Indoor or outdoor cats just a question

[esrandall2000]

Originally Posted by ink

I know people think, well the cat used to live outside and now he is crying pitifully, so it must be cruel to keep him in. But sometimes, for their safety, we can't let them have what they want. If a child whines and cries and throws a fit because they want to go play in the street, are you going to let them because its cruel not to? If your dog howled pitifully at the fence because he wanted to chase cars, would you let him out of the yard because it was cruel to keep him in the yard when he so desperately wants to get out and chase those cars?

What it boils down to, is that cats don't think of what might happen to them. They don't understand the possibilities. They don't understand that there are some humans that are cruel and twisted. They don't look at the road and think, "I could get hit by a car if I cross that". Its our job to think of these things and protect them from it in the same way we think of them and protect young children from them.

You go girl!!!!

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by ink

I know people think, well the cat used to live outside and now he is crying pitifully, so it must be cruel to keep him in. But sometimes, for their safety, we can't let them have what they want. If a child whines and cries and throws a fit because they want to go play in the street, are you going to let them because its cruel not to? If your dog howled pitifully at the fence because he wanted to chase cars, would you let him out of the yard because it was cruel to keep him in the yard when he so desperately wants to get out and chase those cars?

What it boils down to, is that cats don't think of what might happen to them. They don't understand the possibilities. They don't understand that there are some humans that are cruel and twisted. They don't look at the road and think, "I could get hit by a car if I cross that". Its our job to think of these things and protect them from it in the same way we think of them and protect young children from them.

Well Said!!!

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by bens_slave

Since the move I have noted he's become notable depressed and taking his frustration out on the sofa, it could be that he's missing the dog or more likely Ben is missing the great outdoors, I am currently researching products which may relieve his boredom

All he needs is his own furniture to scratch and climb and jump on (cat tree) and daily interactive Game time with you.

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Many times but due to the wonderful membership and mods, they are reported and deleted before the general membership even sees them. Some have been horrific and have caused nightmares.

.

Yes, and I am eternally grateful to the moderators on this site for protecting the rest of us. It one of the reasons I have turned down every request I have gotten to be a moderator on a pet forum

What I've seen I will never get over. I don't care to see any more, ever.

 

[auntie crazy]

Bens_slave, check out this post that Otte put together listing a ton of creative and fun games for you and your kitty... Post# 27 & 28. Enjoy!

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by Ruthyb

The main question is why do you prefer indoor cats and what are your main reasons?

My reason is 100 percent directly related to safety and health.
My cat is more likely to live longer. As she will not be harassed/chased/injured/killed by loose dogs, tom cats, or bored children, not be stolen, and be exposed to near as much infection, worms, and disease as an outside kitty would be. My kitty is protected from the elements all of the time and kept comfortable, dry, and warm, and very loved.

 

[ldg]

Originally Posted by yayi

Not sure if I agree. I've watched mine while they're "playing" outside and they sure remind me of lions and tigers on the prowl.

Yes, but that's just it. They "remind" us of tigers and lions on the prowl. The fact of the matter is that cats have been a domesticated animal for around 10,000 years. Felis Catus that is not of a specific breed gene pool is "domestic short hair" or "domestic long hair." !!!!! They have a symbiotic relationship with humans, and while they can be great at surviving on their own, they continue time and again to worm their way into our hearts, our lives and our homes, because it is their nature to do so. They are independent animals, but they live with humans, and thus we can decide to protect them. They can be perfectly happy indoors. I'm not sad at all that ours don't go out.

The only reason that cats in the wild need a lot of space is hunting territory. They hunker down in very small spaces to sleep or raise kittens. The feral mom that raised four of the kittens that now live with us had them in a groundhog den. Cats do not require space - they require ACTIVITY. So we make sure they have LOTS of vertical space, enabling a lot of activity. They have their own furniture, and they get lots of stimulation - we make sure they do. They're happy and safe, and we don't have to worry about cars, foxes, poison, sick people, ticks, fleas, parasites - and all the diseases they carry - or injuries or attacks from other animals, and the disease and threats those pose.

The only issue is caring enough to make sure they have what they need.

BTW - we live in an RV - it is 38 feet long and 8 feet wide. We have 7 cats and two people.

Every single one of our cats was rescued from outside. Almost all of them would be dead if we didn't rescue them. Lazlo would have died of a urinary tract blockage, as would have Shelly. Tuxedo would have died of an unknown autoimmune disease that is similar to feline hemolytic anemia. Flowerbelle was almost dead when rescued from herpes infection that made her deaf and lose an eye, and she would have "drowned" from being so severely infested with lung worm she could no longer breathe. Billy would have died of his giardia infection/infestation, and Ming Loy would have starved to death if left on her own because she's physically handicapped (but she never had the chance because she was tied up in a baggie and thrown away). Spooky is the only one that may have made it - at least this long - on her own.

