DESPERATELY want to adopt BUT..help!

[mrsandrewsx4]

We lost our beloved dog last Christmas. We know due to our working hours, we can’t have a dog. We all work mon-fri. Though my hours are 9am till 3pm.

I wouldn’t adopt a kitten. But I’ve looked into older cats or bonded pairs. We’ve gone to visit some. My kids love the idea of having a cat(s). But one thing that holds me back;

the free roaming. I was very overprotective of my dog. Never let him off the lead. Not because of him, because I didn’t trust other people’s dogs or cars etc. so how on earth would I relax my nerves with letting a cat out to free roam. I live on quiet estate, you walk into my estate and you will see at least 6-8 cats…mainly all glaring at each other.

I tried to write this on Reddit..soon learnt they’re mainly American and they all jumped on me for not doing indoor cats!

I desperately want a pet, home isn’t home anymore. But any advice or tips that would calm me. I live in a town of 5,000 people so I think this is actually considered a small town just so you understand my location

It's possible to have an indoor cat, preferably two.
The advantages are that they don't get killed in road accidents or get locked in people's sheds. They don't poo in people's gardens. They don't catch song birds and bring them into the house.
Some people think it's cruel, but I know plenty of happy indoor cats.
You can also have a catio for them.
I know traditionally cats in the UK are allowed to roam free, but times have changed in terms of the volume of traffic on the roads.

I’d happily have an indoor cat but I seem to struggle to find any rescue cats that are indoor. Cat protection seems to frown upon them? X

I know it’s not quite what you are asking, but both of my cats have opted to be indoor cats. There are also cats that need to stay indoors for medical reasons, would you consider that. What about cat proofing your garden or building a catio?

Just ask your local cat places for an indoor cat to suit what you’re looking for. These tend to be run by a small group (always women!) who know what cats need homing and there are usually one or two who are indoor only cats. Sometimes because of FIV.

Mu local place has a form you can fill to describe what you’re after. You have to be decisive as they will often want to home cats with severe health problems and you might not be up for that.

We've always had outdoor cats, nothing worse has ever happened than an ulcer from fighting and two brief but agonising disappearances. After the first couple of years they stayed very close to home, in our garden. Current cat (12) pops out to graze and spends most of the day dozing indoors. I wouldn't want a totally indoor cat though, it feels wrong. Honestly I think you'll get used to it. It's nice having a more independent animal.

If you give us an idea of what area you live in, we may know of rescues local to you which are more open to the idea of indoor only cats. Bear in mind that even with the bigger organisations the rehoming rules are often set by the local staff - just yesterday I was replying to a thread here where the person was bemoaning that all her local rescues were only interested in indoor only homes!

I have indoor only homes for the same reason as you, anxiety about the potential for harm to them. We used to have a most aggressive local tom who would go into peoples houses to get to and attack their cats if they left doors or windows open, and there's a car repair place over the back which of course leads to oil spills and things like antifreeze (highly toxic to cats).

Options if you want a bit of an outdoor experience for cats but want to keep them as safe as possible are to cat proof your garden or to build a "catio", though both these options are dependant on both money and having a suitable garden.

FIV+ cats would be indoor only. Do the rescues have any of them? I have started volunteering at a rescue centre and they have one that has FIV and they are looking for an indoor only home.

You will find rescues happy to rehome indoor cats, it just might take a little longer. As well as smaller rescues, try breed specific rescues as some are better indoors, like persians and ragdolls. Some get ex-breeding cats tha have never been outdoors (some may have some behavioural issues due t being unsocialised ina family home, but love and time can deal with a lot of that).

I've got an indoor cat, before he came to me he was an outdoor boy living in a big house in the countryside. He's adapted surprisingly really well to a 2 bedroom flat and is happy and healthy, He spends lots of time watching cat TV out the windows! I'd love a cat proof garden or catio for him and maybe in the next few years when I finally move I can do that. If you can afford that I'd recommend it.

I'm currently fostering a cat and he seems very chill at being inside. Not at all bothered about being inside and just happy with lots of food and cuddles.

This has taught me I will never have a fully free roaming cat ever again. it feels so good knowing they won't go missing or get run over, injured or poisoned, or into bad fights with other cats, all of which happened with previous cats. Plus the bird catching and effect on wildlife.

What I will say is they bond more closely with you and so need more attention and lots of playtime and toys and things to do when you are out. If you work from home that helps, if you work outside the home a lot then 2 cats for company is better.

Have you considered cat proofing your garden? I did this and it’s been fantastic - best of both worlds. They have outside space but it’s totally safe.

I have Persians. They are happy being left and stay in my enclosed garden.

I have two indoor cats. They’re great.

