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

Would you get a cat if you lived close to a busy road?

39 replies

Figure8 · 31/05/2019 22:22

So.... I've always had dogs, but thinking of making the change to the other side..

I live, not next to a busy road, but close. Like, 50 yards or so?

I had thought of getting a cat that needs rehoming, one that doesn't wander far. Do such cats exist?

Does anyone have any experience with this?

OP posts:
Mendips · 05/06/2019 12:49

It depends on the circumstances. If you were never going to let out at the front and it is more difficult for them to get to the road (lots of gardens etc at the back) it might be OK

Figure8 · 08/06/2019 07:26

But we couldn't live without a cat so we got one that hates the outdoors

How did you go about this? Is there a shop? Grin

OP posts:
Allergictoironing · 08/06/2019 07:42

Rescues should have a fair idea of the personality of the cats in their care. Probably your best bet is a breed rescue, as many of their cats are ex-breeding queens who have never experienced the outdoors, and breeds who tend to be home bodies like Persians & Ragdolls.

Deafdonkey · 08/06/2019 07:44

That's the benefit of a rescue it's like a shop as the rescue know the characters of the cat.

KnittingForMittens · 08/06/2019 07:45

No. My sister lives on a main road and she's had about 3 cats that have all been run over. She has another one now and she is kept as a house cat.

UnderPompeii · 08/06/2019 07:48

Some cats have to be indoor cats for health reasons. I'd be looking at local rescues for an indoor cat in your situation. You can buy amazing cat trees to keep them occupied and some people even build catios! - enclosed outdoor runs for cats. Have a google! Good luck

Hassled · 08/06/2019 07:50

We live on a busy road and in the 20+ years we've been here only one cat has been hit by a car - last year. They do generally stay well away from noisy traffic. However - the loss of that one cat was absolutely devastating and if I could keep the other cats inside without them being completely miserable then I would. At this stage they're just too use to roaming though.

EachandEveryone · 09/06/2019 09:01

It depends what your back way is like. My front has constant traffic and the cat’s don’t even attempt to sneak out there. The back way is where they like to hang out. It’s not enclosed but they don’t go far.

Pleasebequietnow · 09/06/2019 09:03

No. We’ve now lost two cats on the road. We live in village with 30mph limit.

I still have nightmares about having to go and box up their bodies.Sad

We now have a dog for that reason.

sweetkitty · 09/06/2019 09:05

After having one cat killed on the road all of mine have been house cats who get supervised access to the garden, am now looking at either getting a catio or cat proofing the fence.

ComeBackBarack · 09/06/2019 09:07

I think keeping in at night if you don’t get a house cat is a really good idea. You can get microchip cat flaps that you can set to lock once the cat is in.

Figure8 · 09/06/2019 10:24

My back is actually closer to the road. Very small garden, then a small green space, then a slow road, another strip of grass, then busy road.
So 50- 70 yards in total to busy road...?

OP posts:
BlueberrySkies · 09/06/2019 10:28

It’s very easy to sort cat fencing nowadays. Get that and keep it safe in your garden.

Figure8 · 09/06/2019 11:44

Ooh, I'll look into that.... thank you!!!

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