Cats in flats

[allegretto]

I really want to get a cat (always had them growing up) but we live in a flat and there is only a balcony. Do you think it is possible to have a (happy) cat in a flat? Or should I resign myself to never having one.

I had a cat in a flat a few years ago. I was lucky in that in the communal area, there was a cat flap on the ground floor, and cat flaps in many of the flat doors. (I realise that modern blocks of flats are filled with fire doors which would make this difficult.)

In a neighbouring block of flats, there was a more radical solution: a cat-sized wooden ladder on the outside leading up to one of the windows (which could take the weight of a cat, but not a human).

If you can't let the cat out, suppose it may be kinder to get a young cat who has not been used to going outside, rather than an older cat who might have roamed for years.

At cat adoption centres there are cats who they ask to only be house cats (I assume they have always been).

Could this be an option for you?

Cliffdiver - I hadn't thought of that. I will check. A neighbour walks her cat outside on a lead - is that a good or a bad idea? No clue!

Maybe get an older cat that can't or doesn't want to go outside anymore

My grandmother got a cat 5 years ago that was approximately 11 years old. It only had three legs and was apparently terrified of outdoors. He's still alive now and happily lives just indoors of her bungalow.
( grandmother only gets rescued older cats as doesn't want a kitten that will outlive her! She's only 75)