We have an outdoor cat - but actually he rarely goes beyond our garden or our immediate neighbours’. Our previous girl was exactly the same. We don’t have a cat flap so cat is in if we’re out and always kept in overnight, so I feel like it’s a fair balance between giving outdoor access and minimising risk. We also live on a quiet one way street if he did venture further afield.

He often sits out in the evening monitoring the shed door, which I am convinced has mice in there, but we can’t actually find evidence of any (possibly because of the cat!).

Two indoor cats here. They’ve been indoor since kittens, quite happy. I wouldn’t have a solo indoor cat, I’d worry about them being bored and lonely during the day. My two like chasing each other round the house for exercise. There are things to consider though. Not being able to leave windows or doors open in the summer. Lots of litter changes. Having to provide a lot more entertainment…

Ive cat proofed my garden. It has 6 foot fencing all round so I just added a one foot overhang. Nothing gets in. Nothing gets out. Except birds lol. If they are lucky. 😂

If you've got a back door or window the cat can use it's cruel to keep them in. In my opinion. But it's up to you. I just think they'll just spend their lives desperately trying to go out and pining for outside.

We let our cat out but he's in at night with a smart cat flap controlling the opening/closing. It feels like a compromise for me to know he's in overnight. He goes out for a bit in the morning then sleeps all day inside then goes out again in the evening for a bit.

Get in touch with local cat rescue centres and explain that you're looking for a cat that loves human company so doesn't have the temperament to wander.
I volunteer at a rescue and we have a very good idea which of our cats would prefer to stay close to home. An older cat, preferably one who hasn't previously been a stray, would be ideal for you.

Also make sure that you have a routine from day one to shut them indoors as soon as it starts getting dark.

Our girl chooses to stay in within the boundary of our garden, and she doesn't even ask to go out at night because she knows that it's out of the question.

Somewhere out there your perfect kitty is waiting. Good luck 😻

My cats theoretically have free roaming access but they choose to spend most of their time indoors. One of them likes sitting on the patio or in the flower bed on a nice day - she once went a couple of gardens over but got hissed at by the resident cat there and since then she’s opted to stay in our garden. Her sister hasn’t mainly likes looking at the garden through the kitchen window!

I got mine as kittens so couldn’t have known they would be homebodies but if you ask a rescue they may have an adult cat with a sedate personality who doesn’t seem like the type to roam far, or a cat who hasn’t had outdoor access before so wouldn’t miss it.

Hi OP, I've just joined Mumsnet so I could answer this question as we are an indoor only household too, very much out of choice. I know too many people whose cats have been run over/gone missing, and am far too neurotic! We do have a fully enclosed patio, but to be honest our cat never bothers with it unless he's following me outside.

Have you thought about adopting from abroad? I'm currently in the process of adopting a cat from a wonderful shelter in Cairo. Some of the cats are gorgeous, you'd pay good money for them in the UK. Some are pedigrees which were thrown onto the street, others abused but friendly strays, and they stipulate they MUST be indoor only homes, they even hold a video interview before adopting to make sure. Lots going to the UK - I only found out about them from a woman I met at a cat show, she had adopted two. They're vaccinated, neutered etc and have an adoption donation of £200 to go towards the airfare costs. I've just paid £15 for an FIV/FeLV test before I commit to adopting ours.

The shelter is called Safe Haven Egypt (SHE) in case you're interested. Hope I can mention their name, not sure about Mumsnet rules as I'm new to it...but there's a Facebook page and also they have their own website. I think you can message them saying what kind of cat you're looking for if none interest you from Facebook (I think they have 260 cats or something). Feel free to ask me any questions if you're interested, anyway. On their website there are some links to online articles/videos about people who have adopted from there.

Good luck with your quest. I gave up on some local rescues I'm afraid, when they said you have to take the cat they assign to you, rather than request one specifically. I think Cats Protection might let you do it though, if you have one near you?

@mrsandrewsx4 if your based around South Yorkshire drop me a message the rescue I foster for will do indoor only cats.

My boy is predominantly indoor, I will let him out in the garden if I’m around and he’s content and will spend 30mins or so and come back in. My issues are he is black so hard to spot, my road even though on an estate and is 20mph people drive a lot faster and use it as a cut through. And he’s got out twice and when I’ve found him he has been hiding in a hedge and looks petrified so I think he likes the idea more than the reality, he also won’t wear a collar

Our two boys are both ‘outdoor’ cats, however one is very much a home boy and doesn’t really venture out. He may potter in the garden, and will sleep out in the sun’ but very rarely leaves the garden. The other one roams to 2 or 3 doors down either side of us but that’s it. We live on a fairly busy road and neither will go out the front. If they do, they suddenly panic and then sit at the front door crying to be let in! Think they don’t like the noise of the cars.

Can you cat proof your garden? We used Securacat and they were great at finding a solution for our tricky garden.

ARC rescue in
West Midlands only houses to indoor homes. I think they can rehome to a large area.