To think it’s cruel to keep cats indoors?

[awomensworkisneverdone]

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..

rainbow - mine was stray for 4 years! Definitely not from house cat after 4 years of starving/freezing in a broken greenhouse, he's more than happy to nap on sheepskin and gaze at me adoringly

If you're going to keep a domestic animal you have a responsibility to ensure its safety and well being - part of which I'd say is ensuring it's doesn't suffer an agonising death being hit by a car. Of course, you should only have a pet at all if you can provide it with a suitable home, love and stimulation etc.

I'm baffled by the ongoing perpetuation of the idea that all cats are fiercely independent or desperate to roam. Often cats are creatures of habit, and comfort. They can be incredibly stressed by interacting with neighbourhood cats and sharing their "territory" in densely populated areas. They are not all miserable inside. And yes, you can cat proof a garden or build a cat run if they enjoy a bit of fresh air.

Would people think it ok to let a dog roam the streets freely and assume it won't get run over or meet some other harm, like eating something poisonous? Why then is it ok to own cats then let them wander unsupervised by busy roads - it's not like they have an innate ability to cross the road safely?

People will argue it's safer but that's just their way to justify having an animal cooped up for their own gratification.

See also: owning a pet.

I guess the main difference between dogs and cats is that dogs are considerably more amenable to being put on a lead and being taken for walks to get their fresh air and exercise.

Ye cannae do that with many cats.

I doubt many people would think it was OK for a dog to be kept indoors 24/7 unless the dog wanted it (I do know of several "agoraphobic" dogs as it happens).

I agree, not many cats would go on a lead (though we had cats that did, happily!) but as long as you give them space to exercise in some form it doesn't need to be outside or beyond a secure garden. Cats generally need less exercise than most dogs (this does of course preclude wild / feral cats). I suppose it's case of the lesser of two evils - I'd sit on the side that a well stimulated cat kept indoors is kinder than a cat free to roam in a busy urban environment where it stands a high chance of meeting a brutal end. Roads have more cars than ever, foxes can savage and kill cats - it's just not a safe in many places.

What I do think is cruel, is when people get a cat then shut it out all day or night (or both). There's a mog that spends most of its days in our garden, and when we had the heavy snow, sheltering in our shed, as its owners clearly couldn't give a toss.

My cats an indoor just now because we live next to a busy road. She seems pretty settled. We plan to move at the end of the year to a quieter area. So if she wants to go out she can.

Right now she has no interest in going outside she has a look when we open the door but doesn't like the noise from cars. We have given her a lot her own spaces and she has a lot of things to keep her entertained.

I've also considered walking her if she accepts it. I don't think it's cruel if the cat is settled. We got her when she was 10 weeks so she has never been an outdoor cat. I think it's cruel to keep an outdoor cat in if that's what they have known.

I live on a farm, and I consider letting them out dangerous, as there are dogs and tractors, heavy vechicles going past all the time. As well as lots of bushland, and a busy road. If they took off and got lost, I wouldnt know where to look. Mine have been kept inside from kittens , so don’t know anything different. They haven’t been trained to go outside. They are scared of the outdoors. I have opened the door and they will stay put. Mine are not aloof and love to be around us, they get lots of love and cuddles, have the run of the whole house, pleanty of toys. The litter tray is kept inside in the utility area. When we move overseas to a warmer climate, we plan on getting an outdoor enclosure, so they can be outside and enjoy the sunshine. Quite frankly, my cats are my little fur babies. I wouldn’t allow a child to be in harms way, so why would I want my pets to be exposed to busy roads, dogs that could attack them, the risk of them getting lost. Now that would be cruel. I’m also not one of those people who are okay with their cats going missing for days at a time.

I think if let out at a young age they gain the confidence and knowledge to take care. And see the danger.
Mine are 12 and both out since kittens so don’t know any difference they are road smart too they hunt well but not often. They have the choice to come and go Ild never leave them locked out. I agree that’s cruel but they do at least have a choice. I agree that an indoor cat would not survive if let out

I definitely agree that some cats are roamers and others aren't. We adopted a two year old cat and cat-proofed the garden for him, smugly congratulating ourselves on what an excellent compromise we'd found. Then we got a kitten, and it rapidly became apparent that it wasn't that our older cat couldn't leave the garden, it's that he didn't want to - the younger one very much did want to, and foiled all our defences. In the end we gave in and took the cat-proofing down; the older cat still confines himself to the garden, while his little brother runs all over the neighbourhood. If we tried to keep them both inside older cat would be miffed but, I think, adjust; younger cat would be incredibly distressed and unhappy.

I don't like the purchasing of pedigree cats at all (I think it's a really selfish thing to do), but I'm also deeply sceptical that there are whole breeds of 'housecats'; I think that, just like moggies, some would be content enough inside and others are miserable.

