Indoor or Outdoor cats

darkangel8603

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do you have indoor cats or outdoor cats?
How do you feel if a cat is outside all the time, never inside (banned to be inside)
 

babygirl

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All of my cats are indoor, I learn the hard way. When I was young two of my kitties were outdoor/indoor cats and they were both killed.
 
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darkangel8603

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Oh, thats too bad, I had same experience in the past, two cats were killed while outside, so ever since the last one died, i never let any of the cats out, but this one little mischievious cat of mine, LOVES to go outside, so she sneaks out when nobody is looking. It happened so often, I just gave in, but I alway keep an eye on her when she goes outside, also she seems to know her boundries which is good cuz she REFUSES to go across the street, again good news, less worry about her getting hit by a car.
 

babygirl

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Your little little mischievious cat sounds exactly like my sister cat. Except her loves to cross the street, she has done everything to keep her inside but that little devil still gets out. Is your cat spayed? My sister cat is and she was never a street cat but she likes going out.
 

kittykook

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My cats always stay inside.......except for the occasional "supervised" visit to the backyard. There are just too many dangers outside and I'm too afraid of losing one of my babies. (very over-protective mom)
 

myrage

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I am an over protective indoor only human. I like my girls inside, the only one who gets out is Mystyc. We fought with her all summer long. She just would not have it. She would run out the door, and flop over. We could easily pick her up, but she would growl, and protest.

We finally gave in to supervised only outside time. That went well, until the boys didn't want to kittysit. Now she can come and go. She sits by the door and meows. Right now she's stuck inside with an infected toe. She's not to be let out when it starts getting dark. She can't go out when it's snowing, or raining, or really windy. But she gets to have her outside time like she has her whole life because my mom let her cats be indoor/outdoor kitties.
 

stormy

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My cats are indoor only for the last 5 years, ever since I seen a car swerve and try to hit one of my kitties!
 

catsknowme

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After several tough losses, I strongly feel that inside with occasional supervised daytime airings work best. I have known cats who were inside all the time, often longing to try the outdoors, who got cancer & died at an earlier age than other, full-time outdoor cats. As for outdoor cats, I'd rather that they all get to come inside. My brother rescued a feral from the city, and the cat while friendly and affectionate gets very nervous inside. My brother now lives on 4 acres in the country, and worries about predators as much as he did the city traffic, but the cat seems very savvy. Still, we worry. Getting ill & being euthanised is much easier than what lurks out there. And cats are like our children - they don't always know what danger is, so if they get miffed about being deprived we just have to help them make the best of it. Two of my girls lived quite awhile as strays and really hear the call of the night air. So I feed the canned food at night, and that seems to help. I also toss toys about in the evening and -joy of joys- there was a mouse in the pantry last night (poor mouse, but we have had hantavirus in our county for several years)!
Originally Posted by darkangel8603

do you have indoor cats or outdoor cats?
How do you feel if a cat is outside all the time, never inside (banned to be inside)
 

cirque

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Woops, I put banned inside.. thought that ment they were banned to be inside not banned from being inside.

We keep ours in. Unless we lived in a country or perhaps very suburban area there is no way we will have outdoor cats. Its just not safe for them with so many bad things in the city. In the past we have had outdoor cats, and once neutered the fighting stopped and he had a happy indoor/outdoor life and was a wonderful member of the family. Even used to bring us home full sized (and smaller) rabbits, mice, moles, birds.. you name it. Looked a bit like Buddy and his name was Patches.
 

mikonu

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My boys are inside 95% of the time. I only let them outside with a leash and harness. They are allowed to walk around the property (fenced in) and they're always under my supervision.

As for my parents, Keiko is the only cat who is outdoors. She HATES being indoors. She is really good and stays on the property. She usually sleeps on the garage roof or on the front porch. The other cats are indoors only and they spend most of their time on the lanai (balcony) or in the kitty room.
 

kittylover4ever

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I gotta agree Susan........there is no way I would/could let my kits outside.....way too many dangers and I just can't take that chance...... Just breaks my heart when I am driving down the street and see a dead cat or dog in the road......
 

flisssweetpea

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Our first two kitties are indoor/outdoor. They were both rescue kitties, found outside and I think it's so hard to make them indoor against their will. They rarely leave the garden, we don't live close to roads, and they spend the parts of the day they are outside in their favourite sleeping spots in our garden. They have marked their own out and don't try to "steal" each others. They are always inside at night and the first sign of wind or rain sees them dive for the cat flap.

Although Adelaide has been outside for quite sometime I think she will be an indoor kitty. She shows absolutely no sign of wanting to go outside and I don't expect that will change. We'll wait and see how she goes. I wouldn't be so worried about her going out now and she won't be chased out of the garden by Tippy or Felicity. She holds her ground against them in the house.

Lily is going nowhere! She is indoor only and will never be any different. In any event, coming from Singapore with very short, fine fur she feels the cold too much to go outside in the UK. She is also too small and would easily fall victim to all manner of nasties outside.
 

pinkdaisy226

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I think I voted wrong *hangs head in shame*. I voted that she is banned indoors because I thought that's what you meant... she's stuck indoors. Anyway she's never allowed outside!
 

catlover7731

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I could never let my cats outside unless maybe I lived on a farm with no other animals in site. It is for their own safety and health. I do with I could have an enclosed screen porch for them so they can look at the birds closer.
 

flisssweetpea

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Originally Posted by catlover7731

I could never let my cats outside unless maybe I lived on a farm with no other animals in site. It is for their own safety and health. I do with I could have an enclosed screen porch for them so they can look at the birds closer.
I'm interested - what kind of animals are around you that represent a danger to cats? We only have foxes here - they often come into the gardens at night looking for pet rabbits or chickens. My chickens are always locked up in a sound-proof, fox-proof coop and the kitties are always snug in bed inside by then.
 

juniper

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Mine are strictly indoor! I live in an apartment building in an extremely urban area, so even if I let them outside, the only place for them to go would be out on the sidewalk (which is lined with shops and always very busy) or into the street, which has four lanes of speeding traffic - honestly, I don't think any responsible pet owner in this area would let their cats out - it would be certain death for the cat. Even if I lived in a more suburban area, I still wouldn't let them out, though - there are just too many risks - being hit by a car, being harmed by a person who doesn't like cats, eating something poisonous, coming into contact with an animal (here in the city we don't have much wildlife that I'd worry about harming the cats, mostly I worry about dogs), etc., etc. - given all the risks, it's just not worth it, IMO. I lost an outdoor cat when he was only a year old, years ago, and that made up my mind about cats going outside. Besides, my bunch are perfectly happy inside.
 
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