How miserable would my cat be?

Factual Questions
1

I’ve owned my cat Landmine since she was a kitten. I raised her in an apartment, and brought her with me when I moved back home with my family. She has since become an indoor/outdoor cat, and is one very happy young lady!

I will be moving to Chicago in January. I would love to bring Landmine with me, but I would obviously feel awful if I cooped her up in a tiny apartment after she’s gotten so used to playing outside. I’d just let her outside, but I’m a bit wary of her running around in an area that will be all concrete and traffic as opposed to grass and trees. OTOH it isn’t like cats don’t run around in Chicago, so maybe I’m just worrying too much.

I’m of course not going to do anything that will make her unhappy, but is there any way I’d be able to bring my cat with me without totally crushing her little world? It would really be great if I could keep her with me. Keeping her indoors is out of the question, but would it be too hard for her to adjust to a city after spending a few years in a suburban area with a fair deal of nature to run around in?

2

Relevant to the thread, this is Landmine. (photo taken by resident Doper cactus waltz!)

3

She’ll adapt to being an indoor only cat. You’ll need some extra playtime with her, maybe one of those plush cat-trees, and hopefully a window to stare out of. Really, cats adpat all the time from indoor/outdoor to indoor only. Some seem to love it, in fact. Sure, therewill be an period of adaptation and some crying. You might have to watch the doors and windows extra careful. And, yes, even those windows many stries up, if you’re in a high rise.

But she won’t adapt to being an indoor-outdor cat in Chicago. That way lies a lost miserable cat, or worse. :frowning: Don’t do it.

4

Interesting! I didn’t expect to hear this, honestly. Thanks for giving me more options to worry over :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m more than used to watching her around doors (my apartment had a balcony that had easy kitty access to the roof of the building, the ultimate terror in my time as a pet owner), so that wouldn’t be an issue (or rather, it would be a constant issue :stuck_out_tongue: )

Would it really be so bad if she was indoor/outdoor in Chicago? If I were to help her get used to the area by staying out with her when she went outside, would it help?

5

Landmine! What a great name.

I had a big white cat that I adopted from a neighbors daughter. It had always been indoor/outdoor but I live in the city and it had to stay inside once he got here. He adapted fine, showed no interest in going out at all. Content to watch out the window.

I wouldn’t let her outside in an urban area.

6

Yes. I hate to be blunt, but if you were lucky she’d last a year, more like less than a week. Sorry. :frowning:

Like River Hippie sez- get a good window and she’ll be fine.

7

I have to agree with the above. Cats don’t know what to do around big city traffic. Especially not those raised in gentler climes.

8

Pretty kitty!

What everyone else said. A little frustration at first with not going outside she’ll get over. Being run over, eaten by dogs, attacked by feral cats, poisoned by cat-hating neighbors, tortured by 10 year old serial killers in the making, she won’t!

Seriously, it can be a big bad world out there, and kitties are fragile creatures. They belong inside where its safe & warm. As long as you still live with her she’ll be happy. :slight_smile:

9

How do you intend to teach her to stay out of the street, to never fight with another animal, to never eat anything that’s toxic, to never get an injury that can get infected, to never pick up a disease, to never get stolen, to never be victimized by cruel kids, etc., etc., etc. Outdoor cats in cities have a very low life expectancy, there are so many things that can kill them. Keep her inside, she’ll get used to it.

10

Thanks for the responses. I feel pretty dumb for underestimating the city like this! It’s a shame she won’t have as much room to run around, but it’s good to know that she (hopefully) won’t have a rough time adjusting. If she does, my family will be thrilled to take her back. Thanks :slight_smile:

11

She’ll definitely get over it. I have a couple strays that are quite content to live the plush life.

If you really feel you need to get her outside, you could get a crate or something and park her in it on your balcony for a few hours a day. But it’s not necessary.

12

I grabbed a street cat a couple months ago. He’d never been indoors before then. He doesn’t even go near the door. Clearly he doesn’t miss starving and dodging cars and dogs and kids at all.

13

We had a family cat like that. It was announced by my father that he was not to come in the house, that the inside was off-limits, and he was not to be a new adoptee to the family. As a result, we never named him. It took about six-months before “Black Kitty” got inside and he never wanted back out again.

