Best breed for house cat?

Hi,

I've recently moved to a flat and I'm considering purchasing and/or re-homing (from rescue centre) a cat. Although the flat has a garden (I'm on the ground floor), a busy road and a railway line bound the property, so for the safety of the cat I would prefer one that doesn't feel 'compelled' to go outside. I've heard that some breeds are better suited for this e.g. Siamese, is this true? Are any other breeds suitable?

Any help would be much appreciated!

I wouldn't know but I have two brothers who are kittens, and one is a Siamese mix--yep, two fathers. The Siamese, Peeka, shows no inclination to go outside. In fact, Boo, his brother, who is not Siamese, just ran outside today and I had to go fetch him--the door was left open by my roommate... Peeka could've run outside too, but he just watched the drama, and has never been a problem trying to get out.

And Peek is only part Siamese. A very intersting little critter, to say the least, and quite the constant companion.

According to the CFA descriptions of cats here is the one with the lowest activity level:

Persian

That is what I have and he never has any desire to go outside. This does not mean however that he is not playful or never does anything. He is just a laid back cat that is happy to be inside.

Also, "Kittens for Dummies" picks the Persian as the cat with the lowest activity level (page 36). I am not taking sides here, just telling you what some of the "experts" say.

P.S., I wanted a Siamese and it is picked as having the highest activity level. But now that I have Persi I am extremely satisfied.

If you are looking to rehome a rescue cat, it may be worth considering the age of the cat, as well as the breed. If you were to get an older cat, the chances are it will be less active and therefore less likely to want to run around outside.

Agreed with the age issue. Patches is 18 and was adopted as a semi-feral. When she was young, her territory spanned a block radius. Now, she goes out only on nice days to sun herself on the porch. In fact, most of the time she hangs out in a single room.

You might ask at the rescue for an older cat that had an indoor-only lifestyle before. All of my cats are moogies. When they were young, Patches loved outdoors, Princess detested it, and Puppy is somewhat indifferent.

Thank you for the information - very useful. I've actually stumbled across an agency that has a number of partially blind cats that need rehoming. They would obviously benefit from being kept indoors (in my situation anyway), so it's definately worth investigating and keeping my options open with the information you have supplied.

A kitten that's never been outside at all is my choice, plus be sure to have him/her neutered as soon as your vet says it's ok, and that will keep down their urge to roam as well.

Originally Posted by geology_adam

Thank you for the information - very useful. I've actually stumbled across an agency that has a number of partially blind cats that need rehoming. They would obviously benefit from being kept indoors (in my situation anyway), so it's definately worth investigating and keeping my options open with the information you have supplied.

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You are very kind to consider this. One of my previous cats was in this category and was an exceptional pet.

Good for you for deciding to keep your potential cat indoors only! I'm a firm believer in keeping cats safe indoors!

Really, it won't matter what type of breed your cat is...if he/she's indoors from the beginning with you, he/she'll be less inclined to ever want to venture out. Spaying/neutering will reduce the desire as well.

The blind cat idea is wonderful! Sounds like that would be a superb option!

I've had two cats that seem to buck the trends:

A persian I had since a kitten who we wanted to be an indoor only cat but would howl pitifully at the door and make a dash for the outside each time someone came or went... eventually we let him go out and he would stay very close, just in the garden

That was a good 15 years ago, in the UK. I recently adopted a 2 year old DSH who had been a stray and lived on the streets for 2 years - she's now an indoor only cat and has shown no interest in going back outside - never goes near the door!

I'd definitely go for an older kitty - over 1 year old - so you already know what kind of temperament it has, and maybe one that has been forcibly outside knows it is safer inside??

Originally Posted by geology_adam

Thank you for the information - very useful. I've actually stumbled across an agency that has a number of partially blind cats that need rehoming. They would obviously benefit from being kept indoors (in my situation anyway), so it's definately worth investigating and keeping my options open with the information you have supplied.

Click to expand...

Oh, what a wonderful idea. Giving a kitty a chance at a forever home with love and understanding. Please let us know what you eventually end up doing.