Inside / Outside thread :)

[CatMama78]

Somebody should start an inside/outside thread. I could go back and forth on that one for hours, but don’t have the guts to start a flame-inducing thread myself.
******************

hee, Since this has come up, I'll start. Here's what I posted in the Declawing thread:

Hmmm, I am such a worry, worry wart, I just couldn't handle them going in and out all the time. So mine are strictly indoor. Of course we live in a busy suburb now and we are right off a main road, so this is a good decision for them. I'll be honest, when I hear of letting your cats go in and out, my first thought is oh goodness, I would be so worried. But I figure the cats and the owners know what they are doing.

I went to visit my cousin who lives in the country and she lets one of her cats in and out all the time. I was just a fret the whole time there thinking about the cat. But she swears that cat will bring back dead coyotes, a bit of an exaggeration. I am extremely skilled in worrying about my babies and am pretty protective. Which is one reason I'm thinking having kids may not be for me - I would damage them with over protectiveness!!! If/when we get a house of our own; I've already decided to build, ahem to have my hubby (assuming I'll ever get married) build an outdoor enclosure for them. Although I suspect they will be afraid of it at first. I think they are pretty happy looking out the windows for now. Personally I would feel scared to have my kitties coming in and out. Despite how instinctive they are, etc. if something happened to them, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. That's just my humble opinion.....

Your turn..........Are your cats inside, inside/outside or outside and why?

[Twink]

Well, aren’t you the obliging one? Thanks!! :D

I’m so torn about this issue (when I think about it!). It’s good to know that my cats are safe inside, but I know that at least one of them (*cough*Rizzo*cough*) wants OUT. Or at least, he thinks he does (actually, he’s a big homebody and panics if he manages to sneak out). Seeing him sit at the window for hours on end, with big longing eyes, and then watching him bolt for the door every time someone opens it makes me sad. My husband believes that cats are better off outside. He thinks indoor cats are more trapped than pampered. Doesn’t think it’s natural. It’s not an issue between us, because we live in an apartment complex, with a parking lot directly below our front windows. People drive through there like idiots, and most of the neighbors own large dogs (who are USUALLY on leashes, but things happen, you know). So it’s not a safe area, and even if we were inclined to let the cats go outside, we wouldn’t do it there!

But there are so few really safe areas. My husband thinks his cats growing up had the life. I think he’s deluding himself. His family lives in a semi-rural area, with a lot of land (comparatively) and plenty of rodents for the chasing. They had a clan of outdoor kitties, most of who were very sweet and liked their people and each other. They all came to bad ends. Most were hit by the family’s own vehicles in the driveway or garage (they mostly lived in the garage). Some were killed by dogs. There were three left when I came into the picture. The wonderful old matriarch died of old age alone in the cold, on the hard garage floor. It still makes me miserable to think about it. Then White Fang, the wild man of the group, literally had half of his face torn off by a neighbor’s cat in a fight. He died. Then the last, Gorilla, whose sweetness and adorable grey cuteness are legendary, disappeared. That was a couple of years ago. My husband’s parents and baby sister just got three new cats. I get heartburn thinking about it.

So, um, I don’t quite know what I think. But I do know that I envy cat owners with nice, enclosed back yards! :)

[sirrahbed]

My three are inside only - no choice now as they are declawed anyway. But, they have never even been outdoors, ever and so do not know it exists. If we open a door to the outdoors, they are afraid! Instead, we have a enclosed patio. On nice days, they get to go out there and think they are in heaven! It has fake "grass" (indoor/outdoor carpet) completely screened. They do their hunting, birdwatching, bug ack acking, etc, sunbathing and tree climbing (hubby built condo thingy). Our area has too many dogs and cars anyway - even if they had claws, I would not want them outside unless they were on a lead and I was with them.
If we lived out in the country AND they had claws, I would like a little flap door to allow them outside and one I could lock closed so they would be inside at night so I would not worry! (I am a worry-wart also!)