 

[oodlesofpoodles]

I will only every have indoor only cats. When i was a child living at home we had a total of 3 cats. Delilah was the oldest then Lynx, then later Harley.

Sometimes Lynx would get outside and no one would chase him down...needless to say, he died from being hit by a car at only 3 years old. After that my parents got me harley. Harley was my shadow. he was inlove with me and the best cat id ever known. After we moved into a house he and Delilah would both get outside...and again...not be chased down (accept by me) After a while they got used to being indoor outdoor cats. Delilah didnt live through the first summer...we dont even know HOW she died. only that she was found dead in our yard at only 7 years old. A year later harley came home from being outside...poisoned, and ALSO died, only 4 years old. I was broken hearted over all of them...but esp harely. Now that I am the adult and the cats are soley MINE they do not go outside. Fae got out one time when i was not home (i have no clue how, my sister was home at the time) But didnt leave the bushes. I found her and she hasnt gone outside since. Sebastian was my aunts cat and sometimes was allowed on her deck, but he wont be allowed outside anymore. I wont take those chances again.

I guess basically ive just had bad experiances with having indoor outdoor cats. I feel safer with them only inside.

 

[ruthyb]

My mum has 5 cats all outdoor and indoor, her youngest cat is 12 and her oldest cat is 21 !!! She doesn't live in a rural area and there are cars about, I guess she has just been lucky, I am trying hard with Floss to keep her indoors, my other 4 you couldn't make them outdoor cats if you wanted as they are too lazy and sleep on my bed all day

 

[mrsdolittle]

my kitty prince is a flat cat- well not literally obviously! i live in a basement flat that has an outside area which he cannot leave unless he becomes a super cat and can jump up a very high wall (he is only young so I will have to keep an eye as he gets older lol), so princey gets the best of both worlds, he gets to play in the warm and dry, snuggle up on th sofa, thieve food out of my sons lunch box if he's really mischievous and i dont shut the bag quickly enough(!) but he also gets the fresh air up his little nose and the chance to run around outside. I wouldnt ever like him to go out in the big wide world simply because of the dangers of cars and buses (I live very near to a main road) and I have the fear he would never return. Personally I think each to their own what ever suits you and your kitty is the best way to be.

Hugs all xxx

 

[catnurse22]

Working as a vet tech I've seen what outside kitties can get in to. Abscesses, infectious disease (ie FIV/FELV), human cruelty, dog attack, hit by a car, ingesting poison, etc.,etc. I'm just not willing to take the risk with my three. Now of course there will always be those outside cats that live to the healthy age of 20, but there's far too many that get their lives cut short.

Plus, I live by a very busy street right now. But even if I lived in a low traffic area, I still wouldn't let them out I don't think. My three have never lived outside (except Harvey and Danny who were feral kittens, but that was only for the first month or two of their lives). And they are not the brightest bulbs in the boxes so I know none of them could hack it,

.

 

[tara g]

Growing up, my kitties were always indoor/outdoor. When we adopted Katina & Monte, they went out on leashes & harnesses until they were fixed, then went out on their own on 1.5 acres of land - usually staying in their property lines. Monte ventured off to the road and was killed. Katina still goes out at my in-laws, but she rarely moves outside our yard (behind theirs) and their most rear part of the yard. She's a scaredy cat anyway.

My three that live with us are strictly indoors unless on a leash and harness. I never want to go through having a cat killed by a car again. Once was enough! I know my 3 curious boys would probably cover miles of exploration

 

[dilly]

I keep all of our guys in because we live in country, and theres coyotes around, and we don't really very far from the road, and I'm afraid they will get run over. They are too special to take a chance of letting them out.

 

[johnny gsx-r]

I'm going to disagree with most i have read regarding keeping them in. OK, here in the UK we don't have the same number of predators but cats are outdoor critters by nature, they love to hunt, climb, hide, explore etc.
'Puddles' loves to go out every morning for a couple of hours in the sun , rain, snow or whatever, he spends most of the day on my bed asleep then goes out around 7pm until midnight ish.
He has done this since being 5 months old and comes home everytime i call him.
Maybe i am wrong here but if he lives until 5yrs then he's had a very very happy exciting 5yrs and not a simple existence on a couch.
He has a rabbit hutch on the garden with an igloo bed, water bowl etc for him to shelter if i have to pop out.
No way would i force him to stay in nor would i force him to go out.

