UK safe for outdoor cats?

Anywhere there are people there's bound to be some that are cruel or at the very least, extremely careless. (you know the types - they drive 35mph + in a 20mph school zone, don't look where they're going/backing)

I don't know how they can think that?!.

No matter what country your in there's cars, there's idiots with pellet guns etc...

this isnt a safe country for cats at all i could drag out links after links on what people have done cats... i wont because they would be distressing for members on here to read.

I WOULD NOT dream about letting my two out, my dad again WOULDNT dream about it either

there are an awful lot of people do but at the minute....myself and Susan kinda live in the same area and i dont know if she has noticed it also but there are more and more Missing posters being put up and its heart breaking seeing all the posters

Probably the better way to phrase that. There's a street right behind my house that has a lot of children that play on it, in some areas you can't see them until you're nearly right on top of them. People speed down it. I'm a little horrified that there are so many stupid people out driving and how careless they are of any life.
No one cares about your pets or even children as much as you do, be responsible for them.


There have been a large number of missing posters up in my area. I've been at the vet's several times when people call asking if their pet could have been brought in. Some of the techs there think there are people snatching pets for baiting dogs.

Regardless of geography, it's not safe.

I read in a UK based forum and people are always having missing cats, cats that come home injured or poisoned, or shot. I do hope the attitude of cats "needing to be free" is changing some what over there.

It may be slightly safer in that the speed limits are generally lower and people are generally more accepting of outdoor cats. But of course the basic risks are the same. I've never thought that other countries were safer for outdoor cats, just that the cat owners in those countries are more accepting of the risks. Some people think that the benefits of allowing the cats outdoors outweighs the risks.

IMO no matter where you live or what country, if you are gonna let your cat outside, then you take the full responsibility to supervise them when out. This means either a harness/leash or build-buy a secure cat enclosure for the backyard.

Every time you let a cat outside its a 50/50 chance of them returning or not getting hurt in one way or another. Not odds I want to take with my cats.

Wow, you think the odds of something happening are that high? I mean, Romeo went out several times a day for 10 years with us, and lived outside for 4 years before that. Amazing he beat the odds if they're that high. I don't think the risks should be understated but I don't think the risks should be overstated either.

I agree. All my cats have been going outside without incident. If the risks are so high, I should have lost all of them before they reached 2 years of age. My youngest now is 4 and the eldest is 13++

Well, it either will or it won't happen so 50/50

However, I also do not think TCSers are a good representation of this as far as statistics, just by being here, members are probably better informed and care a lot of their cats compared to the general population.

But go through crossing the bridge and see how many outdoor cats died young compared to indoor ones and what they died from.

That being said, I know vets and animal groups there and they don't advocate it because it is safer than the US, the dangers are there, they are just different. One London rescue actually has something on their website about ensuring your cat is home before the pubs close at 11 so drunks don't abuse your cat. Their major argument towards allowing cats outdoors is pet obesity and something I can see their reasoning on, the size of cats (not just overweight but also general size) in North America surprised me when I moved here, cats just seem bigger.

Most people in Britain, including caring cat owners, would think it very unusual and even cruel to keep a cat inside. Most shelters, including the RSPCA and Battersea Cats' Home, will not adopt unless a garden is available - they do not stipulate enclosed. If you want an indoor cat from them it has to be an elderly cat or one that has special needs. It is safer than the US in the sense that there are fewer wild predators - no coyotes, raccoons or dangerous snakes. And there are many laws controlling dangerous dogs. Almost all real danger is human, whether consciously or accidental.

This is not limited to Britain. Here is France, unless you live in a city apartment, it is normal to let cats out. I an considered cruel and strange, and have constant battles with friends over not letting most of my cats out. They do not believe that I have the same arguments with US friends over the ones I DO let out. My vet also thinks I should let them all out and says frequently that they are in danger of stress related illnesses. I can't win, only do what I believe to be the best for each cat. When I came here, I had every intention of letting all of them out as I have done all my life, and chose my house very carefully with that in mind. It was only the poisoning of Napoleon, four months after we moved here, that changed my mind.

