To keep my cat indoors..?

[Purpleseaside]

I've had cats since I was born and they have always been indoor/outdoor cats. At my parents home, they have a large house with lots of land so the cats aren't near busy roads and can roam around safely.

Since having my own home, it's large but close to a busy road and sadly one of my beloved cats got run over in May. I'm still not over it, it broke mine and my fiancé's hearts. We have another cat who is quite timid, we let her outside (keep her in at night) but she doesn't go far, mainly the neighbours gardens and she always comes home when we call. We rescued a kitten in August, he is thriving, has had his operation and we love him to bits. We haven't let him outside yet.. And I don't think I want to for fear of him being run over. I nor my family have ever kept a cat as a fully indoor cat. Would I be cruel to do so? I don't want to lose another cat, our cat who passed away was only 2 and my stomach tenses everytime I drive on that road in case I see my other cat who is allowed outside run over. We've locked the cat flap so she can only go outside when we now let her out.

Should I keep my young boy inside? I have anxiety and the fear of having him run over is making me very upset!

I got indoor cats I don't regret it people have been putting out antifreeze and aim for cats I mean I love them so I protect them they are fine with it

Have you thought about cat proofing your garden?

Watching with interest as I’ve acquired a kitten (rescued from a friend of a friend) and I am also worrying about letting him out. I suspect it is a bit unfair really.

I have an indoor cat and ha e no regrets. She's now 9 months old and whilst i have to make more effort towards her fulfilment than I would an outdoor cat, it is worth it. She does need to be actively played with fir at least 30 minutes a day- wand toys, electric fish toys, paper grass mats, tunnels, toys hanging from door frames, fish toys in water, etc. We also have wall based shelves and scratching posts so she can climb around some rooms high and low. But she tells us when she wants to play and it's fun to play with her. For me the weighing up of a reduced life expectancy, going missing, being stolen by a neighbor and annoying neighbors with cat shit resulted in the choice of keeping her indoors. My vet supports the choice.

I will say though that every other visitor seems to have strong opinions on it though! I've had to develop tough skin! Who knew people cared so much about how I keep my cat?!

Firstly have you tucked your l'il guy into the basket??!! How cute is that so adorable

Mine is an indoor cat as we live near two very busy roads. We have a large house and a large garden however and I take her out on the harness. I'm happy to do it daily even upto an hour sometimes (I have no life!) SHE is happy and I don't worry. May not be ideal but it works for us. Is this something you could do? As a compromise instead of free roaming.

You have to be guided by your cat however. Mine isn't really a door dasher and doesn't howl to be let out. She does ask sometimes and I'm happy to oblige and accompany her outside...

The more I hear of cats bring run over, lost or hurt in other ways, the more I'm convinced they shouldn't be let out to roam freely. We don't do that with other pets, do we?

I have three indoor cats and no regrets at all.

Mine are all black and we live backing on to a 60mph country road with no street lights - they wouldn't stand a chance.

90% of the time when I hear of a cat getting run over here, it's a black cat

We have an indoor only Ragdoll, however he has access to outside (which he loves) as he has a large outdoor covered catrun connected to the house where he is fed, has his litter, and sleeps there at night. We are in Australia so don’t have to worry about cold weather though. The cat run isn’t something he can get out of so it’s outdoor but contained. He has a head high shelf in it which is one of his favourite spots to sleep.

He’s also lead trained. We have a large fenced garden and on nice days I put him in his harness and let him roam around while I keep an eye on him. The harness is attached to a dog lead and he just drags that around the garden. Although he can run like the wind in it he’s aware it’s on so it seems to constrain him in that he doesn’t climb trees or fences.

He was only introduced to the harness when he was about six months old so by then he’d been programmed into knowing inside was safe and secure , so if he ever gets spooked by something on his lead (gust of wind or neighbors dogs barking), he’s back like a shot at the patio door demanding to be let in.

