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.

@grapesstrawberriesplease Ragdolls are just so different to any other breed of cat.
Mine won't even hunt a spider and would probably lie in the middle of the road if it was warm 😳

She's so easy to train too.

We used to have 6 cats, two of them liked to go in the back garden (which is securely fenced for our dogs), the others weren't really interested and preferred to be indoors. Now we only have one elderly girl left, she will go outside occasionally if we're doing garden chores but she never stays out long. Some cats just prefer to be house cats, simple as that.

Outdoor cat owners will never agree, it’s a complete waste of time arguing. I hope their cat being able to shit in other peoples gardens and roam in random fields is worth it when they’re having to pick their poor little body up off the side of the road 😢

It so depends on the cat. Some are happy indoors - let them be indoors. Some are happy outside - let them be outside. In my experience over nearly 30 years of cats, most do enjoy being outside, feeling the sun and the wind in their fur, sniffing interesting smells and listening to sounds I can't hear. Perhaps I've been lucky, but our indoor/outdoor cats have lived to great ages and (I think) very happily

My car has always been an indoor/outdoor cat and loved to be outside. He's now old and frail and every time he goes out he gets badly beaten up by the younger neighborhood cats. He doesn't go outside anymore and I feel sad for him. I agree with you cats should be able to go outside and roam around it's a very sad life to be stuck inside all of the time.

*cat

I have three rescue cats. One was living as a stray on the streets, one was neglected and out in all weathers, and the third was used to outdoor access. I have a microchip cat flap and would have (albeit reluctantly) allowed them to use it if they looked to go out.

Not once has any of them ever appeared to be unhappy in any way to stay indoors. The two younger ones might go out given the opportunity but they don't indicate in any way that they want to and I think the eldest one in particular had had her fill of being outdoors. I don't know how they'd cope with rain now as if you drip water accidentally on them, they take off like they've been scalded!! Girlcat1 would have been best probably as an only cat because she doesn't like the other two. The youngest is here 7 months and he and my other girl have totally bonded, and love to race and play with each other.

Plus there's usually someone at home most of the time. Girlcat 2 and Boycat are currently asleep on the table in front of me. Don't look cruelly treated to me!

Our last cat came to us as a stray and was fully outdoors to begin with, then indoor/outdoor. When he lost the sight in one eye we kept him in or only let him out under supervision. He had the life of Riley with us.

Mine does like to do this most days, neighbourhood watch to check what the other cats are up to
He's very much a human lover and not keen on other cats and "bed and food inside, why go out?"

If cats could choose, they would choose to be able to go out between about 21.00 and midnight, every night. It's appalling to keep them in if there's no medical need. Mine typically goes into the garden for 15 minutes in the morning then comes back in and sleeps until dinner time, then about 21.00 he'll go out for a couple of hours. On the rare occasions I've had to keep him in, his does his nut.

We got a ragdoll from a rescue, she’d been living on the streets for weeks. She cries to go out so we let her. She never goes far.
Theres always pictures of her on local neighbourhood groups as people think she’s lost while she’s just sitting around minding her own business.

I think it's extremely cruel to keep a cat indoors its whole life. If you want an indoor pet get something more suited to that life. Cats want to roam around, sniffing and exploring, climb trees, chase leaves blowing in the wind, stalk; the indoor environment is so unstimulating.
I've had 4 cats in the last 40 years, all of them have gone out and in when they please. One of them sometimes killed birds and mice, maybe one thing every few months, my current one, aged 12, killed a blue tit once, that's all. I've fed the birds in my garden for decades, plenty of birds come to the feeders, every year I have wrens, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, robins and sparrows nesting in my garden so they obviously don't mind the cat.
My cats have also always been allowed out at night if they want to, mostly in autumn and winter they don't want to, but in summer they often spend all night outside.
One of my cats was killed by a car aged 14, of course that was terrible but I would rather he'd have had the life he did, free to go wherever he wanted, than for him to have lived a few more years having never felt the fresh air on his fur, or grass under his paws, or climbed a tree or chased a butterfly.

Our cat is an indoor cat and completely happy. She has plenty of toys to play with, scratching posts and lots of human company when she wants it.

We don't encourage her to go out because she has no savvy at all and would wander under a cat or get stolen. But if the door or windows are open, she almost never goes outside. If she does, she just sits by the door and looks confused. She's much happier indoors.

Keeping a cat indoors if it has experienced the outdoors and loves it is cruel. It’s not cruel if the cat has always been indoors, is happy and mentally stimulated and doesn’t choose to go outside when given the option.

My family cats have always been free to come and go, like a human adult but without the responsibilities.

