Indoor vs outdoor

[Pickingmyselfup]

So know this is a huge debate and people tend to be firmly one way or another. Having outdoor cats who desperately want to be outdoors whilst want them to be indoors I can see both sides.

What I need is perspective from both sides. Ultimately I want to keep any future cats indoors due to experiences in the past. I've had a cat make a full recovery from being run over but hated being kept in after and a cat who would be fine being indoors but died due to a heart condition but because he was outdoors I didn't look for him until early evening. Maybe if he was indoors I would have noticed he was missing sooner but maybe not. Either way I found him on his last legs in the garden. Wouldn't have saved him but I wonder if I would have found him sooner and put him out of his suffering earlier...

My worries of being indoor only stem from the cat who was run over..

She was obviously allowed out, got run over and was seriously hurt although not life threatening. I tried desperately to keep her inside afterwards but she hated it so we decided that better she live in happiness than misery.

How do you know if a cat will be OK indoors? We had a cat who was indoors/catio only but he had behavioral issues, spraying and pooing in the house so as a last resort attempt let him go outside. Didn't fix him, he didn't show any sign of being unhappy with limited space but because the others were allowed out I wonder if that caused it all along and it became too ingrained for even a professional behaviourist to fix.

It's not something we need to decide now, our existing cat is 13 and seemingly going to keep going forever and I want to go to the cat show to talk to breeders about where to go next. A pedigree appeals because of their breed traits especially if they come from a long line of indoor cats and that's the path we want to go down.

One thing that does put us off indoor cats is the liklihood of escaping. If they get out are they not most likely to get hurt? How to you stop them wanting to escape when you open the door? What happens when you bring the shopping in? Do you need a porch??

So I know I will get people on one side and the other but I don't want to hear what is best, I need honest experience of both sides.

I know a lot of these specific cat breeders do ask their cats stay inside. It was one of the conditions when I was looking for Bengals and due to that we ended up getting a pair from the local cats protection and it was a condition a lot of breeders asked for as mine for when I got my Siamese.

I think my Siamese wouldn't have minded being an indoor cat permanently but I was the one who made him an outdoor cat because I was hoping it would fix his issues.

My preference is definitely indoor because I want to keep them safe but only if it suits the cats. If they ended up like my current cat is and miserable I would take the risk for their happiness because of our area being low risk (can't see us ever moving either, too expensive!!)

My husband has more of an outdoor cat preference because he doesn't want to worry about the doors and windows being open or deal with litter trays.

It's the coming and goings of the family that put me off an indoor cat too, by the time we are looking to get another the kids will be old enough to be going out without me and it feels like a big task making sure everybody takes care of the doors. I'm imagining indoor cats as constantly trying to escape from an open door but I guess if that's the case then it would probably be time to admit defeat and let them have access to the big wide world.

Don't know specifically about the other breeds, but I do know that Burmese breeders tend to request indoor only and my DBro & DSil have had various Burmese over the years with all being happy as indoor cats.

In fact they did try to encourage a couple to explore the garden but had to carry them out there, but the cats both made a break for the door to get back in. They gave up after quite a few attempts.

I was brought up with a Burmese 50 odd years ago. She spent most of her time outside and was the most efficient killing machine I've ever met (3 birds a day wasn't unusual). Couldn't keep her inside at all.

They can't demand the cat back, OP.

Once it's chipped to you and you've taken on responsibility for it, it's yours and you can do what you want.

Yes! I've lived with both a Siamese and a Persian who were similar. One Siamese was a prolific rabbitter. Even with all the (frankly hideous) breeding practices and inter-breeding, there will be outliers who don't conform to type. Which is why I always suggest an adult rescue (ideally one who's been in foster so their character will be well known) where someone has specific needs.

Agreed. I suspect 50 years ago Burmese (and quite a few other breeds) were significantly more robust than now.

I've always had cats with cat flaps and never believed in keeping cats indoors BUT the two main coon x BSH 10mth old kittens I now have, found via an advert that I stumbled upon on Gumtree are mostly indoor, for their own safety. I contacted the advertiser and told her that I'd take them as there are all sorts of unscrupulous people on that site and I'd have them both (accidental pregnancy - next doors BSH cat apparently got in through an open window). She wanted me to take them asap as mum had disowned them and was getting stressed by them. However, I'm in a second floor flat post divorce whereas I've always had a decent sized garden previously. I do have large and interesting communal gardens including wooded areas, so I take them out on harness and extendable leads until I move to my next place which will have a garden.....hopefully by summer if my sale and purchase go through. So, although I never intended on having indoor cats, I've ended up with two but I'm trying to give them outdoor experience whilst keeping them safe as obv can't have a cat flap. I do now need a friend to come with me as they're already over 5kg and one goes in one direction and the other the opposite with me climbing up wooded areas!
My friend has two adorable rag dolls who are indoor cats. Another friend has two BSH who are mostly indoor cats but he and his husband take them to the garden and supervise them a few times a day. Makes me laugh as my previous cats used to just come and go as they pleased. All neutered vaccinated and flea/worm treated obv.

