How do cats get on being indoor cats??

deanouk · Dec 6, 2014

I recently lost my kitty she got run over an found her at the front of the house so this got me thinking how do cats get on being a indoor cat ? And is it better for them if there is 2 of them ? The poor little baby had her life taken away at 10 month she loved the outdoors she used pop in and out like a yo yo we recently had new next door neighbour with 2 cats she was always playing with them I also been reading up outdoor cats only live between 1 to 3 year and indoor 8 to 15 year I would really like your views on this cuz I've lost 2 cats now but I don't want be cruel and leave them locked up etc does anyone have indoor cats and what are they like do they want to go out etc

pinkdagger · Dec 6, 2014

I'm so sorry about your cat.

Tons and tons of people have happy and healthy indoor only cats. A lot of us here have strictly indoor cats, or cats who go outside under supervision, in a catio, on harness, in a cage, etc. Depending on where you live and what immediate threats are there, you may have a different view. I have always lived in a city (first a small city, and now a big, busy city). Even though I lived in a cul de sac in the small city where there was little traffic and people were very nice and animal loving, I would never have an outdoor or indoor/outdoor cat because I fear a predator could get it, people may be cruel, cars may injure them, other animals may fight with them and stress them out, they could eat or get into something dangerous or poisonous. There is nothing cruel about keeping a cat where it will be safer.

If you can provide your cat(s) with an enriching indoor environment, they'll have a perfectly happy life. This means lots of hiding spots, lots of variety of height and vantage points (cat towers, cat shelves, other cat-friendly places like window sills and sun rooms), entertainment (toys, human companionship, other cat companionship - or dog depending on the cat, windows to look out of). Both of our cats like to explore cautiously so when I open the balcony door to go in and out, they sniff around a bit but fortunately they're not door dashers like some other people's cats. Even door dashers aren't indicative of cats who are missing out on the outside world; they're just curious about the unknown, like any creature.

There are lots, and I mean lots of search results for indoor vs outdoor on the forum already if you want to peruse those as well:

http://www.thecatsite.com/newsearch?search=indoor+vs+outdoor

And here are some relevant articles that may help:

Beating Boredom - What Indoor Cat Owners Need to Know

Keeping a Cat Safe Outdoors

Norachan · Dec 6, 2014

I'm sorry you lost your kitten. 10 months really is too young.

All of my cats are rescued feral or stray cats. Once they've got a taste of the outdoors it is really hard to keep them in. I think if you get a young cat who's never been outside it's much easier. There are some amazing cat shelves and cat condos available these days, plenty to keep any kitty happy indoors.

I built my cats an enclosure as they refused to stay in and it's worked really well. I know they are safe and happy, they can come and go as they please and I don't have to worry about the neighbour's cats coming round for a sneaky visit any more.

There are some beautiful enclosures on here.

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-enclosures.htm

Just a few pictures to inspire you.

fluffybeard · Dec 6, 2014

I'm so sorry you lost your kitty. Growing up we let our cats outside and sure enough, 3 of 5 cats were either killed by cars or dissapeared before they were 2 years old.

The cat I have now, I would never let roam because of that. I live in Los Angeles, so in addition to car and cat hating people danger, we have coyotes to worry about.

He's a big, 16lb athletic cat living with me in a small studio apartment (no separate bedroom, just a large room, bathroom and kitchen), and he is perfectly happy. But, he has been living inside since he was 4 weeks old (he was an orphaned stray) and my place looks like a cat play pen with his cat tree, toys, tunnels and other hidey holes I got him. Plus I don't restrict him in anyway. He is free to climb, hide and sit wherever he wants and I open the windows often so he can sit there next to the screen and look out.

I'd like to take him out on a leash, but so far he won't let me put a harness on him. When I eventually move, my next step is to move somewhere where I can make a catio and also get another cat to be a buddy for him since he loves it when the neighbor's cats come to the window to visit and he has never acted aggressive towards these other cats.

