"Indoor cat"

[ilovesouthlondon]

Is it cruel to keep a cat indoors and never let it out? Opinions please!

My car is stupid - she can't even locate a dreamy under her nose. There's no way she can cope with cars and the neighbours' cats. Last time she got out, the silly bugger got stuck on the roof and I had to get the fire brigade out. She's definitely staying indoors where she can eat and sleep and play in total safety.

@MessagesKeepGettingClearer

I think cats are outdoor animals. So unless there's a good reason for the cat, they shouldn't be stuck indoors.

Cats don't understand reasoning, though.

In America, many cats are indoor only because of the risk of them being killed by bears, wolves, mountain lions or coyotes. The cats don't understand why going outside is dangerous - the owners have to make that decision for them.

I don't think it's right to judge owners who feel as though it's safer to keep their cats indoors.

Depends on the cat, especially age and health.

My two were from a rescue, told they were indoor cats. They were happy to be outside for a very short time and only if I was there. They freaked if I went inside without them for a moment, and sounds of men's voices and motorbikes scared them inside too. Fuck knows what happened to them before they came to us but I wasn't prepared to force my cats to stay outside longer than they wanted to.

TBH before I had my Ragdoll cats, I thought all cats should go out, like MessagesKeepGettingClearer. I was brought up with a Persian, who did go outdoors. Now I've experienced an indoor breed, I'm not so ignorant. Until you've actually experienced owning them first hand, you can't judge. We could quite as easily say letting them outdoors is cruel, for the following reasons

and I have actually lost 2 cats to FIP ^

It would be cruel to keep mine in yes. I have a kitten and we let her out for the first time on Sunday and seeing how amazed she was at the world was ace

No my Cat is indoor. Did go out a few times by himself when he was younger and I was able to catch him and then on a harness when he was older. Stopped using it though when he learnt that if he wriggled in a certain way he could escape from it and we lived near a main road.

I def think it's cruel.

We made the decision 18 years ago when we got a pair of litter mates that they would be house cats with supervised access to the back yard occasionally. Which they didn't particularly like very much.

Our boy died aged 15 from kidney failure and our girl is still going strong, healthy and happy with her indoor life at 18 years old. I'm glad we made that decision, and would not change it.

Cruel it most definitely isn't- our vet is superbly happy with her condition for her age.

Our cat was a house cat for 4.5 years when we moved into a flat on a busy main road. We’ve since moved into a 3 bed semi on a quiet road with a big garden and she barely goes out! She sleeps all day while we work from home and we close the cat flap at night anyway.

@Same4Walls do you have any tips on keeping your indoor FIV kitties happy?
I’ve recently adopted a senior cat with FIV. I feel a bit crap for him not being able to go outside, although he’s not yet shown any inclination to.
He’s got a lot of toys, some windowsills to sit on and I have got him a couple of puzzle feeders to keep him occupied.

My cat is an indoor cat and happy to be so. He has toys and plenty of attention. We have had several neighbouring cats killed by some evil swine with an air rifle. My boy is safer inside.

I think cruel is a strong word.

There are places where a cat who is let out would simply not survive long.

However, I think most cats enjoy going out very much, and many people underestimate it's value, because they fail to understand that cats do not have abstract viewpoints about longer lives being better than short ones.

It can be pretty silly. I know a lady who has several indoor cats and a part of the adoption agreement was that she should not let them out. She is not near a road but is in a wilderness area. She has a rodent problem however and a cat is the suggested management solution - she is looking at getting a specifically outdoor cat from some other rescue for this. Rather than letting her cats out who would almost certainly be thrilled about it.

My 2 indoor cats are quite happy

[quote Fluffyandsilly]@Same4Walls do you have any tips on keeping your indoor FIV kitties happy?
I’ve recently adopted a senior cat with FIV. I feel a bit crap for him not being able to go outside, although he’s not yet shown any inclination to.
He’s got a lot of toys, some windowsills to sit on and I have got him a couple of puzzle feeders to keep him occupied.[/quote]
Puzzle games and cat grass are enjoyed. We make time each evening to brush them even though they are shotthaired this is good bonding time. Other than that they had a giant cat tree which was pretty much ignored in favour of bookshelves and cabinets so I work with their interest. I often hide food or toys in obscure places to make them work for it and pretend to hunt. We have lots of toys and a huge scratching post which they adore. They also each get some playtime before I give them their evening meals. As well as this they have free roam of the house all day and often spend most of it on my bed. They are pretty content to amuse themselves with zoomies and seeing who can run up the stairs quikest. I think having a buddy seems to help most as they have a built in playmate. The adore each other even though they are not litter mates.

Oh I forgot to mention they have a water fountain too which is a source of great enjoyment.

I actually think sometimes that having an indoor cat makes you a more attentive owner. Most of the people I know with cats who go outside don't give their mogs even half as much attention as mine get, they basically feed them, sometimes have cuddles and occasionally brush them.

Our neighbours have pedigree cats which are apparently valuable. The cats are allowed in the garden but they have an intricate system of cat-proof fencing with rollers and spikes. The poor creatures spend a lot of time gazing wistfully at the top of the fence.

Thanks @Same4Walls and apologies for the slight thread derail OP!
My boy is 10 but has a lot of energy. I’ve been doing the hiding cat treats thing and he seems to like it.

For what it’s worth I’ve always thought it was mean to keep cats indoors, but with our FIV boy we have to.

Re. Cats killing birds, the following is from the RSPB website..

“ ...there is no clear scientific evidence that such mortality is causing bird populations to decline. This may be surprising, but many millions of birds die naturally every year, mainly through starvation, disease or other forms of predation. There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds. We also know that of the millions of baby birds hatched each year, most will die before they reach breeding age.

It is likely that most of the birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations.”

My two don’t go out at night but have free rein during the day.

I get huge cat trees from amazon for so much less price than the high street places like pets at home. They’re made of reinforced cardboard/plasterboard with fake fur and scratching rope but even with two cats climbing all over them last for several years.

I plan on keeping my 8 month old as an indoor cat with the option of taking him on the lead around the garden.
My only worry is he's so timid I would be scared he would get run over or come to harm.
He is very content and happy and follows me around like a dog and loves cuddles and sitting on my lap.
He's sweet natured and that's another issue I don't want some cheeky so and so feeding him and stealing him away from his family.

Okay to keep them indoors but this sort aren’t real cats in the fullest sense that a cat live it’s life; they are in kitten mode with us indoors and are proper cats outside.

My sister lived in a flat by a main road so adopted 2 cats with FIV if you live somewhere unsuitable to let a cat outdoors why not adopt a cat that can't go outside?

Mine were outdoor cats when they were young, and I lived in a house with a garden, so it was easy to have a cat flap. I had to move a few years ago, and they were about 12, so I was advised it would be better and safer to keep them as indoor cats, than risk them in a new environment. They did / do get out occasionally when the weather is nice (I just have the one elderly girlie now) but she is mostly happy in the house, so I don’t think it’s cruel.

@ShyTown

In some places, the US for example, cats are pretty much considered indoor pets and no one lets theirs out unless they live on a farm. Personally if I can I’d always give the cat the option. I have an indoor cat but it’s 100% his choice. He’s been out on the patio once or twice in summer but just isn’t keen. I’d only consider it cruel if you were trying to keep a cat that’s used to roaming inside without good reason e.g. FIV.

I’m American — this isn’t strictly true, plenty of people have outdoor cats, both on farms and not. But it is also quite common to have indoor cats. The cat owners I know are quite precious about their animals and hate the idea of them being hit by a car or whatever.