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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want my cat to stay indoors for a very silly reason?

207 replies

monkeysafari · 18/09/2012 12:54

I have a 4 month old kitten. My partner wants to let her out soon. I really don't want to let her out at all, ever. Why? Because I don't want her bringing home dead, or living, birds/mice etc.

Is it really wrong to keep a cat inside? Do they have to go out??

OP posts:
SecretNutellaFix · 18/09/2012 19:33

Mine have been house cats since kittenhood and they are 9 years old now.

They sometimes go outside to the very secure back yard in summer when I go out there, but generally they show no desire to investigate.

Mellower · 18/09/2012 19:37

Wow I'm proper moody I was getting in a right strop about cats there.... Hmm

sunflowerseeds · 18/09/2012 19:54

I've lived with cats all of my life and have only had 1 which was a real hunter and he didn't bring his victims indoors. It's not true that all cats kill things all the time.
If your cat lives indoors, how do you bear to never open windows and doors in fine weather?

Mellower · 18/09/2012 19:58

Oh I have my windows open, just now as much I would like them to Smile and it's only my male cat who used to live outisde when I bred cats who wants to go out all the time, as I said, he has his run though he can go out their when he wants. Or when I want to open windows further. Grin

Randomchocolatebiscuit · 18/09/2012 20:46

I've got two cats. One is a fair-weather cat who prefers a comfy double bed and has never hunted. The other is a mouse-murdering killing machine who deposits live mice on the living room floor then eats them whole. you can hear the bones crunching and everything
Saves on whiskas

Freshletticiaandslugs · 18/09/2012 21:35

4 months is too young. She should be vaccinated and spayed before you let her out otherwise she will come back with more small creatures than you bargained for.

susitwoshoes · 18/09/2012 22:10

we live in a city. We have foxes in our garden. Never stopped our cats from being outside. It's a terraced house with no side access so they have never been out in the street. And my mum's outdoor cat has just died at the ripe old age of 18. Some of the reasons being given here for keeping cats inside are utter rubbish.

seeker · 18/09/2012 22:24

It is incredibly selfish to keep cats indoors. It's all about the needs of the owner, not the needs of the cat.

And as for this "signing a contract" that says they have to be house cats- what are they going to do, sue you?

crazynanna · 18/09/2012 22:28

I do let my cat out at times..but I admit it is my fear of the foxes..probably not my cat's fears.I have been opening the door in the good weather,and she goes under the fence to next door,and I completely panic until she comes back. I know it's silly...she is probably more than capable of looking after herself...but if anything happened to her...oh God...

midori1999 · 18/09/2012 22:46

I would love to let my indoor cat out, although being in a city now near busy roads I wouldn't. However, as a breed it is recognised that they are better off indoors as they will not protect themselves and are so easy going/trusting that they can easily get hurt if they go out. Plus, she was already 18 months old when we got her and had never been out. She's certainly not in the house for my benefit, but she is happy and healthy.

I took on a kitten as company for her, but although she had been kept in from when we had her, when she got older it became obvious she wasn't happy to stay indoors and so when we moved to the city my neighbour took her on as she already had two rescue cats and there's no traffic risk at all where we lived before.

So, some cats aren't happy to be kept indoors and if they aren't then obviously it's cruel to keep them in. It would be irresponsible to let out a cat that isn't neutered though.

WelshMaenad · 18/09/2012 22:56

It's fairly standard to have a contract when you get animals from a breeder. I have pedigree rats, my contract says I'm not allowed to breed from them, and if I need to rehome them I'm supposed to consult the breeder. Not sure what she would do if I breached it, not that I plan to!

I've just never heard if a 'no outside access' clause fir pedigree kittens. None of the pedigree cat owners I know were subject to it. The only one who does keep cats indoors is my sister, mainly because her house is sandwiched between a railway line and main road.

Latara · 18/09/2012 23:00

Definitely wait for her to be neutered - i think it's done at 5 months usually?
One of my friends let her kitten out before neutering; & she was badly hurt by a tom cat - her insides had to be sewn up, so painful & scary for the kitten & upsetting for my friend.

My cat only goes outside when i'm at home; & stays in at night (lots of foxes round here). She does go into other gardens but luckily the neighbours think she's cute (or at least tolerate her anyway!).

