Indoor versus outdoor

sphynx

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When I got my Sphynx kitten I signed a contract with the breeder to promise that he would remain an indoor cat ~ which he will. For starters we live in a terribly busy area and secondly he would burn in the sun.

Before Gollum came along I had 2 Cornish Rex cats that lived to be 13 and 14 years old, and they were indoor and outdoor cats, although they were never allowed out after about 5pm and when they were out I kept an eye on them as far as posslble. Also, we lived in a rural area where there was no danger of them going out into the traffic.

I am just interested to hear what you do with your cat(s) ~ indoor our outdoor?
 

4crazycats

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Mine are for the most part indoor. Lily and Annie are totally indoor by their own choice. They both are terrified of outside. Lily wont even go near windows! Kitten and Bagheera go out on harness and leash. Kitten only goes out every once in a while because as she's gotten older she really doesnt enjoy it much. She gets freaked out sometimes. Bagheera on the other hand goes out every day. He loves outside but he's always on leash and therefor never out of my sight. As a young kid (over 9 years ago) we had indoor/outdoor cats. The only one who lived past 6 was Sweetie Pie. She lived to be 16 but she became indoor only at 7 years old.
 

cheylink

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Maia is an indoor kitty for now, she is 7 months and we are in NYC but have a rooftop garden I don't feel is fenced in enough for her at this point. Sweety, our loved one who is now past, was allowed out on rooftop knowing she would never stry the rooftop area. I think you really nee to know your kitty well to understand the protection necessary that you need to provide for them before thinking about outdoor- indoor living. The only problem with trying it out is once they see what they could have outdoors, they want to push it further if its not allowed. The best thing is to affirm a close relationship with them so they listen to you. There are a lot of dangerous situations outdoors that may or may not happen that tare out of your control, so just make sure you are doing as much as you can to protect your loved ones before hand..........
 

gizmocat

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If you read some of the Cats SOS messages on this forum it will be very plain that the outdoor cats frequently come to grief; they get lost, they get run over by cars, and they get hurt by cruel people.
A cat is like a small child. You don't let your kids play in traffic; neither should your cat.

Gizmo is an indoor cat. The only time she has ever been outdoors is when I carry her to the vet in her cat carrier, and that's the way it is going to stay. There is no need to let a cat outside if you have games and playtime for it inside.
 

gardenandcats

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I live on a private dead end road dirt road ,very little traffic 7 houses on the road and all know me and my cats well. Large yard. My cats do go out every day only with me when I am out. I have large gardens and spend alot of time outside.They never go out before 9:00 and come in when I do.They rarely leave the yard. If 10 minutes go by I holler them back. All respond and come right back. Of course as soon as cold weather arrives they don't go out.Nov till April their inside. They never are out after 4:00.
Being all Siamese cats 4 of them, they are really very active ansd enjoy the time they are allowed outside. My 1 Persian cat doesn't really care if he goes out. He may come out for 10 minutes then back in he goes.
 

urbantigers

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Mine are indoor only, despite the fact that indoor/outdoor is more common where I live. I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both lifestyles, and the risks of going outside vary depending on where people live etc. All we can do is weigh up the risks and benefits and make a decision based on what we believe is right for our individual cats.
 

gingersmom

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Indoor ONLY. My neighborhood is MUCH too dangerous for outdoor kitties.
 

4crazycats

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Originally Posted by gizmocat

If you read some of the Cats SOS messages on this forum it will be very plain that the outdoor cats frequently come to grief; they get lost, they get run over by cars, and they get hurt by cruel people.
A cat is like a small child. You don't let your kids play in traffic; neither should your cat.

Gizmo is an indoor cat. The only time she has ever been outdoors is when I carry her to the vet in her cat carrier, and that's the way it is going to stay. There is no need to let a cat outside if you have games and playtime for it inside.
I used to agree with you on the no cats ever need t go outside if they have enough play time and toys and things to do. But Bagheera is totally not happy being inside all the time. He thinks he is a dog not a cat and if the dogs go out he thinks he should be allowed to too. If I dont bring him out he would dart out in 2 seconds.
 

fats mcgee

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Indoor only!