They do catch the occasional bird and rodent, but in fairness those birds are eating worms and spiders, the spiders are eating flies...it is the circle of life.

This sounds a very restricted and quite lonely life for a young cat.

I agree with you I would not personally ever have an indoor cat (unless it was an old/unwell cat that chose not to go out).

I have had two cats killed on the road (and one attacked by a dog) so I catproofed the garden and my cats are now restricted to a town-garden-sized outdoor area. So they can't roam, but they can sunbathe on the shed, catch rodents, watch the world go by - and toilet outdoors! Ideally I would love them to roam. But I also want them to stay alive.

In your mother's situation, I would get the garden catproofed so he can go in and out when he fancies, but stays safe. If you think she would consider that, I used Protectapet.

protectapet.com/pages/cat-enclosures?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw8fu1BhBsEiwAwDrsjGtrxaQr-hg3lMBAjmv3Ykgs8RCCcgPyt127jmLz4Ue0YQ2iit3cURoCV2wQAvD_BwE

I am in the UK and was shocked by the number of cats roaming at night and getting into other's gardens and being a nuisance. I am originally from southwest US and our cats were all indoors. They had a full life. they were friendlier when indoor cats and lived longer. They were either endangered from cars or eaten by wild animals. They were all perfectly contented.

Well you can disagree with science all you like, but genetic studies have shown that unlike dogs, cats have not diverged much from their wildcat ancestors.

I'm well aware that some people walk their cats on lead thank you very much. Unfortunately these people are usually as thick as shit. Very few cats are happy on a harness. As I said before, they are not dogs.

Educate yourself:

https://metro.co.uk/2017/08/18/the-rspca-isnt-impressed-with-you-walking-your-cats-on-leads-guys-6861734/

Nothing to be proud about. If the cat is bored at home, it means you are not providing enough stimulation.

Cats are home pets and should be safely kept at home, they are not part of the eco system. Earth is dying, there is no need to speed up the process because pets are bored and their useless owners can't be arsed to play with them. If my disabled grandma can provide adequate toys and play time, so can younger people.

On the other hand, I do not believe any one who says they love their cat but also are happy to gamble its life. I know few people who had to scrape their cat from the road.
People who are laughing about cat fights but then are outrage about vet fees. People who are happy to stress their cat and shorten their life by significant time are the people who should never ever get a cat in the first place.

Ps. You can design every space, even the tines flat, to be a cat's playground. The basic includ wallpaper that doubles as a climbing wall/scratcher. You can have tunel/ railings system installed at the ceiling. Hammocks....sometimes one windowsill is enough.

Honestly they are so bad for wildlife I think it's more responsible to keep them indoors, but I see your point that it may be unstimulating for them.
Perhaps the answer is to stop breeding them and reduce the population significantly?

We inherited our first cat when a relative died. She had never been outside and for some reason, at 2 years old, had only grown to the size of a 5 month old kitten. We got her lots of toys, a tall cat tree and a kitten to keep her company. We are both retired so home all day and they also have a Labrador for company.

We live in a very safe place for cats to go out but, of the 6 houses in our cul-de-sac, 3 have garden’s that they spend most of the day tending and one has a complete set up for feeding the small birds. There are quite a few outdoor cats in the area and they are not well liked by the neighbours.

In the last few weeks we have secured our side garden so that they can have supervised outside time and made them an obstacle course to play on. I wouldn’t leave them out on their own but I’m happy to sit out with them. They weren’t very keen to stay out at first but are definitely getting more used to it. They also have full run of the house. They are very fit, happy cats and I won’t take the risk of letting them out unsupervised.

Do what's best for the animal in question. We have 4 cats, some prefer a more outdoors life than others. They are all happy because they are able to roam as little or far as they need. Our garden backs onto a woodland so they are nowhere near roads.

Don't forget, in the UK, we don't have any predators **due to being an Island (well, islands), so that probably colours our view somewhat.

News to me that 99p burgers are wildlife.

Living by the 'he does it too' mentality is not good. Personally, I'd be putting a barrier up on the fence if I ever get a cat. Best of both worlds.

It's easy to prevent (reduce) cats killing wildlife🤷🏼‍♀️

I like cats and think ideally they should be allowed on the garden, but it's really not great for them to be roaming and killing wildlife. But it's nice that you find it laughable.

Oh here we go 😂 I don’t think I’ll be taking advice from anyone who takes their information from the Metro.

FYI - I’m a registered feline behaviourist and psychologist. I think I’m far more educated on this topic than you, but it’s sweet you’re so determined to be right!

I agree with this. You cannot say you love your cat and then in the same breath say you let them outside. The two don’t go hand in hand.