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.

Not all cats are hunters, my cat has never caught anything, she sits in the garden with birds hopping around her completely uninterested.

I know people have said about cats destroying wildlife and yes it is sad. I personally try and rescue, help and release every bird or mouse I can. There’s a man in my village who takes in injured birds I’ve taken many to him. Luckily I’m not scared to handle mice so I rescue them when I can. I know it doesn’t eliminate the harm but I do try! I had to have a tetanus shot recently after a not very grateful mouse bit me. Mice have a surprisingly painful and sharp bite!!

Honestly you need to be prepared for the fact they may not be happy as indoor cats. We got our cat to be indoor, he had lots of enrichment and stimulation but just cried at the windows and doors bless him. He’s an outdoor cat now and much much happier!

Slightly off topic but can you recommend a hoover that deals with the fluff? Cat is still a kitten and we haven't found a new hoover yet.

It's best to get kittens so they will adapt. However a lot depends on their personalities. Some cats are fine living indoors all the time, others aren't happy no matter how much stimulation they get. Unfortunately there's no way to reslly know unless you get a specific breed.

It depends what type of main road. Cats get street wise pretty quickly. Depending how fast they mature which is individual. It can be anywhere between 2-5 years. If you make it to 5 your pretty home and dry.

And added to this.. really busy roads all the time are actually probably less dangerous in a way. It’s fast roads with not much traffic which probably pose this highest risk. Like A roads described above.

Do you have enough space our back ? Our cat was supposed to be indoor but one day under one she got out and the way she sniffed the air , felt the breeze ,looked up at the sky and was alert to all around her we decided to just let her out.we have a busy road out front she doesn't try and go there. We try and make loud scary noises when the door is open . Touch wood shes about 4 now and hasn't beennput front

I've found our Dyson Animal vacuum's pretty useless at picking up hair so we have a couple of de-fluffing tools. I do the carpets with those, pick up the clumps of fur and then vacuum afterwards. Like this: https://amzn.eu/d/fGDr27a

Depending on the age of your kids and how responsible they are, I'd be wary that if you're not very careful the cats will run out the door in a second .They will surely be hit by a car. I feel that cats can be happy indoors if you get them as kittens and they're not used to being outside. Just make sure they have a perch where they can sit elevated, toys, and a window to look out. I would also suggest getting 1 cat and see how that goes before committing to 2.

There’s no such thing as indoor cats. In my opinion, it’s cruel. Let your cats roam outside, it’s their nature to do so.

This is a common misconception I think - you can’t know in advance whether your kitten will be happy indoors, it’s just pot luck.

Some are fine and will adapt to a life of confinement but others won’t.

IMO the only ethical reason to keep a cat inside is if they’re blind, deaf or disabled in some way and need to be kept in for their own safety. But saying that, one of ours is nearly blind and still goes outside - he manages fine.