Are your kitties indoor or outdoor kitties?

My two kitties, Socks and Mittens, were able to go outside but since one of them was in a cat fight recently and was injured, I've decided to keep them indoors. They are about 9 years old now.

At first, I thought I was going to have a really hard time, but they seem to be adjusting okay. I worry that they may get depressed but haven't seen signs of that yet. It has been about a week and a half now that they haven't gone out.

Are your kitties indoor or outdoor kitties? How do you feel about it? Do you think kitties that are kept indoors are happy?

Yay for keeping kitties safe!!!!!

Zissou is strictly indoors. She goes outside only on her leash, and only with me. Indoors is the only way to go, as it is safer, and most cats can, as you have learned firsthand, become happily adjusted to being indoor.

Apparently opinions in other parts of the world vary greatly, but I'd say for sure in the US, indoor-only is the only way to be for cats.

We have 3 outside barn kitties and 2 strictly indoor kitties (one 15 yr old, one 1 yr old). Our cats are either all inside or all outside - none are both.

Mine are indoor only. I hope to move soon and have a garden which I will enclose so that they have access to the outdoors but can't go any further than the garden. I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping them indoors so long as you realise that they won't get the stimulation and exercise that they would get outdoors - it's up to you to provide that via toys, scratching posts and cat trees, play etc. I'm glad yours are adapting well to indoor life - they are safer indoors. If you can provide an outdoor enclosure for them that would be good but it's not essential.

Here in the UK it's relatively rare to keep kitties totally indoors (especially moggies - it's more common among pure bred cats) and a lot of people think I'm mad (or cruel) for doing so. I know that I'm doing the right thing for my boys though and that they're healthy and happy indoors.

Sadie is an indoor-only girl. When spring came, I contemplated bringing her into the backyard for some fresh air, but I decided against it (I didn't want the potential flea/tick problem). I thought she'd complain (Ocicats are notorious for letting you know when they're not happy with you), but she seems quite content admiring the outdoors from inside the house.

I have an outdoor enclosure my cats can go in. I didnt feel right denying my cats fresh air and sunshine. I know when I step outside on a sunny day my mood changes for the better. I also know letting cats roam is not good for many many reasons. Building this enclosure was not expensive and the best thing I have ever done for my cats.

Indoor only here too. I have cages to let them get out side for fresh air, and I have been trying to leash train a couple of them. But they are not allowed o be out side by them selves, I used to have out door kitties untill I got sick of them getting hit by a car, or dissapearing, so now indoors for any cats I have

Indoor only. We have leashed them a couple of times and they did enjoy it, but didn't walk on a leash like a dog. We have thought of making an outside enclosure for them to play out in the fresh air, but I think we would rather play it safe and not have them get used to the outside noises and smells, as then they seem to want to run out if a door is opened. I wouldn't want to have one of our kitties, really enjoy the outdoors, and think they could go out whenever they wanted.
We have a couple of adults that ride in a front carrier, (like a baby) strapped to us, and they go to Petsmart with us. I also have taken them to catshows like that.
I don't agree with allowing a cat to be indoors/outdoors or outdoors only. I would say there are exceptions, when the cat is completely feral and refuses to come inside. There are too many dangers for our kitties outdoors.

I have 3 indoors only & 8 outdoor only cats. Twitch, Lily, & Ophie are all indoors all the time. Twitch & Lily go outside on a leash every once in awhile, but I keep Ophie inside all the time as I do not know how she will react(former feral-ish cat). Then I have the 8 outdoors cats: Fafeena, Slinky, Goat-head(she heads-butts when showing affection), Tabitha, Billy Bob, Tony, Sandy-Paws, & Cow. There is my traveling circus as well, but I do not count them as mine unless they spend 4 or more days a week at my house(none do-I see them about 1x a week). The outdoor cats were kept in the garage in the winter & let out for romps when I could supervise. Now that warm summer has come, they spend more time outside. I have worked out a system with the guys who farm around us. They will call & let me round up the kitties & shut them in the garage when they will be coming in & out, or else they will round them up themselves.

I don't live on a busy road, so it is relatively safe for the outdoor kitties to be outdoors.

Harley is an indoors kitty!

We do take him outside on his leash on nice days on our patio, or play in the grass, but I would never just let him out by himself. I don't think he'd ever come back, honestly!

Mine are indoor/outdoor. I have one older cat who goes NUTS if she can't go out and go hunting (we have a wooded ravine behind our house in our neighborhood, before that we had acreage), one who terrorizes the others when she can't go out, one who doesn't really care one way or the other, and one who stays in all day, and then might go out after dark for an hour or two, and then right back in. We have a fenced yard with a dog, and the cats know that's where to go if they're scared. For the most part, they don't go far at all (I have a good idea who goes where because sometimes they follow us on our walks, and go back to the house and wait for us when we go too far for them. The hunter goes the furthest, the 2 hr cat never goes ). They are always called in for the night, and, 98 times out of a hundred they come. They also have to stay in if it's going to storm, and they ALWAYS come in when the coyotes are going to be cutting through (don't have to do much calling then- they know it's time to come in before dark, and they know long before we do when that is, infrequent as they are). And since I am a stay at home mom (and before was a stay at home wife), they go in and out all day long, to eat or nap or use the litterbox .

Personally, I think it just depends on your cat; what makes them happy and you not miserable. My best friend had a cat door to a screened in porch for her cats where they could watch the squirrels and birds on the birdfeeder- two cats were happy as they could be, the third HAD to go out, even though he was fixed early and had been raised an indoor cat with the other two. My oldest cat would have had a miserable life if I made her stay in, even though she was an indoor cat until she was almost full size (as were all of them) and none of my cats went out until they were almost grown and asked to go out, and then we supervised them outside for a long time afterwards.

My three are indoor only cats. I am too afraid of the dangers outside and the increased risk of disease. They were all strays when I got them, but they have adjusted well to life as house cats. It is a lot easier to act tough when a stray cat or neighbor's cat wanders into your backyard when there's a patio door between you and the visitor.

My seven are indoor only. Two go out on leash, the other five like to stay in.

indoor only !!

Inddor only, or short, supervised trips out to our safely enclosed patio.

mostly indoor... They both go out to the secured back yard... All my cats have been indoor /outdoor ... If I get another I will do what I have always done ... indoor only for 6 months to a year, then allowed on harnesses and leads then allowed in the backyard on there own... Zoey was supposed to break the cycle but she got out back and insists on it now

Trout stays indoors. I would worry my head off if she went outside.

My two are indoor/outdoor cats. I would prefer for them to stay in all of the time but they were feral when I got them, so they enjoy the outdoors. My lil Katie comes in before dark and stays in all night, she is so afraid of the dark and the unknown. Blackie comes and goes, some time in and some time out. They both love the outdoors and cry to go out. Since I am home with them all the time now, they can come in and go out as they please. I would prefer them to stay in all the time, but I don't forsee that happening any time soon. I'll keep working on it!!

Paulena

Indoor only. It would be highly unwise of me to let them roam the streets of Chicago unsupervised. All 3 are leash trained, but only Leo really ENJOYS going out.