Indoor or Outdoor? Help us decide...

[MoreCrackThanHarlem]

7 month old female. Gorgeous, gorgeous cat. Bit timid with strangers.

We live around 100 metres from a very busy road. Lorries, cars at 40 mph+.

We are in a cul de sac, so the other end of our street is safe and cat friendly.

Cat likes to sit in the window, but has not bolted for the door or been vocal re letting her out.

Is it cruel to keep her in?
So torn...

I take it you don't have a back garden that is enclosed by a lot of other gardens and so practically no access to the road?

Really I don't know. Cats are certainly much safer inside. Is she a rescue? If so did you have a home visit and, if so, what did they think of your location from a cat safety point of view?

I brought her home at 7 weeks old. She was living in pretty awful circumstances in a house I visited through work.
My back garden is enclosed by neighbours gardens on one side. The other fence is next to a very quiet road, but this is the road that leads to the dual carriageway. Difficult to explain, sorry.

When we looked at getting a rescue cat previously, we were told we were not suitable due to the proximity to the road. They wouldn't carry out a home visit, they simply measured on a map, as the crow flies, and told us we were too close to the road.

She might not want to go out, one of ours was a house cat by choice and bolted for the house if you took her down the garden.

On the other hand it's her first summer & those birds aren't going to catch themselves. I let mine out after the rush hour & he has a curfew so he isn't allowed out in the dark.

Can you cat-proof the fence that leads to the road? There are a few suppliers that do similar systems to this www.katzecure.com/

And I would definitely keep her in at night.

Yes, depending on how much money/effort you are able to invest, an 'indoor' cat can have: an outdoor enclosure, a secured garden using some crazy fencing system, even electric fencing.

My garden looks like a detention facility but oh well, keeps the cats and the birds alive.

Our rescue cat has no interest in going outside. She just tested positive for FIV which lots of rescue cats have and is a reason why lots of people keep their cat indoors although there are different points of view on this issue.
Congrats on your new cat! Does she rule your house yet?

My cat is second only to my lovely dd.
Will play it by ear. If she starts asking to go out or making escape bids I will think about spending some money making the garden more secure.
There are actually lots of cats in my cul de sac that wander through the gardens but don't seen to venture on the road.

Thanks for all your advice, btw