Is it ok for cats to live indoors?

[NickSister]

I'm really agast at the idea of a pet cat living indoors their whole lives.

Personaly I think a life without risk is not a life at all. There is something untamed in cats and I think they need to roam free. My cats love their life to come and go as they please. Fighting their fights, annoying the next door neighbours dog, hunting, killing, bringing a tribute of death to the house, sleeping outside in the grass, climbing trees and crapping in the garden. They live a full life. Keeping them indoors would be a kind of madness for me and my cats.

What are your thoughts?

[Kt]

It probably depends on the situation/person/animal whatever, personally I would not keep my pets indoors if I can help it.

[NicholeW.]

We keep ours indoors. But, not everyone does. Our complex has this feral cat population that is totally obscene. New litters about once a month. 7-9 apts/building, 15 bldgs and there are as many feral cats around here as there are people I would imagine.

I suppose one might make the same argument about dogs. Feral dogs do pretty well when left 'free to roam.'

My personal thought is that anyone who allows their animals to 'roam free' without spaying and neutering is doing a disservice to untold animals and to untold humans. In point of fact, 'roaming free' is a good way to have them eaten by coyotes in much of the USA.

N~

[Dennis]

Depends on where you live and whether it's safe for them. I let my cat out as much as she wants, but make sure she's in at night because we have raccoons in the area. As she gets older, she doesn't want to spend as much time outside.

Dennis

[NickSister]

I totally agree about the spaying and neutering. I also understand if the environment outside is actually really not good for cats, though in this case I would question if a cat is a viable pet option.

[Suzy]

My cats choose wherever they want to go.  Even so, they spend most of the time indoors.  Cruel?  Not hardly!  I wish someone would feed me for free the rest of my life, brush me, cuddle with me in bed, pay for all my medical, treat me like a queen, even clean up after me in the bathroom.  I would not care that my average lifespan was so short.  I would be in heaven!

Kristi

[J.T.]

if it is a domestic cat, yes.  feral, no.

personally i don't want my cats to die, i'd like them around as much as possible so i keep them inside.

[Kt]

I totally agree about the spaying and neutering. I also understand if the environment outside is actually really not good for cats, though in this case I would question if a cat is a viable pet option.

The problem being of course, that with the typical lifespan of a cat (let's say about 10-14 years), one can change houses, towns, states, move from a rural or suburban area to an urban area, etc.

So by that logic, a cat is a viable pet option if you can garuntee that you will live in a safe area for outside cats for the next 10-14 years, and since very few people can garuntee such a thing, cats are not viable pet options.

[Lori]

My Kitties love being outside too much to be inside. I put in a cat door so they could come and go as they please. They bring in all sorts of lovely things..

[Alyssa M.]

It's not just about the well-being of the cats.

Domestic cats kill hundreds of millions of songbirds each year. Declawing has only a limitted effect. Lori, sadly your cats are normal.

They are not natural predators -- feral or not, they only live among humans, and were brought to this continent (assuming you don't live in Africa) by humans.

Domestic cats will learn to love indoor life as well as outdoor, provided they are cared for.



I'm all for BIG cats living outdoors though!



p.s. I'm not trying to criticize anyone with outdoor cats. It's just an impact, one of many human impacts on the environment, that is often not acknowledged.

[tinkerbell]

I have four kitties.  They live indoors and will do so for the rest of their lives.  I don't want them to eat garbage or get bitten by rabid animals out there.  They are my babies; I spend plenty of money on their care (medical, food, and whatever else), and they have to abide by mommy's rules just like children do.

Now I do take them to the patio on a daily basis; we play for about thirty minutes and then back to the apartment.

tink

[Nero]

depends on the cat really. completely feral cats will never be happy cooped up indoors. i tried, but many of the strays i had were so unhappy, they tore the screens out of my windows to get out and just mewed at the door constantly. a kitten can adapt but an older feral cat (the type where you're the first human to handle 'em) need to go out. all cats have that need really, though in my opinion it's not good for them. cats can never be fully domesticated as can dogs.

[Buffy]

I have 3 Cats and they spend the majority of their time indoors.

When I am home, they are allowed in the garden (which has high walls, so they cannot get out), they like to roll in the dirt and watch the birds fly over.

I would never let them out unsupervised or into the great outdoors, there are to many hazards for them.

Buffy

[Osiris]

I grew up with indoor cats. They seemed happy enough until later in life. They constantly tried to get out and when they couldn't they refused to use the litter box.

[Ell]

well, it doesn't seem fair to the cat, really, to keep them indoors all the time.

my last cat was a stray who was very happy being an outdoor cat. all he needed was a little food and water, and he was good to go.

he had a couple of girlfriends that he brought over once in a while (never more than one at a time). he would entertain them by jumping around and really showing off in front of them. he was very human-like.

when i moved, i wanted to bring him, but two other guys in the neighborhood claimed him, so i had to leave him behind. i miss him.

-ellie

[Natasha]

what do you know?  now people are trying to tell you how to raise your pets.  get real please!  tsk tsk tsk.

[Blanche]

Rats! I spent € 4,000 on my Natanielle last year.  She got terribly ill. Foolish me! I could have given her "a little food and water and she was good to go"

[Kate]

We had one kitty who came and went as he pleased from kittenhood through old age, generally only coming inside to eat and nap on occasion (and when it was really cold). Otherwise, he roamed the woods all day or night.

He seemed awfully content and happy.

He did however spend the last two years of his life living within our condo, as we took him in when my parents moved and were going to just LEAVE him behind. I think he thought of it as his "retirement home."

He seemed awfully content and happy.

We now have two cats that have lived their entire lives within our condo walls.

They seem awfully content and happy.

~Kate~

[tekla]

My personal thought is that anyone who allows their animals to 'roam free' without spaying and neutering is doing a disservice to untold animals and to untold humans. In point of fact, 'roaming free' is a good way to have them eaten by coyotes in much of the USA.

My cats, and I seem to have always had more than one in the house all my life, go in and out, they prefer in after the tenth year or so, but they went out back when we lived on the farm, and they learned to give the feral (read, "not domesticated" feral sounds so harsh, its just their state of nature in the natural world) cats a wide berth.  Myself, I spend several afternoons there over the years watching the mama feral cat teach the young'ns to hunt.  Mind blowing example of nature at work.  So they eat (along with birds, also things like mice and rats) or coyotes get 'em and they are eaten - that's nature read in tooth and claw as Darwin would have it.

Its kind of funny that our vaunted "domestication" program does not even last a generation in the wild.  I mean I always got the cats spayed and declawed - more for the furniture than the birds I must admit, but they went out in a rural / small town area.  To no ill effect on either the cats, or the area.

[Ell]

what do you know?  now people are trying to tell you how to raise your pets.  get real please!  tsk tsk tsk.

i wasn't giving advice, dear. just stating an opinion (and staying on topic)

want some advice about raising pets, love? don't be disrespectful to them, and don't treat them cruelly. likewise with people... 

-Ellie