In Southern California you're a FOOL if you let your cat outside. Period. Even in "developed" areas, there are coyotes everywhere. Even hawks will come and swoop up a small cat. They may not be able carry it far, but they sure as heck snap it's neck. Bye Bye kitty.


The old apt. complex I used to live at was right across the street from a land preserve and you could hear the coyotes at night and occasionally you could hear them ripping apart cats. You would also walk on the trails in the day and see collars from dead kitties.

I work at an animal shelter and I can't tell you how many "lost cat" posters we get and they don't get found. Hundreds. Probably a hundred every two months.

We get in quite a few dog attack victims too.

It should just be illegal here to do it. You're sentencing your cat to death if you live in SoCal and let your cat out unattended, even in the day.

 

callista

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Another vote for "indoor only".

The only drawback to indoor-only cats is that they need exercise. There are plenty of ways to do this and they're all fun--interactive toys, paper balls or catnip, or getting more than one cat at a time so they'll entertain each other.

There are two ways to get the "best of both worlds":
--Leash training, which can be done and, at the very least, will allow outings in which you follow your cat around; some cats will even walk with you like dogs
--An outdoor enclosure, covered on all sides and top with chicken wire, and buried a little way so the cat can't dig under it. This option is a bit expensive and doesn't stop your cat getting ticks and things from the outside, or diseases from the small wildlife s/he hunts; but it's as close as you can get to a safe outdoor cat.
 
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sphynx

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Thanks for all the comments guys
. I don't feel so bad about keeping Gollum inside
.
 

gizmocat

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You made the right decision for Gollum since he is a Sphinx. He could get severe sunburn if he was an outdoor cat, or injure his skin far more easily than a furred cat.
 

juliekit

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Ceci is indoor only. Her foster mom picked her up as a stray, someone had dumped her inside a bucket of motor oil. So she was outside until about 4-5months of age, but since her foster mom rescued her she has not been outside, and I want to keep it that way.

I dont want someone seeing her nice and clean, well taken care of and friendly, and decide they want to keep her. I dont want her to get run over, to get hurt by a dog or poisoned. I dont want her indoor/outdoor because with Puerto Rico being a tropical island and ticks being abundant I dont want her bringing the little buggers in.

Cats are not like dogs. You cant just keep them in a fenced in yard because they do roam. I dont let my dogs roam so I definately wont let a smaller, more vulnerable creature like Ceci do it.
 

wildflower79

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My boy is strickly an indoor cat. Honestly I'd be worried sick about him if I let wander around outside. So for peace of mind and his safety, he stays in the house and he seems perfectly happy.
 

cheylink

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Originally Posted by gizmocat

You made the right decision for Gollum since he is a Sphinx. He could get severe sunburn if he was an outdoor cat, or injure his skin far more easily than a furred cat.
i agree, the best for him is indoor, just try to offer as much entertainment as possible. Over all the best for him is indoors........
 

moggiegirl

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Originally Posted by Fats McGee

Indoor only!

In Southern California you're a FOOL if you let your cat outside. Period. Even in "developed" areas, there are coyotes everywhere. Even hawks will come and swoop up a small cat. They may not be able carry it far, but they sure as heck snap it's neck. Bye Bye kitty.


The old apt. complex I used to live at was right across the street from a land preserve and you could hear the coyotes at night and occasionally you could hear them ripping apart cats. You would also walk on the trails in the day and see collars from dead kitties.

I work at an animal shelter and I can't tell you how many "lost cat" posters we get and they don't get found. Hundreds. Probably a hundred every two months.

We get in quite a few dog attack victims too.

It should just be illegal here to do it. You're sentencing your cat to death if you live in SoCal and let your cat out unattended, even in the day.

I live in Southern California too and I definitely favor keeping cats inside with only supervised access to the outside and not letting them free-roam. I live in a condo with 2 indoor cats who only go on the balcony when I'm home to watch them.

