indoor cats

sebastianv

I converted to indoor only a few years back, i was sceptical at first to say the least:) We added a cat run that was surprisingly cheap and easy to construct. Hence we have safe cats with access to a wander outdoors if they please, but all that said they spend most of their time on the beds and sticking to the rads anyway. it gives us peace of mind, it means they don't sh*t all over my neighbours garden, kill the birds nor cost me fast vets bills through fighting. (That one i don't miss)
While going out with the dogs this morning i found the body of a small white cat, it belongs to a neighbour. No one was in so took the body back into the shed, just been down to tell her the bad news and got a very strange response. "That's another one gone then, third this year, we better get one quick before the kids know she is missing, no tears no emotion, just very matter of fact, so much she didn't want the body back either and told me to bin it. I will pop it down to our vets in a minuet and let them dispose of it.
I was stunned to say the least and mentioned our cats are indoors, that went down like a lead balloon, i asked her to pop over and see our cat run, without trying to sound like a weird guy tempting her into my house:o, alas the outcome is she thinks i am a bloody weirdo and have i nothing better to do with my time :rolleyes:
it's a shame that some people don't treat their cats in the same way as they treat their dogs, saying that some dogs are just as bad off.
Is it such a strange concept to want a long happy life for your cats or cats.

galah

No, it's not. One of my cats "ran away" (God knows what's happened to her, we never found her) in September, and I'm still not over that (those cats were my first pets, and I'm truly taking it badly - whereas the boyfriend had had cats from a very young age, and he has accepted the fact that sometimes pets die...)

But anyways, the point is, to some people, a pet is just a pet, whereas other people do have some sort of attachment to their pets, and want the best possible life for them, within their means (on the other hand, you have the extremist like in the US, where dogs get their own clothes and stuff - now that's taking it to the other extreme in my opinion...)

Irish-Lass

I have 4 indoor cats - one is an ex-feral cat who shows no interest in going out - they have floor ceiling scratch posts - dogs to play and annoy waggy tail chasing is a favourite in our house by the ex-feral

lubie76

God, I can't believe how anyone could be so blase about their pets dying. My cats are like part of the family and I'd be devestated if I lost one. Would not be able to replace it just like that. I think this stems for the whole Irish thing of cats are for catching rats on farms and don't belong indoors.

gimmick

We have an indoor cat as well. We tried putting her out the back for a few hours everyday until she got attacked by a local tom, and now she just hides under the shed whenever we do put her out. Now she is only 6 months old, but I am wondering are we hindering her natural instincts.

I am also afraid that once she is in heat one of the ugly neighbourhood strays will get their claws on her and we have a littler of ugly kittens. I might try arrange a "play date" with someone who has a cute male cat soon!

DAWNRISER

Have her neutered. Thisi will help keep the lads away.
And keep in in!!!! cats are happy inside, i have 6 cats and also look after kittens till good indoor homes are found.
She'll be healthier in ide and happier.

Irish-Lass

gimmick wrote: »

I am also afraid that once she is in heat one of the ugly neighbourhood strays will get their claws on her and we have a littler of ugly kittens. I might try arrange a "play date" with someone who has a cute male cat soon!

ok sorry not sure if you are trying to wind ppl up but why the hell would you want your cat to have kittens - do the right thing and get the poor thing spayed

superficies

We also have an indoor cat and no, it's no weird at all to want them to have a long and happy life. Our little lady is only 8 months old and we never let her out until she was neutered - we just didn't want her to suffer at the hands of neighbourhood toms! Now she is neutered (which is the best way if you want your cat to be able to go outside at all) and she stays inside all day but when we come home we let her out to play. She doesn't go out in the dark (which is tricky this time of year) and she hates the rain but generally she'll go out, run around for a while (and she mostly sticks to our garden), climb trees and hang out with another neighbourhood cat for 2 hours or so and then come back, sit at the door, and wait to be let in again. In the summer you can keep the doors open all day so she wanders in and out but she is a very happy cat mostly, I think, because she gets the balance of indoors and outdoors. I don't think you should let cats out at all until they're neutered but then it's not fair to keep them inside all day long with no outside playtime - they have to be allowed to be cats!! Balance is best.

