Outdoor or indoor cat

[Quiptic]

We have a house and garden but we’re on a fairly busy road. Is it naive to think we could have a cat who wouldn’t venture too far from the garden or would an indoor only cat be better? If the latter any tips on indoor cars would be helpful

You could cat proof all or part of your garden so you could have a safe area for the cat to go outdoors.

Not naive but not risk-free. If you want it to not wander your best bet is a rescue and probably not a tom which might be more inclined to roam.

Cat proofing your garden is one option. Only letting them out in your company is another. Personally I think its cruel to have an indoor cat unless medically necessary.

Some cats are more inclined to stay close to him than others. I've had quite timid cats that dislike cars and other cats which has meant not roamed.

I’m not sure our cat even knows what happens out the front of our house. We back onto a woods and she spends a lot of time in there via the cat flap in the back door. I’ve never seen her out the front.

To be honest, I think it totally depends on the cat. I have two cats, my 11 year old girl cat would be delighted to never go out again, and my 7 year old boy would absolutely hate it. What is your back garden like, could you cat proof it, or even build a catio thing? I only let my cats out the back door, never the front as I don't want to encourage them to go in the road. I sometimes see my boy cat out the front but this is usually to greet me when I get home, and I have never ever seen my girl out the front. So yeah, down to the cat I think but personally I would never keep a cat in all the time, although I appreciate that some people like to do so.

We have 2 indoor cats, we've had them from kittens and had a catio installed when they turned 1, they are still vaccinted each year incase they accidentally get out but they both just sit at the door and sniff if it's open.

I am a SAHM and carer for our 9 yr old so I play with them plenty in those hours, do some enrichment and they follow me about when I'm cleaning up or preparing dinner.

I have had numerous cats in my life as a child and they've always been outdoor cat, nearly every one of them died due to car accidents, I wouldn't keep an already outdoor cat as an indoor cat because they've gotten used to roaming and I find that unfair.( completely contrary I know! ) The cats from my childhood also used to bring us frogs, birds, even a bloody seagull 😂 and I also love those animals so that was also a consideration to having indoor cats.

They have 2 outdoor litter trays and 3 indoor, 2 in the utility room and one in the bathroom. They are very happy cats, spayed and neutered at 5 months, healthy weights and are well loved, wouldn't be without them.

Photo for the cat tax

Rescue shelters always have a variety of cats who are FIV positive and need indoor homes so they can't transmit it to other cats.

A catio at the back of the house would be a great idea.

Thanks all. I’ll look into cat proofing although not sure it’ll be feasible in my garden. Love the pics @TomatoSandwichesand laughing at the seagull!(although I bet you weren’t at the time!)

You can also buy "catio" type enclosures, not as good obviously as being able to let them wander round the garden but they could enjoy being outside in the sunshine etc that way

We rescued an indoor cat from Cat’s Protection; she had lived indoors for 5 years.
We have cat proofed our garden but she doesn’t tend to want to go out there much/for long after being inside for so many years.
I do like having an indoor cat for peace of mind as we love her so much we wouldn’t sleep if she didn’t come back at night.

I’d always go for outdoor, I think it’s near on impossible to stimulate an indoor cat and make their environment as rich as an outdoor cat would have it. That saying, if I lived on a busy road I’d get a cat that HAD to be indoor or cat proof a garden.

i had the same dilemma as you and went for medically necessitated indoor cats! Both have FIV, rescue was delighted to find them a home!

I was nervous DCat1 would hate the indoors having grown up with cats that went out. However, the rescue assured us he would be happy indoors as long as he could sunbathe and they were spot on! I could open all my doors and windows and he would turn his nose up and go back to bed 😂.

DCat2 is a different kettle of fish. I absolutely know he’d love to be out terrorising the neighbour’s cats and local wildlife and bringing us ‘gifts’ and sometimes that makes me sad for him. However; at nearly 14 with FIV and a heart murmur, his options were indoors with us or PTS. I think with indoor cats I’d always have 2- it’s really helped Dcat1 with socialisation, play and activity levels (and therefore his weight!) having another DCat around. DCat2 came home to a ready made playmate (in his eyes, DCat1 took some convincing that he wants to be woken up and chased around 😂) which helps him with enrichment and energy levels.

@user1471548941 you have hit the nail on the head - cats described as indoor cats don't always buy into the description. We have adopted two Mau cats at different times, both described as indoor only - but you try telling that to them! Elton was unwell ( FIV / CKD) and although he loved the outside, he was too poorly to seriously explore, but Marvin the new boy is a different kettle of fish. All we can do is cat proof our tiny garden, get a tracker collar and hope for the best, as keeping him as the indoor cat he is supposed to be feels so cruel.

Our cat goes out, but doesn’t especially roam - he’s always within shouting distance and is very good at coming when called. Our previous cat was the exact same. We have a pretty big garden which backs on to/neighbours other gardens, and our street is one-way and quiet even if he did venture out the front.

I know it’s never risk free to let a cat out, but we keep him in overnight, and we actually don’t have a cat-flap, so if we’re out he’s in, so it feels like a decent balance. I love seeing him sitting up on the shed roof. Our previous girl used to spend a lot of time in a hidey-hole next door under a big leafy bush, and she’d come absolutely racing down the garden steps when we called her, like a white flash.

Oh I do wish I could trust Marvy with that freedom @Judystilldreamsofhorses but he'd be parkouring of the shed roof before I could blink!

We have three outdoor cats - never seen any of them on the front street - two wander over the back road but I’ve seen them cross and they stop and look every time - it’s very clever!

@Puppylucky he’d land on his feet though!

We have older female rescue cats for this reason, though the main road is a bit further away. They tended to stay in the garden and get scared if they go out the front. They can get out but it takes some effort and they seem to feel safer or happier within the garden fence, or in next doors garden.
I'm not sure if it will always be that simple with any future cats though.

Yes probably six streets away unfortunately !

My two have trackers so I know exactly where they go. My DC girl goes down through my back garden and mostly spends her time in the neighbouring back gardens but she does occasionally cross a road, although it's not too busy. My boy ranges further, but tends to go out the front to the fields as well as ranging through out the entire neighborhood block. I wouldn't trust them out with a bust road outside the house. My street is quiet luckily.