Is it injustice for cats to be indoors only?

[Palomino21]

Hi everyone. Today while my husband I were driving to our destination we got into a discussion about cats. He thinks that it is an injustice to a cat to keep them kept indoors only and not let them out. I said, it's not an injustice, that it is more safe from diseases, preditors and cars. We finally settled the discussion by me saying let the PTers decide. So what do you think?

Should a cat be indoors or outdoors?

Annie

[Freckles]

Indoor only. Your reasons are exactly right.

[catnapper]

I cannot imagine my cats going outside. They are and will always be indoor only. Eve if I lived on a hundred acre farm with no roads for them to get runover, I'd still make them indoor only. Too much harm can happen from other predators, etc.

My cats seem to think the arrangement suits them just fine (so long as the food continues to flow freely ;) )

[Craftlady]

Indoors only.
Outside only under supervision (harness) or enclosed cat walk play area thingy.

[Kfamr]

I HATE seeing cats just roaming outside.
Inside only or enclosed is some area safe from predators.

[jazzzytina]

Definitely indoors only.

[Uabassoon]

Indoors, but you need to be willing to actually play an interact with your cats. I give my two cats play time every day, I bring out the lazer pointer and let them chase it. Or I we play with their feather wand and I'll toss around their furry mice. Sometimes if I have the energy I even let them chase me around the apartment. Both of mine are indoor and seem very happy and content.

[carole]

As I have said many times before,it is the norm to have indoor/outdoor cats in my country NZ, indoor are hardly even heard of , and here people would think it were cruel and as your hubby said an injustice.

Both mine are indoor/outdoor and are kept in at nights, however since being a member of PT, I have come to the conclusion indoors is a great idea, as long as you have some kind of air conditioning for the hot weather, and my only other problem is if there is a fire, then the animals are trapped, but I suppose the outdoors poses more threats especially in the USA.

We in NZ donot have wild wolves,coyotes etc, but of course we have other hazards just the same.

It is not practical where I am just now to make an outdoor enclosure , but if I ever shift I plan to do so, so in answer to your question it may well be more of an injustice to let them outside.

Moste Pt'ers have indoor cats, and I had never heard of cats being strictly indoors before, so it was all new to me.

[Uniqueviking]

My 4 cats are indoors ONLY.

No way, I'd want them to be outside with all the dangers and cruel people around these days + I see what a hard life the feral cats (I have 3, I feed every night + 1 fox that drops by occasionally) live. Especially this time of year with temperatures below 0 (Celsius), storms, rain, snow and so on.

[wolf_Q]

I think it's an injustice for cats to be left roaming free outside. I feel the same way with my dog as I do with any pet I may have...I would never let me dog roam the neighborhood, nor would I let a cat. I think it's fine for cats to be outside with there is somebody watching them/on a harness/in a safe enclosure. There are just too many dangers for any pet to be freely roaming outside. If I am ever able to get cats, they would be indoor only.

[Tonya]

My cats are indoor only and I normally cringe when I see cats outdoors. But I have seen some circumstances where I think it was fine that the cat lived outside also.

I do think it sometimes can be an injustice to force a cat to be inside. Some cats that were born feral cannot ever be happy as indoor only.

[NoahsMommy]

Indoor only for our 9. :)

We do have an outdoor enclosure that a few go in when its nice out. But where we're at, our cats would go missing in minutes.

That, and they've been raised indoor, so they much prefer it.

[aly]

My 8 are all strictly indoor ONLY!

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by Palomino21
We finally settled the discussion by me saying let the PTers decide. So what do you think?

Should a cat be indoors or outdoors?

This site is USA based and biased to the inside only view but if you visited an English site (not mine as i have a good mix of opinion) but a English only site they are biased to inside/outside view.

Asking one set of biased people is hardly going to give a balanced answer !!!

My personal view is inside/outside is the right enviroment for my cats.

I would like everyone who lived on a safe cat friendly enviroment to give their cat some freedom and this could be as simple as an open window to sniff fresh air to walking on a harness and leash etc.

But if people live near busy roads, with nasty cat hating people etc, common sense must be used and the cats protected as necessary and if this is living inside for life that must happen.

[Lillycat]

indoor only.....safer for all......i do have a lovely, many-windowed sun porch that the boys love......in fact, every morning as soon as their food is put down they "line up" to go out on the porch.....i love the sun porch also, so we all spend a good part of the day there.....

[jenluckenbach]

I try VERY hard to understand the opinion of allowing a cat FREE roam outside, but I still come back to this comparison.........you do not allow your dogs to run free, you leash them, you do not allow your young children to run free, you supervise them, you do not allow your birds to fly around outside......etc.


Just within the last week I read on these forums about a cat killed by a car & a cat viciously attacked by a fox. Both things could have been avoided by keeping the cat indoors.