Here they are

Oh that didn't work!

You just never know! I have seen local rescues ask for indoor only homes and others for a mix.

I have three rescue babies. One was straying in a city centre. She is happy to sit on the landing and watch us bring in our supermarket delivery and makes no attempt to go out. She hasn't in any way expressed interest in going out - I think she is just happy to be indoors!!

Second girl was neglected and living outdoors in all weathers. She has a conniption if I wash my hands and drip on her! I think she might like to go outside but she doesn't ask to go. She escaped once, and shat herself when the dog in the house behind us barked, and she hid under our garden furniture so it was easy to catch her. As far as road sense goes, she has no sense, and I don't know how she survived!

Our nearly new boy also had access to outdoors, but hasn't shown any interest since we adopted him.

So in spite of indications to the contrary (and having a chip operated catflap from our late boy) we seem to have ourselves three indoor cats, by choice! I wfh now so they always have company.

i’m in Australia and we have to keep our cats indoors. We have a small courtyard that is catproofed and they go out there. Cat One likes to race out the open front door to lie down in the driveway, but otherwise all three are perfectly happy. They get used to it.
You did really well trying with your deeply troubled cat. You should try to let that go now. He was a one-off. Maybe ask for a female for your next cat, they have smaller territories.

I've had two happy, healthy indoor cats live long and contented lives. Both were spayed/neutered and actively afraid of going outside - one would hide as soon as someone started putting on shoes to go out.
One caught a mouse indoors, so all fine with those old instincts 😁
Never any health issues, not even fleas, until well into old age.
No pee or poo accidents past baby stage.

But : we did get them as little kittens. One was brought home by my DM as she took pity on a kitten separated too young from it's mum. We fed it milk from the dropper for the first weeks, it was that young.

I failed to make a house cat from a few months old feral kitten that I rescued from certain death - the poor thing was just bones covered with skin. He always ate like a feral (anything and everything- apple cores, pickled beet, bananas... ), climbed, jumped and fought like a feral, until he escaped to be never seen again.

If I was getting a kitten, it would be a house cat for sure. I did try adopting two little ones (and the rescue were over the moon of them being house cats), alas it turns out DS has quite a severe allergy.. 🙁

Exactly how is a contract to keep a cat indoors enforceable? Ridiculous.

I guess they have to rely on your being the sort of person who honours their word. I'm sure there are those that don't.

"I'm sorry, Tiddles, I know you're desperate to go into the garden* and really miserable but I gave my word* and have to honour it"

Hilarious. Not.

I don't want to outright lie to a breeder, that feels wrong but I do want the opportunity to change my mind without fear of repercussion if I feel its necessary.

I know how tight knit breeders can be and I wouldn't want to get blacklisted from ever getting a pedigree again if they got wind of me letting the cats out.

I would genuinely prefer to keep them in for safety, the husband isn't fussed either way but we are concerned about the doors and not being able to get in the front door easily without a cat escaping. I was a nervous wreck with our last cat when he had to be indoors because he was new, constantly worried about people opening the doors and letting him out. With our outdoor cat now I don't worry so much because the area is relatively safe but you never really know do you. Just takes one car, one nasty person/anotheranimal, the right place, the right time and that's your cat gone.

I think part of the equation should be where you live. I have always had cats that can go outside but I have also always lived in a place with lots of gardens around and away from busy roads. I've only lost one cat to a road accident, the rest to illness.

Some breeds, like ragdolls suit an indoor life but I only get cats from rescues which makes it hard to be specific. Ultimately I think quality of life is more important than quantity for my cats.

I’ve got two young long haired moggies and I let them out after they were spayed. They go out before 9am and unless it raining they stay out until 5pm. We are along way from any roads and there’s plenty of outbuildings for them to go in. In reality they spend most of the day hanging round the garden and don’t venture far. They spent one night out all night and never again they say.
If I was near a busy road I’d probably go for a cat proof garden with a way for a cat to get into the garden but not back out, incase they ran out of the front door.

I have 3 rescue cats who have all decided they are happy to be indoors. I've had outdoor cats, indoor/outdoor cats, and I am so glad that my current furbabies are happy to be indoors. I think the fact that I can now wfh makes them happy.

Where we live is generally pretty safe, one neighbour did have their cat poisoned. I don't want that to be my cat.