If you still do it, why do you allow your cat to free roam?

[TreacherousPissFlap]

To be clear, we had cats all through my childhood and early adulthood and they were always free to come and go as they pleased.

I've just seen yet another post on the local FB page of a cat being run over. Now we don't live in a massively built up area or have particularly fast or busy roads, but every day there is at least one post about cats that are either missing or have been run over.

DCat is the love of DH's life and doesn't leave the garden. She's naturally lazy, we have 8ft high walls and we've actively discouraged her going out. She wears a tracker in case she does make a bid for freedom but she doesn't really seem bothered (she was a stray from the RSPCA and had clearly been a much loved house cat that had managed to get out and get lost, so I think that maybe plays a part in her being such a homebody) She's therefore easy to manage and hasn't required a catio or additional fencing, although I absolutely would do that now if she was more determined.

I'm certain my previous cats have decimated the local wildlife and shat in my neighbours gardens and I'm a bit WTF that I ever thought that was ok. Personally the risks now feel too great to allow my cat to free roam so any future models I have will also be confined to barracks.

Ive just cleaned up cat shit from my front garden and it got me thinking, why do people still allow it and will you continue to do so when you have new cats?

I know of more and more people keeping their cats indoors. I don’t personally agree with it, and I would only get a cat if I lived away from a main road. I say that as someone who’s lost a cat that way - I’d rather they had a shorter but happier life.

However, what does make me think is that most people I know with indoor cats got them because a dog was too big of a commitment with arranging care, etc. But these people also leave their cat alone for long stretches with no company.

Is that not as bad as leaving a dog cooped up all day (minus the toileting issues)?

Cats are social. It is wrong. Either let them out or do not keep them.

I hate catios too, it’s teasing!

My cat is a small breed (Singapura) and I feared he’d get bullied by other cats in the neighbourhood so we set up a ‘3mtr x 3mtr wired area and we sit in it with him. Sometimes he put him on a harness and let him wander around on a long lead when we’re working in the garden. The breeder said he was an indoor cat, we got him just after covid and after being stuck indoors I couldn’t bear for him not to have fresh air. I’m hoping to move to a smaller garden where I can put these round https://purrfectfence.co.uk - hoping of course that I don’t wake up to a garden full of cats that have jumped in and can’t get out!

Thats what cats do. Roam around. Its not easy keeping a cat in when their natural instinct is to want to go out. Cats used to be kept for killing vermin so performed a valuable function. Now lots of people think cats should suddenly be made to change their behaviour.

Life would be very dull if I couldn't stroke the local cats when we pass on the pavement.

My cat is 15 she goes out when she wants. She only really goes in our garden or will sit on the front and “people and cat” watch. I’d never keep her in, it’s cruel

I love this! Our little black cat is well known on our street and goes all over - I often hear the neighbours children playing with him 😂

Just my opinion. I think if you can't allow an animal to act fully on its urges and instincts, it shouldn't be kept as a pet. Difficult to hear, but is it really? As we gain experience in life (so get older), we have epiphanies and become enlightened (so more civilised).. as you have with the realisation that disturbing your neighbours wasn't acceptable, so I wonder if you will eventually realise that trapping a cat in your house is not okay.

Not sure how I feel about fully domesticated animals being trapped. Dogs might be okay if there are at least two of them so they have company and someone who speaks their language. And if they're walked every single day for at least an hour or longer - not for the exercise, of course, for the enjoyment factor.

Interesting read, thanks OP.
We have lost 6 cats in the last 10 years, most of which I blame in some form or other to going out. So i have been musing that when these last two go I may stick to indoor only in future. But with so many people agreeing that quality of life is more important than quantity I think it may swing me the other way.
Of course so much depends on where you live, and the individual nature of the cat. We had one who we literally picked up off the street who chose to stay in the house from then on except for a wander on the patio if it was a sunny enough day!

Because that’s what cats love to do. They’re very territorial and it’s beneficial for their health and wellbeing to be able to explore their territory and satisfy their natural instincts. When I adopted my cat it was specifically stated in the adoption agreement that he must have unfettered access to the outdoors. I live rurally so he has a great time roaming about.

We live in a terrace with normal garden fences and a cat which likes to go outside. We'll be moving soon to a house with high walls and I doubt the cat will get out of the garden. Moving to a bigger and more expensive house which therefore has a secure garden doesn't make me a better person. We live in a cul-de-sac which the cat doesn't venture beyond so traffic isn't really an issue and the cat shit/birds situation is just part of life, surely. We have moved problems with fox shit where I am.

How cruel. The RSPCA advise against using harnesses and leads on cats as they need to be in control of their environment which they are not if walked like a dog.

Also, all the house cats I've known that weren't elderly have been mad. It's really not a fair way to keep them.

A neighbour has an indoor cat. They're strict about not letting it out the backdoor. However, it escapes their upstairs windows every so often and I see it walking along the terrace roofs, peeking over the edges, before they call it in. I swear one day it'll try and jump down and there'll be a poor fatally injured cat on my patio.

No, it is not fair to the cat. It is for the convenience of the person.

Oh really 🙄 Fortunately for both me and my cat we take no notice of the shambles that is the RSPCA.

What would be cruel is not allowing my BLIND cat any fresh air or the opportunity to walk safely outside.

I disagree about the RSPCA, but fair enough if your cat is blind and much as I detest catios one would be a better option.

A catio would not be suitable, but thanks for your unwanted input about my cat’s specific needs that you nothing about 🙄