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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

About my cat?

77 replies

Esmeismyhero · 18/07/2015 10:30

I have a kitten he is 13 weeks old. I haven't had his injections yet (will do soon) and I want him to be an indoor cat.

My sister had two kittens and she lives next door and this morning has let her cats roam around the garden.

I'm being pressured to let my cat outside with her cats (they are all from the same litter) and I've said no but they are all making me feel guilty.

It's my cat and I don't want him outside, aibu to tell my family who is here to "back off"?

It's like I'm holding the cat hostage or something :/

OP posts:

wolf14 · 18/07/2015 11:13

If you think that's cruel too then fine as do I. But you go to someone's house or garden and they could have birds. They are normally in cages but no one thinks this is cruel as for dome reason in our society it's seems it normal. That's what I was trying to say.....very badly.

AliceAlice1979 · 18/07/2015 11:13

My cars were indoor cats for the first 18 months for various reasons. I loved it, it was far nicer for me to have them there. However When I let them out the properly flourished as cats. They are now at their happiest outside.

stairbears · 18/07/2015 11:14

Anyone who has ever had an indoor cat knows it isn't cruel! My cat never sprayed or scratched the place up. No need to de-claw. Conversely, some cats can get incredibly stressed and ill from the psychological and physics effects of having to defend their outdoor territory. OP has made an informed choice, and wasn't asking for opinions on her choice.

stairbears · 18/07/2015 11:16

physical - not to mention the dangers of roads, vet bills, other people taking a shine to them, rat poison, disease...

AliceAlice1979 · 18/07/2015 11:16

I think society is finally accepting that cageing any animal for our own pleasure is cruel. Hence zoos etc are changing. To a cat a house is just a giant cage. If the cat doesn't want to go out them fair enough, but it should not be for our pleasure.

stairbears · 18/07/2015 11:19

Release the hamsters!

Tanith · 18/07/2015 11:21

Indoor cats are really common in the US. So long as they're looked after and have plenty of stimulation, there isn't a problem.

A lot of the pedigree breeds are also indoor only, not only to protect them from theft, but to keep them clean. Some of the longhairs need hours of brushing a day.

browneyedgirl86 · 18/07/2015 11:21

Ignore your sister. Don't let your cat out till he's had his injections. My vet advised us not to let our kitten out till she was 6 months.

wolf14 · 18/07/2015 11:23

Cats are kept in not for pleasure but for their own safety and well being.

Disease.
Fights.
Humans with air riffles! ! Sick I know.
Other cats
Being stolen
Traffic.
dogs and other animals.

QueenFuri · 18/07/2015 11:25

I have a happy indoor cat, she goes out occasionally to the top step but she is happy lots of toys and a cat tree.

I had cats a child who went out 1 was poisoned with anti freeze watching him slowly die of organ failure was heart breaking. 2nd one was run over and the third never came back. My cat is much safer in the house.

ChaircatMiaow · 18/07/2015 11:27

Alice it's not for "our pleasure". It's to keep them safe from predators, traffic, disease, fighting, and in this country, the sun.

My indoor cat has the whole house to roam around, has lots of toys, windows, entertainment, perches, love, attention etc etc. she is perfectly happy and healthy, I can assure you.

stairbears · 18/07/2015 11:30

Chris Packham is very vocal about the negative effects of 24/7 free roaming cats on wildlife.

StayWithMe · 18/07/2015 11:33

Tom cats can kill kittens until they're up to six months old, so don't let kitty out unsupervised. If you do decide to let him out, then do it before he's due to be fed, that way you'll find it easier to get him back. I have bitter memories of spending 20mins trying to catch kitty in the rain, as I had to go out.

butterfly133 · 18/07/2015 11:34

YANBU
Many indoor cats are happy cats and don't rip up furniture or anything.

wolf14 · 18/07/2015 11:35

That's horrible queen. A cat not coming back must be horrendous not knowing what's happened to them...gives to much room for the imagination to run wild : (

SoupDragon · 18/07/2015 11:38

most indoor cat owners cat proof the garden or Harness train or have cat runs built in the garden so they are indoors but have access to a garden

So.. outdoors then. That is not an indoor cat.

iamdivergent · 18/07/2015 11:42

Ours go out when we are home and are in at night and when we are work - works for us and the cats are fine

wolf14 · 18/07/2015 11:46

It is an indoor cat soup. Dogs go out for a walk everyday... are they classed as indoor pets or outdoor pets?

Binkleflip · 18/07/2015 11:52

Keeping a cat inside against it's will permanently is boy in a bubble type stuff.

You can take kittens into the garden on a lead and harness so at least they get to adventure and learn a bit whilst being safe, just make sure vaccinations are done and follow the vet's guidance. Maybe your family are dismayed at the idea of a wee kitten being made inmate and if you explain that your main concern is disease pre-vaccination then they will ease off.

On a sunny day a dog likes to hang out and sunbathe as much as a cat does, hamsters do not - people should be fair to the animals they keep.

Notso · 18/07/2015 11:54

Of course it's for your pleasure ChaircatMiow. Most people who get a pet, do so for their own pleasure. The cat might be happy, healthy and looked after but that's because it makes you happy to keep it that way.

wolf14 · 18/07/2015 12:03

Not so. Anyone who owns a cat is for pleasure but keeping a cat indoors is for safety and well being.

People who let their cats roam free are exposing them to dangers and are not being responsible owners.

Binkleflip · 18/07/2015 12:04

sigh

Dieu · 18/07/2015 12:05

Is it a Ragdoll or any other sort of pedigree? These cats are not at all blessed with common sense street wise and have been bred to live indoors. Any other type of cat and I just don't get your decision, especially when it has access to a garden. I hope it doesn't start pawing at the windows in due course, on seeing its siblings happily playing outside!

OTheHugeManatee · 18/07/2015 12:12

If it's not an expensive pedigree at risk of theft, and you don't live in a block of flats with no outdoor access, I think wanting your cat to stay indoors is perverse to say the least. Let the poor thing out to prowl. It's what cats do

OTheHugeManatee · 18/07/2015 12:14

Poor little thing, stuck indoors having to stare through the window at its litter-mates playing outside

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