My cat has caught & killed one bird in 5 years. That was a very young sparrow because i'd forgotten to feed her oops.
Her clueless hunting method usually involves: racing into a group of Wood Pigeons with her mouth open - hoping that one will stay put so she can bite it.

Then she gives up & goes off to hunt bully the neighbouring tom cats.

SarahStratton · 18/09/2012 23:02

I had a no outside access clause in FailCat's agreement.

ShavingPrimateRyan · 18/09/2012 23:09

I don't have a cat at the moment but am definitely getting one when I move (hopefully soon). I've had two cats whilst living here, one was killed by the man across the road (bastard Angry) and the other one got run over. I just couldn't do it to myself anymore, next time I do get a cat I will definitely keep it as a house cat as im petrified of something happening to it!

Latara · 18/09/2012 23:12

I hope the man who killed your cat got caught & punished, that's awful :(

StatisticallyChallenged · 18/09/2012 23:56

Midori expressed it better - the contract issue isn't "oh my god the breeder might sue me" it's that certain breeds aren't wise to let out to roam on their own. The people who breed them and who know their breed characteristics best, think they should be indoors and so stipulate this. My VET is 100% in agreement that they should be indoors. And he's a cat only vet!

I have long haired cats that look pretty obviously unusual. There was a ragdoll cat stolen locally just a couple of months ago - it's relatively common, there were also a litter of bengals taken from someone else. It happens with pedigree dogs too.

I have come across cats who are not happy to be indoors, I know some cats have a natural instinct to be outdoors and roaming - but mine do not. I have also lost a cat on the road when I was younger. My domestic set up is such that it would be utterly utterly foolish to let them out - they could literally be run over as soon as they stepped out of the front door.

StatisticallyChallenged · 18/09/2012 23:57

I hope he got punished too Shaving, what a pig.

bobblehead · 19/09/2012 00:30

Its a city by-law where I live (not UK) that cats must not be outdoors off private property unless on a leash.
I have 3, one stays indoors by choice, one rarely leaves the garden and the third is a roamer (and hunter). All equally happy. A neighbourhood friend saw an animal control van the other day though and the workers appeared to be looking around the bushes where she often sees my cat trotting past, so I'm now considering keeping him under house arrest in caes someone has complained about him . I worry all the time when he is out. Lord knows how I'll cope when the kids are teenagers! Grin

fortifiedwithtea · 19/09/2012 00:32

We had a cat with an unknown past. Plenty of broken teeth. She used to bring live mice into our ground floor flat throught the patio door. So no we didn't have a cat flap.

Disclaimer: we didn't intensionly get a cat. The neighbours divorced and the cat chose to move in with us.

mjltigger · 19/09/2012 00:40

personally I think you should have thought about this before getting a cat and right now it may not be too late to consider if you really want the long term hassle and cost (not just financial) of a pet.. but then maybe I'm being too grumpy..Confused

HesAwayAgain · 19/09/2012 01:17

I think cats should be allowed out doors, but perhaps you should wait till it's a bit older? After my 2 old cats died, we got a kitten, who we allowed out from 4 months old. At 9 months old, she was run over and killed. :-( We were gutted. Last year we got 2 more kittens and we've kept those in until they were a year old. They've been going out for the last 3 weeks. So far, they're not going far at all outside. If they wander less far, it will have been worth it. I think that by a year they have better judgement regarding cars... who knows, only time will tell.

I'm also trying to train them to come in at night (they get tempted in by a wet pouch of food).

sashh · 19/09/2012 02:34

If you wanted a house cat you should have got a house cat.

Let the kitten out (get her done too)

whatsonyourplate · 19/09/2012 06:06

PILs have a cat that for various reasons is kept indoors. It's a real PITA when visiting them making sure you don't have a window left open in a room the cat can get into, making sure the kids shut the doors behind them as they go in and out of the house etc.

cybbo · 19/09/2012 06:23

We have two cats which have been allowed out but only when we've been at home , as they hadn't been spayed. They have now, but we don't have anywhere for a cat flap (glass doors at back)and I don't want to leave a wined open as our area rife with burglaries..

Im happy to let them out ( and they love it) but I hate the idea of them being out all day alone while we are at work with no access to anywhere to stay safe and dry...any suggestions?

cybbo · 19/09/2012 06:24

Window open