indoor or out door?

I have to agree with everyone here. I have four inside/outside cats and I very much wish they were inside only. My first 2 cats were inside/outside cats before I knew better. As the other cats came along, they were also inside/outside cats as it's almost impossible to have inside/outside cats as well as inside only cats. I have had to lock everyone inside if there's a vet visit or if one of the cats has had surgery and two of my cats have actually make their paws bloody from trying to get out, so I haven't tried to make them indoor only cats. Yes, I have had 2 cats die from being hit by a car and another miraculously survive being hit by a car, which is absolutely awful. That's why I want them all to be inside only cats but I don't want them to have to be heavily medicated so they're happy inside. So, at the moment, they are let out at 7am and come in for dinner at 5pm and stay in until the next morning. This is not an ideal arrangement but I feel I have no choice at the moment.

Both my boys are indoor cats only; they do get to go out on the deck with me when I go I just keep an eye on them to make sure they don't try to get off it. They both know the drill though they head to the stairs too often then they have to go back inside.

thans everyone, but after reading your posts, ive decided im gonna keep socks indoors only i think he'll be alot safer that way

Rosie and Sophie, indoors!.

I get the sun through the back of the house where they like to lie because it's warm.

Through advice from a guy at work, now and again i put Rosie in a harness and take her for a sniff around the back yard. the reason being should she ever escape she would recognise the smell of home?!.

Socks will be safer indoors and he will be fine with it.

Moving this discussion to the cat care forum. If you search there, I'm sure you can find older threads that deal with the exact same question too.

My two cats are indoor-outdoor. They roam freely when outdoors, though I keep them in at night. Had I got them as kittens, I would keep them indoors only. But one of my cats had been strictly an outdoor cat for one year before I got him; before that he had been abandoned by a neighbor, and had been either an indoor-outdoor or strictly outdoor for his first two years. My second cat had been wandering as a stray in our neighborhood for at least six months before I took him in. So both knew freedom and obviously love it.

I cannot see taking away the freedom of cats that have known freedom if the risk is within reason. Just like after my father had a stroke and was able to use only one arm, he still chose to live alone on a farm, even driving the tractor with his one good arm. Of course there was risk in doing so, but one must consider quality of life versus just quantity. For cats and for humans.

In my case, though I live in town, it is in an area with relatively little traffic, and my cats are so frightened by other people and cars that it minimizes risk of that problem. (However, if one was trying to chase another cat from his territory, I can see the possibility of running across the street when a car was coming.) Our town has about four undeveloped lots for every developed one, so the cats have wonderful opportunities to chase mice and birds, climb trees, wander in the woods. A wonderful life for a cat.

My biggest concern is the risk of being caught by a coyote. Yes, we do have coyotes right in town; not many, but last year a neighbor saw one cross my back yard. We had fox a few years ago, too, but animal control tells me they are now gone. My next biggest concern is the possibility of getting into poison. But it is a risk I have chosen to take at this point. It would break me up if that should happen, but my babies have had one heck of a good life in their years here so far, (both are about eight) and I am hoping they will live to 22, as did my neighbor's indoor-outdoor cat. If I lived in a more developed community, though, I expect I'd make a different decision, as the risks would be much greater.

You sound alot like me with your cat. I have a former stray and he loves his freedom. I have guilt about him roaming, the neighbors and all. But if I try to keep him in he cries and cries...he loves it out there. He gets all wound up if he can't go out and when he has been out his temprament is so calm. He is chasing bugs all the time and just visiting the neighbor cats. I do worry and today I started a thread here cause he stayed out longer than he ever has, 7 hours. I was worried. But he came back. All is fine. But i know it's a risk, I do know that. But I had all indoor/outdoor cats and all my other cats lived to at least 15, one to 20.

I know the humane societies while perhaps recommending indoor only do know cats go out. I mean at the local shelter here I visited once i saw that they noted one cat was "indoor outdoor" . and even some of the rescue groups I know of realize that some cats need to go out.

Some people may disagree with me, but I think it depends entirely on the cat. Grissom will be indoor only. Bobo, my previous kitty, was rescued by us when he was three. He had been feral, and therefore we were more lenient on the indoor outdoor thing, becuase he always wanted to go out. However, we lived in the country away from traffic and we were always watchful of him. Chaos, my mother's kitty was a feral we brought in, but since she was a kitten, we were able to train her to be indoors only.

For those of you who have indoor/outdoor cats...please have your cat wear a collar and have them microchipped. Additionally, if possible...build an outdoor enclosure or cat friendly fencing. I believe it is ok to have an indoor/outdoor cat as long as they are 1. fixed 2. idetified by collar and microchipping and 3. you live in an area that would not put your cat at danger.

Again...you cannot think simply about your cat's freedom...but your cat's safety...please make sure you "know" the neighbors and their pets so that you can avoid 1. poisoning 2. dog attack 3. pellet guns....

Katie

Buffy and Willow are both indoor cats. We had a cat who lived 8 years indoor/outdoor (played/slept outside during the day, and came in at night to eat and sleep). Unfortunately, he got caught by a cat trap 3 years ago so our cats are indoor cats now. We let Buffy and Willow go outside as often as we can, but only if they're harnessed with a leash attached. Even then, they have to be watched. Last week, I left Buffy for only 10-15 minutes (I was searching for the second harness, to put on Willow) and Buffy pretty much hanged herself. She did a figure-8 around two bush/trees, and then jumped 3 feet up in the air into the big bush by the front door, but she must have slipped (the branch is no match for Buffy's 7 pounds) so she was just hanging there. Imagine if she'd been wearing the collar! (we lost the collar, which is why she was wearing the harness)

oh, Buffy didn't die or anything. She was just hanging there, the straps probably really tight around her belly. Jake was barking because she was crying (awwwww)

My Stinky cat (and Tank, while he was with us) is an indoor kitty. I wanted to keep them indoors because we live in an apartment complex, it's just not safe for them out there. I do let her out onto our patio (we live on the top floor), and there's really no way for them to get down unless they fall. Stinky actually did fall down, once. I came home from work at around 1 am, and heard a cat crying up in a tree right next to our kitchen window. I felt sad for it, but there wasn't anything I could do immediately for it. So I went inside, and Stinkpot is always right at the door waiting for me when I get home. Weird, only Tank was there. I searched the apartment, and realized it was her up in that tree. I woke up my boyfriend (he was thrilled), and he ended up climbing the tree, grabbing her, and bringing her down. At the time, she didn't really like him and was a little scared of him, so I was suprised she just let him grab her and bring her down. Perhaps she knew he was rescuing her? Anyhow, when we brought her in, Tank growled and hissed at her, but then we bathed her, and he chilled out. After that, she was quite traumatized for a while and wouldn't go out on the deck. Now she loves it out there again, but is very careful!

Oh yes, definitely have your cat microchipped if it is going to be an indoor/outdoor cat. I think that is one of the best things I've done for my kitties. Also, use a breakaway collar. Being outside and crawling through the brush, cats collars can get stuck and choke them. Definitely need to use a break away collar.

Both of mine are mostly indoors but do go out on our semi-enclosed porch (I rent so they landlord won't let us completely enclose it) or out the front door on-leash or carrier only. They are never allowed to go anywhere unescorted due to the busy street and some people that may have a grudge against any animal. They both have collars with tags. There aren't any dogs allowed on the complex except service dogs.