Well, no, if every time a cat went out it had a 50/50 chance of something happening, then something would happen to that cat every other day. Which isn't true. I do know that outdoor cats have a much higher chance of dying young but the 50/50 thing is simply not true. No reason to exaggerate.

It is probably true that more cats (I mean altered, well-cared-for pet cats, not ferals or uncared-for cats) die of obesity-related problems then die of outdoor-related problems. It's just not as scary for us to think about. We hate the idea of a cat being run over, but the thought of a cat dying young of obesity-related diabetes isn't so horrible in our minds.

I do think cats should be kept indoor-only if at all possible. But I also know that some cats will simply never adjust to indoor life. It's better for them to be allowed outdoors rather than to have them put down.

I've never lost any cats to any obesity related problems, but then the only one that would have truly been considered obese was an outdoor only cat.

Estimated cats I've lost to outside dangers, cars, poisoning, coyotes, a dog, and other cats is 16. All of those cats were under 10 years old. Give or take one that I never found out what happened to, maybe he found someone else to care for him.

I know these people who have two outdoor/indoor cats. One is constantly coming home with injuries from fighting (he is neutered)

He, the fighter, about 2 years old is slightly overweight, the other, who is now 14, is not just overweight, but grossly obese and has been since she was a year old.

Outdoor or indoor has almost nothing to do with the weight of the cat. Feeding practices and the type of food (and, of course, genetic factors), and seeing the cat gets enough exercise, does.

Indoor cats do NOT have to be overweight. All my cats are indoors 100% of the time (except for my very first cat) - and NONE of them are or were overweight.

The problem is that owners don't pay attention to the weight of their cat or they leave food out all the time or feed the cat every time they meow in the kitchen!

The only way I'd ever allow my cats "outside" time is in an enclosed outside room like a gazebo or screened in porch - this is as "outside" as my cats will ever be.

They don't have to be, but many are - and as jennyranson mentioned, the vets there mention stress of not being outside in their natural habitat.

Out of mine, according to the vet, two are overweight, two normal and one underweight - yet Quincy still is huge compared to many of the cats I handled in the UK. My friend's cats all seem so petite compared to mine.

I was merely replying to the 50/50 comment, not actually using it, but having worked at a shelter, in a city of 150,000 where the majority do keep cats indoors, we would easily get 5 calls a day on cats that did not come home. We are not animal control, but I don't want to think of the calls they get on a daily basis. I can think of 3 calls I have made myself in the last year for cats hit by cars.

As far as cats never adjusting to indoor life, if they are feral, leave them as such, but if you choose to take them home, I do think they can adjust. I have a former feral asleep on my foot as I type. She does pine to go out - and she gets supervised time out on a harness where I can control the dangers to her without being allowed to roam.

For my own mental health I will continue to keep Bella and all future cats inside with me. Never had a heavy cat--until Bella came into my life. She was heavy when I got her and she has lost weight.

As far as cats never being able to adjust to indoors only... well I think it depends highly on the personality of the cat. I think it is possible for a cat to never adjust. I never thought my kitty would adjust. It did take a long time here is the story:

My first kitty Isabell when we first got her, was an outdoor cat. Outdoor only mom said, but was allowed in the garage. Our garage became her safe haven. She had 4 kittens and was allowed inside while they grew up and were rehomed. Then she was back to an outside only cat because its what mom said. A few years later we moved to a home on a incredibly busy street. By this point mom had grown attached to Isabell and decided.. that she would become indoor only because of the fear of her being hit by a car. It took about 4-5 years for Isabell to stop crying in the night. She still does pine to go outside. She is allowed on the patio with supervision and this seems to be enough. I did attempt to leash train her but it never worked out. For the most part she is an indoor only cat. If you leave the door open, she will go out. We don't leave doors open. The last time she got out was in Chicago when my step dad left the door open. Thankfully I'm in tune with her cries as I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard a cat crying. I cant explain it but I just knew it was her crying. So I went looking and found her on the back porch wanting to be let in. That was over a year ago... and the last time she was allowed outside unsupervised in about 7 years. She does come back if allowed outside, but I simply don't allow it.

