Are cats allowed outside?

Mine go on a leash 2 times a day

Originally Posted by Katman

Personnly i think its cruel to keep cats inside all of the time, by doing so you are denying what comes naturally to a cat, and that is their primal instinct is to explore and hunt. I had my cat Mawser from a kitten and introduced him to the outside world when he was 4mths old, I had him for 16yrs and he loved to go outside, he would then come back in a more contented mood, as opposed to if i kept him in for say 2/3 days he would become agitated, and restless until i opened the door and let him out. You have to give them a certain amount of freedom, or they will never have any independence.

Click to expand...

I'd love for my cat to be able to roam around outside, but I live in an area where coyotes are very prominent. In fact, I lost a maltese to a coyote so allowing her the freedom to go out unattended is not an option. I guess I should look into buying her a leash and walking her then...

I always take my kitty outside on a leash. She will actually bring me her leash and set it at my feet because she knows that is the only way she can go outside. I would never take a cat without a leash on outside because i used to in the past with my first cat and she died. My himalayian named Sassy would go outside all the time (lived on 3 acres). One day she ran off and she wouldn't come inside or let me grab her and then night time came. I found her a couple hours later dead . Three huge mean hunting dogs came onto our property and killed her. They actually came back to try to find her body, never in my life have i been so upset. My kitty Pookie will never go outside without a leash. They may not like it at first but they get used to it after awhile.

As a kid, we had an in and out cat who lived to an old age. First we lived in a safe, quiet subdivision, and when she was older we moved onto a busy road, but she stayed safe.

Since I have been on my own, my in and out cats only lived to be a few years old. One got hit by a car by walking to the bus stop with dd (what a lot of tears we had that morning!) I think another got into rat poisoning or something put out by the neighbors.

And I still have barn cats, some are adopted ferals. One real friendly guy adopted us from the dairy barn across the street. Life is kind of hard for the barn cats, as they have to stay away from the raccoons, coyotes and other wild cats. We lost two barn cats last summer, and lost one feral this summer.

My two inside cats have been inside all their life, and I prefer it that way. They are safe, and have lots of room to run and explore. Garfield is quite the man of the house...but he was neutered when only a few months old. He would never survive out there in the real world! And Festus looks like a plain brown tabby barn cat, but her personality is more that of the indulged princess!

I won't walk them on a leash, because I don't want them to see how fun it can be outside, then sneak out and get hurt!

Originally Posted by Katman

Personnly i think its cruel to keep cats inside all of the time, by doing so you are denying what comes naturally to a cat, and that is their primal instinct is to explore and hunt. I had my cat Mawser from a kitten and introduced him to the outside world when he was 4mths old, I had him for 16yrs and he loved to go outside, he would then come back in a more contented mood, as opposed to if i kept him in for say 2/3 days he would become agitated, and restless until i opened the door and let him out. You have to give them a certain amount of freedom, or they will never have any independence.

Click to expand...

But your cat got restless inside because he knew he could go out. My two have never been out, how can they miss something they never had? I live by a busy main road, if they got they would survive about 5 minutes. Am I still being cruel by keeping them inside? Or maybe you think only people who live in the middle of the country with no wild animals or roads should be allowed to have cats?

As for hunting instincts, that's what toys are for. Independence? Why would they need it? They're not human, they don't need to feel that they can provide for themselves, believe me they're quite happy knowing that they have food, a warm bed and lots of love exactly where they are!

Apologies if this sounds harsh, but I think your viewpoint that anyone keeping a cat inside is cruel, is narrowminded and unfair.

Of course cats are allowed outside! They love being outside!

Not at two months old though. That's way too young they're only little babies.

It depends if you live in a busy part of town or what? If you live in a nice quiet street then by all means let them outside.

I think that if it is possible they should be allowed out. It is the natural way, and all the cats I have had loved being out and have mostly lived to a good age. Cats who go out never get obese and rarely suffer from stress diseases. Obviously outdoor cats need all their shots/ flea/tick treatments etc.I usually start walking them on harness around 4 months, graduate to supervised free play, then let them out unsupervised around 6/7 months, depending on the season and degree of common sense in the cat (and they do vary).

