Indoor vs outdoor cats

[Joy at Home]

While I'm thinking about cats today:

 

We have a rescue cat, our first, who we were planning on keeping as an indoor cat. With kids running in and out of the house all day, he ran out a few times and that was it. He's had a taste of the outdoors and would much rather spend most of his day out there than in the house. We try not to let him out, but darts out every chance he gets.

 

This has gotten me thinking. Do you think cats are intrinsically drawn to the outdoors, and is it cruel to not let them experience the fresh air and joys of the outdoors? We are planning to eventually get another cat; is there suggestions on keeping him indoors (other than the obvious goal of not letting him out in the first place)?

 

thanks!

lisa

[Lara in Colo]

I like my cats to be mostly indoors. They are outside in nice weather (usually when I am outside as well). They NEVER are outside at night (yes they come to call at bedtime) They are NEVER outside in bad weather. Mostly my cats have always stayed around our house. My last cat lived to be 17 years old, she lived in 3 different houses and she never got into a fight or had a problem with traffic or other dangerous animals (od course I chose houses with her in mind). I think that cats should be allowed out to eat grass and barf it up. They should humiliate themselves by having a bird chase them around the yard. They should stalk grasshoppers and butterflys. They should also come running home when momma calls.

 

Lara

[Jean in Newcastle]

After all the lost cat signs in our neighborhood, including the one for my very beloved 11 year old cat, our new cat is an exclusively indoor cat. Esp. since most of those lost cat signs represents "coyote bait". Outdoor cats do not live as long.

[Frontier Mom]

Ours has to be indoors because my neighbor has about twenty bird feeders. Nuf said!! I told my dd this going into it and it has worked out great. I made her a perch by the window where she sleeps and chatters at the birds. She doesn't seem too interested in the wild outdoors, though she has snuck out a time or two. She was a barn cat so I think she enjoys the air conditioning and sleeping on my bed too much now.

[TravelingChris]

The only cat I ever had that wanted to be outdoors sometimes is the one I have now. He is the only cat that I have had who was a rescue. But after living almost all his life (we found him at 11 weeks and he is now 9), he really doesn't want to go out anymore. Some days, he wanders out onto the patio but he comes right back in. He likes to watch birds from the window and since he lives in an almost 4000 Sq. ft. house, he has plenty of room to chase bugs and spiders that intrude.

[littlebug42]

I am generally a cat person and have two exclusive indoor cats. That being said, my neighbor has outdoor cats and I LOATHE them. It is impossible to keep them only in her yard as they wander everywhere. Until she moved in, we had doves that nested on our porch every year - until one of the cats next door killed the babies. I take care of my pets and do not inflict them upon other people. I would like to be extended the same courtesy. I try to be thankful for them since, living in an inner city, they contribute to controlling the mice/rat population but I would prefer they stay out of my yard.

[woolybear]

Yes, I do think cats are naturally drawn to the outdoors. Do I think it's cruel to keep them in? That's a strong word. No, I don't think it's cruel. I personally would not have cats if we had to let them out. We are in a very ticky area and have had several cases of lyme disease in our family. If the cats had the possibility of getting ticks, no one would be able to cuddle with them, they wouldn't be allowed on chairs,etc. I don't know, but I don't think that would be too nice either.

[Moniksca]

Our cat was born in the wild and his previous owner trapped the kittens and tamed 2 litters from the same mother (who they were unable to trap). After being outdoors, they said that all their cats no longer have a desire to be outside. That is also the case with ours, we constantly have the door open with kids running in and out and he has never tried to leave. He does enjoy sitting on our tv stand looking out the window. They're safer indoors and that is why ours is now strictly indoors, we don't want anything to happen to him.

[SapphireStitch]

I like my cats to be mostly indoors. They are outside in nice weather (usually when I am outside as well). They NEVER are outside at night (yes they come to call at bedtime) They are NEVER outside in bad weather. Mostly my cats have always stayed around our house. My last cat lived to be 17 years old, she lived in 3 different houses and she never got into a fight or had a problem with traffic or other dangerous animals (od course I chose houses with her in mind). I think that cats should be allowed out to eat grass and barf it up. They should humiliate themselves by having a bird chase them around the yard. They should stalk grasshoppers and butterflys. They should also come running home when momma calls.