Right now I'm really upset because my Dad's wife has recently taken on a cat from a neighbor who really only fed him once per day, didn't leave out much water and didn't really take care of him. The cat is living in their back yard and is being fed really well. My dad does not want the cat in the house. They already have a resident cat who is indoor/outdoor so this new cat is living as an exclusively outside cat, excuses I hear are that the 2 cats don't get along, the new cat eats the other cat's food. They live in a big 4 bedroom house, this can surely be worked out but the fact is, my dad has never been an animal person and never will be, it's his wife who likes cats. I have not seen this cat yet because I haven't visited but I've heard this cat is very sweet, I'm afraid it's going to break my heart if something happens to him especially after I get to know the cat and start interacting with him. It's bringing back some bad memories of my childhood and teen years when I was an idiot. Back then I was living at my dad's house and there was a neighbor who had a cat and was moving to Hawaii and my dad agreed we could keep the cat under one condition, that it be an exclusively outside cat. My mistake was agreeing to take the cat, I should have told my dad "no." The cat scratched on our kitchen sliding glass door every day begging to be let in the house. I felt guilty every day. I had no control over how the cat was to be cared for. I was not allowed to take the cat to the vet to be spayed and neutered, not allowed to take the cat to the vet for it's drooling problem. All I could do was feed the cat and interact with the cat outside until one day the cat was ran over by a car in front of a 7-11 store. I have guilty feelings to this day, tried so hard to put it behind me, now I'm in my 30s and finally educated about responsible pet ownership, have my own place, have had my cats for 3 years now, safe, loved indoor cats in my home. But I'm very upset now because at my dad's house I see history repeating itself and I have no say in the matter. I am after all just a daughter whose opinion doesn't count. The elder people have total control and it makes no difference to them how I feel about this. I do not mean to say anything bad about my dad. He is my father and I love him but he is not an animal person, never has been, never will and therefore he doesn't know any better and he lacks sensitivity when it comes to pet/ animal issues. In these matters he is ignorant. He seems to like the new cat but he certainly doesn't understand what's involved in protecting, properly caring for and truly loving the cat as a family member. My dad does not view animals this way and I don't think his wife takes it nearly as seriously as it should be either. Had to get this off my chest, if I voice my concern about this in my family it's minor and unimportant, my concerns will be ignored. And when I come to visit I will be forced to shoe the cat outside when I go inside and outside of the house. I'm not going to be happy about this one bit, unless my Dad's wife can change things under her influence and let the cat in the house more. After all she made a difference having her other cat who is indoor/outdoor. My dad used to forbid having any animals in his house.
 

lemur 6

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I kinda like to sleep with my cats, and cats for some reason find it irresistable to jump on my shoulder. I'm also a bit of a clean freak. The occasional grain of litter is bad enough, but imagine what you could potentially find clinging to your hair, or in your bed sheets if you let your cat out regularly! Bugs, parasites, dirt, a small grain of some animal's poo, some strange chemical, poison ivy, nettles, stickers, plus their fur gets all dirty and dusty, and what if it rains!? I can just imagine a mud covered cat mewling at the door. That'd be one gross cat. I think I'll keep my cats indoors where they'll stay clean.

Also, you have no clue what your cat might eat when it's outside. Road kill, field mice (hanta virus!), injured birds, snakes, lizards, trash, who knows. If it makes the cat sick and he pukes, that's gonna be one nasty mess I won't want to touch, not to mention other more serious problems that can occur.
 

onthebrink

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I understand the safety concerns. But I'm curious about HOW do you do it. How do you keep them inside? Right now we have all our windows and doors open because the weather is so beautiful. Starlight is sitting on the front porch with me. Every time a car drives by she runs back inside!

We don't have screens on our doors. I don't want to discipline her to stay inside when the rest of us are on the porch. We spend the majority of our waking time on the front porch.

So - how do you handle and indoor cat with and outdoor family?
 
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