To think having an indoor cat is cruel?

[Catnope]

I was looking after my mother’s cat last week - feeding him while she was on holiday and changing the litter tray - and I felt so incredibly sorry for the cat. It’s not the first time I’ve looked after him for her, and not the first time I’ve thought that.

What a shit life for the cat.

Of course I don’t like the idea of cats killing wildlife out there, but to be a prisoner indoors 100% of the time your whole life?!

It’s cruel. Right?! Just me?

Of course I was nothing but lovely to my mother and took good care of the cat. My mother doesn’t let him out because she fears he’ll get stolen or run over. She lives on a quiet and safe street, so I don’t think anyone will want to steal him. At this point, I also think he wouldn’t have a clue how to kill a bird.

As I say, you continue to kill animals for fun if that floats your boat. I find it irresponsible and sick myself but each to their own, eh?

night

I think it depends on the cat we have always had moggys who come and go as they please we have a cat flap but prefer to have us let them in an out and they never go far our garden or next door neighbours.

dsis got a young rescue cat a Maine coon ragdoll cross apparently so kept her in for 6 weeks while she got used to her new home and she was desperate to go out climbing up the windows the glass fireplace etc really unsettled until she was allowed she is much happier now she can go out dsis has now paid a fortune for a ragdoll cat she got him as a kitten who she keeps as an indoor cat and I feel sorry for him as he can see her other cat going out

I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s the cruellest of things to not allow an animal to express its natural behaviour.

Fair enough if they genuinely don’t want to leave the house, but always give them that option.

It honestly upsets me so much.

Of all the cultural differences between the UK and the US, this one might be the most fascinating to me. Over here, people are more likely to argue that it’s cruel to let a cat roam outside - where they can get hit by cars, ripped apart by dogs, infested with fleas and ticks, infected with diseases, et cetera.

All my parents’ cats and my cats have always been indoors. My parents live in a rural area where trucks drive by going seventy miles an hour, and there are coyotes in the nearby woods. Once they had two stray kittens and we were going to adopt one. That one disappeared overnight and its sister showed up with a coyote-sized bite mark on her throat. (We adopted the sister.)

YABU. Some cats are happy to go outside, some cats are happy to stay at home. There may be medical reasons why it's advisable for a cat to be an indoor cat. There may be environmental reasons too - eg the impact on local wildlife or risks to the cat that can't be mitigated.

There's no reason to assume indoors = shit life. Cats can have happy, stimulating lives without needing to be 'outdoor cats'.

What Americans, Australians or what any other country does with cats is irrelevant to what happens in the UK. Declawing cats is something Americans do isn't it, that's absolutely barbaric. Also there are no coyotes here either.

We have 2 cats a pedigree who is truly stupid, absolutely plank thick and a moggie, rescued by our vet as a tiny kitten, she's bright enough but frightened of her own shadow, hides from visitors who she is convinced all want to eat her. They both have the option to go outside, top of the range electronic chip reading cat flap freely available, lovely garden, plenty of nice bushes to sleep under, pond full of fish to watch. One lives 22 hours a day in the bottom of the wardrobe, the other in our bedroom, often hiding behind the bed. Both appear twice a day to be fed, rarely see them otherwise

Yes, yes, I’m sure your wildlife drinks tea with their little toes sticking out, send their sons to Eton and Harrow, and always remember that ma’am rhymes with ham. 😂

The thread is on cats, writ large. I’m sure you’re intelligent enough to see the broader point that if there are wild animals nearby, it might be a better idea to keep cats indoors.

Yes definitely. Cats are roaming animals.

Because the thread’s about cats, not UK cats, and I assume you’re bright enough to grasp the larger point that wild animals can be a good reason to keep cats indoors.

There are hardly any cat-killing wild animals in the whole of the UK, possibly a fox might be able to. I've had cats for the last 40 years and have never heard of a cat being killed by a wild animal.

Ye gods, what a world we have created!!!

I think it depends on the cat. I open the door and mine choose not to go out. They are happy indoors curled up on the sofa or looking out of the window.

Unless your cat has no interest in going outside, or they are a ragdoll which has no sense of danger, or they have some sort of disability that would put them at particular risk from being outside (eg they are blind), then I agree with you 100% OP, cats are only partly domesticated and it's cruel to keep them locked up and unable to roam. There may be great risk and they may lead a shorter life statically but quality of life is more important than quantity

Foxes do not care about cats. And when it comes to eco friendly life choices UK* isn't that cultured. Lawn mowing, concrete driveways, hate for trees in the gardens, hunting, parking on lawns etc. it all has an impact and is unnecessary.

*like most developed countries, but since the thread is about the cultured UK...

Yes I agree, in fact I think we should round up ALL the wild animals and put them in zoos. Much safer for them.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Would you like to come round and try and get a lead on my cat. Good luck with that. I'd bring long sleeves and a pair of gauntlets with you.

I never intended on having an indoor cat but she is one. Her choice 🤷🏻‍♀️

Two outdoor cats but now they have got to the ripe old age of 6 don't always go out. If it's a bit grey and miserable they stay in.

It's good you can laugh about the catastrophe, but that is precisely what is happening rn.
There are species with 90% population in zoos.
You are probably not aware, as this thread illustrated most people are happily ignorant, but modern zoos are not only a place to see a tiger but also places were research takes place and multidisciplinary teams work - across whole world- to upkeep the most endangered animals. Zoos are connected, share information and coordinators for each species are making decisions for the best genetic and restorative effect. Thus, for example Polish zoo and German zoo were exchanging elephants' excrements for a week, before they joined them - they did not want them to be stressed by a new mate, and wanted to create a safe space for a male who was the one moving to her.
Is all a good joke, indeed.

@AbraAbraCadabra tell me you have no idea how to interact with/calm down a cat, without telling me you have no idea how to interact with/calm down a cat 😘

What a bizarre comment. You really thought you did something there?

I don't think it is cruel necessarily but i have found it really hard actually to keep cats indoors. All of mine have wanted to go outdoors the first chance they got. Youngest kitten is 7 months and she is raring to go out, I am planning on letting her out in the garden for short periods by the end of the month because it is really hard to keep her in - she has already escaped several times. As soon as she hears a car on the driveway she is waiting by the front door! It also depends on the layout of your house - mine is all open plan downstairs so I can't lock her in one area.

I also can't stand the cat/dog comparison. It's like comparing apples and oranges. Dogs might not be allowed to roam free but most cats are not trained to play fetch or walk nicely on leads.