 

Lara

 

:iagree: I have three cats. One is 15 years old, we got her as a kitten when we lived in an apartment. She had to stay inside there and got used to that, but she does go out occasionally now that we have a house. She mostly stays on the patio, soaking up some sun and chomping a little grass.

 

Second cat is 5 year old, and she came to us as a stray (neighbor's cat had kittens and they just stopped feeding the one they couldn't find a home for :glare:) She was used to being outside, but loves being able to come inside and sleep on soft furniture. She probably spends 3 or 4 hours per day outside, and we always call her in right around 5:00 in the evening and keep her in all night.

 

Third cat is just a baby, 8 weeks old, and for now she is exclusively indoors. In a few months, after she is spayed, we'll introduce her to the backyard and see if she wants to spend some of her time outside.

[LauraGB]

I would love my guy to go outside. I'll bet my life he'd like it, too. But I really like him and I don't want to scrape him off the road.

 

We got him from a shelter. He has his claws, was fully trained to fetch, come, and a few other parlor tricks we figured out. He was always a gentleman with the litter box. The shelter (or whoever found him and called) found him freezing in a less than wonderful garage just before Christmas in the sub-zero temperatures a few years ago. His hair was all matted with some weird bristly fur growing in odd places. Obviously he was once loved, but since he was an indoor/outdoor fellow, he now has a new home.

 

Yes, I think all animals are drawn to the outdoors and fresh air and instinctual hunting. I guess, as pet owners, it depends on where you live. I can't in good conscience let him out here.

[Pippen]

I have a cat that I've had since he was about a week old, out of a feral mama in our neighborhood. I'd always planned for him to be entirely an indoor cat, but he's a big male cat who was overweight (19 pounds) and despite lots of loving treatment, he was quite aggressive. At his checkup last year the vet talked to me about the possibility of him being so focused on food because of stress and boredom and about the likelihood of developing diabetes and urinary tract problems. In the end I changed his diet but also decided to start giving him outside time to see how it would go. At first we supervised a lot to make sure he would stick around--he was happy outside but it would be difficult to get him in (he would come when I called, but would growl while doing it or bite if I picked him up). Once I was comfortable that he was staying in the yard I let him out for longer periods, mostly during the early morning hours. Previously he had been escaping outside at every opportunity, but once he knew it was okay for him to be out he was more balanced indoor/outdoor, plus he doesn't get mad when I have to bring him in now.

 

I know there are risks and I would be sick if something happened to him, but in every way he is so much happier it's a chance I'll take. He's down to a normal size for him (16 pounds--he's a big boy!) and is less likely to attack ankles now that can chase bug and sit underneath trees and irritate squirrels.

[elise1mds]

Most cats like the outdoors, but some of them aren't smart enough to hack it. I currently have six; two of them have 'street smarts.' One of them was an indoor/outdoor cat for many years before we got him and learned there, and another one just has great instincts. I suspect one of the kittens will like the outdoors as well, but he's still got too much of that teenage impulsivity for me to trust him outside.

 

The other three cats just don't care. Two of them will lounge on the porch if given the chance, but they won't go any further, and the third one refuses to even step outside. He's got anxiety issues.

 

My kids know the 'door protocol' where they check the other side to see if there's a cat there and the perform all sorts of evasive maneuvers to keep the cat inside if there's one trying to escape. Usually only my girl with good instincts attempts escape on a regular basis. My vet would flip his lid if he knew I was letting them outside more or less on a regular basis. He firmly believes cats should be indoor only because of the huge number of dangers outside. Country or city, there are a long list of dangers to cats. I figure... it's a cat... it's replaceable... but I also don't want to have my kids find the remains of one that's met an untimely demise. So I try to keep them in.

[Carrie12345]

Growing up, my neighbors had several cats that spent a lot of time outdoors. We lived on a quiet little suburban street, no road over 25mph for miles. I found one of them dead in the middle of the street when I was 8. It's always colored my view.

 

Still, when I have my dream mini-farm, I do intend to have barn cats.

