Adopting a cat in a flat

KateLiana27

It's weird how this varies between cultures. I lived in the US for a while, and it was considered hugely neglectful and cruel to let your cat "roam" outside. Indoor cats were the norm. Keeping your cat indoors was the official advice from the animal shelter societies. It seems to be the opposite in the UK.

We have a Ragdoll, which are bred as indoor cats and wouldn't last ten minutes out of doors (due to a daft fearless nature - "ooh, a car! I'll go and play with its wheels!") We deliberately chose an indoor cat because we know too many people who have lost their pets on the road. He's perfectly happy indoors - because that's what he's used to. He's allowed the run of the house and that is his territory. We do take him out to the garden on nice days, but don't let him roam (not that he seems to want to).

You do need to invest more time and effort with an indoor cat - set aside some time each day to play with him, have a selection of interactive toys, and so on, to keep him stimulated.

And we also started out determined to get a cat from a shelter. After several disheartening experiences and finding them incredibly, frustratingly picky, we got our cat from Preloved instead

nancmat

I rehomed a cat a few months ago from rspca and i live in a ground floor flat so have access to cat flap & garden, but the flat at the top have a cat flap in their door & one in the main entrance door, could be an option, otherwise there were ones at the home suitable for indoor only.

Pigget

Casz - May I ask why you are not considering a cat who is FIV+?

We have an indoor FIV+ cat and we have window screens on our windows which allow us to open them but keep the cat in. They are a little expensive to buy, but easy to put up.

I would hope you'd have screens on your window FIV+ cat or no FIV+ cat.

If you have any questions about owning a FIV+ cat, please feel free to ask.

RosaBernicia

Re the US/ UK difference, I think it may be partly to do with the lack of any bigger predators in the UK... I was just reading a US-author cat care book which is great in many ways but recommends keeping them indoors. That author says it's because they have coyotes where she lives. I didn't know coyotes could climb trees, so am still not entirely convinced it's necessary, but then I don't think even people should spend all their time indoors if it can be helped. I guess there's more other wildlife in a lot of the States, whereas in much of the UK the biggest other predator they're likely to tangle with is a fox. And I'm not sure I'd back the fox...


Rosa xx

rita-rabbit

I got my two from Loot.com after being turned down by shelters. One is a ex-outdoor cat & he finds his way out of our building when he feels like it. I live in a 1-bed 1st floor flat with no balcony or garden. There is an outdoor walkway & I have a catflap in the front door - one cat wanders around in side the building & up/down stairs & other wherever he likes. Note: they prefer night time to leave the flat due to their general fear of children.

KateLiana27

RosaBernicia wrote: »

Re the US/ UK difference, I think it may be partly to do with the lack of any bigger predators in the UK... I was just reading a US-author cat care book which is great in many ways but recommends keeping them indoors. That author says it's because they have coyotes where she lives. I didn't know coyotes could climb trees, so am still not entirely convinced it's necessary, but then I don't think even people should spend all their time indoors if it can be helped. I guess there's more other wildlife in a lot of the States, whereas in much of the UK the biggest other predator they're likely to tangle with is a fox. And I'm not sure I'd back the fox...


Rosa xx

True - my massive bloater of a feline could hold his own against any fox. Or coyote, probably...

I think the main risk is cars. I just know so many people whose cats have been killed (or at least injured) by cars (none of them live on main roads, but cats wander, and it just takes the one car!). I had a scare when I very nearly hit a cat on a snowy day - luckily I just missed it, but I realised that no matter how careful a driver is, if a cat darts out right in front of their wheels, there may be nothing they can do.

Plus there was a spate of "cat tortures" near where we used to live. I won't go into details, but some people are pretty sick

I definitely don't advocate all cats being kept indoors or anything, but I do question the assumption (that seems to be held by much of the UK including shelters) that keeping a cat indoors is cruel. Cats need stimulation, play, and a chance to exercise their natural predator/hunting instincts, but a dedicated owner can give that to them indoors

Almo

I know it doesn't help the OP but as part of the wider discussion, we have two indoor cats, an older lady and a 2 year old boy. In our old house we had a sort of undercover outdoor room - hard to describe really, but basically a room with one wall missing! We netted across the back and the cats used to hang out back there on an old sofa, sniff the breeze, watch the birds, chase moths, sunbathe. Prior to that we built them a run but they preferred the room I think. We now live in a town house and have a roof terrace which is the size of the building footprint (not huge). Again, they are satisfied with this for the breeze/sun/birds/general nosing about.