My cats are indoor only after having one run over and also working in a vets where almost daily we had a cat involved in a RTA brought in. Seeing them was heartbreaking.

I would always get an indoor cat a friend ideally get two at the same time as company for each other. Ours do get to potter around the garden supervised in the Summer. I’m pestering DH to build a catio for them as well (they have their own sunroom with activity trees etc).

I think it's a bit cruel although better he doesn't know what he's smiling if you think you'll keep him indoors in future.

I put a tracker on my cat and she was going nearly a mile away, can't imagine containing her in a house and her having the same quality and stimulation in life.

The local Facebook group where I live has had a cat almost every week for the last two months turn up dead, usually in accidents.

I've had indoor cats for years and they are all very stress free and friendly animals. Currently living with four beautiful companions and they are happy indoors with loads of shelves and ladders and cat trees to play on.

I have a 4 month old kitten and thinking about this. We have a busy road near us. He is curious about outdoors and I think will want to go out which worries me. Thinking of getting cat-proof fence to block end of narrow patio from the back door. Think found a solution and now need handy person to put up before Spring. [We are not handy!].
Thought about a catio but think this will work [fencing and gate from Purrfect fence uk is the plan...].
I have a feeling, curiosity might kill the cat in our little one's case otherwise...

In my opinion cat proofing the garden or a catio is the best compromise. I think it’s sad for cats not to have any outdoor access but that it just an opinion and i completely understand your worries and concerns.

We have a rescue ragdoll who we were told previously had access to outdoors and the rescue wanted us to continue that. I read a lot about ragdolls and their lack of road sense and we did discuss the risks at length but ultimately decided we should let her out.

Our cat adores sitting in the garden and watching the birds (terrible hunter) and I am so pleased we have allowed her that. She isn’t a climber and has not left the garden as yet. I know I will be terrified if she does leave the garden but at the moment we have decided not to do anything to cat proof the garden. That may change but at the moment it doesn’t seem necessary.

My cat has been an indoor cat for a couple of years as my other cat that has sadly passed away had severe allergies and always got ill when he went outside. She's been totally happy inside so we decided to keep her indoors as it's safer. She is an older cat though and there is almost always someone in the house to give her a fuss.

I live near a busy road and I see posts about dead/missing cats almost constantly on my local FB group.
Also not to mention the amount of wildlife damage cats can do.

Mine has never been fussed about being an indoor cat. We can leave the front door open and she doesn’t care.
It’s not cruel, you just have to play with them regularly.

I wish I had the space for a “catio” kind of thing, an enclosed outdoor space, but sadly I don’t.

Can’t you cat proof your garden?

I have an 11 month old kitten/cat who I adopted at 6 months. I think he had previously been an outdoor cat, as he loves outdoors and dashes for the door every time it opens. He also doesn’t have much common sense (may grow out of this?) so I could see him getting lost or being so absorbed in chasing something that he ended up miles from home and lost.

I was originally going to let him out, but after firm advice from a Vet friend, he is indoors only. She said almost all the cats she sees have been:
A) run over
B) ticks making them very ill
C) in fights with neighborhood cats who have already established a pecking order and will beat my little pretend-tough guy up.

She also said think about having (still alive) mice/birds/frogs brought in the house and also him going missing.

Like others, I’ve found this means I have to play with him more and have leant about and bought him enrichment/interactive toys. He also has two big climbing cat trees and a hammock that attaches to a window. I also have a harness and take him for walks in the backyard with a long lead. It is mixed progress! We are just back from a walk where he jumped up a tree and I had to follow to get him down🤦‍♀️ I’m hopeful he will settle down as he gets used to it (and grows up abit).

I know all cats are different, but I’m happy to recommend the best interactive toys my fellow likes. Some v cheap, some more expensive, but worth it as he plays with them over and over.

I just had to Google cat-proof garden, it looks great and if I could do that, then I probably would as it would solve my concerns.

