To get a cat?

[SilverNewMoon]

I'm yearning for a cat, but the rescue place won't let us have one from there as our garden is small, we work full time and live on quite a busy road with a roundabout with 30mph speed limit).

It makes me sad, I know we could get one from a breeder or something but it's got me thinking, am I selfish to want a cat in these circumstances? We also wouldn't be able to put a cat flap in due to the doors.

I'd be thinking very carefully about that road to be honest but then I'm deeply upset at finding my neighbour's cat deceased at the side of the road yesterday. Unfortunately you can't stop cats from roaming

Some cats are house cats, maybe look on local pages or pets4homes for people rehoming an older one? So many cats need homes.

Get a cat that is FIV positive and can't go out. I would ask Cats Protection.

All my cats have been indoor cats. How else do they get to live a nice long life??? It’s not hard to keep them indoors. Especially if they are kept in as kittens.

I have two cats, bought the first one then a month later got him a friend as they are both house cats, they have each other as friends, plenty toys, scratch posts, play time with us that they don’t need to go outside, plus they don’t end up being squashed by a car or picking up a load of illnesses etc

You can adopt an fiv positive one as PP said, or one that is voluntarily indoor only. Ask at different shelters near you. Lots of them have cat bios on their websites.

OP my friend is in similar circumstances - they registered with a local rescue who notified them of any suitable cats and they did end up rehoming a cat. Homes will test cats for illness and if they are carriers for certain things (which don't affect humans and don't necessarily have any health implications for that cat) that mean they will only be rehomed as indoor cats. With older cats they will know whether they are suited to company, other cats or quiet. My friend was able to re-home two adult cats who were a bonded pair and needed to be indoors. He works full time and lives in a flat.

YABU sorry. Cats need attention and love. I think their quality of life is enhanced by going out and think a little risk is worth that quality.

Try a different rescue maybe? Or as pp's have said a cat that needs to be an indoors cat.

That's a weird reply though @adayatthebeach my cat goes out and is 15 now. My childhood cats were all outdoor cats and lived to their late teens too.

Going out doesn't shorten a cat's lift if they are somewhere safe. My last cat lived to be 17.

*life

Perhaps adopt a cat that can't go outside (FIV, blind/partially sighted, amputee etc)? I wouldn't get one living on a busy road, even if it's only a 30. We were driving on a 30 road at night a few years ago, doing slightly under the speed limit, and a cat darted out right in front of our car and went straight under the wheels and died instantly. DP had slammed the brakes on but it was too close, we were absolutely devastated. Plenty of people go much faster on 30 roads.

Try another rescue. Consider a cat that needs to be indoors, maybe elderly or deaf or has always been indoors. Having said that we front a 30mph road and 'adopted' a cat with road sense who's now in his 18th year and has never gone out the front.

I think their quality of life is enhanced by going out and think a little risk is worth that quality.

Exactly right. Got a cat flap and the cat goes in and out like a fiddler's elbow. Love cats but wouldn't have one on a main road.

Try for an elderly cat or one which has mobility or health issues where they need to be an indoors cat.

We adopted this indoor beaut last week.. shes settled amazingly and is the perfect fit for our us.

Are there no more kittens dying for a home in the UK? I live in Mexico, and the struggle is not to adopt too many cats.

If you are out all day and can adopt a pair, they will keep each other company.

We did have to search a while and wait for the right cat for us but in soo happy we waited. We found her on pets4homes. She's originally from Egypt.

Get 2 indoor cats, that's what I did. I found smaller cat shelters weren't as picky as the big ones

My cat has always been an indoor cat, I was only allowed to have him on this basis.

Huh? We got a cat from the rescue: canada tho.
No issues: he’s an indoor cat. 4 years old now!

Yes, get an indoor cat! We have two, ours are a breed that tend to be lazy and laid back and we got them when they were older and used to being indoors. We do have a three storey house though with a sunroom, so lots of space.

My friend adopted two ex show cats from a rescue - they are older and can't go out. They both work - cats are fine - fairly aloof and like their home comforts. They get plenty of attention when they're in. They even had a 'catio' built for them.

We had cats when I was growing up, it was fine then the local bypass had a mini roundabout, traffic lights and speed bumps (and a housing estate) added, so the lane at the end of our road became a cut through. We had two cats killed in a year and DM said no more even though she and DF had lived there for 15 years by that point and never had any issues before. They still live there and have never had another cat. We have a 130ft back garden and so does the house backing ours and the houses all the way down the road and the road parallel to ours (about 40 houses long) . It's a very quiet street in a fairly quiet area so we have a cat. We don't have a cat flap though, he goes out when we are at home, that way I know how long it's been, and would know if he was missing. I'll never forget walking the streets with DF calling for the first childhood cat, and a neighbour saying to ask along the road as a cat had been hit there earlier in the day, when we were at school/work.

I didn’t mean they can’t live a long life if they go outside I just meant they have a better chance at one.