"Indoor cat"

[ilovesouthlondon]

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

Perhaps saying it’s cruel is a bit harsh, but it’s definitely a less natural/fun life for a cat being indoors, no matter how many toys you buy them.

My current cats were rescued age 1. They’d been indoor city cats. We live very rurally on a small holding. When we first started letting them out they weren’t impressed. I’ve got a photo of them hanging off the back door handle wanting to come back in. But they soon learned the delights of outdoors and nowadays get very annoyed if shut in. (one of the reasons we shut them in is when the local hunt is out. Despite the official line being that they don’t hunt I wouldn’t risk it) In fact we only see them in cold weather!

@LexMitior

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.

A cat is a cat. Pet dogs aren’t any less dogs than street dogs that live in packs, pet rats that live in cages aren’t any less rats than ones that live in a sewer. They just happen to be domesticated and live indoors. Indoor cats need more attention. They need to be exercised and played with, they need puzzles and mental stimulation and you have to provide them with appropriate things to scratch and climb. They still have the same sort of cat behaviours and instincts as other cats.

My Bengal chooses to stay indoors and my Ragdoll/Maine Coon is gorgeous, affectionate, but is the least intelligent cat I have ever encountered and he would get splatted if I let him roam!

We have a semi-indoor cat. We got her as a kitten from a friend and we lived in a flat with no outside space so it was all she knew for almost 10 years. When we moved to a house with a garden it took a while to coax her out but she got there in the end and was quite adventurous but she only goes out in the spring and summer - we've tried in the winter but she's figured inside is warmer and she's not a fan of rain.

i would just think, would YOU want to be an indoor person? maybe if you have a friend 24/7 it wouldnt be too bad. but is it really living if it never gets to be free?

I read your question to my cat and she didn't look impressed. She goes out for an hour or two. She's getting older and prefers a life of comfort these days

my rescue boy is indoor in a flat and is perfectly happy. he doesn’t have the smarts for outside, and he’s just not interested. i can only surmise that this is because Outside doesn’t have any blankets.

@ElijahsMoon

i would just think, would YOU want to be an indoor person? maybe if you have a friend 24/7 it wouldnt be too bad. but is it really living if it never gets to be free?

But cats aren't people. They're cats. And it's really not helpful to try and anthropomorphise them like that.

They don't understand that drinking anti-freeze or rat poison will kill them. They don't know that there are people out there willing to steal them and sell them online. They don't know that if they get in a fight, their wounds could get infected and kill them. It's upto their humans to look after them and protect them.

Of course some people choose to let their cats out, and that's fine, but it's equally valid to decide it's too dangerous and to keep them indoors.

They're not people, so let's not pretend that they are anything like us in that respect.

Perhaps saying it’s cruel is a bit harsh, but it’s definitely a less natural/fun life for a cat being indoors, no matter how many toys you buy them.

On the contrary, I would argue that letting them out to risk being run over from six months old is worse than keeping them safe indoors.

@sunflowersandbuttercups and thats your opinion. Mine is that everything (whether animal or person) deserves to be free if it can be. I stand by that.

We have 2. One who is indoor because she has the road sense of a hedgehog. And she's very dark in colour. She wouldn't stand a chance. The other doesn't like the outside at all, she was a rescue and we don't know her past but she runs away from open doors.

We make the house as interesting as possible with plenty of places to climb. We also play with them for at least an hour a day and they seem quite happy to chase each other around for a good proportion of the day too.

We have rescues that are nervous of the world so are indoor cats.

I would say it depends on the cat. I have 3. I believe 2 of my cats could adjust to a life indoors and be happy, but my oldest 'true outdoor' cat would be utterly miserable as he gets so much enjoyment from being outside. On the odd occasion I've had to keep my outdoor cat in (e.g. medication/injury) he's been utterly miserable and depressed.

before i moved to this flat i lived semi-rurally with my ex and we had 4 cats. my old girl who had been indoor up til then is an avid sunbather, and my little tortie girl roams for miles.

this is why i left them behind when i moved. i brought my boy because he really wasn’t bothered by outside, and is actually much happier as a one-cat indoor household.

[quote ElijahsMoon]@sunflowersandbuttercups and thats your opinion. Mine is that everything (whether animal or person) deserves to be free if it can be. I stand by that.[/quote]
I mean, that's fine - if you want to let your cats out, go for it. I'm not criticising people who choose that life for their cats.

But your post compared cats to people and...well, cats aren't people. They're animals and don't have the same understanding of the world as we do, so saying "would you like to live indoors all your life?" is a pretty pointless question, really.

Our cats are indoors, we have made the garden available to them many a time but they hate it. That being said they have dozens of toys, a large climbing tree and loads of scratching posts so have lots to stimulate them.

Our previous cats were indoor with garden time most days, they weren't really bothered about going out if it was cold or wet and they never made an attempt to leave the garden. Some cats choose to be indoors and some breeds are much more suited to it

@sunflowersandbuttercups thats nice dear

Worst injury any of my cats had was from being stepped on in the kitchen.

I suppose cat1 also got a grass seed in his eye (that could have happened in our own garden).

I give the option. Current cat won't set a paw outdoors after 7 years of coaxing. Very frightened little thing and happiest at home. My partner has designed runs up the walls and ceilings as she's happiest up high. Gave up feeling guilty years ago.

I've not owned a cat for years but if I did I'd never have a roaming one unless I lived very rurally. Dogs cars antifreeze kids cruel people poison rat poison etc
Etc
Etc
Nope
If I get a pet I propose to look after it. And if a cat is used to being in and happy with it, no problem.

@ElijahsMoon

i would just think, would YOU want to be an indoor person? maybe if you have a friend 24/7 it wouldnt be too bad. but is it really living if it never gets to be free?

If you take this view, why does it apply to cats but not other pets then? Wouldn't guinea pigs and rabbits like to roam too? Never mind it wouldn't be safe, they'd enjoy the freedom... the grass is greener in the park. Parrots would probably prefer to be allowed out to fly too, after all it's natural. Even dogs are not just let out of the door to do their own thing, so why is it OK for cats be exposed to all these dangers other pets aren't?

I agree. I'm a vegan and an all round lover of all animals. But anthromorphising them isn't always helpful.

@nordica but dogs go for walks and (in some cases) get use of a garden. they have a certain amount of freedom. If you were walking the cat on a harness thats an option. Obviously its if it can be done safely though, Im not saying I would turf a cat out and force it out. I would just (if possible safely) give it an option. as some people have said a lot of animals dont want to go outside. which is fine.

Also I wouldnt ever keep a rabbit or guinea pig in a cage. If it had free run of the garden thats different but I wouldnt cage it up (in a standard hutch for example) for 22 hours a day. just not in my nature. also wouldnt keep a parrot or bird in a cage.

[quote ElijahsMoon]@sunflowersandbuttercups thats nice dear [/quote]
what's the point in a response like this?

I mean, you can argue you think cats should be free roaming, which is fine, but comparing them to people makes absolutely no sense

I'm sure I'll just get another sarcastic response, though!

Unless poorly they should have the option

My cat goes out for maximum an hour a day but he is old (16) he has always been a homely cat