Discussion Topic: Indoors Or Out?

[Zafirah]

Do you think cats and kittens should be indoors at all times, or do you think that is cruel, cats are hunting animals, and need to go outside.
My personal oppionion is that cats should be indoors. I guess if you live in a safe enough neighborhood, they can go out. But, as kittens they should definatly stay indoors. Please give me your personal opionin

 

[l.michelle]

I would say indoors, unless on a leash, just like dogs. There is just too much of a risk (in my opinion) of the cat being lost, stolen, or hit by a car, why risk it? I think that cats indoors can have as much fun and exercise as outdoors. Maybe even if you just let the cat into your backyard while you are out there, that's fine, but allowing the cat to run free outside, ehh i'm not a big fan of that, I've seen too many cats on the side of the road that I don't think it is such a great idea

 

[mcdanielnc89]

As you have stated it depends on the neighborhood IMHO... Mine was Indoor and Out.. He came in when he wanted... Unfortunately, that gave him more reason to spray in the house b/c he went outdoors so dad fortunately kicked him out.. (POOR CAT).. I think our neighbors took him in tho...

 

[catherine896]

I think it is only natural for a cat to be outside. However my gardens have no access to roads unless they walk for a long long way.
My 2 cats are 10 months old and I was terrified of letting them out the first time on their own, while I was out there was bad enough!
They went out alone though and they came back no problems. One doesnt like going out much and lurks around quite close to the back door, the other always goes next door and up through the woods, but she got spooked by something and didnt go out alone again, she came out with me yesterday.
I dont think I would like letting them out if there was easy access to roads, they seem so laid back and silly I think they would try hunting a car or something! I understand why people have housecats on busy roads but otherwise, I dont think it is fair.

My 2 get bored inside and they have loads of toys especially since they have now experienced being outside they meow at the door to be let out.

 

[catxx]

totally depends on the neighbourhood. i would feel bad however having a cat indoors 100% of the time, they need outside, trees to claw it (rather than your sofa), grass to eat, cat mint to roll in.

my cat lives at my dads house at the end of a tiny village in a cul de sac, there is a main road but it's at the end of the road and she doesn't go near it, and when i say main road, a car zooms down it every 5-10 minutes, occasionally a tractor, she heads for the garden or the field as soon as she hears a car (or sees a dog) anyway. unless it's my car or my dads car, then she waits on the curb.

she would yowl her head off and drive us bonkers if we tried to keep her in. her favourite spots are on the edge of the patio, or with her head buried in the cat mint we planted for her. she has a cat flap and goes in and out whenever she wants.

 

[RiiCKYOMD]

Indoors as my nans cat was beheaded and the tail cut off.. The police are quizzed but put it down to an afircan voodoo ritual perofmred by afiricans... Because the cut was a clean slit not bit off by a fox etc...

TRUE STORY

 

[catherine896]

Indoors as my nans cat was beheaded and the tail cut off.. The police are quizzed but put it down to an afircan voodoo ritual perofmred by afiricans... Because the cut was a clean slit not bit off by a fox etc...

TRUE STORY

OMG that is SICK! Did they ever find out who did it? Were they arrested or fined or anything?! I hope they didnt get away with that! I dont agree with any type of ritual which involves animals being killed/hurt!

 

[Erised]

Indoors

In all honesty, like said before, it does depend on what the surroundings around your house are like. I personally don't feel happy with outdoors only or indoors/outdoor cats because I grew up with indoors only cats. At the time I lived with my parents in Holland right next to a very busy road leaving us really no option but to have indoor cats only. Not to mention that we had a cat killer in the street at the time and we'd find at least 1 dead cat every 2 weeks. So yeah

Now I live with my other halfs parents in England and my opinion has not changed. When I first moved in here they had 2 cats which were indoors/outdoors and I found it very difficult to deal with the cats being out without me being able to check on them being ok. 1 Of them has now passed on because of old age and 2 new kittens had been gotten. I expressed that I would like them to be indoors only cats, but my other halfs parents wouldn't have it. And because of that, we now only have 1 kitten (well, over a year old now) left after his brother got hit by a car and killed right in front of our house on his first time out alone.

