Should I be encouraging cat to go out more?

[lepoppo]

Trying to keep this short and go the point!!

Trigger warning ❗️

She was found dumped, in a bag in the park, with 3 other kittens. Only 2 survived.

I agreed to help my friend out (she runs the rescue) and take the cat until they could get her spade - it was lockdown and taking a while to get them into the vets - she wasn't doing well with the other cats. I admit I knew nothing about cats before this.

My whole family fell in love with her and decided from day 2 we would be keeping her, we waited just under 6 months to get her spade so we deliberately kept her in for a long time.

She now refuses to go outside, closest she gets is the door but gets spooked very easy from sounds of cars/birds/children playing.

She does not get spooked by these sounds if she's inside the house, only if the door is open. I have started keeping the door closed so she doesn't get scared.

My mum and sister have cats and will not let it go, I'm cruel for keeping her inside, I need to force her out, she will be bored, I need to at least get another cat so she can socialise and the latest is they keep calling her fat and blaming the fact she doesn't go out. She isn't fat, she's half a British shorthair (rescue think she was dumped by breeder because they were 'half bread') and is a very 'round' cat but she is not fat she saw the vet 2 weeks ago for a check up and they did not mention her weight.

I feel torn, I know my cat but what if she is bored, lonely and getting fat? I feel so guilty when she curls up for a sleep in the middle of the day and wonder if she should be outside chasing flies?

Would you force a cat to go outside in these circumstances? Or would you consider getting another cat for socialisation? She did not like the other female cats at the rescue but obviously that was a very long time ago.

I wouldn’t force her to go out but I would keep giving opportunities. Leave the door open if you want to, she will get used to noises and then maybe venture out. Cats don’t need company, another cat is just as likely to stress her than help her. Make sure she has toys to play with and play with her every day.

Would she go outside if you are there too?. Maybe sit outside with the door open and encourage her to come out (with treats maybe)

It's normal for them to sleep in the day. Cats are crepuscular so are most active at dawn and dusk.

I agree with you. Try to understand the cat's likes and dislikes. Act accordingly. Make sure they are comfortable. Don't worry.

Thanks both! No she will not come out if we are outside, she follows DS everywhere so we tried DS going out with treats and toys and she stops dead before the door mat.

She will sit by the door if we are out playing but has always been spooked by noises and often she ends up scared under the sofa, refusing to come out for a long time, it causes her serious distress she doesn't just run away she cowers for hours.

Importantly she is not a timid cat, she loves bonfire night and if the neighbours are having a barbecue or there is noise outside she loves sitting on the window and watching but if she hears the same noises by the door she will become terrified.

I know I'm making this up but I wonder if it's some kind of ptsd from hearing these sounds and being trapped in the bag when she was small. When she hears the sounds inside the house she knows she is safe but outside I wonder if it makes her feel very unsafe. Such an awful thing to think about.

As long as she is happy, you don't need to force her outside. Just like people, all cats are different and cats are very good at making their own decisions about what they want to do!

I wouldn't keep the door closed all the time though - she is more likely to get used to the sounds if she hears them more often and it will make her less fearful over time.

Keeping the door open does make sense I will start doing that again, I have never wished for an animal to be able to talk so much!!

I think that even cats who go out a lot spend a lot of their time asleep. We used to think one of ours was out roaming far and wide until we took down a rotten outbuilding and discovered that he spent most of his time asleep behind where it had been. I wouldn't force her to go out, she is happy with you and less likely to be injured, in a road accident, catch fleas, worms, bring in presents of birds, mice and frogs etc. It is not that you are stopping her from going out, she just chooses not to.

Just for next time, it's spayed not spade (could have been an autocorrect).

Does it matter if it’s spayed not spade really? Not everyone is good at spelling and we all know what she meant by spade.

I’d leave the door open and she might decide one day that actually she is an out door cat but for now she’s indoor only. It’s not like she’s locked in a cellar 24/7.

My mums cat was indoor by choice, so my is my girl. My Bengal was an outdoor boy and you couldn’t have kept him in.