Having said that I have had two cats who were indoor by choice, just never wanted out, and they seemed (seem in Cinders' case who is now with my Mom) very happy. But it all comes down to safety and if I lived anywhere where I felt it seriously unsafe then I would either not have cats ( I took this option for some years) or opt for a cat who couldn't go out. It is strange - in the UK, if you adopt a cat from the RSPCA or most shelters, including the Battersea Cats' Home, they will usually insist that you have a garden for the cat to play in, whereas in the US it is the opposite - they often make you promise not to let the cat out. But it is more dangerous in the US, with more predators and people with guns etc.

Jenny - I have a friend from the UK who lives lives in the states and she thought it was so strange that my cat never went outside, she said almost all cats go outside in the UK. Then about a year later she got her first kitten and I told her all the terrible things that can happen to cats outside (in our busy area) getting hit by a car, getting in a fight with another animal, diseases, etc.... etc.... and she does not let her out! We live in a very busy city like section in the states.

I think it all depends on where you live........

My cat Wayne showed up on my doorstep and decided he wanted to live with us! Since he was used to going outside we let him out for two years, he would stay out for a couple hours a day, we moved about 6 months ago and decided to keep him safe and inside and he is still the same happy, friendly, loving cat he always was And now he will live longer and stay safe.....

Originally Posted by ames

My kitty always runs towards the door whenever I leave or come home. I'm afraid that one day she's going to get through my legs and run out. I always have a little ball that I throw so that she can chase it and then I squeeze through. (which makes me feel really bad cause I feel like I'm deceiving her) Is there another way for me to deter her from the door?

Click to expand...

My Tigger greets me at the door when I come home, and comes to kiss me goodbye when I leave, but she never looks interested in running out the door. When we first brought her home from the shelter (2 1/2 years ago) she would try to dart through the door when we weren't looking. So our vet said to stomp our feet a bit every time we came in and out of the door, consistently for a couple of weeks. It freaked her out enough that she stayed a few feet away. Since then she has no interest in darting through the doorway when I'm not looking (and I haven't stomped my feet at the door in 2 years)

Cheers, Kathy

Originally Posted by Negs

Jenny - I have a friend from the UK who lives lives in the states and she thought it was so strange that my cat never went outside, she said almost all cats go outside in the UK. Then about a year later she got her first kitten and I told her all the terrible things that can happen to cats outside (in our busy area) getting hit by a car, getting in a fight with another animal, diseases, etc.... etc.... and she does not let her out! We live in a very busy city like section in the states.

I think it all depends on where you live........

My cat Wayne showed up on my doorstep and decided he wanted to live with us! Since he was used to going outside we let him out for two years, he would stay out for a couple hours a day, we moved about 6 months ago and decided to keep him safe and inside and he is still the same happy, friendly, loving cat he always was

And now he will live longer and stay safe.....

Click to expand...

I've adopted cats from two different shelters in Ontario, Canada. Both made me sign an agreement that I will not let my cats roam the streets, and provided us with North American studies of cat health and longevity of indoor versus outdoor cats. My Tigger & Callie will never roam freely outside.

Tigger has been with us for 2 1/2 years. She has lots of room to run and play and climb in the house. And the best part of any day is if she finds a spider or a housefly to chase and eat, so she even gets to hunt (and because we have some small holes in our window screens, this is almost every day)

Cheers, Kathy

I can never let my cats out. They are not bred for outdoors as Persians. They can't survive. Their fur is too long and they are just not bred to fight with other cats or animals and survive. Then again, in Florida, I find it difficult to know that any pet should be outside. My daughters dog was let out to go to the bathroom the day before yesterday, and when he came in the house, he passed away. They don't know why, but we feel it must have been some poisonious vegetation. We have snakes and spiders here that are lethal in the wooded areas as well, and many squirrels which people try to get rid of by bait to save their pecan trees. So it is really not a healthy place, even fenced in. It was a toy poodle she had for several years. In any case, my cats just will NEVER be allowed outside the house unless they are being transported to a show or the vets. Just my take on it.

Rose

I have walked my two for years! I think, as many have said, that they are too young at the moment. If you would like some more tips an walking cats, take a look at Walking The Cat You'll get a lot of tips there!

