Outdoor kitties?

[slleipnir]

Anyone have outdoor cats? Kiba is always trying to get outside..and she has a TON of energy. I'm trying to decide if she should be an outdoor kitty..where I live, there isn't A LOT of cars, but it's also not that far from a highway. I'd be so worried she'd get hit by a car...shes been ruining all my moms stuff though..anyone have outdoor cats? How is it? Or do you think it's not good to be an outdoor cat? Also, does it calm them down?

[Craftlady]

Indoor kittys live longer than outdoor kittys. Diseases and cars being the #1 concern. If your kitty is not fixed than you have more kitties as an outdoor only. Young cats have tons of energy it goes with being a kitty. A playmate will help the energy plus toys. Fixing a kitty calms them down also.

[DogLover9501]

Tigger goes outside, he always have, he doesn't leave our yard, he always sleeps inside, he doesn't go out much in winter, but in the summer he LOVES to be outside, he lays in the sun, chases butterflies, rolls in the grass, poses on the flower beds, watches the bugs and shrews/little mice, he loves outside!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Outdoors is not a good place for unsupervised kitties. You could try getting a harness for her and taking her out to play that way, but if you really care about her and don't want her to get hurt, I wouldn't leave her outside unattended at all. Not only are there cars and diseases, there are really nasty people....

[slleipnir]

Yeah, that's true..I was only thinking about it..I do take her out on a leash cause she seems to like it so much. But I think I'd worry to much about her, and I love her so much..I couldn't stand the thought she might get hurt....She's getting fixed next month..or soon..We do have another cat, but she's older and doesn't want to play much..Hopefully she'll settle after she gets spayed

thanks for your answers everyone

[trayi52]

Stubby is outside and inside. He loves the outside, comes in and eats. Sometimes I get so mad at him, he will come in, eat and then want right back out. I would like to make him stay in the house all the time.

Grover stays in the house all the time. If I just start to carry her out in the yard, she jumps out of my arms and runs upstairs. I would like to get her out there so I could make pictures of her. But no, she won't even do that. I don't want her going out anyway.

Willie

[kuhio98]

Kuhio was an indoor/outdoor kitty and she lived for 17 happy, healthy years. Naturally, she was current on her shots because of coming in contact with other animals. We live in a quiet area with a large backyard. Behind our house is a 40-acre swamp. Kuhio knew every inch of it. She also was free to roam our acreage up in the mountains. An owl almost got her once and she caught an ermine once (she was not very happy with me when I took it away from her so it could escape).

If your kitty is going to come in contact with other cats and animals, make sure to keep their shots current. All 3 of our current kitties are indoor/outdoor. The only one we don't let out unsupervised is Cammie because she insists on trying to cross the street. The other two don't like the front of the house (where the road is) at all. They prefer the back yard.

[catmandu]

Nugget , the Gold Cat , is an indoor , Outdoor , and Horace , The Maine Coon , is an outdoor , until the Aniaml Welfare can help me , with his Vet Bills!But the rest are all Indoors!

[Tonya]

I don't encourage Ron to go outside, but if he gets out, I don't freak out. I just let him be. He doesn't go anywhere, he just relaxes outside in the sun for a few hours. He gets along with all the neighbor cats including the stray that I feed. Of course, I worry about diseases, but so far he's never been sick. I don't worry about him getting hit by a car or attacked by a dog. He doesn't leave the yard, and he's fast enough if a dog came onto our property.

I do make sure he is in at night though. I hear cat fights at night often. I think the strays from the shopping center behind me come into the neighborhood looking for food at night.

[BCBlondie]

My kitties are indoor/outdoor. They like hanging outside, but they always come in for the night. Our street isn't too bad with cars... but some people, I guess, just don't watch their speed or the road and that's how our third kitty, TiJay (the brother of Ilio and Lali) got killed..

[wolf_Q]

Although I've never had a cat I've known too many people with indoor/outdoor or outdoor cats that have been hurt or killed by cars, dogs, etc. If I am ever able to get a cat, I would not allow them outside unsupervised at all. I would never allow my dog to run free and not know where he is at all times, I feel the same way with any pet.

[aly]

My cats and fosters are all indoor only. I won't adopt my fosters to anyone who plans on letting them outside at all. It makes me extremely uncomfortable. It just takes one accident and your cat could be gone forever. Way too many dangers are out there - cars, dogs, other animals, diseases, bad people, etc etc etc.

I provide ample scratching posts, cat trees, and toys galore indoors and they are all very content. They also love to sit in front of the fish tank or sit in the window and watch the birds outside. So I really don't see them as "missing" anything by not going outdoors.

Most kittens and young cats have tons of energy and run around crazy. Instead of letting her outside, maybe you can get some interactive toys or a cat tree if you don't already have one?

[sirrahved]

My parents have indoor/outdoor kitties. They also live in the middle of four fields, with a dirt road out front. Hardly any traffic. None of our kitties have ever been hit. RB cats Misty and Pookie lived to be 19 and 16, respectively.

I think my mom and dad are an exception. We did have an unaltered male that ran away for four years, came back wild, and was euthanized. (four years-undoubtedly the SAME CAT!)

I suggest setting up a leash and harness outside, then they get the enjoyment w/o the dangers. This is what my aunt does.

We occasionally let our kitties out in our back yard with us.

[boscibo]

If she isn't fixed yet, don't even think about it! You'll end up with a litter, that might be the reason she wants to get out so badly now. Once she is spayed, her urges to escape should decrease.

My cats used to be indoor/outdoor. I lost two cats to cars (way out in the country - on a private road! So even minimal traffic can have a deadly effect) and one just vanished. It is totally heartbreaking, so I said never again. Mine stay inside now, and seem happy. Hanna bolts for the door once in a while, but I don't think she'd ever really go out. There are so many things besides cars that are dangerous for cats - people , disease, traps, fights, fleas and parasites...the list goes on. Plus domestic cats can do a number on songbird populations, leading to more people discriminating against cats.

I'd spay her, that should calm her down.

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by aly
[B]I won't adopt my fosters to anyone who plans on letting them outside at all[B]

In England cat charities won't adopt to people who want to keep their cats inside all the time. Strange how different countries have different attitudes to their pets.

The exception to the rule is the special needs kitties. The blind & deaf etc are pushed forward as potential inside only kitties.

Our CPL will adopt to inside only homes, if you live near a busy road but the others won't.

slleipnir,

Being close to a highway, I wouldn't let her wander on her own. What about a cat run or lease and collar ?

How does she destroy things in the home, does she like her scratching post ?