So I think keeping your future cats inside is probably the best, but make sure you are adopting cats that are used to being inside, or are young so they get used to it. You might not ever be able to turn a rescued street cat into an indoor only cat.

zoneout · Dec 6, 2014

There is a happy medium. We take our cat out on a harness and he loves sniffing and watching birds fly by. Besides cars, there are crazy people out there. I just became aware of 25 cats that were hanged in Yonkers ny earlier this year. They had a touching tribute to them at the westchester cat show last month.

As far as if it is better to have 2 cats indoors.... It depends on their personality. Some cats appreciate having a playmate and some hate it. I mean really hate it. I think it helps if they are close in age but it's no guaranty.

Kat0121 · Dec 7, 2014

I'm so sorry for your loss. How sad.

I have 2 former strays who love being inside. There are plenty of places to explore and tons of places to hide (something I didn't know until I got them).

Lilith used to try to make a break for the door when I first got them but no more. I can leave it open or partially open when I bring the groceries in from the car and she and Sophie will hang out in the entry way and watch but don't try to go near the door. I don't think they enjoyed living on their own at all. They have become such divas.

I agree with @zoneout that having more than one depends on their personality but I think in general cats do better in pairs. Mine get along great but it might have a lot to do with the fact that they have been together their whole lives. They were brought to the shelter with a group of about 20 cats that all looked alike with the exception of one so it was more than likely a BYB that lost their house to foreclosure and left them all behind when they moved out. They were all black with the exception of the one who was orange and white with a little gray. He was adopted first.

rubysmama · Dec 7, 2014

I'm so sorry for your loss. Losing a cat that way is terrible. Growing up we had a cat who loved going outside. He didn't come home one morning and my father had the horrible job of looking for him, then finding him dead in the gutter of the street behind our yard. Our cat was less than a year old too, so was extra sad.

My current cat, Ruby, was found on the street and taken to the SPCA. She wasn't spayed and had fleas, but was not feral, so must have lived in a home at one time. She is 3 or 4 years old and though she obviously spent time outside, she seems content to be an indoor only cat now, as she shows little interest in going outside. I say little, because once or twice in the year I've had her, she's stepped outside onto the front step, but I've easily been able to turn her around and get her back into the house before she ventured any further. I've even read on this forum of folks who've brought feral cats into homes who've become indoor cats, so some cats are definitely content to live inside.

bonepicker · Dec 7, 2014

rubysmama said:
I'm so sorry for your loss. Losing a cat that way is terrible. Growing up we had a cat who loved going outside. He didn't come home one morning and my father had the horrible job of looking for him, then finding him dead in the gutter of the street behind our yard. Our cat was less than a year old too, so was extra sad.

My current cat, Ruby, was found on the street and taken to the SPCA. She wasn't spayed and had fleas, but was not feral, so must have lived in a home at one time. She is 3 or 4 years old and though she obviously spent time outside, she seems content to be an indoor only cat now, as she shows little interest in going outside. I say little, because once or twice in the year I've had her, she's stepped outside onto the front step, but I've easily been able to turn her around and get her back into the house before she ventured any further. I've even read on this forum of folks who've brought feral cats into homes who've become indoor cats, so some cats are definitely content to live inside.

bonepicker · Dec 7, 2014

Mine were both feral and now live indoors with no problems

deanouk · Dec 7, 2014

My first cat was a stray, I used to be a security guard on a building site, let just say I found a new mate she used follow me on my patrols etc ,she lived on site when site finished after 2 year she had no place to go so I took her home she had no interest in the outdoor she just used to gaurd the rear door on summers days then we had Lola ,we had her only 8 month but she was very special we always said she had a death wish she really got the taste for the outdoors and loved to adventure she would scare her self run inside have some food an go back for more she loved danger if we didn't let her go out she went crazy for the windows it really sad she was a happy kitty full of energy just a shame her life was taken so early so now I've decided to go for 2 kittens as indoor kittens do you have any good tips thanks I've never had 2 cats before

Kat0121 · Dec 7, 2014

rubysmama said:
I'm so sorry for your loss. Losing a cat that way is terrible. Growing up we had a cat who loved going outside. He didn't come home one morning and my father had the horrible job of looking for him, then finding him dead in the gutter of the street behind our yard. Our cat was less than a year old too, so was extra sad.

