Is it fair to keep indoor cats

[dandysmom]

I live in the City on a heavily trafficed road and very near a woods with foxes, raccoons, etc, so all but one of mine have been indoor only with supervised walks on harnesses, which they greatly enjoy. Both pedigrees and moggies were happy cats, no destruction or inappropriate defecating, etc. Leia is indoors by choice, she is scared of outdoors. Too many of my neighbors have lost beloved cats to RTAs. It's your choice depending on your circumstances.

[angieh]

There are loads of good reasons for having a home only cat. My two are come and go as they please cats - except Pip doesn't seem to want to stay out (for which I am very pleased as he's still young). It's a matter of circumstances and choice too. As long as your cat or cats have lots to keep them amused and active - that's fine.

[Phoenix]

I wish Dylan would stay in but he won't He likes playing chicken with the bin lorry so I'm always fretting about where he is on bin day

[EmmaG]

Mine only go out when we are at home. Brownyn doesn't like going out anyway, she would prefer to be indoors. If we are out in the garden on a nice sunny day normally she can be found indoors!!!

[angieh]

OH put a couple of chair cushions out in the sun to air out today. Came indoors for something, went outside and both cushions were occupied by a resident cat!!! Matter of minutes really. It was a lovely sunny day.

[calismum]

I have, over the years had a mixture.

I've never found them to be more or less destructive if they get out or not.

The one issue/problem I did have was a cat who was used to geting out had to be confined when we moved temporariliy to a house on the main road for a month - he was very unhappy and we had to be really careful. He was fine when we moved back home. I'm still not 100% sure that was to do with change of environment or being confined.

I'd think that as long as it started off as indoors cat then you'll have no probs.

[James]

First, I must make it clear that anything I say here is not a criticism of anyone who either keeps their cat(s) indoors or allows them the freedom to come and go. As others have said, one size does not fit all and it depends on personal circumstances.

Our beloved tabby girl Dunkley was the epitome of an 'outdoor' cat as she was feral-born in the New Zealand native bush. She was approximately two or three years old when she adopted us and a veterinary examination showed she had many injuries (probably caused by large male possums (which can be extremely aggressive), large feral toms and/or accidents. We nursed her back to heath and although she had the freedom to return to the bush, she showed little inclination to do so, other than to sunbathe outside on the patio. When we brought her to the UK we were lucky to have a huge garden and thought she would want to explore, but no, she would rather be with us and would only go into the garden if we were there too. She was a great traveller and went everywhere with us. Our last holiday with her (when she was almost 17 years old) was spent camping in Thetford forest (Norfolk UK). She loved the forest and actually accompanied us on walks through the trees, happily trotting alongside us just to show is that she had not lost any of her bush-cat skills

Our new girl, Boodle, is a rescue cat and in the six weeks she has been with us has occasionally asked to go outside. However, for now we want to keep her indoors as she is still finding her bearings in the house and we are also afraid she may wander off. To enrich her indoor environment, we have provided a large climbing tree (which includes a little round house which she loves!) and more toys than Hamleys (London toy shop) There is a garden which we would like her to enjoy, but only when we are confident that she is settled with us and the garden is as secure as we can make it.

I would agree that outdoors is the ideal, but how many people live in ideal surroundings? For instance, I would not be keen to allow a cat free access to the outdoors if we lived adjacent to a busy road or if the near neighbours had large dogs or aggressive cats (or kids who think an air rifle is a toy). A friend of ours did allow her cat to go outside - beyond the garden, as they lived well away from a main road, but their greatly loved cat was savaged by a neighbour's large dog which had escaped from the yard where he was kennelled. The other thing to consider is that in some areas, many cats have been stolen or poisoned, so if you are new to an area, it would be wise to check out any environmental risks such as this with neighbours.

[yola]

I would just like to add, and I'm not contradicting James here just putting forward my perspective; that previously outdoor cats can happily settle to being indoors.

We adopted a big old bruiser of a Tom about 8 years ago. He was entire, smelly and a habitual roamer. Turned out he had FIV though. Once neutered he turned into the soppiest cat who would seek out the warmest spot in the house. There was no desire to go out - the only time he would venture out is when we were in the garden and it was hot enough to bask in the sun

[dandysmom]

Patches, who I rehomed at approximately 1/1/2, had been allowed outdoors. She quickly adapted to being an indoor cat with daily walks on her harness; passed away at 20 in her sleep.

[pookyandjo]

i have had cats that were indoors/outdoors... and most of them died due to RTA or just simply disappeared .. so it could be argued that they too were the victims of RTA's... my most recent 3 cats were exclusively indoors... Tinky Winky who i lost 1 year ago to cancer...and my current babies.. George who is an 8 year old Butterball DLH Male... and HRH Princess Harry who is a 1 year old Ginger Ninja Female...neither of them have shown an inclination to go outside.... They are kept inside for numerous reasons... we live in an area that has a lot of traffic... near a school... and i have witnessed children being cruel to cats that are allowed outside...apart from that the area that we live in is a wildlife area and cats are not allowed out... of course not everyone follows the rules... but i for one believe that my cats are better off being inside GIVEN OUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES!!!.. if we lived in a rural area then i may let them out... but we dont so it's not an option... BUT... i have been thinking lately of getting a cat run put in because i think that Harry will just love it... im not sure that George will use it... but who knows

my two cents for what its worth!