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by Johnny GSX-R

I'm going to disagree with most i have read regarding keeping them in. OK, here in the UK we don't have the same number of predators but cats are outdoor critters by nature, they love to hunt, climb, hide, explore etc.
'Puddles' loves to go out every morning for a couple of hours in the sun , rain, snow or whatever, he spends most of the day on my bed asleep then goes out around 7pm until midnight ish.
He has done this since being 5 months old and comes home everytime i call him.
Maybe i am wrong here but if he lives until 5yrs then he's had a very very happy exciting 5yrs and not a simple existence on a couch.
He has a rabbit hutch on the garden with an igloo bed, water bowl etc for him to shelter if i have to pop out.
No way would i force him to stay in nor would i force him to go out.

Wild cats are outdoor critters by nature. Cats have been domesticated for thousands of years.

You'd be satisfied to have your cat's life snuffed out at five years? Not to mention the manner of the death is beyond your control. Interesting point of view.

My cats climb and run and hunt and pounce and play, all in the safety of their home. It's called interactive play.

 

[lizita]

"Maybe i am wrong here but if he lives until 5yrs then he's had a very very happy exciting 5yrs and not a simple existence on a couch."

Cats can live happy, fulfilled lives inside too without the risk of suffering that the outside poses. I do think, like you, that cats do get a lot of enjoyment out of being outside, some anyway, and maybe it is natural but unfortunately the world around them is not. Cats are not wild animals. they are domesticated and "made" to live around humans in a human world. Streets, cars, antifreeze spills and cruel kids is what meets cats out there and as long as that's the reality it's not possible for cats to live even remotely safely outside.

I had two cats when I was little that were indoor/outdoor cats. Before they hit 18 months both cats had been hit by cars. One died, the other took months to recover and his broken leg healed wrong causing him to not be able to bend it. After this the remaining cat became an indoor cat and lived safely and happy until he was nineteen.

All my cats are strictly indoors. Two of them, however, are very eager to go outside so in order to satisfy them they get to go outside on a harness and a 30 foot leash in the yard a few times a week for a couple of hours at a time. They are perfectly content with this solution. They can sit around and eat grass, chase each other around the yard, chase bugs and explore. In my opinion this is a pretty good solution. They get to be outside but won't get out in the street, get into poisons, run into irresponsible dog owner's loose dogs and I can keep a close eye on them when they are outside. Maybe this could be a solution Puddles too?

 

[otto]

My cats are harness trained too, but not because I felt they needed to be outside. I work so much, but I like to garden too. With so little home time I felt very bad spending time out in my gardens, when the cats really needed my attention. So I put up a six foot fence with an overhang, harness trained the cats I had then, and those who have come since.

They wear their harnesses and a length of lightweight poly rope that they drag behind them.

I never ever let them out unattended, but now I can putter in my yard and the cats can be with me.

None of them ever ask to go out, or try to bolt, or show any interest in trying to get out at all, except when I pick up the harnesses and say "you want to go out?"

Oh, and one other thing, I see a lot people saying that their cat must be pining to go out because he sits in the window. A cat looking out a window does not mean he wants to go out. It means he enjoys looking out the window! (especially if there are birds or squirrels at the feeders!)

 

[butzie]

Originally Posted by Dusty's Mom

Indoor kitties live longer. Outdoors is a dangerous place for cats - cars, dogs, coyotes and other wild animals, fear of getting trapped inside a garage or stuck in a tree. Then there are the problem with fleas and other parasites, as well as diseases they can catch.

I believe that all kitties should be indoor cats. But having said that, I confess that my oldest cat is an indoor/outdoor cat because she was a neighborhood stray when she adopted us. There is no way we can convert her to indoor only, though I am going to try my best when we move in a few weeks.

My number one cardinal rule for cats that go outside is to bring them in at night! That is the most dangerous time for cats to be wandering around because that is when the predators are hunting for a meal.

My second rule for outdoor cats is put a collar on them with a nametag and your telephone number. That will discourage anyone else from "adopting" them and will provide a way to reach you should your animal be found by someone else. A microchip is also a good idea, though don't chip without a nametag and phone number.

My other cat is indoor only. She has never been outside and has no desire to go out. She still has a collar and nametag with my cell phone number on it, just in case she escapes somehow.

I am in the same boat. My first cat ever was a stray male who adopted me when I fed him (ya think!) Brownie was mostly an outdoor cat. I had him fixed and took him to the vet, he came in every morning for some loving and food and sometimes spent the night with me. Actually, he was the purrfect starter cat because I became a cat person because of the wonderful way he was.

Well, Brownie didn't come home for 2 weeks and I knew he had passed. He was 13 + which is fairly old for an outdoor kitty.

So, I go to the shelter because at this point I can't live without a cat (a few years ago). I want another black male cat, not kitten, and the shelter personnel are just about falling over me. Well, I got Butzie, female torty tabby. She was obviously someone's pet as she had been spayed and was very friendly. Butzie could not leave the shelter unless she had a chip and I agreed that she be an indoor kitty. No problem, I said.

Ha! Tell your adopted kitty who must have been indoor/outdoor that she can't go out and I will tell you a family who is going to need earplugs! Anyway, I constantly work with Butz on staying inside and because of some personal things happening in my life she is really staying indoors a great deal of the time.

So, bottom line. We get our kitties from shelters to save them. Some of them have been indoor/outdoor kitties before. We have to deal with that, and just try to keep them indoor more and more and love them so they don't want to go out.

Oh! Calling "Treatsies!" to Butzie works well, too.

 

[nekochan]

All my cats are indoor only because they live longer and are healthier that way.
There are too many dangers outside and I would feel so horrible if one of my cats was injured or killed, or even worse if they vanished and I never knew what happened to them.

A friend of mine now has two cats with Feline Leukemia, one of her cats was missing for a month and apparently caught the disease from a stray or feral. She eventually found him and got him back home. Unfortunately she did not have him tested, and he gave the disease to her other cat so now they both have it.


Some of the dangers out there:

-Cars: could hit them or if it is cold some cats will climb under the hood to keep warm and can be injured/killed when the car is started.

-Feral cats: They can be injured or killed in a fight, or could catch a disease such as FIV, FelV or FIP.

-Dogs

-Parasites such as heartworms, tapeworms, ticks and fleas. Fleas and ticks can also transmit some serious diseases.

-People: Some people will purposefully try to trap, hurt, or kill cats.

-Poison: In my city they put out poison for rats, but cats might also eat poisonous plants or drink antifreeze or get into other household poisons (such as in a garage or backyard.)

-Trapping: Cats are curious and will often enter sheds, garages, basements etc... If they are accidentally shut in they may die by dehydration or starvation. They may also get trapped in other areas like drains, sewers, empty swimming pools or window wells and not be able to escape.

-Hawks: I've heard of them going after cats and small dogs. I've seen a hawk eating a possum in the alley behind my house. They might not be able to kill a cat but they could cause a serious injury.

-Coyotes and foxes: I live in the 3rd largest city in the US, and we have coyotes/foxes all over (there was a multi-year study recently which estimated there are between several hundred and several thousand coyotes in Chicago.) I once saw a large fox saunter down the sidewalk in front of my house. A woman was walking her poodle in a mall parking lot ON LEASH when a coyote grabbed the 20-pound dog. Luckily she was able to fight it off, although the dog was injured. This happened a mile from my house.

 

[ruthyb]

Originally Posted by Johnny GSX-R

I'm going to disagree with most i have read regarding keeping them in. OK, here in the UK we don't have the same number of predators but cats are outdoor critters by nature, they love to hunt, climb, hide, explore etc.
'Puddles' loves to go out every morning for a couple of hours in the sun , rain, snow or whatever, he spends most of the day on my bed asleep then goes out around 7pm until midnight ish.
He has done this since being 5 months old and comes home everytime i call him.
Maybe i am wrong here but if he lives until 5yrs then he's had a very very happy exciting 5yrs and not a simple existence on a couch.
He has a rabbit hutch on the garden with an igloo bed, water bowl etc for him to shelter if i have to pop out.
No way would i force him to stay in nor would i force him to go out.

I too am from the UK and I just think that overe here there are less risks for outdoor cats, there is not so many wild animals roaming around. I have 5 cats, 4 of them are indoor apart from going out when nature calls and then straight back in again but that is because they are lazy

I posted erlier in the thread about Floss my cat who is a fmale but she is like a tom cat and hardly ever in. I have tried to keep her in but I cannot stand to see her cry and get so upset, she is 4 and has come to no harm yet, the front of our house is on a road that has quite alot of cars using it but I never let my ats out the front, our back backs on to fields. I always get lovely "gifts" from Floss-mice, rats, birds and her avourite is frogs-live though. I posted this thread but I didn't realise just how different and dangerous it was for outside cats in the US compare to here. However you choose to have your cat for their own safety is entirely your decision and nobody should criticise that. I think we are all guilty on hee of spoiling our kitties rotten.x