my girls are indoors.
outdoor cats are one of the reasons the kakapo is on the verge of extiction. those poor, tasty, birds have no defences against a feline. think of the cute, yummy, kakapo and keep kitty indoors, calm kiwi.
I was surprised that this hasn’t been mentioned more often. Cats do enormous damage to the smaller creatures around them when let outside. I know a few bird watchers who really detest outdoor cats and their owners due to the impact they have on native birds.
We have two cats, and they’re indoors cats (except when they stroll off down the apartment hall). We live on the sixth floor on a busy street. They’re not going anywhere.
Even if we had a house I don’t think they’d be outdoor cats- we’ve got piles of racoons and foxes in our area, and one of our cats is the world’s biggest wussy. He’d get torn apart pretty fast. The other one just doesn’t have the sense to get out of the way of a rolling chair headed for her tail. So I think it’s better that they stay inside.
Aerin and Bailey both seem content, anyhow.
I have indoor cats, yet they are not the norm in Australia. At least, I don’t think so.
Mine are litter mates, and when they were kittens, they were free to roam in our townhouse’s courtyard and sometimes they’d go a little further away (all desexed at an early age). Now we are living in a flat, they are exclusively indoor cats. We have no private outdoor area, and we need to keep the doors closed (unless we don’t mind donating all our electronics to the local junkies). When we moved here, I let the several confused timid hours of the cats sniffing about and not wanting to go anywhere gradually extend into days and months.
Our windows have security grilles on them, so we can keep the windows open when we’re at home, and the cats often like to sit on the sill in the fresh air, and watch the world go by. We also have a garage with internal access, and that is the cats’ domain. There is only one of my three that tries to get out every time we open the front door. About once a week or so, he is successful in his escape attempts. If I try to catch him, he will run. If I don’t, he will sniff about within a radius of twenty feet from the door, and within ten minutes will normally be back at the door wanting to be let in.
In the suburbs, there are plenty of predatory animals that would love to kill cats. In this area of the Chicago suburbs, there are plenty of feral cats, plus foxes. And don’t forget rabid animal attack potential, like from skunks and bats.
There is also the problem that cats are predators. They kill an amazing number of wild songbirds, small mammals, and so forth. Plus they can do damage to neighbors’ property - poo all over the place, eat ornamental plants, etc.
American mountain dweller here, with 3 indoor cats. Why? Two words: coyotes & cougars.
Sheesh, we’re just making a dent in the de-clawing issue over here, let’s not rush things!
I’d never had a cat before my current pet, it just didn’t seem right to keep her cooped up in the house 24/7. One window that leads to the porch was kept up on the safety catch, with the screen shoved up accordingly, and that became her door to use as she pleased. She stayed very close by as a kitten, avoiding the larger neighborhood cats, and was even bringing me earthworms (ick!) as she just wasn’t fierce enough to take down anything larger.
Then, she disappeared. My son was heartbroken, all my cat-owning friends that had been horrified that I’d left her claws on much less let her out were righteously saying “told ya so!” We put up posters with her picture, asked around, looked for signs of fresh roadkill, nada.
Nearly a year later, a meow at the front door. She was rather disconcerted, we’d underwent quite a bit of construction and remodeling during her absence, but she was healthy and well-kept and fine. She’d also picked up the habit of twining thru my legs when I would work at the kitchen counter, come running at the sound of a faucet being turned on…obviously she hadn’t been running wild, someone’d taken her in. Why that someone didn’t call the phone number on her tags, I don’t know, we’re just grateful she’s come home.
She’s now an indoor cat, mostly as I don’t think I could deal with the attending heartbroken child again.
We have three cats, all indoor cats.
There is no reason to allow your cats outdoors. They’re healthier and happier if kept inside.
I’m in the US, and we have indoor cats. There are a lot of idiots who drive through our neighborhood in order to skip one particular intersection. This takes them right past our house, often doing 5-10 over the speed limit (which is 25 mph). Once, a family who lived a few houses away watched in horror as their puppy, who’d run out of the yard and into a speeding truck, died in front of them.
Cats have many natural defenses. They can take care of themselves against most common natural enemies, dangers, and predators. I have yet to see a cat defend herself against an oncoming vehicle.
There are a lot of cars in this country, and a lot of traffic. Since things are so spread out here in the suburbs, everyone drives anywhere. This means more potential flatteners of Poor Defenseless Kitty.
Not my cat, dammit. I could see leaving a cat out in a rural area, or a very lightly populated suburban area, but not in my neighborhood.
I have a completely indoor kitty. The main reason is that he’s my baby, and I love him too much to subject him to all the outdoor dangers that previous posters have described. But for posters who think its cruel to force their cats to stay inside, I just want to emphasize that your neighbors would probably disagree. Its not fair that they should have to deal with someone else’s cat digging up their gardens and tormenting their (properly restrained) pets. Nobody would excuse someone who let their dog run free, why is it so different for cats? Cat owners have the same choices as dog owners: put them on a leash, put up a fence (yes, they make fences that can keep in most cats; they have an overhang on the top to prevent jumping over them), install an electric fence, or build a “sunroom” of sorts that lets kitty get fresh air and sunshine but prevent him from getting out (or other bad things getting in). I would prefer that people keep their cats indoors for the safety of the cats, but it angers me when people think they have a right to impose their pet (which they agreed to care for) on their neighbors.
I can’t find the cite, but there was a kitten who was looking for a home that was cooked on a barbecue grill by a group of college students here in Kansas.
That is just one of the reasons my cats do not go outside.
Exactly. We have five cats and our girls are much happier inside. They’re safer, healthier and it’s not “cruel” at all, when you consider how freaking spoiled the little furballs are.
There are diseases in cats for which there are no vaccines, such as FIV. There are diseases for which the vaccines are not 100% effective, such as Feline leukemia and FIP.
The bottom line is that the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is 2 years in the US. The average lifespan of the indoor cat is about 12 years.
http://www.kctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=861086&nav=1PubAB7k
wish I hadn’t looked it up…
Another indoor cat-keeper here. Reason being - I live in a flat in a high-rise buiding, so, unless, the cat would learn to operate lifts and security doors…!
I have frequently felt a bit guilty about keeping the cat indoors (although I reckon the cat is happy enough) but, having read thorough this thread, I feel a bit happier about it. And I don’t think the cat would stand much chance against trains and traffic. And I suspect that some of the local kids might not be the nicest people in the world. 
Every cat I knew in NZ was an outdoor cat. I stole my current cats from my neighbour when he told me he was taking the litter and the mother, all unneutered and letting them free in the bush near Queenstown. Aaaaaaaaarghhhhh! It’s hard to believe such morons still exist. I rehomed the mother and found homes for 4 of the 6 kittens. I was totally upfront with the guy when he asked me where the cats were.
My boys moved with us to Australia and since being here they have been outside during the day but they rarely move from our garden. They are inside at night and come inside at dusk because the majority of killing of native animals and birds happens at night. If they were young and vigorous and we lived near bushland, they’d be inside all the time.
I’ve known 3 cats who were inside cats since coming to Australia and they were all pedigree cats and valuable. I totally support a cat curfew and would obey an inside cat only bylaw if they came in.
My two guys are both 15.5 years old, and strictly indoor. Judging from the amount of roadkill around here, they never would have lived this long outside. I know the heartbreak of losing a pet, and I’d rather postpone that as long as possible.
Very interesting thank you. I wasn’t suggesting it was cruel to keep cats inside, I was just amazed it seemed to be such a common thing.
I live in Auckland a “big” city (small by world standards probably with a population of 1 mill) and terrible public transport. Cars are everywhere but cats seem to develop car sense.
We don’t have the wild animals that may prey on cats. I suppose dogs may be an issue though.
I’m more then sure there are maladjusted idiots who want to harm cats out there but thankfully few and far between.
As Rocking chair pointed out NZ has a big problem with cats and endangered bird species, but living in Auckland sparrows, thrushes and mynas are more likely to be pounced on then any endangered bird (and I have to admit the boys have been known to catch the odd sparrow).
Pooping in neighbours garden? Yes they probably do that.
All in all I wasn’t saying keeping cats inside was a bad thing. It was just something I was curious about. Your reasons all made perfect sense.
I’ve only ever known one person with “indoor” cats and they were pampered pedigree persians. My friend’s big fear about letting them out was a local rumour about long-haired cats and rabbits being killed for their fur. I doubt it was true, but I can understand her fears.
My cats, though, were always allowed out. And two of them were killed in road accidents this year. I don’t regret letting them out, though, because they had lovely, full little lives - stalking through my over-grown lawn like little tigers, chasing birds and butterflies, sunbathing on the roof, and generally just going off and having adventures. I haven’t got any kitties now, because I can’t face that happening again - I got a dog instead, who’s adorable and doesn’t expect to be allowed out alone. But I will have cats again and I will let them out - but not while I’m living in such a built-up area. When I’m able to, I’ll move to a more rural area and then it’s animals-a-gogo.
My outdoor cats lived on an average of 5 years, I have an indoor cat that is 17 plus and still wacks down the new guy in the house.