It really depends on the cat. I lived on a busy road so I chose a breed of cat likely to prefer staying indoors. Now we have moved to a quiet road she has the option to go out but she is not keen at all and rarely spends more than a few minutes in the garden

Every single one of these relates to HUMANS.

Yes - my beef is not really with the cats (though I do feel pretty murderous to the particular ones who constantly trespass in my garden), it's the inconsiderate humans who choose to have loads of the fuckers in a built up area and consider that their cats' 'right to roam' is more important than their neighbours' rights to not have their garden filled with cat shit and domesticated predators hunting their wildlife and small pets.

Nothing to do with how things work in the wild. Cats will kill yes, but so will birds. They eat worms. My point about how the world works wasn't about people being cunts, it's was about how animals behave naturally.

But the whole point is that the cats are not in the wild! Birds kill worms for food. Sparrowhawks kill songbirds for food. The heron comes to my pond to hunt frogs for food. The sparrows eat the beautiful, freshly emerged damselflies, for food. Badgers will kill hedgehogs for food. That is 'the wild', the food chain, how things work in the natural world. My neighbours having loads of cats because they couldn't be arsed to get them neutered, and a neighbourhood saturated with domesticated predators who are hunting for fun, not for food - that is not 'how the world works' in a natural sense; it's 'how the world works' in a human sense.

Have you seen the number of dead cats on our local roads. I think its crueler to let cats out than keep them in. If i had a cat again id cat proof my garden. Just cat proof your garden to keep the cat safe and not ruin my neighbour gardens.

Our cats are indoor cats as we live near a very busy road. As part of adopting one of them we had to agree to her being an indoor cat. They are well fed, we'll looked after and have the run of three storeys. The older of the two will come in the yard, supervised when we're outside but the smaller one stays inside.

I have a poncey Ragdoll cat, she’s not really supposed to go outside as they are an “indoor breed” but tbh I couldn’t cope with the idea of not ever having the back door open in case she got out etc, so over the years have let her go out if she wants.

She bloody hates outside and refuses to be in the garden unless one of us is there and even then she’s all haunched low down and bloody terrified.

So not all cats want the outdoor life IME.

Well looked after not we'll. Damned spellcheck.

Mine is indoor. He went out once and got hit by a car. He lost all his canine teeth through that so can’t defend himself on a cat filled estate. Also lots of students driving past at speed. He’s very happy indoors.

Anyway, I get that people have cats and let them out - I grew up with cats, some of which went out and some of which didn't. I don't hate all cats (with the notable exception of a few particular individuals!), I just hate their habits, and people having so many of the buggers in a crowded neighbourhood.

Seeing one of the birds that comes to my window to take mealworms every day with an agonising injury, and taking it to be euthanised really upset me (as have all the others catted animals I've tried to save/taken to be put down/euthanised myself), so I'm feeling particularly anti-cat this week. Cats are a major cause of bat casualties, too.

I think you’ll find if you do research it’s an uncontrollable instinct in any feline to hunt.

I had a cat that was fully declawed (not done by me or with my consent) it would have been cruel to let her outside. Especially where I lived in the US, as I didn't fancy her becoming fox, coyote, cougar, bear, or dog food.

Proper lol at cat-proof your garden. How, exactly?

Bearing in mind that: a - cats can climb, b - they can squeeze through very small spaces, c - they can walk along the top of something half a centimetre wide, d - they can take a running jump at least 6 feet up a wall or fence easily, e - they can get out of open upstairs windows and make their way across the rooftops. If they have a mind to of course.

Don't know why mine prefers to be indoors, she is a rescue so we don't know her history.

I agree with previous poster it may be in a cats nature to hunt but they are not a natural part of the ecosystem. I have come to the conclusion that I don't want to contribute to the unnecessary destruction of local wildlife, although I'm not convinced that our cat could catch much. Being a much disapproved pedigree type our cat has always been happy on a lead, the dog owners we have met have been less thrilled!

I think you’ll find if you do research it’s an uncontrollable instinct in any feline to hunt.

My cat watched a mouse saunter past the other day and did diddly squat.

We have two cats and a micro chip cat flap. One of them spends on average, one minute a day outside! If I go out, she may go out after me; but as soon as she sees me turn round towards the house, she scoots back in, before she gets shut out!

DH decided to put her out once, because she had jammed up the printer, when he was printing out a very long form. You should have seen the look of absolute terror on her face, at being plonked on the drive.

She does not want to go out, and appears to be very happy with her life in a warm house, with regular meals and affection at a time of her choosing. Her ambitions do not extend any further than that!

We have cats. They have all been indoor since they were kittens. They’ve never shown any interest in going outside.

We also live in an area where a cat was found in a very poor state (the Cat Killer) so I wouldn’t consider it.

freezerfoodyum

Hahaha! Yep. One of mine saw a bird through the window the other day (it was sitting on our window ledge) and he ran away from it 😂