So instead answering the question of whether it is an injustice or not, lets just say that I feel that it is not SAFE!

[neko1]

Indoor only for my 4

[Barbara]

I'd be very happy if I could give my cats a safe outdoor environment but it is not available where I live- therefore indoor only.

In Germany it's normal to have indoor/outdoor cats but the view is changing slowly.

The relationship to cats has changed: in earlier times they were "working" on the farms and of course many farmers loved their cats but if one died by an accident there were still many others. For us today - especially at Pet Talk, the cats are pets and even soulmates- I could not imagine how I could survive if I found one of my cats dead near the roadside.

Of course it is important to have lots of interactions: playing daily, talking to the cats, providing nice spots for them, like screened windows where they can get sun and fresh air, having a cat tree for the adventures. We have a screened in balcony both love very much.

And I have two happy cats:D

[ChrisH]

PayitForward has already told you how indoor/outdoor is the norm here in the UK. I would not argue with her or anyone else, including my family, on their choice, each person has to decide for themselves. And, as with any sort of tradition, it will take a long, long, time before the norm over here becomes indoor instead of outdoor, if indeed it ever will.

My Ebbs is an indoor cat and where I live I am looked upon as being eccentric and, though not voiced, also cruel by many I'm sure. No matter, I am happy to keep her indoor only and I am certain she is happy to be so.

I am sure there are many cats living out safe and happy lives as indoor/door. But my determination to Ebbs indoors only is re-inforced each time I see a cat with torn ears from fighting. When with my heart in my mouth I see a pretty little tuxie running across the road to chase a bird up a tree. Each time I hear of a another cat gone missing in the area. When a person who lives in the next street tells me she would love another cat but after having three cats killed on the road she won't have another. And, finally, when just a few weeks ago, my grandaughters kittencat, little Ted, was knocked down and killed by a car.


Chris

[BitsyNaceyDog]

6 of my 7 cats are indoors only. The only exception is Scampers. Scampers was my husbands cat before I met him. He has had her for 12 years. When he first got her (he was 11) and she was an indoor cat. His family lost their home and moved around a lot, living with family member after family member. During those years that they didn't have a home of their own Scampers lived as an outdoors/ garage cat. Now that Justin and I have a home of our own Scampers prefers to be outside. If we let her in she'll pee on the floor and cry at the door to go outside.

[mina'smomma]

I would have to agree with Pif. It depends on the area you live in. Mina is strictly indoors because we live in the city, and there are too many jerks around here who would shoot a cat rather than look at them. If we were in the country and she didn't have the medical problems she does then we would let her roam in an area designed for just her.

[Randi]

In Denmark, I think half the cats are indoors and half outdoors/indoors. In bigger cities most are probably indoors.

When we first got Fister up in our flat, I felt so bad for him, he was by the door most of the time, wanting to go out in the yard - which by the way is pretty big and secure. I think he gets bored staying inside all the time. :( However, we were "forced" to keep him inside, or he would have been caught and put down.

It took a year or more, before he was content staying indoors. Now, he very rarely goes down, and when he does, it's only for short periods of time - and we're watching him! :eek:

Pjevs has been living in our yard since we moved in in 94, he sometimes strolls over to the churchyard across the street. He's luckily never got into trouble. :)

All in all, I believe cats are happier living as indoor/outdoor, providing the area is safe.

[Palomino21]

Thank you all for the replies. My mother is a huge cat lover and I am too. I grew up around cats and we always kept them all indoors, except for a few wild ones we fed outside. Sure, the cats would always try and run out, but once they were outside, they'd just roll around a few feet away from the door and then want back in. We always supervised our cats in the back yard so they could eat some grass. We all want what we can't have. That's true for animals too.

Annie

[catmandu]

If the Found Cats,owuld stay,on thier property,then Iwould let them out,but they roam,over the neighborhood,and that is not safe! I will never forget the time,that BoBo,the Siamese,was eating,the dinner,of the German Sheprads ,that were once,on my street.Luckily,they were Nice Dogs,and shared thier Beef stew!

[hdeneise]

I think you have to make a decision based on your environment and your cats.

My grandmother lives on a busy street so she keeps her herd indoor only.

My Mom & Dad live just outside city limits, several hundred feet off of a moderately traveled dirt road and their little darlings go in and out as they please. Some of the fat/lazy ones rarely go outside and spend most of thier days on the back of the couch. The younger and friskier ones of the group play all day in the popcorn tree off the back porch and chase birds (quite unsuccessfully actually), but they always come in at night. One even like to go out and hop up on Mieko's (the horse) butt and ride around the pasture.