[catlover4ever]

Out of my 5, 3 are allowed outside and 2 are allowed out ONLY when I am going to be home and working outside in the yard. I know that I take my chances with them being outside but Tucker, Mystic, and Abner were all outside cats when I got them...some nice, wonderful people were very happy to DUMP these guys by my house. I did not want to take them right into the house because I wanted tests done and because they were all dumped they were all very scared that I was going to do the same thing to them that the other people did. So I worked with them, got them to the vet for their necesary shots and tests and then introducted them into the house.

Now Abner and Mystic are allowed outside once my husband gets home and they come inside before it gets dark. In the winter they are not allowed out unless it is the weekend because by the time my husband gets home it is already getting dark and I don't allow him to let them out no matter how hard, long or loud they cry to go outside.

Tigger and Smokey are different because from the time they were babies they were not allowed outside, therefore the are allowed outside ONLY when I am working out in the yard and they are not allowed outside in winter.

All 5 have collars with thier ID's on them and I really try to keep an eye on them when they are outside. I have them trained to come when I whistle for them or in Mystic's case....shake the treat can.

I know this is a hot topic and I'm sure that there are a lot out there that do not agree with me...I'm not looking for a tounge lashing for letting my cats out but only to respond to this post.

[heinz57_79]

I have one cat who's indoor/outdoor and the only reason is because he wasn't initially my cat. I get worried every time Dragon disappears for a couple days. I'm always worried he'll never come back, or I'll find him dead. We're also in the process of looking to buy a house and I'm afraid whenever we do move, Dragon will be outside and won't come back til after we're gone. We also have a psycho neighbor and it makes me paranoid thinking that he'll poison Dragon or something. If it were up to me, I'd keep him indoors, but I really don't have the heart. I keep him in a couple days at a time but he's miserable. Sits by the door and cries, doesn't eat... Neither Joey nor Katie are outside cats, altho Katie got out once... obviously! hehe :D Now, none 4 kittens are going to be indoor/outdoor cats. I worry about disease, sickness, dogs, fights, all that good stuff.

Plus, I'd rather not have to vaccinate my cats. I've had a couple get very very sick and die due to the vaccines and I'm not willing to take that chance again. Dragon is vaccinated, obviously, but none of the others are. I'm just glad my ex (who Dragon initially belonged to) was smart enough to NOT have him declawed. She was silly enough (in my opinion) to enourage him to go outside, but at least he has the means to protect himself.

[Glacier]

I hate the idea of my cats getting lost outside, I live in the woods and something would eat them PDQ! Additionally, at least one of my dogs would love to eat a cat! So my sweet husband built a big fenced run for the cats. They can't escape but they can still enjoy the great outdoors. I used to have trouble with a couple cats trying to sneak out the door all the time. Not one attempt since they got their kitty run.

http://img13.photobucket.com/albums/v38/Glacier1998/Cats/nip.jpg
Glacier in the cat run beside his favorite nip plant!

[K & L]

Ours are inside only except for the outside cat run! We use to let ours come and go via doggy door until things started happening to them. One cat was shot through the ear with a pellet gun. Luckily they were able to remove the pellet with little damage to Gypsy. Then Bailey (I’m sure some of you remember his story) went missing for 3 weeks. We found him in the sewer drain with an injured hip and him unable to get out of it. He too luckily survived, although he had to have surgery on the hip, lost weight, and was dehydrated. We learned our lesson after that…INDOOR ONLY!

[PayItForward]

catlover4ever, I am just amazed you manage to juggle them.

For those people with inside cats won't understand but it is very difficult to keep some in & others out.

We go though this every time we add a new cat.

For example,when Sweet Annie flies over in Oct
(Probually the 12th 13th or 14th...put it in your diaries :) )

She will spend X (days to weeks) time in the spare room before being slowly introduced to the herd.

Followed by a minimum of a month where she'll stay in and others will go outside.

Then she'll be walked outside and introduced slowly to the outside world and kept inside at all other times.

Eventually she'll have the option to go outside with the rest (the scary bit)

I know outside life has potential problems but watching my cats play in the garden, the long grass swaying, butterflies and the scent of flowers on the warm evening air, makes me smile :)

Some parts of life need to be experienced not watched, risks and all.