It probably varies more within countries than between them. I'd never let a cat out in the center of a major metropolitan area, but would consider it in a smaller town, quiet neighborhood, middle of nowhere, etc. Chilsa went out--our apartment was far back from the road and most of the neighbors were retirees or the quieter kind of college students, or in other words pretty much harmless, so I let him out to watch birds and climb trees and roll in dust and sleep in sunbeams (I did, however, keep him in at our previous apartment between an interstate highway and a major street, in a rough neighborhood that I didn't even feel safe out in).

Someday, when I have a backyard again, I'll build an enclosure so they can feel grass under their paws and climb real trees; I can understand why people don't want to deprive their cats of that.

I live in a quiet neighborhood in a smaller town that's in the middle of nowhere. We still have morons around here - and many locals view that it's ok to shoot problem animals (cats, dogs, birds, etc) with pellet guns or real guns (outside of town limits), on top of harming animals other ways and not knowing how to safely drive in residential areas.

I thought the same thing... until I moved into the middle of nowhere!

The population here is around 100.... so barely any cars around. BUT omg the wild animals! I have seen 2 foxes in my back yard, one comes almost every night. I can hear the coyotes in the woods, they are not far away at all. There are snakes too, I just saw one today... and nearly died of a heart attack, LOL. There are opossums, but they are harmless to cats. There are SO many misquitoes that it's very likely that an outdoor animal would get heartworm. There are hunters, they even shoot the poor bobcats for some reason. I bet there is a hunter out here that would shoot a house cat. Oh yeah, the bobcats... those are a danger too. And the hunting dogs...

Needless to say, I changed my mind reallllllly quick about "the middle of nowhere."

I love the wildlife, and I love living here. So do my cats, even though they are indoor.





One of my family members lives in a nice neighborhood. One day I was there I saw 2 different people in cars speeding up TRYING to hit the exact same cat. Someones 'outdoor' pet cat. I have not seen this cat for a long time, poor thing is probably at the bridge.

There are idoits everywhere, it is a universal thing. Cats are far better off indoors. Ask my cats, they will tell you that they love it. Actually they are afraid of outside to be honest. When I take them out on a harness they try to hide behind me and want back in. So we go back in.

No one is ever going to convince me that there are no idiots in the UK. lol.

This comes across as if it's the majority of the UK that lets their cats outside when it isn't.

You just have to go into IMO or SOS to read about shocking abuse to cats in other countries.

i have friends that will only keep theie cats/dogs inside because of things like this: i am relenting and posting up some links because its no more safer here than in the US

(dont open if easily offended)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5213718.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/w...re/5193562.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/ne...00/8518245.stm


its endless the list of links to show that here is not a safe place to let your cat roam about

im sure either myself or some one else posted up a good few months ago that someone actually went into someones garden stole their kitten and beat it to death - kids/teenagers get there kicks out of it over here for what ever reason

Forget the myth about the UK being the only ones that let their cats outside because their not, and it's certainly no safer than anywhere else.

It is however more the norm (and IMO thankfully changing) in the UK. Shelters here would not refuse an adoption because you wanted to keep an indoor only pet which many (although less than before) shelters in the UK still do unless you want a senior or special needs pet they can't adopt out. But there are people who will ignore policies anyway and let their cats out and shelters that do not have a policy at all here

My friend ended up getting a petstore kitten because none of the London shelters would adopt to her because she was in an upstairs apartment with no access to a garden.

That sort of thing is disappointing. I've read other stories from people on here that couldn't go through a rescue or shelter to adopt because of the policies. (I'll always remember Hope complaining about that) Some rules are meant to be bent a little - as long as there's no harm to the animal, because frankly there's just not enough homes to turn away good ones - like your friend.

I think most people in this thread would agree with you on this...