Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 ··· 5 6 7 8 9 10

Original poster

To think it’s cruel to keep cats indoors?

242 replies

awomensworkisneverdone · 25/05/2018 09:50

I have two cats.. two females both 12 years old and both intelligent,affectionate and lovejy.
I couldn’t imagine confining them to just the house or garden.. now I know there are exotic breeds of cat that cost a lot of money and they are supposed to be kept in, but I can’t help think this is cruel! Cats are naturally inquisitive and have natural predator instinct they kind of come and go as they please and are intelligent animals. Someone educate me please. Is an indoor cat deprived? Do they have the same instinct as a cat who has a choice to explore? What would happen if they did accidentally leave the house? Do they use a litter tray or go in the garden? Has anyone ever had an indoor cat and then they decided to let it out? Me and my other half have discussed getting a more exotic breed when our two girls have gone.. but face having to keep it inside but I don’t think I can do that..

OP posts:

agnurse · 25/05/2018 19:30

Actually it's safer for cats to be indoors. Only one of our three has shown much interest in going out, and that's because he was allowed out by his previous owners when he was a tiny kitten (less than 2 months old). In the 5 months since we adopted him he has shown an interest but we don't let him out. The other two haven't really shown much of an interest. One of them does go out on very rare occasions but always supervised. (He has wanted to go out in the snow on occasion and Hubby has taken him out on the back deck. My kid sometimes takes him out to introduce him to her friends. He is very friendly and loves the attention.) This same cat has almost no hunting instinct and would likely not survive 24 hours by himself outside. He's nice and sappy but not the brightest crayon in the box.

We provide the cats with some toys and a scratching post which they enjoy.

slashlover · 25/05/2018 19:32

My cat is 10 years old and I've had her for seven years. The only interest she has in going out is plonking herself on the balcony when it's sunny outside, no chance if it's raining/windy/a bit cold.

She has a harness and lead she wears when she's out there, I tried taking her out in my parents back garden on the lead but she refused to walk on the grass so we had to stay on the patio. She ran inside when the neighbours put their bins out, dragging me along as I was holding the lead.

itsbetterthanabox · 25/05/2018 19:36

Yanbu.
It's cruel to buy pedigrees then keep them inside. The close breeding is harmful to them just so they look cuter to you.
If you live somewhere where it would be unsafe to let the cats out then don't get a cat.

Original poster

awomensworkisneverdone · 25/05/2018 19:43

very mature! My cat wants to leave home so it don’t have to be with me ! That’s hilarious. Well... again... at least it has a choice

OP posts:

ICantCopeAnymore · 25/05/2018 19:53

If you live somewhere where it would be unsafe to let the cats out then don't get a cat

I live in rural Wales. I've lived in a quiet cul-de-sac and my cat was run over and killed. I've lived on a lane and my cat was run over and killed. I've lived in a farmhouse surrounded by acres of land, with a single track only leading to my house. My cat was run over and killed, by someone who was lost.

A cat can be killed anywhere. My two house cats are very happy, thank you.

Go and worry yourself about real cruelty.

rainbowdashflip · 25/05/2018 20:30

Urgh they are not ‘wild animals’ they are bred to be pets.

That was kind of my point. They have been bred, by humans, to suit humans, irrespective of anything else

SabineUndine · 25/05/2018 20:31

YANBU. Unless the cat is FIV positive. All my cats have always had a catflap and the run of the garden.