[nibblets]

Miss Julie is an indoor kitty, except when I put her walking jacket on her and take her out on her lead.
She love to go out and snoop around the yard...she has learned that the only way to go out is to be on the lead, and even though she would love to run free, she knows she must endure my rule.
She would have been perfectly content to be strictly indoor, but I saw Eddie and Edwina's jackets and thought it would be a good way for her to get some fresh air and sunshine. She has all her claws so if she did get out she could fend for herself.

[aly]

All of my cats (8 total including fosters) are indoor-only and not allowed to set foot outside. I just can't take the chance that something would happen to them. Even if I lived on a quiet street, I couldn't do it.

I'm not criticizing the way anyone else does it though. Just sharing what I do personally.

[Cataholic]

Of my seven, one will prolly never venture outside- Minnie. I am not sure she would ever respond appropriately to the experience.

Of the remaining 6- five can go outside with me in the yard with them. I try to let some go out- maybe 2-3, if I am gardening. They don't venture off the property, as strange as that seems. I still don't love them outside, it makes me a little nervous.

Monte can go outside with a collar, only. I can tell he is not like the others. Just like some dogs can go outside without a leash, and some take off for the fields. That is how Monte is- a field taker-offer.

I couldn't leave my kitties outside, unescorted. Plus, who would share my bed?????

[jazzcat]

After Ripley was shot by a bow and arrow 10 years ago (he'd only been going out for 3-4 months at that point) I decreed that all cats were to be indoor only. I live in a busy subdivision and there are too many cars, dogs and mean people around here.

[Grace]

We have 5 cats, and the three boys are allowed to go outdoors, the girls are indoor only.

Two years ago, we lost Henry, our beloved 2 year ball of fire. The Vet thinks he may have had West Nile virus.

Once that happened, we would not allow Reese to go out again. She was just a year at the time, and had not been out much at all, so it was not a big issue keeping her inside. Shortly after Henry died, we got Abby. She was just 8 weeks old, and being strictly indoors never was an issue with her, either.

The boys - Duffy is the only one who was with us when Henry died. He was 4 at the time, and loves the outdoors - I couldn't keep him in all the time. He would have died of a broken heart. Our other two boys, Grady and Red, have joined us during the past 10 months. Both were strays who wandered into our yard and hearts. Both were used to being outdoors.

We live in the country, at the end of a dead-end dirt road - so no traffic. The boys will all come when they are called. They are all chipped - as are the girls - and really don't spend an exorbitant amount of time outside. We have a great back porch where they all love to congregate. Rugs and cat beds and food and water and toys - what more could they want.

[boscibo]

My cats stay indoors all the time. I used to live out in the country, with land, and it was a PRIVATE dead end dirt road. I lost two cats (Kelsey and Max) to cars. Chelsea disappeared one day and I never saw her again. Boo came home with a broken pelvis after being gone a week, and Bo disappeared for 5 days once. Plus I had to deal with ticks and fleas on my cats.

They may be happier outside, who knows. They don't have it too shabby indoors, I buy plenty of stuff and spend lots of time playing with them. My cats are not disposable, and I grieve deeply when I lose one. I made up my mind, for both my cats' sake and my own personal well-being, to keep my cats as indoors only.

[Catsnclay]

My three are strictly indoor kitties........and love it. They sleep in our bed, so I do not want anything *strange* in bed with us, its bad enough that we sometimes have litter in there! :rolleyes:

This world is too crazy for my babies to go out in it. Just last week in the news they were telling us of owners that found their cat - skinned - in there back yard :eek: :mad: And just a few miles away and a few days later someone found their 13 year old dog - skinned - in their back yard! :( WHAT is this world coming to? :confused: :confused:

I sure hope they find the person/persons that did this and........well I can't really type what I think of what should be done to them, hopefully you will understand. :mad:

[Craftlady]

In side only.

Skinny was a stray. Neighbors around us looked after him (he was approx almost yr when we took him into house in Sept) by leaving stuff out for him but never took interest to take him in as their own. He is inside only and loves it.

Thumper, we got her from PetSmart adoption, she came to us declawed so she has always been inside kitty.

RB Butterscotch was apartment complex (where we first lived before buying our house) stray (owner left him) and he was outside for almost 1 yr before we took him in to our house and hearts. He was inside only kitty. :)

[CatMama78]

Originally posted by Catsnclay
My three are strictly indoor kitties........and love it. They sleep in our bed, so I do not want anything *strange* in bed with us, its bad enough that we sometimes have litter in there! :rolleyes:

This world is too crazy for my babies to go out in it. Just last week in the news they were telling us of owners that found their cat - skinned - in there back yard :eek: :mad: And just a few miles away and a few days later someone found their 13 year old dog - skinned - in their back yard! :( WHAT is this world coming to? :confused: :confused:

I sure hope they find the person/persons that did this and........well I can't really type what I think of what should be done to them, hopefully you will understand. :mad:

OMG!!! I hear this on the news sometimes in our area and I can't fathom why anyone would do this! Cats, dogs and other animals are truly inocent and mean no harm. They only become harsh after mistreatment from humans. These people will suffer someday, I truly believe that.

[catnapper]

My boys are strictly indoors. I let them onto the balcony until Pouncer decided to fall off. Now thats off limits until he can learn to stay put (or he grows too big to fit through the railing spokes - whichever comes first! ;) ) Allen is allowed to come out onto the back porch whle I'm out with Nicki. Pouncer used ot try to come out, but ever since the storms this week, he's been terrified of the outdoors, which is just fine with me.

Both cats are happy and loving. I'm sure that given the choice that they'd happily come and go, but that choice isn't availabel since I live right next to a major street. Its easy to imagine 1,000 cars by my house on a SLOW day (how else could people get to the outlet mall a block away? ;) )

[carole]

This kind of thread has been thrashed before, and caused quite alot of ill-feeling last time, great to see this time around is different.

In New Zealand it is very rare to find inside only cats, I would estimate 90 percent are indoor/outdoors as mine are.

When i first came to PT I was amazed at how many were indoor cats only, it was very new and unheard of to me, and at first I thought it was kind of cruel.

I would have to say I have a very different opinion now, and if it were possible I would prefer to have indoor cats with a safe outdoor area, and if I ever shift this is one top priority.

Mine are indoor/outdoor, but are kept in all night, both cats rarely leave the property, I like payitforward, enjoy seeing them climb the trees, enjoying the outside especially in summer, but if i could have a safe outdoor area, which would achieve this I would be all for it, its in my future plans, and I have PT to thank for my complete turnaround in opinion.

In NZ we are fortunate we donot have wild coyotes or many predators, but yes there are still dangers., and we are known to be a very cat loving society, we have more cats per head of population than anywhere in the world I believe.:)

[Felicia's Mom]

Mine are indoor only. If they ever go out, they are in a carrier. My apartment is on the second floor and the cats have no desire to go outside.

[Logan]

I am one of those who allows mine to go in and out. Thankfully, they choose to be "in" most of the time.

With Butter, there never was a thought of making him indoor only. He showed up at my house, one day, and I eventually let him inside. Turns out that he had been fed by a woman who made him stay outside all the time. He was with her about six months. Guess he got tired of it, or just cold, as it was very, very cold when he showed up at my house. When I saw him sleeping in the flowerbed, underneath the exhaust from my gas furnace to stay warm, my heart melted, and in he came. :) But, had I tried to limit him to the inside, he would have driven me to insanity, I'm sure. Even with a move to another part of town, he has adjusted beautifully, and at this moment, he is sleeping beside me in the other chair.


Mimi was intended to be an inside only cat. Then, I was pregnant and hubby had to clean the litter box. That's the time that it was determined that it was "ok" to let her outside. She has never looked back. We have lived in 7 homes during her lifetime, in 4 different cities. She has always adapted to each location just fine. Mimi will turn 15 on 6/18. She still goes outside just about every day, but more and more of the time, she prefers to stay inside.

The good thing about both of them is that even when they are outside, they hang out in the backyard and on the deck for the most part. And both of them come immediately when called, much different from the dogs who have minds of their own! :o

[catmandu]

I would love , for The Found cats , to go outside , and would , but they tend to stray , and there are Bad Dogs , on the block! And moose The Magnificent , once got lost , for two months , and its not worth , the worry , that I had to go through , to let them out!

[ChrisH]

Here is the UK inside/outside cats are the norm (PayItForward will vouch for that :D ) but I keep Ebby indoors. There are just too many dangers around where I live, lots of loose dogs for example, and I am also bordered by some busy roads.

Indoor is my decision but I have to say that there are a number of cats in my area that live happily and safely as indoor/outdoor. Three that live just across the way, Holly, PussPuss and Bammy, keep very close to home and my new next door neighbours cat, Burton, seems to be doing the same.

Chris

[Twink]

You know, when I adopted Barliman, the rescue org. that I got him from was VERY adamant about all of their cats being inside-only. I expected lots of lectures about declawing, but didn't get a single one. There was a no-declaw clause in the contract, but that was it. But the inside thing? Whew! Talking to the lady on the phone: "Is Rizzo indoors only?" "Yes." "Will Sadiki be indoors only?" "Yes." "I see that you live in an apartment. When you buy a house, will you still keep them indoors only?" "Yes!" And then, when they called my references, the only two things they asked? "Do they take good care of their cat?" and "Do they keep him inside?" ! I found it a bit odd, myself. Does anyone know if that's a usual thing for a cat rescue? It seemed like their pet issue. If you'll pardon the expression. ;)

[NKBurlington]

The average life expectancy (http://petplace.netscape.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=1726) of an outdoor cat is three years.

Therefore all of my babies have been indoor cats only - even as a child, they were never allowed outside.

I would be so worried about them. Motorists, other animals, not to mention there are crazy people out there who for some reason find fun in hurting small, defenseless animals.

Nope. Mine are indoor only.

[ramanth]

My parents 4 cats are indoor/outdoor.

Reebok and Converse will be 10 years old this year. Scooter is about 6 years old and Onneka will be 3.

Of my two, Logan is strictly indoors. Zam is indoors 99.9% of the time. She likes to go out on a harness once in awhile.

[CalliesMom]

My three kitties are indoor only. Shadow and Whisper were previously owned by another person and were allowed outside. When I was moving to Alabama, I had to have the three tested for heartworms and Whisper was antibody positive. I'm not sure if he actually ever had heartworms but he has been exposed at one time or another in his life, and his chances would have been lessened if he had never been allowed outside.

I've always lived in a busy neighborhood and would never want anything to happen to the kitties--cars, other people, other animals, etc. They are also front declawed (2 were not done by me, and I did have Callie done before I knew how horrible the procedure really was :( ) so they would be utterly defenseless outside anyway. Shadow and Whisper have managed to slip outside several times but I've always been able to shoo them back in the house. I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to my babies!

For themselves and my own piece of mind, I could never let them out and 99% of the time they seem completely content being inside--unless of course they see another kitty or a bird.

[NoahsMommy]

Because we live in coyote/car "country"...our cats are indoor only, with the exception of Livvy, "indoor in her enclosure". ;)

Its just too unsafe where I live. We are constantly hearing, "Oh, we don't have "kitty" anymore, she was coyote bait (instant embaressed smile after I glare at them), this is our new cat". Nice... :mad:

When we have a house, I'll let them out one at a time so I can watch them play. I know most of them would LOVE rolling around in the grass. :)

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by NKBurlington
The average life expectancy (http://petplace.netscape.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=1726) of an outdoor cat is three years.

This fact is very misleading. If you take into account all the strays & ferals & kittens who are let out by stupid people it might be right.

But for a cat over 6 months old and trained to the outside with inside access life expectancy is more like 15 to 18 years.

[NKBurlington]

Originally posted by PayItForward
This fact is very misleading. If you take into account all the strays & ferals & kittens who are let out by stupid people it might be right.

But for a cat over 6 months old and trained to the outside with inside access life expectancy is more like 15 to 18 years.

You are correct. My husband's outdoor cat lived to be 22 years old and she travelled 'cross country with them as well.
However, I still think the odds are better for an indoor only cat to live a long, healthy life.

[Randi]

Fister is now more a less an indoor cat, but he was born in our huge backyard where he lived the first year of his life. It took another year to get him to stay inside, but he did so more and more. :) During the 8 years we've had him, he's been out occasionally - he also loves to roll around in the dirt and grass, (after all it's HIS yard! ;) ) and it's a joy watching him having such a good time. :D However, he wants to go out less and less and for very short periods of time. :)

As Carole says, it was amazing to hear how many cats in America are indoors only, but I can certainly understand why, with all the dangers there. :eek:

However, in my opinion, a cat is happiest with access to the outdoors, provided it's a safe environment with no cars, coyotes, etc.

I can see that Fister is very frustrated sometimes, when we won't let him out - unfortunately, he prefers to go out when it's getting dark.

We have a neutered male cat living in our yard, Pjevs. He was there when we moved in in 94 and my guess is, that he was at least 2 years old then. He's doing fine, gets his dinner every night and has a house behind the dustbin shed. :)

[lizzielou742]

Tito and Sophie are stictly indoors, and that's because I live in an apartment complex by two super super busy roads. Not only would I be afraid they'd get run over, but how would they know which apartment door was mine? They all look alike! Plus with all those people around I get paranoid someone would steal by babies. :) That's why they're both getting microchipped the next time they go to the vet. Is anyone else paranoid that their cats will get stolen? Tito does have a harness and a leash, though, and occasionally on nice days we'll go outside and he'll lay in the sun. Most of the time he just looks kind of freaked out though, so I only do it once in a while when he's being particularly rambunctious. As for the "life expectancy," our cat when I was growing up was indoor/outdoor and lived to be 18. He died of old age - just wandered off into the woods one day and never came back - we found his body three days later. :( But anyway if I move to a place with a yard I'd like to let them outdoors if they want to be. Sophie was born outdoors but so far expresses no desire to go back out - no interest in looking out a window or our patio doors - unlike Tito who has a special window seat so he can watch all the birdies fly by and all the hoomans walking their doggies!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid114/pacfb6697ac1f991ef325e5fe71aac24e/f8d1eaee.jpg

[CatMama78]

Originally posted by lizzielou742
Is anyone else paranoid that their cats will get stolen?

Paranoia?, ding, ding, ding - Catmama's ears are ringing. Lol, I'm paranoid about a lot of things, and this is one of them. We just moved from one apt. complex where the residents would let their kids look in our windows. I'm not talking casually here, I'm talking noses pressed up to the glass, tapping on the windows. I never knew quite what to say. I was always paranoid the kids would try to get the cats. Silly, maybe...but let's say a lot of the children that lived in that area were far from disciplined (quite the little juvenile delinquents) and their parents were even worse.

In our new place, it's a bit of a better neighborhood, so I'm not as worried. I leave the blinds up enough during the day so the guys can look out the window comfortably and it has crossed my mind that seing as we're not hopme from about 11-6 on weekdays, this might be an open invitation for a thief, yikes! Although I doubt it. Can't prevent every tragedy, you know. And I want them to be able to view the nature and birds outside, they do love it so. We shut the blinds at night.

[ramanth]

Originally posted by lizzielou742
Is anyone else paranoid that their cats will get stolen?
Out where my parents live, cats are getting dumped rather than being picked up.

[catlover4ever]

Originally posted by ramanth
Out where my parents live, cats are getting dumped rather than being picked up.

No one where I live picks up the cats either.....we have had 7 or 8 dumped in the last 3 weeks. Or at least I think it is 7 or 8...they are all black kitties or who knows I may actually be counting them twice:o

So here I go again leaving plates of food because they seem to frequent my yard. I swear there is a sign that says

"A NICE LADY LIVES HERE AND SHE LOVES KITTIES.....SHE GIVES LOVING AND FREE FOOD AND WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR EVERY NEED"

[Lillycat]

my boys are inside cats, i agree w/catsnclay that if they share your bed and indoors it is wise to limit exactly what they bring there.....the boys have a lovely screened porch with a lovely cat tree which they all dearly love. i think a screened outdoor run would be nice for them when i can be outdoors w/them. i keep many windows open for them to "sniff" at and can often find them there napping on a table/bench by the window.