Indoor vs Outdoor cat

[sunshineandkindle]

Would it be cruel/unreasonable to get 2 cats and have them as indoor cats?
We have 2 children who would love love love a cat but we live near a main road and I worry it would get hit by a car.

I think having a catio makes it just about ok to not let cats roam outside. It’s not ideal but at least you are showing some concern for your cat’s emotional wellbeing.

I had a cat (given to us by a friend as her landlord wouldn’t let her keep him) who died of old age at 18. We live on a main road and it never caused a problem. We DID have a problem trying to get another one because we live on a main road. I hope you manage to get one but if you go to charities or rescue centres they’ll turn you down.

Honestly i think it depends on the cat. I have doors and windows open in the summer and they ignore it. Both are 12 and 13 now, and pretty chilled.

I think you can mimimise risk in terms of outdoor access - we don’t have a cat flap so our cat needs someone in to let him in and out, and he’s always kept in overnight. Mostly he just hangs out in our garden/next door. In bad weather he chooses not to go out, and we spend a lot more time playing with him on those days to make sure he’s not bored. Our previous cat was similar in terms of not roaming, but she didn’t care about the weather and would happily sit under a bush in torrential rain!

Desperate to get outside? You dont know me or my cat to pass any judgement. He is watching a pigeon sat on the roof/fence, not trying to escape. He goes outside with me and takes himself back in of his own free will. The only interest he has in going outside is to eat some grass.

Just because cats can roam doesnt mean they should. They kill wildlife, which I won't allow. Is it cruel to keep dogs inside? Im sure if you didn't lock them in they would be outside doing dog things too.

Ragdoll is an indoor cat breed - breeders tell you to keep the cat inside or at best get a catio. It’s very different from an outdoor breed being kept inside. It seems cruel to keep birds in cages but let a budgie outside and they won’t last long.

Karl politely disagrees with the fact that he'd have a more interesting life as an indoor only cat.

And just to confirm I rescued the bird unharmed and released it. He normally only gets mice, voles and shrews.

Well, that's another thing - is it kind to breed cats who are incapable of behaving like cats and who need to be kept inside our homes for their own safety?

I have two outdoor cats, both pedigrees who I've had from when they were kittens. I'd intended for them to be indoor only and the house looks like a cat soft play centre: cat trees, cat walls, hidey holes and toys everywhere. Both are played with multiple times a day and we rotate toys to keep things fresh and interesting.

However, BoyCat made it very clear from 4 months old onwards that he had no intention of being a indoor cat. We harness trained him and took him on twice-daily walks in our back garden, then let him free roam once he was neutered at 6 months. He's kept in overnight from when it gets dark to after breakfast but he spends most of the day outside.

GirlCat is more of a homebody. She likes to poke around the garden but spends most of the time napping in different spots around the house. She rarely goes out for long periods unless we're in the garden.

Both cats have trackers so I can see where they spend their outside time. Neither ever cross the road at the front of the house. If they did then I'd consider cat-proofing our garden but they seem to be perfectly happy at the back.

As a PP has said, rescues will have cats who need to be indoor only. They might be FIV positive, have only ever been indoor cats or might be blind or have a disability that makes it unsafe for them to go outside. A good rescue will be able to match you with the right cat(s) for your circumstances.

Just because cats can roam doesnt mean they should. They kill wildlife, which I won't allow. Is it cruel to keep dogs inside? Im sure if you didn't lock them in they would be outside doing dog things too.

Dogs aren't locked up inside 24/7 the way indoor cats are. If someone didn't walk their dog then yes, they would be being cruel.

My cat isn't locked inside 24/7 but the poster decided to tell me my cat is desperate to get outside. Hes that desperate to go outside that hes currently curled up inbetween my legs fast asleep.

Fair enough - I was just saying that you can't compare indoor cats with dogs, as dogs aren't kept inside the way that indoor cats are - they still go out for walks, into the garden etc.

