Is it cruel or kind to keep a cat in?

[nc8975]

We adopted our kitten back in the summer, she's now 8 months old, spayed, vaccinated, chipped etc. She was semi wild (on a farm) from birth until we got her at about 13 weeks, living with her mum and litter mates outside but fed by someone.

She is keen to go outside; dashes for the door and looks longingly out the window), but we're really worried she won't come back or will get hurt. We live on a housing estate next to a bit of open land, but also quite close to a railway line (not hugely busy one). We have a good sized home but can't help but feel we are cooping her up a bit (I WFH so she has company most of the day and we play with her)

Which option is kinder? Will she just adapt to being indoors?

It's cruel, unnatural and purely for our convenience and entertainment.

You could argue that any pet ownership is cruel and purely for our convenience and entertainment, though.

Personally I don't think it's fair to call people cruel simply because they want to keep their pets indoors - they're just doing what they feel is best, the same as you are by letting your cats out.

I could just as easily argue that it's cruel to let a domesticated animal outside to fend for itself and take its' chances against cars, dogs, people, ferals and foxes.

Not all cats hunt birds. Only 1 of my 6 activity hunts.

Yes I did.

So you stand corrected then, that those keeping them in aren't doing it for convenience, quite the opposite as some have said it can be harder work to ensure they have enough interaction and engagement, but because they want to keep them safe. That's very different to "purely for convenience and entertainment" as you've stated. I haven't made a decision yet, as stated she's very small so going to wait a bit longer until she's fully grown, I'm not trying to be cruel, I'm trying to be responsible for my circumstances.

It's not the same at all.

A cat that lives in a house it can run around in, has toys it can play with, people or other cats to interact with, is not remotely similar to a bird in a cage.

Calling owners of indoor cats cruel is completely over the top. They're concerned with keeping the cat healthy and ensuring it doesn't suffer a painful and possibly prolonged death.

Nobody would think it's ok to let dogs roam like this.

Not really, cats are incapable of building houses so naturally they are designed to be outdoor animals. We have a cat flap, my cat can choose whether to be inside or outside. They are free to come and go as they please and I never force them to go outside or to stay indoors. Surely that is the kindest thing, unless you live in an area where it’s not safe for them to go outside as they please but in this case I’d argue don’t get a cat.

We live in very rural Scotland and since we've lost a couple over the years including watching one crawl home after being disemboweled by a car and hearing him scream in pain all ours now are indoor cats. If you could teach the road safety then maybe. But you can't and it's horrific

It's far more convenient to let a cat out than keep it in, so that argument makes no sense.

Haven't RTFT so sorry if this has been said many times already: the compromise that works for me is to let them out during the day, but keep them in over night. Mine much prefer going outside with me anyway - at first I would only let them in the garden if I was out as well, and I'd do it first thing before they had any breakfast, so I knew they'd be keen to come back in after half an hour or so.

Not the case with mine who prefer to stay in, they'd lived outside for years in some cases. Even if it was the case that the cat was conditioned to being happier and feeling safer indoors, then I can't see that there's an issue.

That you know of.

How can you be sure you'll get them to come in though?

Once they're out they can disappear wherever they want.

@DirectionToPerfection

"Nobody would think it's ok to let dogs roam like this."

Nobody would keep a dog cooped in a house 24/7 either.

Fair enough. If you can have doors and windows open and your cats are not at all bothered about going out then clearly they don’t want to. As long as they have the choice there’s no problem.

They normally bring them home. Or at least leave them in the garden. I have 4 cats currently and one is very old. Doesn't go far and the other very young and isn't ever out long enough. One of a prolific hunter. But it is normally pigeons

Normally but not always. Just like they ‘normally’ cover their shit up but they don’t bother when they use my garden as their toilet.

When I get home from work they're always hanging around waiting for me (aka their tea) so I just make sure I lock the cat flap before I feed them!

Mine don't cover their shit up

My two cats are indoor cats, since my first cat was ripped apart by my neighbours dog. I was outside when it happened and it was horrific. They have access to a catio in the summer. It's not at all cruel that I want to spare my other two, and myself, from that. They are perfectly happy, well fed, enriched, loved and looked after.

Maybe the posters attempting to shame indoor cat owners for being 'cruel', need to go and visit some shelters to see what animal cruelty really is.

Cats are nocturnal animals and prefer to go out at night. They can’t see very well in the day so they would probably rather be curled up inside then and let out at night. Just saying.

It would be cruel to keep my cats who are used to going out in. That's fact. I have said it depends on the cat on the situation. But you can't tell me it wouldn't be cruel in some situations because it would

🤣🤣🤣
Do yours not do anything they’re supposed to do? Are you sure they’re cats at all?

@AllThingsServeTheBeam I absolutely can tell you that I do not think it's cruel actually.

@ShillyShallySherbet they're not nocturnal, they're crepuscular, most active at dawn and dusk, many still sleep soundly in the night between those times.

The things I've learned in the last 8 months

Interesting, I stand corrected. I know mine sleeps all day!

They wake me up at about 4am every morning beginning for food and look at me as though I have control of the rain