Do you keep your cat(s) in at night?

[Hookedoncatnip]

Just that really. I do. I just wondered what others do. I would feel very unsettled if mine was out all night.

[Aprilmightbemynewname]

Our 2 only eat at 10 pm and they stay in after that.
Though I know at least 1 of them has an alternate food source!! Fat buggar!!

[dementedpixie]

Yes they are in at night. They spend most of it asleep

[DramaAlpaca]

Nope. Completely free range cat here, who comes in & out as he pleases. Rural area.

[Addy2]

Yep. Can take a while to get her to come in though. Precise time depends on when we're going to bed.

[TuTru]

I do.

[Kursk]

Very rural area, we try to get her in at night but she doesn’t always come in. It worries me because other cats have been eaten by the wildlife around here.

[YetAnotherSpartacus]

April - that cat simply can't be comfortable...

[delilabell]

We keep ours in at night. To be fair she only goes as far as the patio furniture but there's always that night once a year when she decides to go awol !

[WhoKnowsWhereTheW1neGoes]

Yes, we switch the catflap to in only during the evening. They rarely have to be called in, they mostly like to laze on the sofa in the evenings.

[happymummy12345]

I prefer them in. But if they're not there then there's not much we can do.

[Hookedoncatnip]

@april I love those stripes! Looks as if s/he has very long legs in that photo.

My cat is about 18 months and although our road is fairly quiet I much prefer her to be in. She, however, has other ideas. My DH came home late the other night and crouched as he came in the door so as to avoid Dcat getting out only for her to jump over him. Cue him spending 30 mins trying to lure her back in with treats before ringing me to come and sort it out. I was in bed. Hopefully none of the neighbours have CCTV of me looking dishevelled in my pyjamas trying to 'kidnap' my cat!

[Cheeseandapple]

Both of mine come and go as they please but mainly choose to be at home. They pop out every now and again for the loo of if I'm outside. They tend to sleep on our bed though so I don't think they go out much at night.

[Cheeseandapple]

Why do people bring them in at night?

[JoandMax]

Mostly out at night, she does as she pleases! If she’s in she’s shut in the kitchen as otherwise wakes the whole house up with yowling at 4am........

[Scribblegirl]

Ours is in at night, catflap gets shut when the sun goes down (or, in winter, when we get home). He's the very definition of crepuscular - likes to be out hunting at breakfast and teatime, and spends much of the middle of the day and night sleeping. I'm glad he shows no interest staying out after dark - we are in an area that has seen activity from the M25 cat killer so really don't like him being out at night. The downside is that we are up very early in the Summer due to his breakfast hunting ways...

[lubeybooby]

mine are in at night now because I found a microchip catflap to be unreliable, they won't wear collars so can't have a magnetic one and so now they have a normal cat flap

This means other cats occasionally try to come in and we don't want to be woken at 3 am by a cat fight with one of ours defending their territory. So the cat flap is only open and in use through the daytime when one of us is always here to help out if any invaders try it on

[theunsure]

Yes, all 3 are in at night - they don't know any different though as it has always been this way.

Statistically they are much more likely to come to harm at night according to the cat charities. e.g being run over etc.

Ours can't wait to snuggle up in bed so they are definitely happy in!

[oxcat1]

I do, both with these two cats and with the pair I had before.

I am simply aware that cats are most likely to get run over during the night, and I would prefer not to take that chance as I am very urban. They are free-range throughout the day, but the cat flap is on a timer and shut from 2000 to 0700. They tend to sleep and eat when they cant go out!

[Addy2]

@cheeseandapple I don't have a cat flap and don't like the idea of her being locked out for eight hours or so. Also, she's entirely black. She does have a reflective collar, but that's no guarantee.

[MinaPaws]

No. DCat has a magnetic catflap so he can go out catting and then come in and clean his muddy paws on our pillows/in our hair. But I would if we had no cat flap. I'd never shut him out at night. Occasionally he gets shut in the kitchen if we're knackered and need unbroken sleep as he wakes us a few times every night for a cuddle.

[VickieCherry]

Yes, I tend to shut them in somewhere between 9 and 10pm. Male cat likes to be out in the evening but is almost always happy to come back for food after a few calls (just the occasional evening standing out calling and shaking the cat food until the early hours in midsummer!). Female cat rarely ventures further than the patio, and prefers to spend the evenings on the arm of the sofa in meditation.

My mum always kept our family cats in at night, and I've simply carried that on. Statistically they are more likely to come to harm, and there are a lot of cat fights around our area at night - I would be up and rushing out if I knew one of mine was out.

I also keep them in on dark winter mornings until the sun is up - don't trust bleary-eyed drivers to spot them in the dark.

[Want2beme]

Mine are kept in. One of mine is pretty much a house cat, so she'd always be in at night anyway. Other one is an in & out cat & I get her in around 10pm, but I know she'd love to be out during the night.

[Rudgie47]

Yes both in at night.

[corcaithecat]

No, I'm rural and they come and go as they please via cat flaps. In the summer months, they spend most of the days and nights outside and in the wintry months, they're in about 23 hours a day. When I lived in a town, I used to lock my old cat in at night as I was worried he'd get beaten up by the mean moggies or run over.

[madsiemoomoo]

We've had a number of cat killings in the area at night, so yes ours come in when we go to bed. They sleep all night and then start scratching at the bedroom door at the exact time my DP gets up for work