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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Taking on new cats which are indoor only - should I do it?

41 replies

TuttiFrutti · 27/08/2014 14:35

I have been offered 2 beautiful Burmese cats which need to be rehomed. It's always been my dream to have a Burmese, I went to see them yesterday and they are lovely... But the current owner says they have been brought up as indoor cats and must be kept in, or I can have our garden made cat-proof.

I've always had outdoor cats before, which had a cat flap and could come and go as they pleased.

We can't afford to cat-proof the garden. A friend did this and it cost thousands. So I suppose we either keep them in the whole time, or buy harnesses and leads and try to walk them... Or don't take them.

What would you do?

OP posts:

RaisingSteam · 27/08/2014 23:15

You do realise your lap is going to be no longer your own?

VenusRising · 27/08/2014 23:30

I think morally, if you say they won't go out, then you really should, abide by that.

I know my cats' breeder has a contract that all "her" kittens will all be brought up as indoor cats, amd neutered beofre 6 months.
They are half burmese, and really not clever in traffic at all.
Burmese lie on hot asphalt roads and are squashed, a lot.

Not sure if you are starting off on the right foot if you're already considering lying tbh.

"Pish" to those who say cats can't be happy inside.
It's a mad bad world out there with traffic and unnuetered FIV cats. My indoor cats are very happy campers.

Just look at half the sad threads on here. Poor squashed cats. All unnecessary heartbreaks.

There is a cheap way to safeguard yor garden - it needent cost 1000s.

Hakluyt · 27/08/2014 23:34

"I think morally, if you say they won't go out, then you really should, abide by that."

I think it's cruel to keep cats inside. So it would be morally wrong for me to do so.

shushpenfold · 28/08/2014 08:24

Interesting points here - I have two bengal cross cats and one I suspect would rather like to be an indoor cat, most notably on rainy days! She is a complete wuss (nickname is Wussy Pussy) although she is a big, big cat and could defeat most foe by just sitting on them. Both are let out though and we have a microchip cat flap which has stopped them being beaten up in their own home by local feistier cats. I had always expected any cats to be enabled to access the outdoors as a Uni boyfriend's flatmate had an indoor cat who literally hated it......scratched everyone and had a look of complete mania on its face all the time. When they moved to a ground floor flat a year later and finally let the cat out, suddenly they had a cat with a vastly different and far more chilled personality. Everybody happy. In those circumstances it's cruel to keep them in, but it's entirely dependent upon the cat and not on the breeder/owner. If the cat is desperate to go out, change your rules (road or no road) and if you can't, get a fish instead.

happygardening · 28/08/2014 08:31

Surely Venus it depends very much on the OP's location. If there are little or no cars where she lives then traffic is unlikely to be an issue?
I do agree cats can live indoors happily we lived in a big second/third floor flat for a long time and ours did but the size of it meant they had loads of space and being on the second and third floors meant they couldn't easily get out.
In a house with doors/windows/French windows on the ground floor it's much harder, especially if the OP has children who may not be as conscientious at shutting doors etc. Also I believe Burmese are very sociable and very agile so good jumpers climbers, if the OP and her family are in the garden a lot in the summer then they might seriously try to escape to get to them.
It's very hard OP, if you get them and struggle to keep them in will the owner take them back?

lljkk · 28/08/2014 09:02

Many decades ago my mother took a 1yo pedigree Burmese from a friend (had been indoor only, wasn't working out for them...) and he happily transited to going outside. If it were me and I wanted the cats, I would probably go for the wriggle room of ignoring the issue of indoor-outdoor instead saying "I'd love to have them, We'll see how they get on with us" and if the cats chose to go out, then fine! If prev-owner really pushed about indoor-only I'd probably have to break down and state "I can't guarantee that they'll never go out because we're a busy household and someone might leave a door open" and see if that's acceptable to them. Else they can pay a big deposit to a shelter to find them new homes (and shelter will have own ideas about what's acceptable or not).

lljkk · 28/08/2014 09:04

ps: our current cats had been indoor only when we got them, they were rescue kittens who went straight into rescue pens/cages waiting for adoption. They were Terrified of cars, I've never had cats so scared of motors. So being indoor-only meant they had no experience of cars and were extra-wary, not reckless at all as a result of ignorance.

