To feel sad for my friends little cat

[ArizonaRobbins]

My friend has a young cat. They live together in a (fairly large) flat. She has had the cat since she was a kitten. Little cat does not get to go outside. Friend fears she will get lost or run over. Which is understandable.

Poor cat seems to spend a lot of time sitting at the living room window. When I think about this too closely I feel sad. They poor little cat’s whole life is within those four walls. How boring and unfulfilling must that be?

I have no pets. Maybe I just don’t get it. It just seems a little selfish to me.

Yeah I feel the same about house cats. Poor little sods. Usually stems from the anxiety of the owners.

As the cat has been indoors from kitten she will not have any street wise knowledge so wouldnt last very long outside, and will not miss what she has never had, so dont feel sad for her

I understand what you mean OP, I feel the same but I know so many people that have lost their cat due to it being allowed out.

Cats are not meant to be kept between 4 walls, anymore than children or dogs are. If you can’t provide a safe, suitable outdoor environment for a cat then you shouldn’t have one.

I agree that cats aren't meant to live indoors. It seems such a crappy, small existence. Plenty of cat owners disagree though.

I'd be gutted if mine got run over but it's a chance I have to take so they can have happy lives.

I have an outdoor cat and two who are indoor
Outdoor cat chose to be so,he comes and goes as he chooses and is content with that
Indoor girls come from a house of indoor cats and are more timid and when given access to the back garden were initially TERRIFIED.during the hottest parts of summer we took them onto the doorstep on leashes(they aren't reliable at coming to names,and run in blind panic if startled so would be at risk escaping into the road at side of my house)and they got used to a brief sit in the grass early in the day.now it's cooler they have ZERO INTEREST to go out,but love to sit in windows looking at birds,soaking up sunshine.
The most important thing is they aren't bored.they have lots of toys and are played with often with a mix of laser lens,toys on strings,balls etc.
As long as little cat is stimulated and has either human or feline company that may be enough
Also a cat who doesn't want to stay indoors us very hard to confine spoken from experience when wearing a buster collar and had to stay indoors

my little cat used to spend pretty much all day laying on the window looking out the window as the radiator was underneath it - she could go outside whenever she wanted she just used to enjoy watching the world pass by

I have two cats BTW. That reads back as though I have one, who identifies as non-binary.

Same as above - have had a mixture of outdoor and indoor cats. While I get where you’re coming from certain breeds generally are recommended to be kept inside (Persians etc).

My cat has full roam of the house, garden, and beyond but she prefers to sit in the living room window looking at the neighbor cats.
When she was younger she would be outside all night and bring me daily presents but now she's older she just prefers to be indoors.
I wouldn't feel bad for the cat if she's otherwise loved.
If she wanted to get out she would.

My cats go out (microchip catdoor) but they were originally found in a garden so they were keen to explore .

I've known (but never owned ) house cats . They seemed content .

I feel sorry (and ) at rabbits kept in a hutch and guinea-pigs kept in glorified litter boxes with a lid .

Rabbits in their natural state will run 5 miles a day . Poor souls not even managing three hops , and especially cruel if kept alone .

Cats will often sleep for 15-20 hours a day and don’t need to go outside - however it is usually beneficial for their physical and mental wellbeing.

OP try and think of the window like ‘cat TV’ for example, you might watch an interesting travel programme about a far flung country but never actually get the chance to visit. It doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the programme though. Windows can be like that for cats. Trust me if they want to go out they make their wishes known!

Trust me when I say you don't need to feel bad for friends kitty. I'm sure kitty is very well loved.
I have cats and they are house cats, they don't go outside for various reasons.
Indoor cats live longer than outdoor cats. They look out the window because they like to people watch, watch birds, flies that kind of thing. They aren't sat there wishing they were outside I don't think!
Mine have access to a balcony most days and get to sit with the wind in their fur so to speak, but they hate the sounds of cars and venture back inside when a particularly noisy one comes by.
If they have plenty of stimulation it's not an issue, e.g. plenty of toys, owner makes time for play each day.

