Indoor cat

[VicksJunkie]

Having had dogs throughout my childhood, I’m getting a cat as my first grownup pet. It’s mostly for my daughter, but I’m also looking forward to having a new energy in the house. We’re getting a ginger male, it’s currently with its mum for a few more weeks.

I’m not too worried about the mess or the smells (within reason!) but I am worried about it being an indoor cat. This wouldn’t be my preference, but we live on a main road and whilst the back of the house has a garden and leads out onto fields, we are right next to a train track, and other pet owners I’ve chatted to have suggested the life span of the cat would be relatively short if I let it out, especially with the (very busy) road. 😬

So, TL:DR, I’m looking for advice on how to manage an indoor cat, when my natural preference would be to let it out. Do you have to keep windows closed all the time? How does it work?

Imo you accept your location isn't suitable to get a dcat..

You want to make sure you've got plenty of space to climb and jump, floor to ceiling cat trees etc. But most importantly, you want two cats. Two friends to keep each other company. Also Google catios

I would either echo what PP said and accept that you can't have a cat or I would go to a shelter and find a cat who can't go out for health reasons. That's the kindest thing to do and a lot of shelters have indoor only cats because most people want a cat who can be let outside. Sight and hearing issues can make a cat not suitable for outdoor living. Then get child catches on your windows so they can be opened but not wide enough for a cat to escape through.

Appreciate the honesty, thank you.

I have a indoor cat ( because he is aggressive) , they need lots of stimulation on a daily basis, there are loads of interactive toys for cats but mine very quickly grew fed up with them and prefer chasing string / shoe laces / things on a string .
He also really likes his 3 way tunnel he hides in there and leaps out every time I pass him , more often than not when I am carrying my dinner or a hot drink !

As pp said a tall scratching post and high up places to sit / hide.
And child locks on windows ( though I am yet to find a stick on one that stays stuck ( rent so can not drill window frames)
You could also look at Flat Cats
01526 341186
https://g.co/kgs/SNwTEmA
To keep him from escapeing.

He has a cat carrier and a small dog cage , if he wants to be outside he sits in / on them and demands to go out.
I'd love to get him a catico but the layout of my back door & yard makes it impossible without spending over £3,000 for a relatively small one.

You also need to be careful with their diet, they will burn less calories than a outdoor cat so keep the food intake to what they should have , not what they demand.
Go especially careful and sparingly with treats as they tend to be high calorie.

You have options:

• Cat-proof your house with window nets etc. and make it a kitty paradise with plenty of enrichment. Cat walls, floor-to-ceiling cat trees and a rotating stock of toys. Preferably another cat (a sibling would be great) to keep him company and be prepared to spend lots of time playing with him.
• Add a catio to your garden, giving him free access to a secure outdoor area.
• Cat-proof your garden. Protectapet, Sanctuary SOS and other companies specialise in this.
• Let him go outside and accept the risk.

You can also lead train him and take him out for walks in places that are likely to have fewer dogs. We've found a couple of woodland areas that are very quiet.

We live on a fairly busy road and I thought I was getting an indoor cat. DCat had other ideas and loves being outside. Rather than being constantly on guard against him escaping, we decided to get him used to staying in the safe area around our garden.

We initially started by just taking him outside in our arms, letting him watch what was going on. Then he was allowed to explore the garden on a harness and lead. After a couple of months, we let him off the lead but under close supervision, still with a harness on to make it easier to catch him if needed. Now he's allowed free access outside during daylight. He wears a tracker so we know where he is and he will only toilet in his litter tray so he's in and out all the time.

The challenge at the moment is teaching him to use the cat flap. It's sellotaped open at the moment until he gets used to it. Otherwise he sits by the door miaowing for us to open it for him

Ultimately, it's what works for you and your cat. We made the decision to let ours out because it felt like I was letting my worries get in the way of him having a full and happy life. There are limits though and if ours shows any inclination to cross the busy road, we'll cat proof the garden. So far he's quite happy to just potter around and make friends with our neighbours' cats.