Hubblez · 28/08/2014 10:48

I have 3 cats and all are indoor, all under a year old, one of them is deaf and so if the other 2 were to go out (via cat flap or open window) he would want to follow and obviously being deaf it would be super dangerous for him if he got out. The other 2 have never tried to go outside themselves, I took one out on a lead but he ran straight back in again, tried this a few times with him. If a door is open when people are going in/out then I put them in a different room, but they don't tend to go near the doors anyway. Deaf cat is always trying to escape and is totally fearless, my DP says that the house is like animal Alcatraz

It is annoying not being able to leave windows and doors open but I knew it would have to be like that when I got the deaf cat, I am used to it now.

The current owner of the Burmese cats probably wants them as indoor for their own safety, I think it would be horrible to take them with her trusting you to keep them as indoor and then let them outside. Obviously she will probably never know and would have to take your word for it that they'll stay indoor, but it would still suck for her to put all that trust into you and then it be broken

Hubblez · 28/08/2014 10:51

Oh also my cats have a massive cat tree that covers a whole wall pretty much, and a million toys and each other to play with, and me a lot of the time. If you are home a lot to give them attention which you said you are then I think you would all be fine. The cats can't miss what they have never experienced

Hakluyt · 28/08/2014 10:57

" The cats can't miss what they have never experienced"

Cats are evolved to be wanderers. Of course they can miss what they have never experienced- they are driven by instinct.

Hubblez · 28/08/2014 11:09

They have instincts to hunt and climb and stuff yeah, which they will feel they want to do, but which they can do inside with toys. They can't miss the feeling of climbing a tree or rolling in grass for example because they've never done it. They don't know the difference between chasing a live mouse or a toy mouse if they've never seen a live one

McSnuff · 28/08/2014 11:15

I have two BSH's - I signed "contracts" for both of them that I'd keep them inside. I did, for 4-6 weeks each. I also said I'd get them neutered, which I did, straight off.

They're both getting on a bit now but have had years of happy tree-climbing, rodent-bothering and lying in the dappled shade. Pair of happy old beasts, their lives enhanced by the cat-flap.

I wouldn't stress at all about "lying" or '"getting off on the wrong foot". You're taking in a couple of animals who need a good home and you're expanding their horizons. A year old isn't too old; you'll be fine.

Hakluyt · 28/08/2014 11:32

"They can't miss the feeling of climbing a tree or rolling in grass for example because they've never done it. "

happygardening · 28/08/2014 13:00

Doesn't it also depend on the cat? I have 1 cat 5 yrs old (old being the operative word) with access to the outside, I'm looking at him now; asleep, when I got up; asleep, this afternoon; he'll be asleep, if it rains he'll have a look outside, eat some food do a pee and then guess what go back to sleep. I sometimes think Id like to come back as a cat! Life seems so much easier. My new kitten a breed chosen because they're not overly active although very interactive and are poor jumpers or climbers; asleep. In contrast we recently lost a young cat to my neighbours dog, she was determined to go outside and kill every living thing from about 3-4 months old.
I don't know much about Burmese but aren't they very active? Curtain climbers etc.

Hubblez · 28/08/2014 13:39

Hakluyt I know it's a shame that they can't do those things. In my case if my cat went outside he would be dead within a day as he can't hear cars/dogs/people/any possible danger, so I would rather have him inside and treeless than outside and instantly dead

In the case of OPs cats then yes you could get them and let them out, they're young enough to adapt to it easily, did their current owner not say why she wanted to keep them as indoor? Some breeds are just not as smart outside so as some others have said that could be the reason. You could just take them saying they'll be indoor and then eventually let them out, or persuade the owner to accept that they would be happier outdoors depending on what you want. I just think that the owner would be worrying about where they end up already, it would be horrible for her if she ever found out that you agreed to one thing and did the other

Miggsie · 28/08/2014 13:41

I had a supposedly indoor cat foisted on me - he loved going outdoors - it was cruel to deny him when he sat and looked through the glass door. I opened it and he would go out and sit in the sun for a while.

Cats know where their foodbowl is.

Burmese are often kept in because they are so expensive and the risk of thieves in some areas is huge - it is rarely of benefit to the cat.

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