He’d come out with the family into the courtyard in front of the house or sit on the back porch with you but he’d be the first one back in the house the moment we’d turn.

You could almost hear him saying, “Nuh-uh - not gonna be stuck out here again. It took six months to get inside and I likes it.”

His name was “Black Kitty” until the day he died of cancer.

14

You could get a leash. One of our cat’s is perfectly content wandering around with us on the leash. Not all cats will go for the leash though, and you have to make sure it’s secure.

15

What if she gets fat? That is such a common thing, when I go the park in my neighborhood there isn’t a dog in that park that isn’t, not simply overweight but actually fat.

Not that the exercise cuts down the weight but the cat will get bored and eat. Or the cat will get bored and and start to make trouble like tear up things, or whoops knocked that off the desk etc etc.

16

Then you’ll just need to get another cat to keep it company. Mine exercise each other quite satisfactorily.

17

Animals are very individualistic in their response to change. Most do fine, some do better if their anxiety is addressed pharmacologically.

18

I have to agree, in the loudest possible terms, that you should NOT let the cat outside in a city. The life expectancy is just so much better inside, as well as general quality of life. The risk from cars is huge, of course, but the risk of disease is so much more as well. And then there is getting into fights with other cats, feral dogs, raccoons, etc… And then there are sick people (one of my neighbors had a kitten who was shot and killed by a neighbor with a pellet gun, for example)… there are risks like getting into chemicals and poisons, or eating rodents that have eaten chemicals or poisons… Really the list of dangers is endless.

The fact is that most cats do fine indoors. Two of my three cats started out as strays. Indigo never goes near the door. He lived on the streets and has no desire to do that again. He enjoys looking out the window, but will run the other way if he’s near a door that opens (to the outside). The other one, Cory, will try to escape from time to time. When he gets out he just runs to the nearest grass and starts munching. You can buy cat grass to grow indoors if your cat likes that. For the most part, these two cats enjoy chasing each other in the house, playing with their catnip mice, lounging in patches of sun by the windows, and chasing laser pointers. My third cat is 18 years old and has always been an indoor cat, and has never expressed any interest in going outside.

When I was growing up we had several indoor/outdoor cats. When I turned 18 we had 2, and I took them with me and they became indoor-only cats. Both eventually died of feline leukemia, which they had obviously caught during their time outdoors (one of the cats we had when I was a child died of it, too.) but not before they lived many very happy years as indoor cats.

Just get lots of toys for them. The long wands with string and feathers at the end are a great way to exercise a cat, as are laser pointers. I also have several velcro-closure refillable catnip toys that keep them entertained for hours (their favorite being the tiny teddy bear). We also have one of those kitty towers for them to climb on. And they adore their SuperScratcher thing (also by SmartyKat) which is made of corrugated cardboard. They scratch the hell out of that thing, and even sleep on it.

(Edited to add: I agree about getting a second cat. Two cats playing together and keeping each other company keeps them both exercised and entertained so they don’t turn to destructive behavior out of boredom.)

I know I’m going on and on but I really, really think that it’s wrong to let a cat outdoors (except perhaps on a harness and leash, if your cat will tolerate it) in anything but a rural environment, and even then I’d be scared about predators, and worried that the cat would kill too much local wildlife.

As a bonus: indoor cats don’t get fleas!

A few quotes: “The Humane Society of the United States was quoted in 1992 estimating the average life expectancy of free roaming pets to be between 3 and 5 years, while indoor cats can commonly reach ages of 17 years or more.” and "According to the Santa Clara Valley Humane Society, 57% of all the animals found dead on the streets of San Jose in 1996 were cats. "

19

Although I agree with the rest of what you say, I have had numerous cases of severe flea infestations in indoor only cat households. Typically these begin when a rented apartment comes furnished (with fleas). Another less common means of infestation involves humans acting as carriers. A single gravid female flea tracked into a home can lead to a full scale problem.

20

Also, I have an indoor-outdoor dog who isn’t even allowed to be near the cats, and he gave them all fleas last week. Revolution all around.