I have a cat who can go outside whenever he wants to (we have a cat flap) but who chooses to spend 95% of his life sitting on the windowsill (inside) or sleeping on the sofa. Don't feel too bad for your friend's cat OP. Most are just after warmth and food.

Personally I don't like it. Cats' natural behaviour includes roaming and climbing, and interacting with other cats. The RSPCA are at best lukewarm on keeping them indoors (basically they say if they have medical issues then it's acceptable).

Having said that, I wouldn't assume a cat sitting for hours at a window was pining to go outdoors, for the reasons others have given here.

The average lifespan of an indoor cat is 16 years. The average lifespan of an outdoor cat is 5 years. If you are a conscientious owner who provides plenty of attention (on the cat’s terms! ) and mental stimulation for an indoor cat, you’re actually saving them from a brutally shortened life.

In addition, there are also people who feel that it’s wrong to allow cats to roam and kill at will because their effect in an ecosystem that was never meant to include them is huge. Studies now show they kill between 1.4 and 3.7 billion birds and between 6.9 and 20.7 billion mammals each year. The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in the US, who co-wrote the study those numbers come from, estimates that means 1 in 10 birds is killed by a cat per year. That’s an enormous ecological impact.

It’s a debate that has raged as long as people have had cats and probably will keep going until the cats overthrow us all.

The average lifespan of an indoor cat is 16 years. The average lifespan of an outdoor cat is 5 years.

Where on earth did you get that from @RightYesButNo?? I've had cats my entire life and they've all lived into their mid-late teens (all outdoor cats).

My two will go out first thing and evening , lard about on someones bed all day (not their own bed )
We have a CatCam and DS is home some days .

They like their own terms for sure .

Outdoor cats lifespan?
My old girl was 17yo and NDN cat was 21yo. Both had outdoor freedom.

My housecats line up to sunbathe on the windowsill, they're content and have zero interest in going out but I've never known a cat - indoor or out - who didn't love a windowsill

This is my 18 yr old, he's currently been out since about 9am. However he has a huge play area he can access safely in the back garden, he likes to watch and listen to the birds. Our gardens go back 200' plus. He doesn't go near the road and has always been a nervous cat. Once in he will drop off to sleep, preferably on my lap or next to me on the pillow.

That statistic is pretty true but remember it’s an average. The large number of young cats who die on the roads is what brings the average down. If your outdoor cat survives the road it will have the same life expectancy as an indoor cat. A lot of them don’t survive the roads though.

I find the idea of housecats odd too OP though I know many disagree. I've only ever had outdoor cats that can come and go and they've all loved mooching round the garden.

Exactly, @RightYesButNo -
Cats are responsible for the deaths of 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 to 20.7 billion mammals every year, according to research conducted by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
abcnews.go.com/Technology/cats-kill-billions-animals-annually-study-finds/story?id=18357853#targetText=Cats%20are%20responsible%20for%20the,U.S.%20Fish%20and%20Wildlife%20Service.

Well. Some cats will be fine as housecats, others not.
Chatting to vet nurse at one of my many recent vet trips they commented (during conversation) that they see a lot of cats with behavioral problems due to being kept indoors. It's not a natural life for a cat. But an enclosed space is better than nothing.
For me,it comes down to - are you keeping them indoors for your benefit or theirs?

@Beamur that’s a very fair point about who is benefiting.

I will hold my hands up now - my cat is an indoor cat. I adopted her when she was three and I deliberately chose one that had been raised an indoor cat because I didn’t want her to go out and didn’t want my anxiety to impact on an animal who was used to roaming. As it is, at DH’s insistence, we did try letting her into the back garden and she was utterly terrified. Couldn’t wait to bolt back inside. So I don’t for one minute thing that when she sits and looks outside she is wishing she was there.