Unfortunately it took this incident for them to see and understand that outdoors cats aren't always a good thing. 2 Cats have been lost in this road this year, whereas the 15 years before non had been in car accidents. So don't think that because it hasn't happened before it won't happen. The original cat they had, Misty, is 15 now and simply wouldn't be able to adjust to being indoors only any more so we have to let her out. Tom, now just over a year, is allowed out in the garden on a leash (Which I still do not feel happy with because there is a high risk of choking, not to mention all the frogs that get killed by him in the garden, but I have no say) when people are home.

As said though, it depends where you live and what you're happy and comfortable with. Maybe if I lived in the middle of the forest I'd feel happier with our cats being indoors/outdoors but I don't think so. Mainly because I grew up with the cats indoors and around me where I could see them.

 

[Morquinn]

Indoors...

Even though its natural for a cat to be outdoors, in some cases they dont know what to do, its not natural for them to be in contact with cars and other vehicles that will most certainly kill them.. not only that the diseases spread by feral cats can cause harm and death to your cat, not to mention a mountain of vet bills..

Lets also talk about wildlife.. cats are very skilled hunters, and although this is natural to wild cats, they are killing songbirds. Now if you think about it, its illegal to kill songbirds (for humans) and its also illegal for humans to kill other humans... Soo... if your dog attacks and kills a person, you are charged for it, and your dog is put down... but if a cat kills a songbird, no reprecussions arise from it, even though its illegal for us to do it. Funny how that works huh..

Cats are safest indoors and mine wouldnt have it any other way.. they are frightened by being outside, and all of them were rescued from the streets, they know what its like to be outside during the winter, shivering cold with all the noises.. they are purrfectly content indoors.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

Indoors. Cats' ancestors are wild and roam outside all the time but it doesn't mean they have to be or do that. If I had a say, I would let my cat stay indoors... unfortunaley, my mom used to keep cats outside when she was little and I don't think she inagines what can happen when a cat, all alone and unaware of what cars, rat poison, or other harmful things are can get into. My cat is outdoor/indoor and I used to always ask my mom if we could keep him indoors but she always disagreed. Now he's lost (been lost for a week ) and I'm sure this wouldn't have happened if he was an indoor cat.
Cats can harm themselves in several different ways while they're outside.
They could get hit by a car and killed, if not badly injured. They can eatpoison or other stuff people leave outside, and get poisoned. They could get lost, they could get in a cat fight (especially if not fixed). They could meet with other stray cats and get some diseases like Feleuk or Fiv. The list goes on.
I'd only let a cat outside if you are keeping watch over him.

 

[Amunet]

Indoors indoors indoors.

I will never have another cat be a indoor/outdoor cat ever again.

When I used to live with fiance and his family, they had outdoor cats.
One went missing... they never found it.
The other was ALWAYS sick b/c it would get into fights with various animals outside.
They would take her to the vet, get her medicine, get her better, and she'd be sick once again.

And when I was little, we used to have 2 strictly indoor cats, but my dad gave them to my uncle when we moved. My uncle let these cats go outside. One ended up getting hit by a car, the other was declawed (we didn't know any better at the time), so couldn't defend itself and got killed from fighting.

Then, for the short time I lived in Illinois... the condo complex we lived in had alot of wildlife. Chipmunks, ducks.. etc.. the ducks would walk down the street and people would throw bread out to them. Well my dad's new wife brought over her stank cat that she let out and all of the animals went away. I never saw another duck again b/c her cat chased them away.

Our 2 cats will never be allowed to wander around outside on their own. I'll sometimes let them out slightly to chomp on some grass while I'm taking the dogs out, but they know not to go far and as soon as I say go in, they're inside.
The street we live on is far too busy to let any animal run wild.
Plus I know there are sick people out there that would/could possibly harm them.

