Inside/outside - am I cruel?

[enuja]

All sides of this debate should drop the "cruelty" thing and leave it out of the conversation.

Fed? Healthy? In control of minute-to-minute location and activities? In an appropriate environment (large enough, comfortable substrate, with vertical space and things to paw it, be they insects, fabric, toys, or other organisms)? Not being treated cruelly.

End of story. Period.

Starved? Cruel.
Festering wounds? Cruel.
Trapped by a toddler and tail being pulled? Cruel.
In a small wire cage that they can't comfortably sit down in? Cruel.
Perpetually alone in a square room with a bare floor, food and water occasionally automatically delivered? Cruel.

In a home, with toys and humans and blankets, or outside with food and shelter, or indoor/outdoor - not cruel. We can debate which is better (I used to say indoor/outdoor, now I say indoor only), but we shouldn't call any of them cruel. They aren't.

 

[pablo]

if i didnt let my cats outside they would destroy my house

 

[wendyr]

But, having said this, it IS a contextual matter. If you're in the UK, no one but NO ONE will judge you for allowing you kitty out - a concept with people in the US really struggle with. It is the 'done' thing in the UK, in the US, it seems to be considered 'cruel' to allow your cats out, not by keeping them in!

This is so true. I live in Ireland right now, but my husband is British and we lived in the UK before we moved here (I am American), and it is very much the done thing to let your cats out (here in Ireland, as well - heck, here in Ireland they just let dogs wander the streets). I don't feel comfortable with it, which is why our cats stay inside, but I have gotten more than my fair share of telling off for keeping them indoors. At the same time, however, a good friend of mine is thinking about getting a cat. He will be living on the top floor of an apartment and he was very concerned about not being able to let the cat outside. Then he saw how well our semi-feral kittens have adjusted to life indoors, and he now has no problem with it. As soon as he moves into the new place, he is getting a kitten!

My husband's cats were always indoor/outdoor cats. They were happy, healthy and almost all of them lived to at least 17. It is a personal choice and you need to do what you feel comfortable with. Some cats would be miserable indoors (my husband's old cat Rosie was one of them), but a lot of cats are perfectly fine with it. Like I said, ours are former feral kittens and they have no desire to go outside whatsoever. Our girl kitten got out of a window once, and as soon as she figured out how to get off our roof, she sat by the front door waiting to be let back in. None of our kittens have tried to get out of the house in the three months we have had them.

 

[helen863]

i think it really depends on the environment.
I was recomended to keep Samson indoors, but ive been seeing the way he looks out that window. I try and keep the house as enriched as i can but I just dont think i can compare to out there. I wouldnt dream of letting him out in the bustling city environment, but we live near a field. The cute terraced houses are absolutly perfect cat environments. I think if he could choose, he would want to be outdoors, but i also knows he loves us and that he would always always choose to come home again afterwards. In fact i think i might just be letting him out for a few hours at a time then calling him in, just so i know he is ok.
He is just waiting on the edge of his seat to get out there! got to watch the windows at all times! Not a chance he is gettin out there till he fits his collar, gotten chipped and neutered!

 

[rockyzeus]

i agree with you a cat does not need to be outside it puts them in a lot of danger and indoor cat is a lot happier and lives a lot longer good luck

 

[clumsy kitty]

Originally Posted by Enuja

All sides of this debate should drop the "cruelty" thing and leave it out of the conversation.

Fed? Healthy? In control of minute-to-minute location and activities? In an appropriate environment (large enough, comfortable substrate, with vertical space and things to paw it, be they insects, fabric, toys, or other organisms)? Not being treated cruelly.

End of story. Period.

Starved? Cruel.
Festering wounds? Cruel.
Trapped by a toddler and tail being pulled? Cruel.
In a small wire cage that they can't comfortably sit down in? Cruel.
Perpetually alone in a square room with a bare floor, food and water occasionally automatically delivered? Cruel.

In a home, with toys and humans and blankets, or outside with food and shelter, or indoor/outdoor - not cruel. We can debate which is better (I used to say indoor/outdoor, now I say indoor only), but we shouldn't call any of them cruel. They aren't.

Amen

 

[mschauer]

Originally Posted by Enuja

All sides of this debate should drop the "cruelty" thing and leave it out of the conversation.

And I'm very happy to see that no one posting in this thread has suggested that either one or the other amounts to cruelty.

 

[beturtlement]

Thank you all for your comments and opinions- it's really put my mind at ease. I was really put off about the whole conversation with my aunt, thinking I was making a blunder in how I "raised" my kitty.

If I lived in a more rural area, I wouldn't be so dead set against it- but I live in central NJ, about twenty minutes outside NYC.. there's way too much traffic and all sorts of other hazards to worry about. Thankfully, Niko doesn't seem too concerned with what's on the other side of the front door. He's never tried to make a mad dash while bringing in groceries or anything of the sort.

On a bit of a different note- when you do let your cat out for the first time (not planning to, but I have always wondered), how do they find their way home? That always made me wonder. Are they more likely to just venture to the yard, and go wandering further only after they're used to it?

 

[rapunzel47]

Originally Posted by beturtlement

Thank you all for your comments and opinions- it's really put my mind at ease. I was really put off about the whole conversation with my aunt, thinking I was making a blunder in how I "raised" my kitty.

If I lived in a more rural area, I wouldn't be so dead set against it- but I live in central NJ, about twenty minutes outside NYC.. there's way too much traffic and all sorts of other hazards to worry about. Thankfully, Niko doesn't seem too concerned with what's on the other side of the front door. He's never tried to make a mad dash while bringing in groceries or anything of the sort.

On a bit of a different note- when you do let your cat out for the first time (not planning to, but I have always wondered), how do they find their way home? That always made me wonder. Are they more likely to just venture to the yard, and go wandering further only after they're used to it?

For me, it's not a case of opening the door and just letting the cat out. Before they are allowed out, there's a functional cat door available, and their first ventures out are closely supervised, until I know they know where the cat door is and how to use it, and I can tell that they also know which house/property is theirs. Most of my cats have been content to stay pretty close to home -- on the back porch or in the garden, and only occasionally venturing outside the gate or onto an adjacent property.