Kocerhan3 · 25/05/2018 20:40

Mines an indoor cat. It's not cruel as long as they have stimulation (she's got scratchposts or trees in nearly every room, toys left out if she's on her own for more than a few hours, and always got blinds/curtains open for looking out the cat tv) she's a rag doll and is naturally not the sharpest tool in the box, overly friendly and so would get herself into trouble outside. She's not known a life different, and actually we encourage her to come into the garden but only supervised, and she's inquisitive but nervous and quickly decides to go back in. That's her world, she doesn't know different, she doesn't want to know different. It's not cruel.

snufflehuff · 25/05/2018 20:44

I have a mog. But I also live in a busy road. So my mog stays in and is very happy. It's not cruel, it's common sense.

m0therofdragons · 25/05/2018 21:06

Mine has cat dementia and generally is terrified of going outside unless she's with me and close to the back door since the third time she got lost (about 5 houses away yet couldn't figure out how to get home and literally jumped into my arms when I found her. She's a house cat! My other one goes out a bit but is 16 and sleeps most of the day.

In Canada my brother has house cats as otherwise there's a high chance they'd be eaten by bears or lynx's

Allergictoironing · 25/05/2018 21:26

The thing that amazes me about these that’s is that people will openly say things like “oh my cat is so thick I couldn’t possibly let it out out, it’d get killed immediately” as if that means buying an animal (and therefore support its breeding) that is as thick as mince is somehow mitigating!

I think that was aimed at me, as I specifically posted that. However my boy isn't an "indoor breed", he was part of a feral colony which the land owner wanted rid of, and said no to TNR but they would all have to be gone or he would "do something about them himself". So he was a rescue cat from a shelter along with his sister and many others. He's a true moggy but probably very interbred though, as feral cats don't worry about who it is they are mating with.

So I wasn't supporting any breeders, instead I was homing a pair of cats that otherwise would have been shot or poisoned by the land owner. But that's OK I suppose, because they would have had their freedom to be shot or poisoned...

bluerunningshoes · 25/05/2018 21:32

imo it's cruel to keep pets in most cases.
to give an animal what it really needs is very time consuming and costly.

Autocorrectible · 25/05/2018 21:32

I have an ‘indoor cat’. She chooses to be ‘indoors’ though. I leave the back door open, she might venture onto the patio but never goes any further. Guess she just prefers it inside!

InTheGhetto · 25/05/2018 22:14

she's a rag doll and is naturally not the sharpest tool in the box, overly friendly and so would get herself into trouble outside. She's not known a life different, and actually we encourage her to come into the garden but only supervised, and she's inquisitive but nervous and quickly decides to go back in.

Mine's a somali rather than a ragdoll but is similar. Slightly more easily spooked than any other cat I've had, and at the same time hasn't a clue that things that aren't making scary noises might still hurt him. In fact about 45 mins ago he heard a couple of cats scream at each other as he was on his way out onto the enclosed patio, shat himself and ran back in, and it took about 20 mins before he wasn't hiding and running away from us if we got close. I can't see what hope in hell I'd have of getting him back if he went out and got spooked and chose to run in a random direction. He goes into proper blinkered mode when scared like that.

And on the inbreeding note - if it's pedigree cats with actual pedigrees you can trace back and see exactly how NOT inbred they are. I can see ancestors of his from 1953!

Anewme2018 · 26/05/2018 09:42

They actually get depressed when they're forced to stay inside.

Lmao, yeah my over-indulged, ridiculously spoilt indoor cats are really depressed... as much as you wish to paint yourself as a cat behaviourist, Claire. I think you need to give it up.

Wow, a lot of people commenting on this post are morons who don't deserve to own cats. It's so cruel to keep your cat confined. I feel sorry for your animals if you imprison them

That’s right, we are cruel moronic cat owners who worry about our cats getting ran over, attacked or going missing. How dare we be such responsible cat owners. Do you think the same about patents that don’t let their children play out near the road? After all , kids have a lot of energy to burn off too. Or is it they are worth protecting, whereas your cats aren’t?

agnurse · 27/05/2018 17:48

We have a 2200 sq ft house (including the basement) and three cats. They aren't suffering. They have shown no signs of depression.

Basta · 27/05/2018 20:01

Mine is a very intelligent cat who makes it very clear when she wants to go out, and spends quite a lot of her time outside. I don't think she would be happy to be kept in.

Flip

1 2 ··· 5 6 7 8 9 10