As for the debate on whether cats should be indoor or outdoor, that is up to the cat, owner and area. Plus it is a topic more appropriate in IMO.

My cats don't go outside and have no real interest in doing so. Lola has been raised indoor-only from a few days old and Leo, whose history I know nothing about, got outside twice: both times he balked at the idea of going downstairs into the yard and sat on the catwalk of my apartment building yowling for me to come get him. The second time, though, he was so spooked that he wouldn't let me near him...I had to spritz him back into the apt. with my squirt bottle! Other than that, no, they absolutely don't go outside. It's not safe here at all. Is that cruel of me? I think not. They have food, water, clean litterboxes, tons of toys, room to run around and plenty of love from their mama. They can play and hunt without getting diseases from the mice and rats that live in the alleys and dumpsters. They are my cherished babies who I could not bear to see become roadkill or dogfighting bait.

Buffy and Willow are indoor cats, but I take them out every now and then on their harnesses. Buffy loves to go out, but Willow couldn't care less (*gasp!*), but sometimes I make Willow go out anyways because, "You'll like it, see?? Lookit those birdies and those butterflies and those bugs! Don't you want to play with them?" "Uh.......no." But Buffy could spend hours outside, playing with bugs and eating grass. She has a problem with wandering (there's nothing separating our lawn from our neighbour's lawn, so she doesn't know that she's crossing boundaries), but she won't cross the street. Unless we're chasing her to bring her inside, that is. She knows we can't reach her when she hides under parked cars . But as long as we watch her, fetch her and bring her back to the yard when she wanders and, as a last option, bring the dog out to keep her calm (she'll be less likely to get in trouble then), then Buffy has fun and is much calmer indoors.

Of course, the only problem we do have is that when Buffy is indoors, she'll always take advantage of an open door or window. You have to watch out for her when you go out the door and she'll chew her way through any screen (though, for some reason, the screen in one of the basement windows hasn't been touched, even though it's been open for 3 days)

Originally Posted by Cozycats

I can never let my cats out. They are not bred for outdoors as Persians. They can't survive. Their fur is too long and they are just not bred to fight with other cats or animals and survive. Then again, in Florida, I find it difficult to know that any pet should be outside. My daughters dog was let out to go to the bathroom the day before yesterday, and when he came in the house, he passed away. They don't know why, but we feel it must have been some poisonious vegetation. We have snakes and spiders here that are lethal in the wooded areas as well, and many squirrels which people try to get rid of by bait to save their pecan trees. So it is really not a healthy place, even fenced in. It was a toy poodle she had for several years. In any case, my cats just will NEVER be allowed outside the house unless they are being transported to a show or the vets. Just my take on it.

Rose

Click to expand...

Hi Rose

Ss you know I have Persians too..I don't believe it's true that they can't survive outside. My Elmo is outside pretty much all day and he does just fine, of course he can come in and out as he likes. My desexed cats will always have the option to come and go as they feel, unless of course we move to a busy street

My Dad has a pedigree persian, and the breeder we got him from asked us not to let him out for his own safety. There's also a high possibility that someone would steal him as he's worth a few bob. As he's got older he's been allowed to wander into the garden, but he doesn't show any desire to go further than the bottom of the garden path and back! He sits by the back fence watching leaves, but as soon as someone walks past he boots it back inside.

Sam, is it a common thing in NZ to have indoor cats? I know in the UK it's still quite unusual.

Originally Posted by Cozycats

I can never let my cats out. They are not bred for outdoors as Persians. They can't survive. Their fur is too long and they are just not bred to fight with other cats or animals and survive. Then again, in Florida, I find it difficult to know that any pet should be outside. My daughters dog was let out to go to the bathroom the day before yesterday, and when he came in the house, he passed away. They don't know why, but we feel it must have been some poisonious vegetation. We have snakes and spiders here that are lethal in the wooded areas as well, and many squirrels which people try to get rid of by bait to save their pecan trees. So it is really not a healthy place, even fenced in. It was a toy poodle she had for several years. In any case, my cats just will NEVER be allowed outside the house unless they are being transported to a show or the vets. Just my take on it.

