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.....