Like I've said, sure, it's great to keep your cats inside if they're OK with it. What would YOU do if you took in a cat who howled and sprayed and tore screens off and pulled the dryer vent out of the wall and otherwise panicked when you tried to keep him inside? And did this for months and months and never adjusted?I have three cats. I can tell by looking who peed and who pooped.
A cat may take a very long time to let the human know he or she is sick. Cats HIDE illness. Knowing your cat's litter box habits can often be a way to detect an illness early, earlier than it would be if you have to wait for the cat to finally, finally, ask for help.
How many threads have you seen in just this one forum, about people coming in and complaining that their cat is not using the litter box? People, even with litter boxes, do not know when their cats are sick.
Knowing your cat's litter box habits is very important.
As for anyone who believes it is "worth the risk" because they think their cat "needs be be free" or it is "cruel to keep them inside"..
I saw three dead cats on the road today. Three. This morning on my way to work I saw one on the shoulder of the road. I stopped to make sure..sometimes you know if it just happened, maybe the cat has a chance. Not this one.
Later, on the same road, going the other way, in a different spot, also on the shoulder, I saw another. This cat was not there when I passed earlier so again I stopped. Too late, again.
And finally, late this afternoon, on my way home, a beautiful red boy dead in the middle of the road.
My cats will stay inside. They are not bored or overweight. They are happy, healthy, energetic and fit, and they are safe from cars and all the other horrors I promised to keep away from them, when I took them into my heart and home to be part of my family. :heart3: