Keeping a cat indoors - cruel?

madget_2

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Where have I mentioned euthanasia at all? How am I projecting human values onto cats?

Cats are animals that, if left to their own devices, would not live indoors. They would roam, mark and fight for territory, hunt for food, sunbathe for a healthy coat etc... they would not find shelter and stay in it for the whole of their lives.

For a human to impose his/her will on an animal and keep it confined inside for the whole of its life (without a very good welfare issue for the animal and not the human) is just unnatural and cruel.

I say again, and this is not from a human perspective but from a sentient perspective, would you like to be forced to live the whole of your life indoors - within four walls? I'd suggest not.

If you live on a main road with a traffic threat - don't get a cat.

If you live in a flat without suitable access - don't get a cat.

Cats are not just accessories that you choose to suit your lifestyle... they are living breathing creatures and shouldn't have to suffer to suit human needs.

I would change that to:

If you live on a main road with a traffic threat - adopt a cat who has problems which mean that it should be kept indoors only.

If you live in a flat without suitable access - adopt a cat who has problems which mean that it should be kept indoors only.

I volunteer for a rescue charity and we nearly always have cats who require indoor homes. They can be the ideal answer for those who do not have access to gardens or who live near busy roads - and we are desperate to find somewhere for them to live safely and happily in a home environment.

We rely on people who might otherwise not feel able to adopt an outdoor cat to give these cats homes.

adouglasmhor

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Where have I mentioned euthanasia at all? How am I projecting human values onto cats?

Cats are animals that, if left to their own devices, would not live indoors. They would roam, mark and fight for territory, hunt for food, sunbathe for a healthy coat etc... they would not find shelter and stay in it for the whole of their lives.

For a human to impose his/her will on an animal and keep it confined inside for the whole of its life (without a very good welfare issue for the animal and not the human) is just unnatural and cruel.

I say again, and this is not from a human perspective but from a sentient perspective, would you like to be forced to live the whole of your life indoors - within four walls? I'd suggest not.

If you live on a main road with a traffic threat - don't get a cat.

If you live in a flat without suitable access - don't get a cat.

Cats are not just accessories that you choose to suit your lifestyle... they are living breathing creatures and shouldn't have to suffer to suit human needs.

Well Trigger, if people don't get cats from rescues -where they are often kept in small pens all the time, many rescues will have to put them to sleep, or not be able to take cats in to rehome, leading to them being abandoned or again put to sleep. You did not have to mention it, I did as a likely consequence of your ill thought out sugestion.

oliveoil99

One of my late cats had been a stray for quite a while had seen it out and about, my next door neighbour told me she had seen it going under my shed a number of times so kept a look out and it was there every night. It was very nervous and timid and decided to give it a home, it took many weeks of feeding and coaxing it leaving the back door open and it did start coming in but as soon as I went to shut the door it would go berserk to get out but with a winter approaching she put her fears aside to get to a warm hearth.
I took her to the vet for a health check she was getting on a bit maybe 10yrs and at some time had her tail amputated. With her straying for some time I wanted her as an outdoor cat but she had other ideas it was as if when I put her out she thought this lovely home she had found would be no more so would never move from the doorstep even if I went in the garden with her. I had her another 3yr she was never a well cat had problems with her liver. I used to look at her thinking you should be outside exploring this exciting place but she only showed fear when outside, at least she had love and warmth for her latter and she chose me for that.

krlyr

Personally I am very pro- indoor cats. I think we live in a world that just isn't suited to freeroaming cats, like it's not suited to latchkey dogs. The rules and laws around dogs have changed to reflect this, I'm just really puzzled at times as to why they haven't for cats.

Perhaps the term indoor cat conjurs up a mental image of a cat never to have a whiff of fresh air or touch a blade of grass again? But owners can provide outdoor access and stimulation in safer ways, like dog owners do using leads, longlines and training.

Cats can be taught to stay within a garden - or if not, you can put physical barriers in place to prevent them leaving. For example, fence toppers, nets, a cat aviary/run, a lead and harness.

You can 'bring the outdoors in' and provide plenty of opportunities for cats to practice natural behaviours indoors - so cat trees (and I've seen some literal cat trees, made from real tree branches!), toys that allow them to 'hunt', grass grown in trays and so on.

Cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits - they all came from the wild in the first place. I'm not convinced there is anything preventing us from moulding cats to be just as happy indoors as a dog or rabbit, other than this strange (to me) wide opinion that anything other than free roaming is cruel to them. In my opinion, it's far crueler to leave a cat to face dangers like cars, wild animals, poisoning or mistreatment from other people, bad weather and so on. My pets are my pets, and as well as taking responsibility to keeping them under control, I'm also there to protect them - I can't do either if I don't know where they are!

Person_one

As a dog owner, I really don't want to start seeing loads of cats on leads in parks and in open spaces. It would mean lots of dogs never being able to go off lead. Along a road, or in your own garden maybe, but lots of places just wouldn't be safe for a cat on a lead.

I once saw a couple walking a ferret on a harness in a park near me. Luckily I saw it before my dogs did and they were still on their leads (just) but they were taking a pretty big risk!

thegirlintheattic

Some cats can't go outside and some don't show any interest (we had a cat that even when the door was left wide open would only go and peer out).

As long as you are not taking a cat that has been outdoors all it's life and keeping it indoors, I don't see how it is cruel.

As said by another poster, some shelters are crying out for people to take indoor cats. When we adopted two of ours, Battersea had had them for ages because 1 had ongoing health issues that meant she was old, sick and couldn't go out, and they could not separate them. They would only let them go provided it was to an indoor home.

krlyr

Person_one wrote: »

As a dog owner, I really don't want to start seeing loads of cats on leads in parks and in open spaces. It would mean lots of dogs never being able to go off lead. Along a road, or in your own garden maybe, but lots of places just wouldn't be safe for a cat on a lead.

I once saw a couple walking a ferret on a harness in a park near me. Luckily I saw it before my dogs did and they were still on their leads (just) but they were taking a pretty big risk!

As owner of dogs with high prey drive, it's one reason I am very particular where they are off-lead (pretty much restricted to private land). Ferret and cat owners have just as much right to use public spaces as us. Inconvenient for dog owners, perhaps, but everyone should be able to use parks and fields without worrying about a dog attacking their pet.

adouglasmhor

Person_one wrote: »

As a dog owner, I really don't want to start seeing loads of cats on leads in parks and in open spaces. It would mean lots of dogs never being able to go off lead. Along a road, or in your own garden maybe, but lots of places just wouldn't be safe for a cat on a lead.

I once saw a couple walking a ferret on a harness in a park near me. Luckily I saw it before my dogs did and they were still on their leads (just) but they were taking a pretty big risk!

My mate used to walk his ferret on a little harness along side his lurcher. Any sign of strange dogs and he picked the ferret up and it went into a little velvet sack he carried in his pocket.

~Chameleon~

Person_one wrote: »

As a dog owner, I really don't want to start seeing loads of cats on leads in parks and in open spaces. It would mean lots of dogs never being able to go off lead. Along a road, or in your own garden maybe, but lots of places just wouldn't be safe for a cat on a lead.

You might not often get a choice! When I had my rotties, our evening walk consisted of crossing the village green to the recreation ground, and we often had at least 4 cats in tow. They loved their evening walk and the local community loved seeing them. I wasn't the only one in the area to have a cat(s) go on evening walks with doglets either

Person_one

krlyr wrote: »

As owner of dogs with high prey drive, it's one reason I am very particular where they are off-lead (pretty much restricted to private land). Ferret and cat owners have just as much right to use public spaces as us. Inconvenient for dog owners, perhaps, but everyone should be able to use parks and fields without worrying about a dog attacking their pet.

I think its a bit optimistic to say that people should be able to walk small furries around parks without having to worry about dogs! :eek: