Outdoor vs. Indoor

I know it is a personal decision and I am not trying to force my thoughts on anyone, but it seems about once a month I see a dead kitty on the road and I wonder if they might have fared better inside. Then again, they may have been feral and had no home to be in anyway, so who is to say. There really is no black and white here I suppose. We each do what we feel is best.

Well it seems as if the key issue in deciding wether a cat should be indoors or outdoors is how safe it will be.

I like to allow my cats the ability to come and go as they wish. This means that whenever I move the priority is to find a property that is cat friendly, ie. I look for a house that does not have access from the back-yard to the front of the house which means I can let the cats out the back without them making it to the front of the house and therefore the road. I also make sure that access from the back-yard to any roads is not readily available. All these considerations may make looking for a house difficult but it keeps my cats safe and is well worth the effort - and I'm sure we all agree on that!

I agree that a person's opinion is not "complete nonsense". Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and I'm sure everyone here does what's best for their cats and their situations. For me, growing up and seeing other people's outdoor cats suffering wasn't a really good influencer either. People's opinions and beliefs are shaped by what they see and how they've been brought up. It's still saddens me when I see dead cats in the road, be it stray or especially pets with collars on. For my cats, they don't have a desire to go out, so I'm not going to force them. They seem as happy as they possibly could. I'm not attacking people to have outdoor cats either. After all, I suppose in a way I have an "outdoor cat" which is a stray. I can tell she would rather be an indoor cat though. I don't know her history, but I know something bad had to have happened to her because her tail has a really bad break in it near the tip. I inquired with the vet about that when I took her in under the stray program, and he said that it probably doesn't hurt her anymore, but it looks really bad. Anyway, my point is, if your cats are happy inside, then leave them inside. If they're happy going in and out, that's fine, there's just a little more precaution to make, like Troy mentioned about finding a house that's cat friendly. Although I do favor enclosures to the outdoor life, but that's just my opinion.

you guys have opened my eyes. as soon as my cat has his 'fixing operation'. i'm gonna start getting him used to the outdoors on a harness and leash. I've never actually seen anyone walk their cat though.
oh, and i think declawing is cruel too. just think if your cat was to escape, how would it defend itself or catch food? Getting a cat "fixed" is also cruel but that is necessary to cat populations. not doing that makes more problems and more stray or abandoned cats. poor guys.

Wolflady, I sorry if I offended you by saying your statement was complete nonsense. It just offends me to read such generalised, and to a large part unfounded, criticism about the quality of life of outdoor cats.

By the way, perhaps there is some misunderstanding on the definition of an outdoors cat? To me an indoor cat is one that in not allowed outside. An outdoor cat is one that has the choice to come and go as it pleases. Perhaps we should change the definitions like so:

Indoors cat - stays inside and is not allowed outdoors

Outdoors cat - stays outside and is not allowed indoors

I/O Cat - is allowed to come and go as they please

My cats are all I/O Cats.

PS. Spencer, try to refrain from drawing programming analogies to the term "I/O cats" - especially if you are familiar with UNIX.

I would very much appreciate the mpg "Hearding Cats"...thanks SpencerTheLion.

Speaking computers, under the UNIX shell if you type in the following command:

> cat "door: paws too slippery"

the system will return:

cat can't open door: paws too slippery

...sorry to bore you all but I found it interesting http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

PS. Besides, one of my cats can open doors http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

Troy, no problem. I was not attacking you or anyone with outdoor cats anyway. I was just expressing my opinion, and what I was familiar with growing up. That's all I ever saw with outdoor cats was misery. Missing eye, bitten off ears, ratty coats, pest infestations (Cat Fancy advocates indoor cats because of this) and short lives...and these supposedly being peoples "pets". Maybe I was young and naive not to mention impressionable. You did point out the difference between strictly outdoor cats and I/O cats. These aformentioned (outdoor) were outdoor all the time. Maybe that's the difference, and where my view of suffering comes from...the outdoor all the time "pets". That was before we moved to our new neighborhood when I was a senior in high school and outdoor animals were not allowed without supervision. I didn't encounter these miserable cats like I did before, except for the stray that I adopted.
Like I said, if they are happy being inside, great. If they like I/O (I found that amusing since I'm in the computer biz BTW http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif ), then that's fine too! I think it's great that people take into account what's good for their pets and what makes them happy and keeps them healthy. Sorry for offending you and anybody else.
The "hearding cats" superbowl commercial was a hoot! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

Some of the plants that I grow and my cats like to eat are:

- Most grasses (as long as they are not too course, Bamboo grass, Cat grass)
- Catmint and Mints (loves moist, warm climate)
- Rosemary is a favourite (loves dry, warm climate)
- Thyme (loves medium-dry, warm climate)

Fortunately most of these are very easy to grow, and in fact you should keep an eye on mint as it can become a pest (although a nicer pest than weeds http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif ) I wouldn't use any growing aids like fertilisers with plants your cats are going to eat - unless you make them inaccessible for a day after application.

Sometimes the cats even leave me some to cook with! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

I think there is something missing from this discussion and that is the songbirds. Edwina is quite well-fed (!) and still her instincts make her go after birds. (If only I could convince her to go after mice, but that's another story.) Anyway, the only time she successful caught a bird she had absolutely no idea what to do with it. She certainly didn't need to eat it so it was simply needless killing of a bird. I have read that the song bird population is seriously depleted by house cats responding to instinct.
We don't allow her out without her halter -- which has a bell on it, her leash so we can stop her quickly and a chaperon! Consequently we have a great collection of birds at our feeder; cardinals, blue jays, robins, mourning doves, sparrows, woodpeckers, etc. for her to watch from INSIDE the house.

Hearding cats was great! It did look like some sort of clip from a western!LOL http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif I liked the computer graphics that they did. Wonder what kind of graphics program they used...

I am from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and I have to agree with the UK people that I think that cats should be allowed outside. I have always had outside only cats although some have run off or dissapeared(and it is heartbreaking) the two we have raised from Kittens have stayed around and they are healthy happy cats. I live out in the country so the threat of cars is not so big but wild animals are. But, cats know how to defend themselves. As far as rabies, we get their shots, as far as parasites and other stuff we keep them clean and brushed and take them to the vet reg. I am about to adopt an indoor cat from someone. This is a persian who has never gone out. It should be an experience for me to have an indoor cat.

The "Hearding Cats" video was terrific! I have passed it on to several friends. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

I used to have bells on my cats so they would not catch prey. Unfortunately this did not work very well and I have since read that cats will catch the same number of critters with or without bells (based on a study of 1500 cats). The other downside of bells is that it tells the cat's enemies (wether other cats or not) where kitty is! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/eek.gif

I've heard that old "decimated songbird population" thing before, too, and common sense alone should debunk that theory - not only does Spencer have a good point in that birds would have become extinct long ago, but also since millions and billions more cats are domesticated now, and therefore are more nourished and well-fed and kept indoors, there are even fewer catching birds now than ever before.

Regarding the ongoing debate about outdoor vs indoor, I found it surprising that the oldest cat in America (according to an article in June 2001 Cat Fancy magazine) is a cat called Starbuck who is 27 AND an indoor/outdoor kitty! Obviously there are many factors to consider when deciding whether or not to allow your cat to venture outside, and the decision is hopefully one that both owner and cat can live long and happily with.



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Regards ~ AvaJoy
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