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Original poster

Indoor cats...how do you stop them going out in the summer when doors are left open?

26 replies

futurity · 22/01/2009 20:39

We have always had cats and now are down to 1 after having 4 at one time. We don't have a cat flap but our cats have always been used to being let in and out and then staying out all night.

We have been offered a 2 year old ragdoll cat which needs rehoming but of course it is advised that pedigrees are kept as indoors cats due to not being very street wise and also fear of them being stolen!

It is tempting and not having a cat flap we don't have to worry about the cat getting out that way but I can't imagine how we can have an indoor cat whilst having 2 children who are in and out with doors open during the summer months when the weather is nice (!).

So my question is..can you have indoor cats if you have active kids?!

OP posts:
Alambil · 22/01/2009 21:12

Make a pen from the back door - then cat can go and get fresh air too but still be "inside" (put door on pen to let children escape!)

I'm going to do this soon for my cat / us

Original poster
futurity · 22/01/2009 21:19

thats an idea...although our back door is a conservatory double door going onto a patio so not easily achieveable...

I think what I was trying to get at was whether indoor cats do try and leg it out the house given half the chance?

OP posts:
RockinSockBunnies · 22/01/2009 21:32

Yes they do! My cat came to us as a rescue cat and her previous owners told me she was an indoor cat. I wanted an indoor cat as last cat had been run over and killed .

However, new cat certainly legs it given half the chance. I'm lucky in that if she does go out, she generally stays in the garden, but she's been known to leap over the fence and disappear a few times. Thankfully, she always comes back once I've called, whistled and hollered for a few minutes.

Therefore, if you want the cat to be an indoor cat, I'd just advise that you keep all windows and doors shut, even in the summer.

Alambil · 22/01/2009 22:00

Or fence the garden in (expensive and rather ugly looking)

Or get a grate for the door/windows that stays shut (you know - like on Australian soaps, the outside door) so you can have fresh air but no escapees!

RockinSockBunnies · 22/01/2009 23:08

If you fence the garden in then the fences will have to be ridiculously high or have netting on top. My (not particularly athletic) cat can easily scale an 8 foot fence!

sleepycat · 22/01/2009 23:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SueW · 22/01/2009 23:19

My friend had a run built for her cats. They could get out through a cat flap from her sitting room, go along a wire tunnel approx 3-4in taller than them and wide enough for them to pass each other easily, into a huge cage built onto the back of her garage. IIRC the cage had either stuff built into it or things growing in it!

Original poster
futurity · 23/01/2009 12:12

all my cats before have been outside and had no problem but I am of the understanding that pedigree cats like Ragdolls should be kept indoors for there own safety and so they don't get nicked!?

OP posts:
seeker · 23/01/2009 12:15

Don't keep a cat that has to be kept indoors. They are independent animals and need freedom.

wannaBe · 23/01/2009 12:16

cats are meant to go outside and play.

I think it's cruel to have indoor cats, and I think it's wrong to breed specific cats that then turn out to have to be indoor cats because of the way that we as humans have bred them.

kormachameleon · 23/01/2009 12:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
futurity · 23/01/2009 12:27

Thank you kormachameleon...I was wanting responses from people who already had ragdolls or other pedigree cats as it is all new to me! I don't even though if we are going to get the cat but I wanted to find out all the facts as to why they can't go outside as I keep reading and how you keep them in if you have kids?

OP posts:
seeker · 23/01/2009 12:31

If you have a cat, low level anxiety goes witht eh territory. They need to be out and about, they have important cat stuff to do. You can only keep your fingers crossed and hope they come home.

I've had pedigrees and moggies and treated them both exactly the same.

kormachameleon · 23/01/2009 12:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

whooosh · 23/01/2009 12:35

I don't think it is ver fair to have "indor" catsfor treason mentioned.All my pedigrees go out and about nd ferscrosed,nev had a problem.Well one was run over but these things happen to moggies too.

If you are worried about containing the cat(s) you an buy an electronic fence to put around the perimiter an then attach a colar with a eceiver on it.
A friend of mine who breeds Burmese has used on very successfully.The cats benefit from bein able to go outside and the owners dn't worry as they know they are safe in the garden.
Will try to get link for you...

whooosh · 23/01/2009 12:36

here

whooosh · 23/01/2009 12:37

Sincere apologies for all they typos-typing one handed...

RockinSockBunnies · 23/01/2009 13:55

AFAIK, most cat charities that re-home cats specify that cats have to be kept indoors. They won't re-home a cat where it will be allowed outside.

For what it's worth, my cat doesn't ask to go outside. If the door is open during the summer, she might come and join me in the garden, but otherwise she's content indoors. She enjoys squirrel watching from the window, but doesn't appear inclined to go out to chase them.

She has the run of the house, fairly large, and is active indoors. But where we are in London, I think it's just too risky for her to be allowed outside unsupervised. We have a main road near the house and live near the grounds of a hospital, where there are some distinctly dodgy people coming and going from time to time. After my last cat was run over and died, there's no way I could live with the guilt if something happened to this one...

SueW · 23/01/2009 18:28

RSB Maybe they specify any cat you have would have to be kept indoors.

RSPCA made no such request of us, and nor did their follow-up visit person. But we live in suburbia with a large garden, surrounded by other properties with large gardens. We know how far our cats go, because people see them and they don't really go anywhere near the road, except the cul-de-sac we live on.

They've been a bit upset recently though. For 7 years they've had exclusive rights to about 3-4 acres of land or more and now the people next door but one have adopted a stray. Cat fights for the first time; and one of our cats is sometimes reluctant to leave the house.

wannaBe · 23/01/2009 18:40

"AFAIK, most cat charities that re-home cats specify that cats have to be kept indoors. They won't re-home a cat where it will be allowed outside." ey? No such stipulation was made of us either. In fact when we adopted our cats from the RSPCA we were given a leaflet which did suggest cats be kept in at night, but this suggestion was based on the evidence that more cats are run over at night than during the day.

It would be ludicress to suggest that cats could not be rehomed to someone who wasn't going to let them outside. there are enough cats in desparate need of homes as it is without making those kinds of stipulations when rehoming.

In fact afaik the RSPCA woman said to us that it would be preferable to fit a cat flap.

MegBusset · 23/01/2009 18:47

I got my beloved old mog from Battersea Dogs' Home and they were very happy for us to let her out.

In fact over the years she did have a few stints as technically an indoor cat due to me living in flats with no outside access, although she always found a way around it by climbing out of the windows!

Cats are meant to wander (or at least have the option). My friend has a pedigree cat that she only takes outside on a lead, I feel really sorry for it!

seeker · 23/01/2009 19:25

They wouldn't let us have a cat because we live on a boat(!) despite the fact that we are 200 yards from the road, have a garden and lots of wild ground round us. So we had to buy kittens - when we really wanted to give a home to some neglected pusses.

paddingtonbore · 23/01/2009 19:33

we rehomed an indoor cat from Battersea when we lived in a flat. we're now proud owners of a garden, and have begged said moggy to get out and do what nature intended. however she is well and truly institutionalised and prefers to stay indoors even when give free access to roam. I suppose the OP's cat may do the same?

GrimmaTheNome · 23/01/2009 19:39

I had some friends with 'indoor' cats, who looked terrified when the door opened. They were also declawed... this was in the USA. I felt so sorry for them.

Get your cat microchipped and hope for the best.

candlecoaster · 23/01/2009 21:12

My parents cats are indoor cats, the RSPCA said they had to be because one of them is deaf and has mega anxiety issues. They do fine with it and don't seem bothered about going out really. Sometimes they walk out the back door but walk straight back in!

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