However, I’m in Australia and I don’t think most people could do that here (happy for other Australian Mums-netters to prove me wrong). My garden is bordered by trees and a swimming pool fence.

I rescued my little girl back in September. She was 10 months old and had never been let out previously. I toyed with the idea of letting her out but actually decided against it. She has never made a dash for the door, has plenty of windows to look out of, and a few scratching posts and cat trees. She is very routine driven and asks to play every evening (thoroughly recommend the Da Bird toy) which is usually about an hour. Obviously it may prove a challenge when the weather warms up and the doors/windows are open but I'll cross that bridge then. For the moment she's happy and safe.

hi, we are also wondering about letting our wee kitten out - she's 6months, and not yet neutered, so we have a wee while. She's so small, and daft as a brush! We are near a busy-ish road and I would worry about her getting run over. I did buy a harness and leash, and will try and let her out in the garden with that - any recommendations for good harnesses?? which cats can't break?! I got the pink kitten harness from Pets at home. took a lot of ham bribery to get her in it!
I looked into catios - but the price! would also take up most of the garden.

SpringDaisies

I just had to Google cat-proof garden, it looks great and if I could do that, then I probably would as it would solve my concerns.

However, I’m in Australia and I don’t think most people could do that here (happy for other Australian Mums-netters to prove me wrong). My garden is bordered by trees and a swimming pool fence“

You can prevent your cats from climbing too high in the trees by putting a downward facing wire cone around the trunk at whichever height suits.

I have an indoor cat. She was a rescue and has always been indoors only. She's lovely and loves to cuddle. I'm thinking about getting another because we sometimes have a dog visit and she loves it (the dog is less keen on the cat). She's happier playing with a box than anything else

After losing 4 cats in 16 years to the roads around my village, I have decided my latest 2 kittens will be indoor only. I don't bother arguing with anyone who disagrees about it, my cats my choice. I would never let my dog roam around without me. They have plenty of space and toys and climbing towers and constant company. The trauma of losing my last cat on Christmas day outside my house completely broke me and I couldn't cope with it again.

@Worriesandwobbles

After losing 4 cats in 16 years to the roads around my village, I have decided my latest 2 kittens will be indoor only. I don't bother arguing with anyone who disagrees about it, my cats my choice. I would never let my dog roam around without me. They have plenty of space and toys and climbing towers and constant company. The trauma of losing my last cat on Christmas day outside my house completely broke me and I couldn't cope with it again.

I'm so sorry that you've lost so many cats, especially on Christmas Day . I bet your two kittens have a loving life at home inside .

@kittenkipper

I have an indoor cat and ha e no regrets. She's now 9 months old and whilst i have to make more effort towards her fulfilment than I would an outdoor cat, it is worth it. She does need to be actively played with fir at least 30 minutes a day- wand toys, electric fish toys, paper grass mats, tunnels, toys hanging from door frames, fish toys in water, etc. We also have wall based shelves and scratching posts so she can climb around some rooms high and low. But she tells us when she wants to play and it's fun to play with her. For me the weighing up of a reduced life expectancy, going missing, being stolen by a neighbor and annoying neighbors with cat shit resulted in the choice of keeping her indoors. My vet supports the choice.

I will say though that every other visitor seems to have strong opinions on it though! I've had to develop tough skin! Who knew people cared so much about how I keep my cat?!

What a beautiful cat ! Yes I think you're right, when you play with them often they seem to get tired out and then sleep for hours. I think I will keep him inside, the litter tray is kept away in the utility room (so no smells bothering us) and I feel so much better knowing he is safe and away from the busy road.

I lost an outdoor cat last year
New kitten has a run built from 4wire but hasn't gone out to it yet. It's ready for summer time, lots of ladders, grass , shelves etc and I think she'll love it.
Have look at the number of cats that die on uk roads reach year, it's awful. No one would let that many dogs die and think it was an ok way to look after pets. I do find it strange