Alfasudcrazy

All our cats (three) are outdoors and the older ones will not come in to the house now but our youngest cat (6 months) has decided herself that she is in fact an indoors cat and simply walks in when you open the door or window.

I don't like putting her out again as she is such a little character (unlike the other two who are almost wild).

She however will make it known when she wants to go out again by simply standing at the door with an 'open please' expression on her face.
She is generally always indoors between 6pm and 8am.

I have been thinking of putting a collar and tag on her but am afraid she could get snagged up in a branch. Our older cats have survived outdoors for almost 13 years but I agree that a cat indoors shows their character better.

MsFifers

I think the indoors/outdoors debate is all dependent on the owner's circumstances. The OPs neighbour clearly should just not have cats - or any pets, as she is oblivious to their care needs. I suspect that even if she did keep her cats indoors, she wouldn't make any of the additional efforts that an indoor cat needs, such as extra playtime and attention, climbing places, toys, challenges etc.

I'm sure there are places where a cat can be reasonably safe left outdoors -but in my case, as in the OP's,there is just too much traffic and bully-boy tomcats and roaming dogs around to let my little guys out safely.

Because I'm used to my situation, I don't think I could bear the thought of letting them wander around for a whole day without me knowing exactly where they are! I even go looking for them in the other rooms if they have disappeared for a while!:D Poor things - they probably are fed up of me checking up on them all the time!:D

sebastianv

I hear where you are coming from MsF. I "converted" after much though, we applied for a cat from a charity, during he process we were asked if we would keep him as a house cat, I thought this ridiculous at first. We were given info to read about the pro's and con's of indoor outdoor. It was very informative but one section in particular got to me and it wasn't really regarding safety, but I have now taken that on board, it was the section about my cats using other peoples property as their toilet. I had a taste of that myself (hypothetically) and it drove me nuts, not only have I 2 grandchildren that like to play poo free in the garden, it brought home the mess MY OWN cats could be leaving.
We then had a wild mother cat who every year gave birth to kittens in our garden, she was eventually trapped by the same organization, we kept her and re homed the kittens. With support I would have defied anyone to convince me she would not settle down and be a happy indoor cat.
In the past I have also lost cats to the roads, bad enough, FIV could have been avoided, but the worse was my neutered tom, being continually at the vets costing us over 500e in treatment for abscesses due to fighting.
Guess we have the best of both world with having a run, the cats do get fresh air and plenty of stimulation, and I know the wife does not miss those heart stopping hours of calling and calling for the cats to come in.
It is a case of making educated choices based of your own situation, I suppose.
I don't let either of my dogs sh*t in my neighbours garden, so think it's only polite not to let me cats.
cheers seb.

FunkyMissMonkey

I'd be interested to hear more about the cat runs you have, or even see pictures. I have two cats that adopted me when I was living in France, and have been part of our family for almost 2 years now. They've been indoor cats all this time, in an apartment in France, and now in our house in Cork.

Our garden isn't huge, and Kobi, the bolder of the two, has always gone straight on top of the back wall each time we let them into the garden. We're worried she's going to jump over and get lost (we live in a terrace where the houses are close together, and there's no access behind the garden) and would like them to be more "contained" in the garden if possible!

I must agree that having cats indoors does seem to bring out more of their personality somehow. I've lived with cats all my life, and my mum, living out in the Kent countryside, has always let her cats out. They were never lap cats, barely home, just came home to eat and sleep on occasion. My two however are friendly and very sociable, they love cuddling up with us on the sofa or in bed. I'm also much happier knowing they are safe and sound, especially living fairly close to the city centre in Cork.

Leo

PS I should probably ask since you'll be the best people to ask, what type of cat litter do you all use? I had some preferred brands/types back in France, that were fantastic at clumping, but I've only found the normal clay "flakes" here, which are a bugger to scoop and very inefficient at clumping.