Should cats be kept inside or allowed to roam?

[Rainyrunway]

I've always thought it's cruel to keep a cat indoors all the time unless there's a health reason but my gorgeous friendly sweet Siamese got hit by a car yesterday and didn't survive. Now I'm thinking it's my fault. I shouldn't have let him out. Is there consensus? Should cats be allowed to go out? If we get another cat one day what should I do? And should I try and keep his companion cat who has always been allowed out indoors now to keep her safe? I just don't know

Yep because you know more than Cats Protection where I got him from and my DD who is a veterinary surgeon.

We tried to house-cat train our two. They worked together to create multiple escape routes despite our very best efforts. The final straw was when they destroyed a loft window hatch desperately trying to get out. We weighed it up and felt it was time to let them free roam which they have done for the last 4 years. I'd love to tag them to see how far they go but they always shoot back inside to the call of the treat bag so can't be gone too far.

My neighbours cat- Maine coon cross moggy stays in his own garden, at most he'll sit on the fence but that's it. He's 12 and never ever ventures out.

Indoor cats here. They have a catio which one uses and the other doesn't. The younger cat would love to be wild and free but too bad.

I think any cats here in Australia need to be indoor cats. The damage they do to wildlife is obscene and there is no niche for them. I also think that we should be aiming for no cats in the wild or outdoors in the next decade or so. Our council rules are that cats must be contained to your property.

@SnowAtRedRocks our little guy was a pedigree Siamese. I love Siamese for their personality which is why we got him (I've had them before) never treated them any different to the moggies we've also had though. They really are quite different to other cats in my experience. So friendly and bold. I wonder if that makes them more likely to get into an accident maybe? All my neighbours knew him. He was so friendly. That's how I found out what had happened to him. Someone recognised him and called me even though he wasn't even on our road. Poor little guy. Our house feels so empty without him. And my other (non Siamese) cat has been wandering around making a funny sort of sound. I think she's calling him. It's breaking my heart

We lost our 16 year old cat about 18 months ago when he got lost after the school at the back of us put up a new fence he couldn't get under - a very long & sad story.

We got 2 new rescue cats & planned to let them roam but we just couldn't so we have cat proofed the garden.
They have cat trees & toys in the garden & seem very happy!

I still check the local lost cat page every day in case my old boy turns up & agree the number of lost cats & dead cats on there justifies my decision to me!

If a cat has been allowed out I think it would be cruel to suddenly keep it indoors. On the other hand a kitten who has always been a house cat may be happy indoors only. I think single cats can be happy indoors. Not so sure if you have more than one cat as they may wish to get away from the other cat on occasions. don't think I'd let a cat out if I lived near a main road. However generally cats do seem happier when allowed to roam. My 2 cats have a cat flap and can go out but seem to spend most time inside in the warm but do go out more in the summer. They like to bask in our garden in the sunshine. I think a catio in the garden would be nice as would a running wheel so they can get exercise. Over lockdown I realised how important getting out of the house sometimes is.

@ohtowinthelottery The thing is- your cat doesn't know you're keeping her safe. All she knows is that she is restricted and can't follow her instincts.

Not so sure if you have more than one cat as they may wish to get away from the other cat on occasions.

That also depends on a few factors like the individual cats, the size/layout of the house and how you "catify" the house.

In my case, my first pair were completely bonded siblings. They would lie together, play together, share everything including toys - except the time I had mice in the conservatory & Boycat wouldn't let Girlcat near any live prey he had caught. 2 story house with most of it accessible to the cats, beds on the floor & higher up, very tall cat tree with hidey holes & platforms, soft places to lie on the floor of the wardrobes plus higher shelves in there if they fancied that. Girlcat was a high up cat, Boycat tended to stay pretty low (thing he was afraid of heights).

Now after the sad demise of Boycat, Tobias has moved in. Took a few weeks but he and Girlcat now play & spend a fair bit of time together when I'm out or in bed - his issue is me at present, though it's only been a couple of months he's been here & I gather he had a pretty awful time before being rescued.. He's used her tray for poo, she's eaten from his kibble bowl and a couple of times he's cleaned up her supper leftovers (she never finishes it)). I've found her in "his" bedroom a few times just chilling on the linens racking in there.

they seem to have split the house mostly into upstairs is his & downstairs hers, then spend time in each other's areas when they want.

Cats should be able to roam free

All responsible owners neuter indoors or out it's a health issue. Dogs are controlled for biting not wildlife or mess not sure what other pets would go under the controlled animals ...lions, snakes????

I don’t agree with keeping cats indoors. If you live near a very busy road perhaps don’t get a cat. I think they should be allowed to come and go as they please. I realise others disagree and there are plenty of cat-captives (my best mate and my brother both keep indoor cats). It’s just not for me.

I have two rescue cats that we got as kittens. We live in Australia in a bushland suburb where native animals are killled by domestic cats allowed to roam. One of my cats is also pure white and pink ears/nose are not suited to the harsh Australian sun. Our vet’s advice is that for the health of the cats and the native wildlife they should be kept indoors. In many areas of Australia it’s not legal to allow your cat to roam. Our cats live very happy and fulfilling lives without killing birds, mammals and reptiles for fun. They still get to practice their skills on flies, spiders and cockroaches indoors.

So sorry it's awful thing to happen to your cat and is not your fault, just an accident. I guess living on a quiet road they get less practice around traffic.

I did consider taking on a stray cat the other year and I think I'd have to go for indoor with a catio garden set up and maybe take on lead to low dog areas with the dogs stroller to hide in, as he liked to join my lurcher on walks. He spent most of the day just chilling in same area locally but its urban with high cat population so would likely have many cat territory's, dogs and cars to avoid.

My childhood cat disappeared and its awful not knowing what happened to them so I've not wanted to go through that again and stuck with dogs. There's always cats are posted on local FB as missing or found after traffic accidents, the ones with health issues & random people feeding them, which all seems very anxiety inducing. They're also building thousands of houses on countryside/farmland so what was a quiet area for cats is changing and have to deal with more traffic locally.

I wonder if people used to feel similar when dogs were let out to roam during the day that keeping them home and on leads was curtailing their natural instincts. It would make cats less low maintenance to keep to own house/garden as owner would need to replace that lost activity & enrichment (& deal with💩).

Has anyone ever tried those roller fence toppers? Are they any good? Would it be a good idea or a bit mean to add them when my other cat is used to going where she likes?

Ours are indoors only, but we have a second story deck that overlooks the woods, which serves as a catio when the weather is nice. One will stay out there for ages, the other wants to come back in after five or ten minutes.

We don't have much choice. In addition to the road hazard, we have coyotes in the area. I'd hate to think that they died in terror after being hunted by one.

I do know current research and advice from specialists, yes. If your daughter is giving outdated advice, she should do some CPD on the subject.

I believe that most people in the UK are of the opinion that keeping cats indoors is cruel and in the USA they think it's cruel to let them outside.