Cat owners - advice please

[Cheesesconesfortonight]

My DD (almost 5) adores cats, she always did. We've recently been abroad to see my mum who lives in the country side in a large house with lots of land around the house who's got 3 cats and a dog and DD was mesmerised. She adored the cats and would love to have one here.

We live in a medium sized house with a small garden near Richmond Park. We don't have the space that my mum's cats have and I do find it dangerous for cats to live outdoors around here, lots of traffic and wildlife at night. I'd worry a lot but I wouldn't want an indoor cat as I think they need to be free and they'd much happier outdoors. Plus we travel a lot on holidays so cat will have to go to a cat sitter.

Cat owners please let me know how do you keep your cats and all the pros and cons about outdoors vs indoor cats. And what else do I need to think about before getting one.

Actually , to be fair to our cats , they have a routine .
Door gets unloacked , breakfast given
They magically present themselves about 1pm for Dreamies
They come in about 8pm for dinner and lock-in (unless Mrd decides to sit out till 2am and ignore all attempts to bring her in )

They use their tray , they will come in pee/pooh and go out
So no shit in anyone elses garden .

The birman welfare and rescue group on Facebook are looking for a home for a Birman who’s always been a house cat, sadly his owner died. Lovely looking cat. He is 11yo but birmans often live to about 20yo.

We have a 15-year-old house cat. She is so happy. She wets herself when she has to go to the vet. She is never outside.

Our little girl says Come And Play With Us
(Her brother is identical )

We have a cat in SW London- spends most of the time outdoors and comes home at night usually. We have a minuscule back yard. Doesn't stray that far- pops into neighbours etc but stays within the same 4 streets or so.
If we go to stay with both sets of parents in the countryside we take him with us and we also have a house near the sea which we go to in the holidays etc and he comes with us then. Goes outside at both places and home comes back no problem.
We put him in a cattery if we go on holiday abroad etc. would leave him for 2 - 3 nights at home on his own and he can come and go as he please.

We have 2 cats.
And they go outside.
We have a blocked in garden and there's no road at the back of us.

We leave a window open and that's how they go in/ out.
But I do bring them in at night.
Foxes and other feral cats do be out.

@Whatsthestoryboringglory

So cute!!

I've heard Maine coons are so trainable

What is the treat toy please.

He's absolutely beautiful!

I have three indoor cats and they are all perfectly happy. We have a cat proof courtyard which they all like to spend some time in; a cat tunnel, scratching posts, balls, catnip toys and feather teaser toys. Cat Three was a stray who I worried would really miss roaming. Nope. He’s loving the indoor life.
if you get a kitten be prepared for their preferred times for high activity to be 10.30 at night and 5.00 in the morning for the first few months.

7os adorable! But Sharp claw's 😂

I prefer to keep my cats indoors at night for safety but my male cat will meow incessantly if he wants to go out.

Worth buying a microchip restricted cat flap to stop neighbourhood cats from sneaking in.

Dreamies...how many do people give?

They are a treat? At the moment I'm giving about 5?

The problem comes when you have an indoor cat which has other ideas. There are non infrequent threads here about 'indoor' cats who have escaped and gone missing. I think therefore you'd be best off looking for an adult who is used to being an indoor cat.

Our latest pair of kittens took every opportunity to try and escape from about three months old. It would have been cruel to keep rhem in.

Seaswallow your cat looks so glamorous? Like she's wearing long black gloves. She needs a diamond necklace.

If you want to allow them out and still be safe then a catio is your answer. Can be as big or small as you like.

Our cats are allowed out during the day but they stay in after dark. That's no guarantee but I figure it reduces the risk of them getting hit by a car. We couldn't keep them in all the time though, too many people coming and going during the day. Someone would be bound to let them sneak out the door by mistake.

There are actually cats that are homebodies and love being indoors all the time. We rescued a little guy from another country where he was free to roam and since joining us he has zero interest in the outdoors - bed, food, love, which he never had, is all indoors, and he ignores the lovely fenced in back garden completely! Contented indoors cats do exist!

Read the packet, I think the manufacturers say only 5 a day as they aren't that good for cats really. Its the human version of chocolate. Yummy but not good.

We got cats about a year ago. Definitely let them out. Changing cat litter is a disgusting job. Budget for insurance and regular flea treatment from the vets. We get people to feed them when we go away. They are quite fickle. They don't miss people, just want feeding. Ours brought in loads of birds but that stopped when we got them bells. I find them a pain and a lot of extra hoovering, but the kids like them.

@Seaswallow
Cat snap! ♥️♥️

@dworky I didn't know about cat proof fencing, sounds like a great idea. I'll look into it x

@Whatsthestoryboringglory

The stench is our biggest challenge with our kitty at the moment!
She's only 14 week's so I think she will be on wet food for a while but I can't deny I'm waiting for the moment we can switch her.

Indoor cat with a catio here , never have to worry about roads and unkind people this way

Agree with PPs, get a rescue then you will know their temperament and the rescue centre can match you up with an already indoor cat.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget I totally get what you are saying 😁, but that's part of their charm? 😁.

I don't think my mum's cats showed my DD any affection whatsoever, yet she is obsessed 😂

We have 2 indoor cats and they seem very happy. Again they've not known any difference. Had them for nearly 4 years since they were kittens. We love fairly close to a main road and wouldn't want them knocked over. We have DC's aged 13 and 8 and they know not to let them out.