My current cat, Ruby, was found on the street and taken to the SPCA. She wasn't spayed and had fleas, but was not feral, so must have lived in a home at one time. She is 3 or 4 years old and though she obviously spent time outside, she seems content to be an indoor only cat now, as she shows little interest in going outside. I say little, because once or twice in the year I've had her, she's stepped outside onto the front step, but I've easily been able to turn her around and get her back into the house before she ventured any further. I've even read on this forum of folks who've brought feral cats into homes who've become indoor cats, so some cats are definitely content to live inside.

Yes, that is a horrible job. My husband used to go out to the screen room at the back of the house in the middle of the night sometimes to smoke. There's a pretty busy street behind the house that has no street lights. One night he went out there at about 4 AM and saw a cat get hit by a car. I got up for a drink at about 5 and he told me. He said he could tell it died instantly (the road's not far from the house at all). I went into the backyard and saw the poor thing in the road. I wanted to cry when I saw it lying there. It was dark gray with beautiful gold eyes. I went over to it and moved it out of the street into the grass in the yard. The poor thing was clearly dead but it's poor little body was intact. He at first looked at me like I was crazy and wanted to know what I was doing. I initially wanted to see if it had a collar and tags and if so, I was going to contact the owners. It did not so I knew I would bury it. DH felt bad for the poor thing too so he grabbed a shovel and dug a hole so I could bury it. The idea of it being run over again was out of the question and there was no way I was leaving it for the vultures. I blessed the ground with holy water that DH had had in a small bottle since he made his communion as a child. I laid the poor thing to rest wrapped in a small blanket. I named it Mittens. No idea why, it was the name that popped into my head as I was blessing the ground. It was probably a stray or feral cat (we had a lot of them around at the time). I still think about that little cat all the time. I buried him/her under a beautiful old pine tree that we also buried a squirrel under that was DH's pal. She used to look for him all the time and would knock on the screen room door when she was hungry.

Every time I think about that poor little cat, it makes me more certain that L&S will never be outside unattended again. It's also why I bought them the tags that are also GPS devices. If for some reason they ever do get out I want to be able to find them as fast as humanly possible.

malt · Dec 8, 2014

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty!

Our family has two semi-ferals, and they're indoor/outdoor cats, sisters. They come and go as they please. Mum's cat has always spent 90% of her time moving between the indoors and outdoors to find places to nap. She is basically an animate pillow. Grandma's cat is pretty wild; until the middle of this year she spent most of her time outside. Now she's spending a lot of her time sleeping on Grandma's bed. They're 12 going on 13 so I guess they're slowing down now. They would never have been happy being inside cats, and in the case of Grandma's cat if we had tried to make her an inside-only cat she would have been a prisoner. But like I said, they're semi-feral and they've been accustomed to coming as they please since they were born. They both live in pretty safe, low-traffic areas and there aren't any 'problem' animals here in NZ (no coyotes, raccoons, bears, whatever else). So they're quite privileged kitties!

My cat was a stray, abandoned. I rent, so I can't install a cat flap, and I live in a pretty poor area so leaving a window for her to come and go is not an option. As a result she's only allowed to go outside during the day, when somebody is home (she does really enjoy going outside). Add in her problems with being improperly spayed so she was still going into heat and trying to mate, and she has spent up to a month at a time locked inside the house. She doesn't exactly love being shut inside, but she was only ever actively distressed about it when she was in heat and desperate to be with the toms. She probably could be an inside-only cat but I can't go changing the rules up on her now, she is just not smart enough for that. Seeing as she's fully domestic and she was stray and starving when she was living outside, she probably feels like being inside most of the time is a small price to pay for a comfy loving home with just, like, all of the food.