These are all really useful, thank you. I appreciate the various viewpoints.

I would either cat-proof your garden or get a cat that can’t go outside for health reasons.

Cat proof your garden or take it out on lead walks, it’s what I’ve done with my two! They are happy and healthy, get their fix of fresh air but are safe.

I always find these discussions very interesting now I have moved to a country where cats are expected to be kept indoors so that they aren’t a danger to local wildlife! Cats here are very happy and seem to thrive as indoor cats! People also say that indoor cats live a lot longer on average as not contending with traffic and predators.

You can consider a catio or lead training if you would like them to be able to experience the outdoors in some way.

I also live somewhere where indoor cats are the absolute norm. You could build a catio or lead train if you want to take outdoors.
Otherwise have lots of indoor toys and games, including ones that are food based.
We have screens on our windows.
Our cat doesn’t wander outside anymore than our dog does.

And yet when you watch shows like Jackson Galaxy’s “My Cat from Hell” you see a shocking number of cats who are clearly utterly miserable and stressed indoors.

I do think lots of cats adapt to indoor life but personally I don’t think it’s fair to take a predatory animal who is designed to roam and hunt and shut it up inside four walls for its’ entire life.

I had an indoor cat for 18 years; he led a very happy and healthy life. He enjoyed walking with a harness and lead.

I have retractable fly screens on several windows to let fresh air in.

Don’t agree. I’ve known many pampered house cats leading happy lives.

Neutering greatly reduces the roaming urge. It’s reprehensible to let them rove around killing wildlife.

I would suggest that the cat you are due to get might not be the right fit, I would go to a rescue as you will see there are 100's of cats which will be needed to be indoors and also may prefer to be the only cat.

I used three local rescues for ours, they are brilliant and can fit you with the best cat for your environment

You don’t need to agree 🤷‍♀️

I have a cat who was so stressed indoors it made him sick - the vets told us we could either subject him to a life of vet trips and medication or we could let him out. So we did - he’s never been stressed or needed to visit the vet since (before then he was there every couple of months at least).

He’s neutered, happy and healthy.

I have Katzecure in the garden. It's not cheap, but has been fantastic. Cat can play in the garden as she chooses, and I can have back doors and windows open. Front of the house I have FlatCats for the windows.

How many birds has he killed?

We have two house cats and a dog.

One is a house cat because it’s a breed which is notoriously stupid and would just sit in a road not noticing that it needs to move, it’s also very nickable.

The other is a rescue that that organisation made us sign a form to say it would never be allowed out. No health problems, I think they just know how many cats are killed on the roads and are lost because they roam.

I was initially worried (felt it was unfair) but both are happy, healthy and chilled out cats. (Well one is a bit of a dick but I think that’s just his personality).

Windows are open enough to let air through but not cats. We have toys but they’re mainly interested in eachother, the humans and the dog. They ignore the scratching posts etc and knacker the furniture. The food is a learning curve, they move less so need less food and you can get specific indoor cat food which may be a con but may not be

No idea - I don’t keep tabs on what he gets up to when he’s out exploring.

If you’re trying to guilt me or make me feel bad it’s not going to work btw - I’m a huge believer in outdoor cats being allowed to roam, hunt and explore.

We cat proofed our garden and our cats now have the best of both worlds, access to fresh air and a garden with lots of toys but safe from the roads and other cats and from endangering any wildlife themselves.

It’s almost as though this is a TV show which deliberately seeks out troubled cats in order to get an audience.

Well, sure. But the issues clearly exist - cats fighting, peeing up walls and on furniture - all clear signs of stress and issues that are reflected in threads on here all the time where cats are clearly unhappy inside.

But they’re not wild animals. They’re domesticated pet animals with a residual hunting instinct, that are being turned out at their owner’s pleasure to disrupt the actual authentic wild ecosystem and cause great suffering. Not to mention being a massive nuisance to other homeowners.

Why don’t you cat proof your garden?

We didn’t cat-proof our garden because the layout makes it almost impossible - and wouldn’t stop him from killing anything anyway.