Do you keep your cats indoors or outdoors?

JuJu has an enclosure. I have a large fenced in yard for my dogs, so I made a med. sized enclosure. It looks sort of like a large bird cage, Its off the back of my house. It has a little kitty door leading to it. She goes in and out, she's treated for flea's regardless. Any vet would tell an owner that, my dogs go to dog parks and are outside a lot. Its careless not to treat for worms and flea's. Your animal doesnt need to "live" outside to catch parasites. Simple fact of life, a number of sources could cause though problems. A cats natural behavior Is to have freedom. Using an enclosure lets me control her time in and out of the house. It close connected wire, nothing can get in and she cant get out. Not near the road, and she is on wormer and flea treatment.

In all honesty restricting an animal to inside living for personal gain is just as cruel. Animals can not stop there natural ways, making them live to suit you wont change that. Keep animal restricted on a harmful device, such as cat collars and harness's. Isnt fair and can do more harm then any good. Putting your cat inside a fenced area and supervising would be great exercise. Letting cat outside doesnt mean they "live" outside. My friend has barn cats and lives near a med. traveled road. She had a cat die at 12 and another at 14. They were borned and raised outside, both spayed. Treated for worms, flea's and yearly shots. Stayed in the barn, slept in the hay to keep warm, and never strayed to the road. Healthy, and happy. I do not permit outside living as it can be very stressful for a cat. Specially youngsters, or older cats custom to living indoors. As a experienced foster parent, I cant stress it enough to adopters about outside living.

Keep them ENCLOSED! Free roaming Isnt being wise, and It isnt going to make your cat "happy". If you cant afford to keep an enclosure, open a screened window. They just like to hear the birds and feel the breeze. They can get that experience just fine, in the house rather than outside.

Dave was outdoor cat. I kept him inside for the first 8 months and gradually let him out into the garden and kept close watch for a while.
He wasnt a very active cat and mostly wandered outside and just watched people walk by all day long so I felt he was safe. Especially as we live down a quiet road.
Unfortunatly one night he went out and walked further away and crossed a main road at midnight and was unlucky enough to get hit.

I have felt guilty, but it would have seemed unfair to keep him in all the time too.

I worry so much about when we get our next kitten. Its going to be very hard to let him out again, and maybe will do more in outdoor safety training.

I think it really depends on personal circumstances as to whether it is ok to keep a cat inside only or let it out.

If you live on a busy road then maybe its not a good idea to get a cat unless you have a very large house where the cat can freely roam and have privacy too. I think it helps a cat to feel happy to be able to get outside, even if you just let it into a back garden while you watch and bring him/her in safely when you want to.
If all you have is a little flat or studio and there is no safe way of a cat being let outside, then that might be a cruel way of keeping a cat.

I know that if i ever moved house, our cats safty and enjoyment would be a priority and that would mean either living in a quiet cul-de-sac or living in a house with a big enough but secure garden.
You wouldn't keep a dog in a house all its life. Both cats and dogs of all sizes need exercise and to be able to run and climb. Even though a decent scratching post can provide climbing space, the indoors of any home can not be big enough for a free run.

Unfortunatly, I dont think anyone can advise to let out a cat that has spent years inside as it wouldnt have grown up with the proper safety knowledge of outdoor roaming too.
Which is why i think its important to get a cat used to the local area when it is young before it is let out properly.

My Cats have never been out and they are happy. I used to live on a queit Street and the Neighbors Cats still were hit in Killed. I saw the dead Cats. All the Cats we let out never lived past three years.

in september 2001 i was driving my daughter to school along a busy 2 lane road when i saw a bunch of kids with what looked like a fox in the road. i pulled over and discovered the 'fox' was a large (although painfully thin) tabby cat. he was the victim of a hit and run. i rushed him to the vets and later found out he had suffered concussion and had lost a tooth.

i took my daughter to see him in the afternoon as she was very upset about what she'd seen. the vets told me he would go to the local rescue centre as he was so neglected, unless i wanted him.

i was living in temporary accomodation with my 3 other cats at the time who shouldn't really have been there, so i said yes.

we moved into a house a month later and thomas (the most laid back cat i have ever met) came too.

9 months later i was in my bedroom when i heard a screech of brakes. i looked out to see thomas running onto the pavement opposite. i thought he'd had a lucky escape.

the next day after no sleep and frantically walking up and down my road calling him, i rang the vets at the top of the road. (ironically the same vets that i'd taken him to when i found him)

a lady had reported finding a large tabby cat curled up underneath her cat on the driveway. my tabby cat thomas. he must have been hit by the car and i saw him doing his death run.

i have 2 kittens who do not go out. we are in the process of building them an enclosure at the moment. tabitha does go out but only in the back garden and she is in all night. she has always been used to going out and at 8 years old it would be cruel to deny her. her days of roaming are over now and she tends to spend most of time indoors.

but milo, shinobi and any future cats will be indoors only.

Its a big decision for me to make now I will be getting a new kitten in 5 weeks time.

Dave never likes his litter tray and would always want to go outside to do his business.

