Do you keep your cats in at night?

[purpleme12]

What do you do with yours?

Can they just go in and out whenever they want?

Or do you keep them in at night?

The issue is you have to weigh up the risk of injury against the stress many cats experience when they’re locked in.

Ours has a microchip activated cat flap, so is free to come and go as he pleases.
He's very much a night shift cat doing his Important Job of keeping vermin at bay in the school behind our house.
Sometimes he brings "work" home. So he brings things home but can only get as far as the kitchen because we keep the door between the kitchen and the rest of the house shut.

My cats are confined to downstairs overnight to avoid 4.30am wake up calls! Fortunately the house layout means there’s one door between the stairs/hallway and the rest, so they have free range if kitchen/diner and livingroom. They have access to their cat flap and food/water and just come and go as they please. I live in a terraced house in London.

Ours stay in at night, with a litter tray, we feel it's safer for them, with the risk of road traffic accidents etc. They have a microchip cat flap where you can set a curfew, so they can't get out between just before dusk, when they have their supper and breakfast time. They accept the routine and enjoy their evening cuddles and a nice rest after their busy days exploring the garden.

Mine stay in at night. They come in for tea, if not already snoozing inside, and stay in until morning. Always done that - when I first adopted cats the charities insisted you kept them in at night as it was safer. I agree and always stick to that.

Mine only go out when I'm home.
Out after dawn, and in before dusk, because of little critters.

The road by us is quiet, but any vehicle that comes down it, in the early hours, is likely to be a tractor.

My boy is very vocal, and has shouted to go out from around 3am, since it started getting light, earlier.
This morning, he shouted from 3:30 - 5:30.
He stops if I kiss his head and scratch his chin, but starts again if I stop, or doze off.

But, what is the alternative?

He keeps pawing at the thing that turns to set the flap to open/incoming/closed etc until it reaches the setting where it's open! To keep him in would require blocking the cat flap at night, somehow. Am trying to figure that out in case we need him to be in overnight. I was worried at first but am not now, he's old enough to be over the far-roaming phase of youth! Perhaps once winter comes he'll be less inclined to want to go out.

Ah, I get you! No, sometimes they are in when we go to sleep, sometimes out, but we are making sure now to put them out before we go to bed as they are disturbing our sleep, as well as higher chance of accidents as they get old.

Would love this 😂 We’re in a bungalow so very hard to stop access to anywhere.

I have a cat flap so she goes in and out as she wishes but she much prefers to be outside.

We adopted former farm 'semi-feral' kittens. They go out during the day, but we keep them in at night; from just before dusk usually. Apart from the very occasional escape, it hasn't been a problem. They just play, eat and sleep at night.

I should add that they have a catflap that we barricade at night (they can turn the dial too), and a fresh litter box. We have a 'cat' proof alarm system, and they have the run of the downstairs. I'm mildly allergic so they don't sleep with us. Much as they'd like to.

Just come and go.

My cat can come and go as he pleases. He is an older rescue cat. I tried keeping him in at night but it makes him anxious. I think he had free access at his previous home.

He doesn't go out for too long. Has a routine of out at 11pm for a bit and again at 4am. He is always sleeping on my bed when I wake up. In winter he mostly stays in at night, plays with his toys in the livingroom. He has access to all rooms and we have a litter tray so letting him out is not for toileting reasons.

When he first had free access he would stay out for very long periods but now he has settled and knows he has complete independence.

There are risks, but it is a better quality of life for him. He is much happier and more settled having access whenever he needs it.

Yes in at night usually. We don't have a cat flap , she gets let in and out as she decides during the day. I have made a little waterproof den outside just incase she is ever shut outside by mistake overnight or while we are out.

Out during the day and in at night. Normally comes in at 8 in the summer but earlier in the winter. Free rein of the house at night, will wake me up at around 5 to go out.

I always keep my cat indoors overnight. Yes, cats will sometimes cry to go out but they soon settle down. Don't feel bad about it, it's for their own safety and they don't understand the risks. Similarly, in recent heatwaves I kept my cat indoors when it's been so hot there is a risk of heatstroke.

My cat has got an outdoor house which she absolutely loves!! It’s on legs, it’s insulated and full of blankets and it’s under a protected patio area….. it’s ridiculously snug!

When I open the back door in the morning and call out her name she slowly appears from her domain, eyes still closed, stretching her legs and yawning as she walks towards the house and she looks like she’s just been woken from the best night’s sleep of her life 🤣

Our cat usually sleeps inside at night but when it was really hot she wanted to sleep outside, she would be asleep on the patio furniture when we went to bed and still there first thing in the morning. We used to have a cat flat but she would live animals in to play with/torture in the living room. So I don't recommend letting them come and go as they please at night. I prefer her sleeping inside, I think it's safer.

My cat had been an indoor cat for his first 2 years and now loves the outdoors. However I was relatively cautious with him to begin with and he is still kept in overnight. I’ve got a cat flap with a curfew on it so it automatically locks and unlocks at the times I’ve set. If it’s locked he can still get in - at the moment he usually comes home an hour or so later than lock time. Once in I can see that he tends to try to go back out a few times but then gives up and doesn’t try again until the morning (the cat flap app tells me when he goes in and out, and when he’s tries it) so he’s used to it. I do get early morning zoomies but I think I’d get those whether the cat flap was locked or not. He has an indoor litter tray set up but doesn’t use it very often. In the morning he often goes out for a short while and then comes back to see me for cuddles and to demand breakfast.

I also want him in overnight as he’s turned into a hunter and I don’t want him bringing me presents when I’m in bed.

I adjust the curfew times depending on the season and light.

Apologies for hijacking the OP's thread, but can I ask you which cat flap you have and have you had any problems with it? I'm interested in getting one that can be set up with open/close times and is able to be monitored but have wondered about their reliability. Thanks!

We have always made sure our cat is in at night. We shut them in the kitchen with access to litter tray and food and water. They soon ger used to it.

They come and go as they please. I do live well away from roads though.

Indoors cats only. But i let them out in the garden everyday for a bit!

I think it depends on a few things such as the area you live in, the local wildlife, and your cat's temperament.

Mine can stay out if they won't come in at night. Foxes leave them alone because both of them are huge and their hisses alone sound absolutely feral, they could do serious damage if they were attacked. I live backing onto a wooded fishing pond area but they're mostly garden cats these days due to their age.

They come and go as they like - they all 'go to bed' about the same time as us, and they're always there in the same spots when we wake up, so I think they mostly stay in. Occasionally our most noisy one can be heard having a disagreement outside at 3am so I think he must pop out overnight sometimes.