me. Thanks.

i really dont agree with keeping dogs locked up all the time but mine do have a cage for the night time, its their bed and they love it, its always filled with clean bedding thats warm and cuddly more like our bed than a dog bed! cages are good when used in moderation, nobody should ever lock a dog up all day its cruel and disgusting!

we are the same our girl loves her cage and is only locked in at night or if we are going out for abit. she absouloutley loves it and would never make her go in unless she didnt want to.

Well if my sons hammy isn't caged he vanishes under the floorboards :D ;)

I was going to say that if mine wasn't in a cage my entire house would be shredded and stored in one corner of the living room :hihi:

I was going to say that if mine wasn't in a cage my entire house would be shredded and stored in one corner of the living room :hihi:

:hihi: Nice image :hihi:

I was going to say that if mine wasn't in a cage my entire house would be shredded and stored in one corner of the living room :hihi:

That reminds me of when my old gerbil George went on a 24 hour 'outing' around the house, eventually found him behind the bathroom sink (god knows how he got upstairs!)
Months later I opened the bottom drawer in the spare room where I kept loads of old craft paper and lo and behold, all my mulberry paper had been shredded and moved into one corner! :hihi:

But in answer to the original thread, I don't understand how people can have a pet (such as a cat or dog) but keep it caged up all day. Me and H would love a dog but we both work all day so it wouldn't be fair keeping it cooped up. :(

It depends really... crate training is fantastic for dogs... and as long as they're not caged for too long at a time it can be very beneficial.

I don't agree with keeping dogs/cats caged most of the day and my cats hate going in cages (for the vets, for example) but whilst I don't know how cats work, I know that dogs can really benefit from having a crate. They like to have a small den where they can hide and can feel more secure in them. When my youngest was a pup, she slept soundly pretty much from the day I brought her home. For two years she went in her crate at bedtime and knew that then it was time to settle for the night.

During the day she was caged at dinner time as she never used to stay on her bed and would volountarily go in her crate to avoid the hoover when it came out.

We've had to put it away now as we simply don't have space for it but she now uses the table as her 'den' and goes to sit under it when she needs her own space.

It may look cruel to us, but used properly, caging a dog isn't cruel because that's not how dogs see it.

I have, however, visited people who keep their dogs in cages most of the day and then wonder why they're badly behaved :loopy:

If mine wasn't in a cage i would have no cats and maybe no dog too lol

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d174/kneetrembler67/p1010018-2.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d174/kneetrembler67/b3.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d174/kneetrembler67/b6.jpg

Lol about caging animals.. I would never dream of caging our cat because she's a bit of an idiot really and would probably eat her way out of the cage, but the rabbits are both caged and in separate rooms because one is too young to be spayed and the other is too bossy to be bonded (believe me I have tried and tried and tried and nothing works.. she likes her own space haha) but my mum has a hamster (well its my sisters) and the hamster escaped. My mum left the 'lid' off the cage (about 3cm's circumference lol) and it got out, went out the front door and down the street and my sisters mate found it the next day and returned it to the safety of its cage :|