Would i be able to keep a kitty inside all night without him wanting to 'go'?

My 3 are all indoor cats. Do they miss the outside world?, no, because they've never been used to going outside, and being inside i know where they are, what their doing and who their with

Originally Posted by DezKitty

In all honesty restricting an animal to inside living for personal gain is just as cruel.

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No, i'll have to disagree with you there i'm afraid. As my vet said if their kept inside, especially from being a kitten they won't know anything different and it's far from cruel. I think the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to keeping them inside.

Our cats go outside in the fenced in yard under close supervision only. *knock on wood* We haven't had a flea or any other issue. Our oldest is 11 now. I personally couldn't let them roam the neighborhood. It's too active around here with cars. Not to mention over the years there has been an increase of animal deaths caused by evil people.

My cats have always lived indoors. Two of them for 15 years (all their lives) and were more than happy.

I thought to begin with I was being a bit selfish by not letting them out because I couldn't have bared losing one or both of them for example in a car accident or attacked by some horrible non animal loving human (lots of them about I'm afraid), then I came to realise that especially where I live (built up town area with bad roads and fast cars, bad people, etc) that it was for their own good too. They had very happy, safe lives with nothing to fear and they never had to suffer separation from each other - as they had been together since birth and were very very close to each other.

I will continue to always keep my cats indoors, even though it is hampering my chances of adopting through my local Cats Protection League cos most of the cats they want to re-home are outdoor cats. I continue to hope they find one or more suitable for me to adopt as indoor cats soon.

Caz


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http://www.catloversworldonline.com

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

My 3 are all indoor cats. Do they miss the outside world?, no, because they've never been used to going outside, and being inside i know where they are, what their doing and who their with

No, i'll have to disagree with you there i'm afraid. As my vet said if their kept inside, especially from being a kitten they won't know anything different and it's far from cruel. I think the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to keeping them inside.

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absolutely right. although shinobi was found outside at 12 weeks old, he panics when the front door is open. he is still traumatised by whatever happened to him out there so i would never ever let him go out.

the peace of mind i feel and the obvious content my cats have is enough to know i am doing the right thing keeping them in. the cats have company, canine, feline and human, that they enjoy, plenty of room to run riot, and most importantly they are safe.

to keep them in from the begining is the way to go.

Originally Posted by missymotus

I'm sorry, but that is not true. Indoor cats can and do still get worms and diseases, you can carry disease into the house on your shoes etc.

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It is far, far less likely. Mine have been flea and parasite-free their entire lives (except kittenhood; most kittens get roundworms passed on from their mother and since all mine were found, they had them then).

Originally Posted by davecat

If you live on a busy road then maybe its not a good idea to get a cat unless you have a very large house where the cat can freely roam and have privacy too.

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Like I posted above, I lost 2 (and almost 4) to cars on a very non-busy, private gravel road. My cats have plenty of open windows (safely screened), bird feeders, toys, people and cat furniture to keep them busy.

Since my cats have never known the outdoors (except one), they are perfectly happy indoors. Losing a cat to something so easily preventable is heartbreaking. I still regret ever letting mine out in the past. They can live full, happy lives indoors.

Originally Posted by plainjane

Indoors, indoors, indoors....Health reasons, longevity reasons, safety reasons...Cats may not be completely 'tamed,' but I do believe they are not meant to survive on their own nowdays.

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Trout stays in at all times. Too many dangers outside IMO.

Mary my 3 year old was found outside and has absolutely no interest in going outside. Once she got out and she cried until we found her.
I think the outside roaming thing is a myth though I have met a woman who built a fabulous enclosure for her rescues. She would bring them in when it was cold but for the summer they were in the enclosure. Her yard was totally fenced on top of that. She made sure they were safe.

I don't keep my cats in for personal gain. I keep them in because it is safer for them. The chances of catching something is much much slimmer than if they were out.

Indoors only.

All cats I had, have and will have will be Indoors only!! They are allowed on the screen porch when they want, and on an occasional walk around the block on a leash.
All of my indoor kitties have been very, very happy, and a lot started out on the streets

Indoor only. I only have one cat, I won't take the chance of her getting ran over and killed, abused by humans that don't like cats, hurt/killed by a dog, getting hurt by another cat, and all of that type of stuff. Not a chance I am willing to take when the stakes are so high. She is happy indoors.

Mine are indoor only and always have been (Jaffa will be 11 in June and Mosi is 2). I'd catproof my garden if I had one, or build an outdoor enclosure, but I live in a flat and don't have a garden, so they are indoor only. Would they enjoy going out? Yes, I'm sure they would - at least Mosi would, I'm not so sure about Jaffa. Do they know what they're missing? No, because they have never been outside and they have lots of toys and cat trees to entertain themselves with indoors.

There's not really a choice in our city, by the way. Cats that are outdoors and not on your own property are subject to pickup by Animal Control. No free-running animals of any kind allowed.

All our domestic cats stay indoors. However, they can go outside to get some sun, in the secure perimeter of our bobcat enclosure. This perimeter area is very secure. No other animals (or humans) can get in and the cats can not get out.