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

[monkeysafari]

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??

But all animals are outdoor creatures. I don't see why it matters if it is a carnivore or a herbivore. I would (if I owned any of these animals) keep my dog under control, my rabbit, my goats, my ferrets. Some of these hunt, some don't, but either way I'm responsible for their care and safety and that means not letting them roam free, though I'm sure they'd be very happy to do so.

I realise I'm not going to convince everyone that keeping your cat indoors is better. But it is the choice I think is better, and I think it's absolutely bizarre that people think I'm treating my cats cruelly. It is not cruel. The cats are not bored, staring out the window longingly all day.

They are played with often, sometimes to the point of panting because they are exhausted. They are fed a raw diet for optimal health. I hide food for them in hard to reach places so they have to work to get it. They follow me around the house and poke their noses into whatever I'm doing, which I love. They are clicker trained and can do tricks. They can wear harnesses. One comes into the garden with me on his harness (the other just runs back into the house if I take him out). They are not "dumb fluffy things" that look nice in the house. They are part of the family and I'm interacting with them constantly.

thanks hazelnutt, I will have a look

It's not wrong to keep a cat indoors - they live 50% longer lives indoors.

It's one thing if you live in the countryside, quite another if you've lived on the 5th floor in NYC as well as in central London like I have.

All well and good for country cats (I'd love to let my cat outside) but city cats need to have careful owners.

Did you de-claw your cats Paiviaso?
If not, I'm not talking about your choices for cats that are hapy to be indoors.

If they have to be in an environment sprayed with soothing pheremones and have their claws removed to prevent them form ruinging the environment in which they live, then I am questioning whether you have chosen the right companion animal to add to your family.

It seems to be a worrying and increasingly common thing in the US.

If adopting homeless cats from the Brooklyn street to keep them indoors is "cruel," I'll eat my hat!

If you live in a city then don't have a cat.

^OK, tell that to the gigantic adoption agencies that rescue cats off of city streets every day. Should they be put to death? There aren't enough "kind country people" to take all the homeless cats on their farms!

Ignorance.

As I said upthread, black and white. If you don't live in PerfectFluffySeekerLand then ignore the fact you might be a loving, responsible and experienced pet owner, sit back with your goldfish and try not to think about the thousands of extra cats who will spend their lives in a cat rescue kennel (apparently preferable to having the run of a house / flat and a loving lap to lie on, in PerfectFluffySeekerLand) or who will be put down.

I kept my old cat indoors for the last year or so of her life as she was deaf and had bad arthritis in her hind legs and would be easy prey for the local fox population.
My new boy who i got as a rescue cat has just gone out for his morning chase of squirrels. He came to me after being a stray. He is a huge tom cat as he wasn't neutered until handed in to the rescue centre at around 2 years of age.
He needs to go out and play or he runs riot in the house but after his years as a stray he never goes far and still comes in to use his tray.

Declawing is illegal in the UK under the Animal Welfare Act. Nobody can declaw their cats here, thank god.

It is legal in the US (and when I last lived there, Canada). I'm a member of a few cat forums, and whenever someone from the US brings up declawing, they get absolutely blasted, even by the other American members, so its not wholey accepted. I do remember hearing that certain counties in certain states have made declawing illegal, and some vets will not perform it. Obviously these are small steps, but positive ones.

I think more people are realising it is quite a cruel act, both because it removes part of the cat's toes, but also because it stops the cat displaying it's natural behaviours.

I think the sort of person who would declaw their cat is also the sort of person who will not bother to provide proper mental and physical stimulation for their pet. I feel very sorry for cats that end up in homes like these.

We have an indoor rescue cat yanbu.

Now, Orangefireandgoldashes, are you sure you should have a goldfish? Is it fair to limit its natural habit by making it live in a tank rather than a huge ocean?

joking apart, fish need appropriately sized tanks.

And I have often seen people being taken to task for leaving dogs inside all day.

Why are cats not deserving of the same treatment?

How stupid of me Stat. I will of course renounce all living things forthwith and stick to Steiff teddies. Is it cruel to leave them with the buttons in their ears?

You may or may not have noticed, seeker, but cats and dogs are not the same species.

HTH.

I will be very worried when my lovely kitten does start going outside but I'm sure he will love it. We live rurally but still a car could get him or he could wander to the railway line. I can't stand not being able to open doors/windows no way could I live like that we would roast in the summer. So for both of us once he is neutured he will be out as much as he wants.

We have no cat flap but at least one of us is home alot of the day. No cat flap means not unwanted presents In the house I hope.

Cats are still classified as wild animals in the UK aren't they? Doesn't seem natural that any wild animal should be forced to spend its entire life indoors because it's more convenient for the owner. Buy a picture of a cat instead.

Did you actually bother to read my first post on the thread, squoosh? After years of outdoor cats, I made the decision to try (successfully, as I described above) to keep my current pair as indoor cats because of the risk of FIV and a busy main road. I also acknowledged it was MORE work for me to do so. Nothing to do with convenience for me.

But if you think it's better for even more cats to spend their lives in rescue centre cages or be put down because there simply aren't enough homes full stop, let alone homes where it is always suitable for them to be let out, for the existing cat population then we'll have to disagree.

And it isn't my (speyed) indoor cats which will be adding to the "kittens in need of a home" population. Or anyone else's indoor cats.

Let's face it, if we take the "what's natural for a wild animal" argument to its logical conclusion we'd better stop speying and neutering altogether. It's hardly natural, is it? So all those entire toms and queens roaming and breeding unhindered - that's just brilliant for the overall welfare of the species, isn't it?

To those of you who have stated that "cats are wild," "cats are not fully domesticated," or "cats are not owned:"

Please read this leaflet from Cat's Protection: www.cats.org.uk/uploads/documents/cat_care_leaflets/EG10-Catsandthelaw.pdf

Please read this leaflet from DEFRA www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13332-cop-cats-091204.pdf

The definition of domestic is "tame," and the definition of domestic animal in legislation is "defined as one which is tame or tamed for a purpose." (www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmenvfru/52/5206.htm)

In sum: Cats are domesticated. You certainly own your cat, and can be prosecuted if you do not take care of it.

Oh dear, you sound very agitated.

Mildly frustrated at others' short-sightedness, narrow-mindedness and occasional downright stupidity, more like.

Mildly? Ha.

Wow, you're psychic as well! There really is no start end to your talents.

Just as well I have my poor neglected imprisoned cats to strike to calm me down then, isn't it...

stroke. Stoopid iPhone.

Is there any need to be so offensive?