I think if you're going for an inside-only cat, having an older cat who no longer wants to go outside, or a cat who has never properly been outside its whole life are your best bets. There are plenty of ways to enrich an inside cat's life. You can have an inside-only cat without things being boring or potentially cruel but it does take more work. If you're willing to put in the work, there's nothing stopping you.

misterwhiskers · Dec 8, 2014

Cats go just fine indoors. No fleas, (should still be treated), and no cars or coyotes or owls to threaten them. No rabid raccoons, no crazy neighbors to poison them, no dogs. My cat was semi feral and loves it inside!!

bonepicker · Dec 8, 2014

misterwhiskers said:
Cats go just fine indoors. No fleas, (should still be treated), and no cars or coyotes or owls to threaten them. No rabid raccoons, no crazy neighbors to poison them, no dogs. My cat was semi feral and loves it inside!!

deanouk · Dec 8, 2014

hi guys I'm loving the difference in opinion I kind f agree with all of u both. My cats have been outdoors they loved it but I know my Lola wasn't very street wise she been hanging in the gardens rather than the fronts all summer we had people moved in next door with 2 cats and they been hanging out the front so she's was following the cats , they were all young and seem to get on fine, but I think something spooked her an darted for a car, it wasn't fair I feel kind of guilty even tho I know it's what she loved It was to early she was very loved and I know she wouldn't want it end like this so I think this is cruel 10 month old and her life taken away I was hoping have many happy years with her I think I can do this indoor cat thing well I'm adopting 2 kittens bro an sister never had 2 cats before , so this will be fun do u guys have any good advice on this

deanouk · Dec 8, 2014

I'm looking at enclosures , so they can get fresh air and see there neighbours , they have the run of the house also I was going do some mods so they cam climb on top of wardrobe etc I also have a spare room I could modify slightly , do any u guys have any bro an sisters an what are there relationship like etc

kittywhiskers · Dec 8, 2014

I'm very sorry for the loss of Lola, it must be heartbreaking to lose a cat that way. And so young. :rbheart:

I have two indoor cats, both girls one is 2 and one is 4. We got them when they were kittens and they have never roamed so don't know any different. They are very happy cats. We have also made an enclosure in our garden for them, you can see it here:
.http://www.thecatsite.com/g/a/185130/cat-enclosure-pictures/

Our boy who passed last year (he was 13) used to be an in/out cat and he was 9 years old when we built our enclosure and it took a few weeks for him to adjust to not roaming but he ended up being very happy just chilling in the enclosure. There are a lot of cats in our neighbourhood and he used to get into a lot of fights. We spent a lot of time at the vets with him.

Good luck with your 2 New bundles of joy and keep us updated with your progress!

Norachan · Dec 8, 2014

deanouk said:
I think I can do this indoor cat thing well I'm adopting 2 kittens bro an sister never had 2 cats before , so this will be fun do u guys have any good advice on this

If they're from the same litter you shouldn't have any problems at. They'll already have a close bond to each other. Kittens raised in a house with another cat of the opposite sex reach sexual maturity earlier than most, so make sure you get them both spayed and neutered. They can start having kittens at five months of age.

Also, if you get them fixed while they're still young they'll keep a lot of their kittenish qualities and play and sleep together even as they grow older.

Let us see some pictures of them when you adopt.

deanouk · Dec 9, 2014

Thanks for that , I went to see the kitty's last night, and the are brother and sister 16 weeks old Bengal cross they always been together since both but separated from there mother 3 week, there owners son is ilrgic to cats so they need to go so I'm taking them on just not ready my self yet as I'm not ready to bring another cat into the house just seems wrong as its to early when would u say is the best time to get them done so they can't have baby's and would u have to the boy don't too?

Norachan · Dec 9, 2014

Wow, Bengal cross, lucky you! They must be gorgeous.

Actually 16 weeks old is the perfect age to get them fixed. It would be a good idea to have a vet check them over before you bring them home so you could get them fixed at the same time.

Yes, you'd need to get the boy done too. Male cats are very smelly, prone to spraying all over the house and try really hard to get out and find a mate. I think with a Bengal cross, which is already going to be an athletic, high energy cat, not getting him neutered would cause all sorts of problems.

Can't wait to see some pictures, do they have names yet?

How do cats get on being indoor cats??

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