 

My indoor cats appear to be quite content. They do get to spend some time on my 2nd floor balcony, and they enjoy that. They've each made 1 run for it in their 4 years and never tried again. Same with the cat I had before them.

 

In your case, I'd definitely do my best to keep him in, but I wouldn't let it rule my life or anything. Try; he'll be safer. Don't kill yourself over it; he's a cat!

[Carrie12345]

Oh, and I have a story to share!

 

When I was about 18, my roommate and I adopted 2 barn kittens. We wanted them to stay indoors.

Every day, around 4:30 in the morning, they'd be meowing and scratching at our back door... from the outside!

 

It took us about a month to realize they had slit the bottom of the screen in the bathroom window and were climbing out to hunt every night. They couldn't jump high enough to get back in on their own.

We learned to deal with a lack of bathroom ventilation, lol.

[2cents]

I have 4 and they're all indoor. One wants to go out but we don't let her. They have a screened in pool to lounge around and they catch an occasional lizard so they're happy with that. They think they are getting to go outside when we let them out on the lanai. :)

[Paula in PA]

My family has lost too many cats on the road in front of this house over the years for me to ever allow mine outside (I live in the house I grew up in). We have a decent amount of room and lots of cat toys and furniture for them to climb and play on, plus lots of window perches. They have each other and us for play and grooming. They certainly seem content.

[Tressa]

My kitty is strictly indoors. I do feel sad for him because he will try to escape if given the chance. He is very overweight and I sure that it is because he lies around all day doing nothing. However, he is the best cat we have ever had. He is so people orientated that he has to be by us all the time. We live near a busy road, and my neighbor lost a cat to it. The kids would be devastated if we lost a cat that way, so inside he stays.

[yarrow]

is ticks. Our cats love to be outside but the other day I found a tick on me & I hadn't been outside at all for 2 days. I must have picked it up from the couch where the cat had been sitting. And yes, they are treated monthly with Frontline.

 

It's too late at this point to make our cats indoor only (they're 6 years old) but it's something to consider.

[Purpledaizy]

We have two strictly indoor cats and one who would go insane if we didn't let her out. I believe being inside is best but for our Vera its either she goes out or she drives to the brink of sanity with her yowling; and yes she's fixed, but it doesn't seem to have made a differnce.

[Country Mouse]

I agree with what seems like the majority here that cats live longer, healthier lives indoors. I don't think it's cruel at all to keep them indoors, especially if they are pets that are part of the family.

[myfunnybunch]

I don't think it's cruel to keep them in.

 

And we have two indoor-outdoor cats. Well, they're more like in-out-in-out-in-out cats. I've joked we should just go ahead and change their names to In and Out.

 

When we brought them home from the shelter they were indoor-only cats. The shelter gave us literature on how much better it is for cats to be in. The vet encouraged us to keep them in.

 

Our Himalayan wanted to go out, out, out. He must have been an in-out cat in his previous home. When we finally changed our minds after a year and started letting them out, he was a completely different cat--more confident, less jumpy, more affectionate. He follows us on walks like a dog. He greets everyone who walks by. He hangs out with the chickens. He's just that kind of cat. Our other cat doesn't venture any farther than the front yard to lay in the sun and watch birds. I don't think he'd mind being an indoor-only cat if he didn't see his buddy go in and out.

 

It all comes down to the preferences of cat and owner, IMO. :)

 

Cat

[Lizzie in Ma]

After all the lost cat signs in our neighborhood, including the one for my very beloved 11 year old cat, our new cat is an exclusively indoor cat. Esp. since most of those lost cat signs represents "coyote bait". Outdoor cats do not live as long.

 

Our dear Samwise got out when the screen ripped last year. He was a rescue cat. He never came home and our hearts were broken.

 

My cats have always been indoor except for my Siamese, he likes to sit in the garden, only when it is nice out for a little bit in the mornings. He is never out long, never when I am not here and never ever ever after dusk. He was a rescue as well.

[asta]

I have an in/out cat who is currently on forced "in".

 

Despite being on worm medicine AND Frontline Plus, she came home with ticks crawling ALL OVER HER FACE, burrowed under her arm and elsewhere, and with worms.

 

I've never been so icked in all my pet-owning years.