 

[Zafirah]

Indoors indoors indoors.

I will never have another cat be a indoor/outdoor cat ever again.

When I used to live with fiance and his family, they had outdoor cats.
One went missing... they never found it.
The other was ALWAYS sick b/c it would get into fights with various animals outside.
They would take her to the vet, get her medicine, get her better, and she'd be sick once again.

And when I was little, we used to have 2 strictly indoor cats, but my dad gave them to my uncle when we moved. My uncle let these cats go outside. One ended up getting hit by a car, the other was declawed (we didn't know any better at the time), so couldn't defend itself and got killed from fighting.

Then, for the short time I lived in Illinois... the condo complex we lived in had alot of wildlife. Chipmunks, ducks.. etc.. the ducks would walk down the street and people would throw bread out to them. Well my dad's new wife brought over her stank cat that she let out and all of the animals went away. I never saw another duck again b/c her cat chased them away.

Our 2 cats will never be allowed to wander around outside on their own. I'll sometimes let them out slightly to chomp on some grass while I'm taking the dogs out, but they know not to go far and as soon as I say go in, they're inside.
The street we live on is far too busy to let any animal run wild.
Plus I know there are sick people out there that would/could possibly harm them.

I feel the same way. It is too dangerous forthem to be outside. They can get into anyting

 

[pica_nuttalli]

I don't know how it is in the UK, but here in the States, living in a semi-rural area is still no protection for outdoor cats. There are all sorts of wildlife (even in the suburbs) that are a danger for your cat. Foxes, coyotes, badgers, raccoons, opossums, and let's not forget my favorite woodland friend: other people's dogs!

I personally would never let my cat be an outdoor cat at this point, even if there were no dangers out there. Why? She was recently diagnosed as having feline herpes. (I'm more convinced than ever that she's the result of unscrupulous backyard breeding. ) Feline herpes is highly infectious and greatly increases the chance of eye/respiratory infections. It's also incurable and makes treatment of other conditions more difficult as immuno-suppressant drugs can't be frequently used. She *is* one of the dangers facing an outdoor cat.

I point this out because we had no idea that was the problem until a new vet diagnosed it about a month ago. She's definitely had the disease since she first entered my care as a kitten three years ago. I shudder to think how many other cats in our neighborhood that she could have infected if she had been allowed outside unsupervised. How sure are you that your cat is clean?

 

[alessasavoca]

indoors.

We have two siamese, one's 12 and the other one is 4. The older one got hit by a car when he was 6, and the still has his leg (after extensive reconstructive surgery) but it's not got the same muscle structre and it's getting a bit athriticy in his old age. Still, better 4 legs than 3!

The 4 year old had a 3 year old predecessor, who sadly died from heart murmur compliactions, but since the 12 year old's accident we would never let a cat out again, we live down a country lane with few cars, but when there are cars they really do race down (my grandad's cat was run over and killed down the same lane).

In short our two monsters are very happy indoors, and they do come out occasionally in the garden on our laps or on a cat lead, but they would be happy as larry never going out, after all they get more cuddles when they are inside

 

[Lynda B]

I am in animal rescue, have been for 15 years. I've seen enough to prove to me that cat's should be indoors. We are adopting them as pets, we are not adopting them as wild animals. Every cat or dog has a certain degree of prey drive but they are a domesticated animal. Just as I would never open the door and just let my dog roam, so I would never open the door and let my cat roam. There is no difference.

I have 3 cats from the neighborhood that stalk the activity at my birdfeeders. You have no idea how bad I want to find out who owns them and read them the riot act. Or put buckshot in their asses (both the human and the cat). They destroy the wildlife and my garden. And there's not a single thing I can do about it, legally. That sucks entirely.

If they had owners who cared, I wouldn't have this problem.