Do you have a window you can keep open and accessible for her during the daytime? Mine would only use a window for ages, I think she felt safer being elevated and having a good view of what's outside before venturing out.

Our cat is from a rescue shelter and will only go outside if we go outside, she has a cat flap but just has no interest. We have quite a big garden and she loves going out mooching round when we are outside. She will sit at the back door looking outside when it’s open. Obviously we have no idea what her life was truly like as she was almost a year old when we got her.

We have had her for a decade and once when unpacking shopping she was accidentally left outside. She was found a few hours later cringing underneath next doors car on their drive.

She is a very loving cat and seems very happy, she just likes to have one of her oet humans with her all the time.

Had no idea about spayed/spade 😅

We have downstairs windows open constantly, she has no interest in going out via the window. She sometimes will sit and look out but she's a smart girl and now it's so hot she won't sit there because she will overheat, she prefers the upstairs windows and will fall asleep there if the window is closed but is very much on alert if they are open.

She seems happy, she plays a lot, has hundreds of toys (that she is mostly uninterested in, preferring screwed up crisp packets and the hello fresh box!)

I would leave her do her own thing. My 12 year old cat was indoor for 11 years. I lived in a house close to a main road. She stayed in by choice and I didn’t encourage it. Now she lives in a house with a safe garden. She chooses to stay in. Will sit by the door but not one paw will go outside. I just let her choose. Think she prefers her home comforts

If she is happy indoors, don’t force her out.

If there is a next life I hope to come back as a cat. I envy my cats life which consists of finding the warmest spot to sleep in, eating, a bit of an amble around, return to sleep mode.
He does go out whenever he wants but I don’t think he ever ventures beyond the bottom of the garden, ambles around to find a sleeping spot, sniffs the grass, returns for food, shuffles off to the next sleeping spot. He does have the occasional zoomie episode.
its quite normal for cats to sleep up to 18 hours a do, prefer boxes to expensive toys, and prefer your pile of clean washing to the expensive cat bed.

She sounds perfectly happy then! I wouldn't worry, she has the opportunity to go out, it's not like you're keeping her in against her will!

Our cat does go out but she spends a LOT of time indoors sleeping! Today it’s been quite rainy so she’s been very angry at the weather, but equally happy to lie around the house napping.

She sounds perfectly happy in relation to her comfort factor. As others have said, if you’re able to then leave the door open so that she has a choice.

Don’t force her to go outside and don’t feel guilty if she chooses not to, you are her advocate, you will learn what she does and doesn’t want to do.

Cats sleep LOADS during the day. No need to overstimulate them, just let them be.

Cats do what they want to do

She is happy to be inside
If she wanted to she would go out

She sounds lovely by the way

This is it isn’t it? There’s no talking to cats they do what they want.

If one of found a way to persuade them we’d write a book and make a fortune.

I would say it depends on the cat.

My girl was v scared of outside and also getting spooked by every noise outside. However inside she was geting bored, neurotic and fat. So neurotic she had bladder issues.

We dragged her outside, initially we always had to go with her as it was sooo scary.

She doesn't spend a lot of time outside, and her territory is literally the patio but even 20 minutes of the stimulation she gets outside sniffing and looking at everything keeps her relatively sane.

My cats (who were 11 in April) are indoor cats because they chose to be. What would be cruel & wrong would be forcing your cat outside if she doesn’t want to go - as long as indoor cats get enough exercise & enrichment & they’re not overfed, they’re grand. I mean, obviously there are cats it wouldn’t suit; but the insistence [all] cats have to go outside is a nonsense. In most of the US it would be considered utter madness to let your cat out as is the norm in the UK; ditto Australia, where it’s in fact illegal in some states (though walking them on leads/harnesses is permitted).

You don’t have to spend lots of money on enrichment activities - here are some DIY ones from the ASPCA; & when it comes to climb, if there are bookshelves she can safely explore & perhaps a wardrobe top to hang out on, she’ll be grand.