Rose

Click to expand...

I have the same problem where I am from. I'm afraid to let Reilly outside for fear of all the animals out there that might go after him. If we had of known better when he was a little guy we would have trained him to walk on a leash but now when I try to put one on him he freaks out.

Originally Posted by Purity

But your cat got restless inside because he knew he could go out. My two have never been out, how can they miss something they never had? I live by a busy main road, if they got they would survive about 5 minutes. Am I still being cruel by keeping them inside? Or maybe you think only people who live in the middle of the country with no wild animals or roads should be allowed to have cats?

As for hunting instincts, that's what toys are for. Independence? Why would they need it? They're not human, they don't need to feel that they can provide for themselves, believe me they're quite happy knowing that they have food, a warm bed and lots of love exactly where they are!

Apologies if this sounds harsh, but I think your viewpoint that anyone keeping a cat inside is cruel, is narrowminded and unfair.

Click to expand...

Let me put it another way, lets say you had a child who never knew what it was like to go outside and play with his/her friends, and this child would sit and stair out of the window every day and watch the other kids running and playing outside...would that not be cruel and selfish of you to deny that child the freedom and independence it craves?.. cats are no different, they are after all decendent from the "big cats" and should be allowed to choose for themselves if they want to go out. As for toys being a substitute for hunting instincts once a cat is outside he/she will adopt a primal hunting instinct which all cats are born with, many a time my cat would bring little offerings to me such as small field mice, butterflies, small birds etc, toys are not meant to substitute a cats hunting instincts. I also beleive cats should be encouraged to develop their own independence i know they are not human (as you pointed out) but i dont see the point in keeping a cat locked up 24/7? I can sympathise, and understand those pet lovers who cannot let their cats out were large wild animals may roam around or who live near dangerous roads and taking them out on a lead would be the sensible alternative, but here in England most cat owners including were i live let their cats come and go as they please. I dont see anyone here who takes their cats out on leads, but as i have said it depends on where in the world you live. I dont see this being "narrowminded" as you suggested?..the narrowmindness comes in when you deny a cat to live and explore its natural habitat.

I live in a very safe remote neighborhood on the outskirts of a very small town. My neighborhood is along the river and was flooded 5 years ago and the houses were bought by FEMA and torn down. So, in a 6 block area, there is only about 7 houses left including my own, which also means there is no traffic at all( just to explain my area). 2 of my cats, Max-15yrs old, and George-8yrs, were outside cats when I rescued them, and that's why they go in and out through their kitty door. Caroline-3yrs, came from a farm and hates being inside and prefers to sleep in my flower garden all day. Jack-5yrs, was not allowed outside until last summer. The house was being re-roofed and the noise scared him to death. He would not come out of my closet for over a week, spewed diarrhea over every square inch inside the closet, and refused to eat. So, I took him outside and the second we were out, he immediately changed, and hasnt been scared like that again(he was bottle fed from birth and only knew the house) And Oliver-2yrs, was found outside at about 3mo old, and is very afraid of the outdoors and never goes out. All my cats have their vacs including rabies, and have never been hurt by anything.
I know every furmom and furdad's feelings are different about inside or outside for their furbabies, and how safe their area is. With my babies, this works for us because of where we are located, and the situation and issues we have had. I would absolutely not let a kitten or cat out by itself if everything was not completely safe for them though!

In our community, just about everyone lets their cats go outside. We live in a suburb with not a lot of traffic, just the occasional idiot driving by too fast, so I used to let our cat come and go during the day. At 7 months old, he disappeared and never came home. I am sure he was poisoned, killed by dogs or stolen. We were devastated. After that, I read that the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is about a third of that of an indoor-only cat. THEN other people started to mention how their cats got run over, poisoned, etc. We keep out 2 new kittens inside; occasionally they go out on leashes and we will soon build them an enclosure so they can go outside safely. Because people aren't used to that here, some of them say "You don't let your cat out? How awful!" To which I say, "The last one only lasted 7 months. I don't think that's something to repeat, do you?"

In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to worry about traffic, cruel humans and unattended dogs...but in the meantime, I think I'm responsible for protecting my pets. Access to the outdoors in a safe enclosure would be ideal.