Indoor or outdoor cats

[EssTer]

After having bad experience on having outdoor (actually both outdoor+indoor) cat I´ve decided that Simba´s gonna be °100% indoor cat!

[BitsyNaceyDog]

All 6 of mine are indoors only.

[janelle]

My two kitties are indoor but they love to go out so I take them and stay with them. I feel sorry for them that they can't go out by themselves but I don't want the chance that they will get hurt.

I had a Siamese that I trained to go out and stay in the fenced yard. I started with him on a leash tied up, then supervised him as he walked around the yard, I told him no whenever he looked like he was going to jump the fence. He was so smart that he got the idea not to jump and run off.

He loved going out on nice days and exploring the back yard and then laying under a bush and sleep. I even got to the point that I just left him out and stayed in the house until I wanted him or he wanted to come back in. I wish I could do the same with my kitties now. My fence has spaces in it so they just walk through and I have had to go get them back in so I don't trust it.

My sister had outdoor cats mostly. One lived to be 19 and came in and out but got into fights. He was able to protect himself. Went on top of houses and all. But he did have fleas and she had to use the flea meds on him and exterminate her house each summer.

[Pit Chick]

I wish I could still let my cats go outside cause they sure did like it, but after one being hit by a car and costing a couple thousand to fix and another that accidentally got let out and being mauled by a dog, it just isn't worth it. Eventually I would like to get them an outdoor kitty enclosure though.

[PJ's Mom]

Both of mine go outside for an hour or two a day.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Both But.... only because our garden is surrounded by a fence! I do NOT want them to get on the street or other people's garden. Inka loves to be outside, and she would stay there all day if I would let her. She only comes inside to use the litter-box
Maya goes outside for a short walk, then she begs to come back inside. Maybe the warmer weather will change that (it did last summer!). She likes to "fertilize" daddy' flowers!!

[PayItForward]

I have seven happy inside/outside cats and one happy inside only cat (Sweet Annie)

And a couple of happy inside only fosters

My opinion is that we must take into account our own feelings, the local enviroment, our cats personality and history, before deciding how to let our cats live.

I think there are three acceptable options.

Inside only in dangerous areas
Inside/outside in safe areas
Inside with limited supervised outside access. This can be walking on a leash, cat run, fenced in balcony or supervised garden visits.

I judge dangerous areas on the following points...see table half way down draft page on which lifestyle choice is right for my cat.
http://www.piftails.com/insideoutside.html

I do not believe outside only is an acceptable solution for any domestic cat.

[aly]

All of my cats, foster cats included, are 100% inside only.

[janelle]

But how can you have 12 indoor cats? Do you have a huge house?

[jenluckenbach]

Originally posted by janelle
But how can you have 12 indoor cats? Do you have a huge house?

I have 15 indoor cats plus numerous indoor foster cats.....6 right now.

I have a 5 bedroom row home. 3 stories tall. It seems to hold the cats quite well.

[lv4dogs]

Meko is an inside/outside cat. She only goes outside for a couple hours a day. I tried for 7 months to keep her inside only except for on a leash & she would spaz out with the harness & it was very hard to keep her in, she would sneak out all the time.

I only let her out as I live in a safe area. I live in the back of a trailer park, far from the road & it's not even a busy main rd. The speed limit in my park is 5mph & everyone repects it. meko won't travel more than 2-3 houses aways anyways.

She ALWAYS comes right away when called too.

If she starts to travel further away from home or if anything else happens that will pose a danger to her she will be kept inside 100% of the time.

[davidpizzica]

Nikki & Daisy are both indoor cats. During the summer I going to try to train them on a leash. I was lucky with my RB siamese, Thai. In her 22 years, she very rarely left my yard. I think she was afraid of the cars coming down the street.

[Buddy Blaze Lover]

I don't have a cat, but I think he/she would be exclusively indoor in the city, and both (in and out) in the country.

[gkristian]

i don't have a cat, but if i did it would be an indoor one

[chocolatepuppy]

Both of my cats are indoor only.