Indoor Cat or Outdoor Cat?

puppy999

Girlpantsx wrote: »

That is cold. How about if your Akita got run over? Would you like it if someone said "Welll it shouldn't be out wondering" I don't supposed you would.
There is no wrong way to keep a cat. I wanted my first cat to be an indoor cat, but she had other ideas. I think it's a decision that should be decided on how the cat reacts to your home, unless you're living somewhere that you couldn't possibly let them out.

I have had cats 40yrs and not one as been out or got run over I have also had boxer dogs not one as been run over ...How is my Akita goin to get run over when he does not go out without me and always kept on a lead ???????? I take great care of all my animals making sure they cant get out on the road and I live on a busy road.......

MacCavity

My two cats are indoor cats or at least they only have supervised trips inside our garden. There's a couple reasons, one neighbour is a real cat hater & has been known to put down poison in their garden, so there's no way I want either of my cats in their garden and the other is one cat is a pedigree. Suits our current circumstances and surroundings.

stumpycat

All our cats come and go as they please during the day. We close the cat flap at dusk and keep them in at night, letting them out when it is full light - this is for their safety and that of the bird population!

For anyone re-homing 'house cats' - they can adapt really well to being outdoor cats. We got 2 which had been kept in (they were 5 and 7) and they loved going out.

dizziblonde

I lived on a main road when I got the furball, asked the CPL for an older cat who they wanted rehomed as an indoor cat SPECIFICALLY. While where we live now is pretty safe, she's missing a back leg so can't jump up well and wouldn't stand a chance if a dog went after her (the reason for the amputation was canine-related). She's also the most spoilt, cuddle-demanding creature known to man - as opposed to some of the other cats around here who you hear scrapping outside half the night on a daily basis.

MaximumImpact

I have 2 moggies....one was a semi feral who had to become an indoor cat as where I previously lived, he just couldnt master the fact that large metallic objects don't stop for him and after scrape number 2, was kept in constantly. Number 2 was housecat again due to said tarmacced area...

We moved to a house in the country a few years ago and decided that due to the distance from road, we would let them out to roam...terrifed wasn't the word....However, since that day, they have been outdoor cats, barely seen except to be fed but strangely always in at night to sleep and then out at the crack of dawn...rain or shine....

Until this month and the extremely cold snap.....now it's like peeling fluff of velcro....the yelling and shouting when I open the front door and drag them out kicking and screaming...then the hours of howling at the front door...Well the answer is that it's taken us 7 years to get rid of that litter tray and it ain't coming back!!

Sorry moggies...love you dearly but really don't miss that smell!!

I think it's down to the cat...some don't want to go out....

ukphd

I have catproofed my garden so my 3 cats can be inside or outside but they're always safe in the garden (and they're not annoying my neighbours by using their gardens as litter trays!). They all have litter trays indoors too. By cat proofing the garden it means other cats can't get in either. It's not unsightly and since doing it I've felt so much better about the cats when they're out. A lot of cats have gone missing in my area so at least I know that my cats can enjoy the outside but can't wander off/get nicked/get hit by a car or whatever.

SparkleWitch

We have 2 Ragdoll cats that are kept indoors. This is mainly because we live in a flat, they were bred as indoor cats and also people have been known to steal them as they are worth quite a bit

We are hoping to move next year & would like an enclosed garden so they can go out or somewhere that we can build a run for them.

nickj_2

our cat mostly stays inside , she does ask to go out occaisionally to chase our rabbits but if it's cold or wet she doesn't bother , she doesn't go far amd very rarely ventures further than the garden fence

behappysmile

We had indoor cats purely because they were both nervous cats, would jump and hide at any noise. God knows what they would do if they saw a car.
Now we live in a house surrounded by fields and i leave a window open for them to choose. Most of the time they stay in, but as soon as i go out and shake their biscuit box there back in a flash, so they don't go far.

bethie

two indoor (adopted) cats here.


when I got the first one I was specifically looking for an indoor cat as our area was quite rough and we lived in a flat, and, there wasn't any green space around.

fast forward 2 years and I then moved to a house. i still kept him indoors as he was now 6 and we are quite close to main roads and a dual carriage way. However, he now had supervised access to the garden on his leash.

in September I adopted another cat, and again specifically looked for an indoor cat. she had been in a road traffic accident and has a dodgy back leg.

again, she can have supervised access to the garden, but doesnt seem to like wearing her harness! (garden isnt properly fenced). in the past month or so she has started looking out the back door, so maybe in the spring she might like to eat some grass.

the old man really only goes out for about 10 minutes, eats his grass, and then pegs in back inside!

i think it depends on the cat as to whether it wants to be indoors or outdoors, but if a kitten is brought up indoors it isnt as cruel as taking an outdoor cat and making it an indoor cat. where i grew up, most shelters insist that cats are indoors, and really only farmers have outdoor cats. just what you are used to really...