We live on the main road through our village, I didn't think we would be allowed to rehome from the rspca but they let us have two kittens (lived here 30 years with 4 previous cats and we never had any cat vs car problems) One already is desperate to go outside, she's already hanging off the door handle and miaowing at the door. The other is showing no interest and loves her bed.

theres so many cats and kittens needing homes i think they were happy for us to take two off their hands!

Have had indoor cats all my life. They’ve been very happy. Had ragdolls for years and now British Shorthairs. Choose a pedigree known to be a chilled indoor cat – ragdolls, Burmese, BSH etc. Get them neutered. Lots of play and stimulation – trees, toys and puzzle feeders etc.

3 cats, all indoors. North American and Australian groups (some European countries too, but can’t remember which ones) are very keen on indoor only cats. It’s both risky for the cats and for many birds.

there’s a cultural divide and people are prone to anthropomorphisisng pets. I have a good sized house, cat trees, toys, a nice bay window.

Frankly I think cats are happier being indoors than they are being dead.

I have four cats and they can go indoors or outside when they like. We have a large garden and fields or woodland around us.

One of my cats is a Ragdoll. A neutered female and she is the hunter out of them all so I’m not buying the comments about Ragdolls being indoor cats that aren’t suitable to go outside.

I also have a British Shorthair who often voluntarily spends his days indoors. He’s older but has always preferred being inside. We have a Litter Robot that he uses and probably goes weeks at a time without venturing out, although he does like to do some sunbathing during a heatwave. He has never caught anything, unless it’s on the end of a stick and persistently played with slowly in front of his nose. I suspect at any point during his life he could have had being an indoor only cat enforced on his and been content about it.

Some cats are unhappy being house cats, regardless of their breed. Just like some people have different needs so do some cats. If you specifically want a house cat then I think you need to look for an adult who either has a medical reason to be indoors or has shown a strong preference to being content to being inside.

In the UK, where the majority of Mumsnet posters are, there isn’t the same coyote, mountain lion or bear threat to domestic cats as there is in Northern America and Australia has a big feral cat problem which is a threat. Many other parents of Europe are somewhere In between. It’s not comparable to the UK.

Frankly I think cats are happier being indoors than they are being dead.

I can't imagine any animal being happier locked up inside four walls for their entire life instead of experiencing the joy of the sun on their fur, the wind in their face and the ability the fulfil their natural instincts to roam, hunt and explore.

Would you like to spend your life locked up inside four walls just because it was safe and meant you were never at risk of being hit by a car?

One of my cats is a Ragdoll. A neutered female and she is the hunter out of them all so I’m not buying the comments about Ragdolls being indoor cats that aren’t suitable to go outside.

Honestly, I think it's something people tell themselves to justify their decision to keep their cats locked up inside all their lives.

I'd also argue it's pretty cruel to purposefully breed cats who are incapable of being cats.

I think you just want to be negative - if you research ragdolls they weren’t breed for this. It’s a consequence of their docile nature. Plus also there are a lot of animals in this world who are breed for captivity or to be ‘used’ by humans. I hardly think a docile cat is up there with animal cruelty.

pet owners with indoor cats often invest in catios which achieves the same thing

Just because there are worse cases of animals being bred to be used by humans, doesn't mean its' okay to breed ragdolls (or other breeds of animal that aren't able to live natural lives due to their temperaments and nature).

It's not about being negative. Cats are bred to roam, to hunt, to explore. Breeding them so they're incapable of doing those things and need to be locked in our homes 24/7 for their own safety is just unkind.

How does it achieve the same thing? They're still locked up. They still can't hunt, explore, roam, meet other cats or behave in a natural way.

It's marginally better than never letting them outside at all, but it's nowhere near as beneficial as letting them out to roam.

We have a Siberian who isn't allowed to free roam. He goes in the garden on a leash only. The breeder required this in the contract, and also he is obviously a pedigree cat so would probably get stolen where we live in south London. I wouldn't risk it.

Wasn't my preference to get a pedigree cat but due to family allergies we had to get this breed. Lovely natured and very fluffy cat so also worth the cost.

I have Siberians ☺️ Gorgeous cats. We have to stay on top of the fluff - it gets everywhere!