 

I've also never shaved a cat before. I have bathed one, so this was another joyous experience.

 

Did you know you could make a "cat apartment" with an extra-large dog carrier that will fit a potty box, a bed, and has those convenient food and water click on bowls?

 

(this has been a LONG week... our cat is normally a vicious hunter who only comes home when she feels like it...)

 

 

a

[weaver_67579]

Our local animal "lovers" group keeps trapping feral cats, neutering them and then turning them loose. I don't get that--if it's cruel to have them our running around, why don't they trap them and put them down????

 

Both DH and I grew up on dairy farms and we now live on the homestead part of his family farm. It is now a crop farm and not a dairy. We practice TNR on our farm (and end up trapping a lot of the neighborhood cats too). I am an animal lover-the kind that you seem to not have much respect for - if I am reading the tone correctly. We do it because we love pets and have several. Our pet cats are exclusively indoors as are the rescues we foster. Our dogs have a fenced yard. Of course the livestock are also confined in fences.

 

Why do we do it?

Firstly, it is my responsibility to care for the animals we own. Though feral, the cats live on my property and I am responsible for them. I do my best to give them the best care I can considering the fact they are true ferals and we cannot handle them-or even get anywhere close to them in most cases. This care includes trapping for spaying/neutering, vaccinations (rabies as well as the combo shot and Feline Leukemia), testing for Feline Leukemia (and FIV), and worming/flea treatment. If they ever get re-trapped they get vaccine boosters and worming/flea control if it is time appropriate to do so. Of course we also feed them daily. All kittens are tamed and placed through a rescue group as are all tame drop-offs. So far we have placed 26 cats in new homes and I have 2 fosters waiting for homes. We have spayed/neutered 16 and euthanized 4 due to illness so far. Most of the ones that have gone through TNR are doing well and are healthy. Normally on farms and areas with a lot of ferals, there is a short lifespan. Fighting and roaming of intact cats is normal and they are more likely to spread disease and get hit in the road. Also, having litter after litter of kittens can really wear down a cat and make it hard for her to build up reserves enough to survive our Pennsylvania winters. Unvaccinated cats are prone to the "epidemics" of respiratory disease that run rampant and kill outright or weaken many. Basically, spayed/neutered, vaccinated and fed cats are healthier and live longer.

 

Secondly, Spaying/neutering cuts down on a bunch of vices. We don't have much fighting now that the core population of permanent cats is spayed/neutered. We also don't see much spraying by males-except the traveling neighborhood ones that I have yet to trap. They don't come around much. When we moved here nearly 2 years ago, you couldn't leave anything out on or porch for fear it would be sprayed on.

 

Lastly, It makes us a better neighbor. Roaming is also down. We rarely see any cats anywhere near the road and they rarely come over by the house. Most all are content to stay over by the barn and outbuildings. Since roaming is not a problem any more, the cats rarely leave our farm. I wish the neighbors would be responsible in a similar way since I am tired of having to trap their cats and spaying/neutering them so I do not have to deal with their kittens. Cats from the neighbor up on our hill love to come down and have their kittens in our hay mow.

 

Ferals are not the same as tame barn cats. A true feral will not allow any human contact. Though we know we have many, unless we really watch for them, you wouldn't know they are there. It is better to keep tame cats indoors exclusively. On average they live longer (I have seen figures around 14 years) when kept indoors only. Yes-we all have heard the "I have a 20 year old outside cat....." By far most outdoor cats do not live that long. The average age of the cats we trap is about 2. We have found many skeletons of kittens here on the farm while cleaning things up. The average age of cats that have died here has been under 1. I believe that would line up pretty accurately with other farms, and feral colonies. I do not believe it is cruel to keep ferals as long as you care for them properly. Our goal is not to have ferals some day-likely unattainable (due to the irresponsiblity of other humans), but one to work toward. I believe all cats deserve a true home. Killing all the ferals in an area would just cause a vacuum for other neighborhood cats to move into. The current feral population here chases away a lot of cats and helps keep our population stable, with the hope of a gradual decrease over time.

 

Basically, killing them just makes more move in. Besides, I don't think I should punish the poor cats for the failures of the people that should have been caring for them.