[BookCat]

I so desperately wanted to avoid this indoor/outdoor cat debate and stay on the subject of DOGS. The reason being that I'm in the UK, where the norm is to let cats out (city and country) during the day, but keep them in at night.

I've had heated debates on other areas of the internet: youtube, US cat sites etc in which it's clear that the hazards, norms and fears are different in the UK and US. We have far fewer predator animals here, and cats hunt far less than many people think. In the UK most cats die from illnesses such as kidney failure, FLV (especially in unvaccinated cats) and cancer, rather than the dangers of outside. But I do understand that coyotes and the attitudes of people present a greater danger in the US.

Let's get back to the dogs. Generally, dogs are not free-roaming animals, so can only be "taken from the streets of Chicago" if there is no person there to protect them. City dogs are always on leashes, so how can this "dognap" occur in the novel? The plot confuses me. And dogs can be dangerous to anyone they don't like. Puzzling.

Sorry to hear of your experience, Hitch. In my experience, if cats become feral they form colonies based around a dominant female. They provide well for each other. Their main enemy is cold weather and mankind, though I've seen cases where people have been feeding the local ferals. But generally, they raid bins.