My uncle on the other hand only keeps ferals. He lives on a road in the boonies (I'm talking maybe three cars come by the house, and that's on Sunday) and all of his fur-friends live outside only. I don't think they would understand what to do in the house. He keeps one of those 12x12 utility sheds in the back yard with a hole cut in the floor for a cat door (too small for cyotes (SP??) or any dog/fox big enough they couldn't take on. Some of them are pettable, most are not, but I'm sure all of them appreciate being given food and shelter. Of course we're in L.A. (Lower Alabama) where the coldest we ever really get is a light frost. A hard freeze is an event.

My babies, on the other hand were declawed by their previous mommy so my choice is made for me. Inside only. I wouldn't mind letting BooBoo in the chain linked front yard (he's too fat to jump the fence) but he's just not interested. He will just sit and stare at an open door and not even consider making a break for it. I'm not sure how Kelly feels about it; she's still under the couch.

Some cats love indoors. Some cats love outdoors. Some cats insist (very loudly) on being both, and you must get off the couch at their beck and call to accomodate them.

BOTTOM LINE: Cats are adaptable. You and your cat have to decide what is best for ya'll and for your unique situation.

[dukedogsmom]

I never let my cat outside. I would be terrified of him getting hurt, wandering off, etc. They are best kept inside only.

[trinity]

Our 6 are indoor only. Not only do we live on a street which isn't really busy but where people do not understand the words "speed limit" but we also have a number of rude, obnoxious children around. I wouldn't subject my guys to that no matter what. We were also warned when we bought our house that a few people on the street had their cats taken away by the hawks that fly overhead. We will take a few of the guys outside in nice weather, into the backyard, whhich is fenced in. They are interested in munching on some grass and that is it. The ones we know would probably bolt don't get that opportunity. I can say from experience that they don't mind being indoors. The last fuzzball we brought in, Scooter, came inside the end of September. It took about 2 weeks for him to stop crying at the door. Then the first time the rain/wind started outside, and he was curled up in front of the furnace vent, he figured out pretty quick that inside was better!

[DogLover9501]

My Tigger is an indoor/outdoor cat.

As of *NOW*(after 7 years) I would NEVER be able to make him stay inside, because he loves to catch bugs and mice(and all that stuff that cats like), but if I could do it over again he would have been kept inside as a kitten, way before he caught mice and all that, so nothing was being "taken away" from him, but I was too young to know any better.

Emma, however, will never be going outside.

[caseysmom]

My gigi is mostly indoors but I do let her out and she stays in our yard, she loves to get some fresh air so I try to open windows for her when I can. She is almost 14 so she was pretty set in her ways before I became enlightened to all the dangers.

[RICHARD]

Let's see.....

Let my cat loose in the neighborhood or unleash the plague on my neighbors......

I vote for the plague.....;) :D


The plague would go away after a while.

[lynnestankard]

As PIF and Chrish have explained - most cats in the UK are indoor/outdoor cats.

My three are such cats. The came in and go out as much as they please. Hence me being their official window/door opener!!
In cold, windy and rainy weather they don't like to go out - oh apart from Ketchum who adores to sit in the middle of the lawn while it's raining:eek: :eek:

In nicer weather they love to snooze in the flower beds and find somewhere in the shade to have dust baths and watch butterflies and **burdies**.

They always sleep indoors at night when it's wintery - but again on a hot summer night they prefer to be outdoors where it's a bit cooler and are often found in the morning on the garden swing!!

At all times there is a large kennel outside - fully carpeted - for them to go into if they are caught in the rain and want to shelter.

They have beds all over the house and sleep where and when they wish - apart from night time - when they are put into the kitchen and have a choice of 5 beds in there.

My cats are happy and healthy - if they wanted to stay indoors all the time - they would - they enjoy their freedom to come and go as they please.

I stand by my decision and I defend anyone elses decision to treat their cats as they wish.

Lynne

[Wilde-Childe]

I get panic attacks thinking about my cats roaming around the outside world!!! I absolutely agree with your reasoning. An alternative I've heard of is putting the cat on a harness with a leash so he/she can wander the yard but not get loose and possibly hurt. Sounds kinda funny but maybe it could be a compromise?

[Glacier]

It's illegal here to let a cat roam. Cats can be outside, but must be confined to their owners property. Any cat found off the owner's property is taken to the city pound and if not claimed in three days, they are euthanized.

My cats were all indoor only before that law came into effect. I live in an area that is quite rural so traffic isn't an issue, but I've had wolves, foxes, coyotes ect in my yard. Outdoor cats don't last long in my neighborhood. My neighbor lost three last winter to a coyote--he watched one of them get snatched! Coyote was not the least bit concerned that there was a human outside.

My husband did build an enclosure for my cats. They use it only in the summer though--they don't like snow on their paws!

[Jods]

indoor:)

[Edwina's Secretary]

Mine are indoor only...but I do take them outside to the walled yard....on harness and supervised! Coyotes, snakes...who knows what all....not to mention fleas and intestinal parasites lurk out there!