I'm in the American Midwest, and my cats are indoor-only, but I'm working on leash-training. For me, indoor-outdoor is... really not a good option. XP I grew up with indoor-outdoor cats, and some experience with barn cats. Many of those cats have lived a long time - Bantu was 21, Sam was 18, Trouble is currently almost 17. But they also got beat to hell. Sam got hit by a car three times before it killed him, lost half his tail, was pretty much deaf. Trouble is scarred up, lost a chunk of tail a couple years back, gets in fights with neighbor cats and ends up with cuts and scabs, and he's been pulling all his fur out and he's six pounds soaking wet. Some of that's probably age, but... yeesh. (And that's the cats who lived to old age. That's not counting shit like uh. Spoiler: cat injury the farm cat when Dad was growing up, who got caught in farm equipment and had his brain exposed for years. Farms are horrifying places, in a lot of ways. ) So. I'm not doing indoor-outdoor for mine to prevent parasites, to prevent them from eating six million birds, because it's not legal in my city and there is a reasonable chance that they will be taken to a shelter, because I live next to a major road with fast cars, because there's already a lot of indoor-outdoor cats in the area and I would expect territory fights, because my neighbors have a dog they let off-leash who's very territorial of my yard, and because I live across the street from a farm with feral cats, coyotes, foxes, turkeys, hawks, and god knows what else. There's a lot of reasons for me personally not to let my cats outdoors. I don't have an ethical issue with farmcats being farmcats, when they're needed as bloodyminded little killers, but it's a very different mindset, and one I couldn't do. In particular... accepting that they're likely to get hurt would be really hard for me. But I have had an issue with enrichment, which I'm still working on. My cats are very vocal, and very easily bored. They want to play for at least an hour every day, and to cuddle or be pet for several more hours. They meow at me constantly, because they're bored and want me to amuse them, and they try to attack the feet of passersby. They also get into trouble - for instance, they've learned to open pretty much every cabinet and drawer I have, and they like to climb inside and destroy things. That's... a lot of work, frankly. My cats are jerks. So I'm leash-training them mostly to give them another source of enrichment, and it's going moderately well; I have one acclimatized to getting a harness put on him, and I'm working on getting him used to a leash and being outdoors. The other is still getting used to the idea of harnesses, but she's a lot more skittish. (And yes, I am doing my damnedest with enrichment. XP They have about eight kinds of toys, free feeding dry food and a rotating schedule of wet foods, pretty much the run of the house, cat grass and a variety of non-toxic houseplants to murder, four kinds of treat, four kinds of scratching post, regular training/tricks with rewards, regular catnip, various high places and hidey places to explore, and tons of attention. They're three and four, and they are my ridiculous, adorable problem children. =__=)
I think cats are generally happier when they have the choice between inside and outside. Like I said, there will be some cats who don't enjoy the outside, and if I end up with such a cat, I will be fine with them staying indoors. It's also that in the future I will most likely be away from home for most of the day, and quite tired when I get home. I enjoy the company of cats, but I worry that I wouldn't be able to provide them with enough stimulation if they weren't allowed outside the house. I have no idea where I will end up living once I graduate and have to get a job, but if I end up in an apartment building I won't get a get, because I don't think it's fair to the cat. That's just how I feel... I hope it's a bit clearer, but I can try to elaborate if needed. It's just that a lot of it comes down to feelings and not so much reasons that I can easily articulate.
@Emma no i totally understand. i'm pretty sure i know people who feel the same way and in the end it's your choice. i think i've decided to keep chloe indoors, bc of the area i live in and the way people drive here, as well as her colour and her carrier status. i will have to come up with a way to give her some outside time but it will definitely have to be supervised. surprisingly dad seemed into the catio idea but i have no idea where i'd put it lmao
My cat is upset when he doesn't get to go outside for a while, but he's kept on a harness and leash and while he's outside so is someone else. I am extremely loathe to even say 'outside in a closed area' is ok because, well. Cats are crafty. And if they're outside you should be out with them for the same reason. Deffo no cat door to the outside.
My parents' cats have always been indoor-outdoor cats. The one they had when I was born lived to be 17. Her eventual death was precipitated by an attack from another animal, but that was only a danger to her because she was already pretty elderly and not as healthy as she could have been. Current cat is 10 and in excellent health, as long as we keep up with flea medication every couple months. When we got her, we tried to keep her inside, but it was very nearly impossible. There was a whole elaborate dance of getting out the door without letting her outside every single time we went out. It sort of seemed cruel to keep her in, given how desperately she wanted to explore. That said, she was not had a good impact on local bird populations. There doesn't seem to be a good way to let a cat out unsupervised and protect birds. The rodents, I don't mind so much. The hummingbird nest she got into, I mind a lot. When I get a cat of my own, I think my goal will be harness-training, and outside access with supervision.
We had a pure indoor kitty, lived 17 1/2 years. He was allowed out occasionally on a harness as a kitten, but he despised the harness so much that we gave up on it pretty quickly. he was a lap cat and the times we brought him outside he'd find the softest thing and lie on it, didn't like touching grass or stone too much. When he got older we got a little screen around part of our porch for him in the old house, and at the new house a whole screened in porch, which he loved- loved to lie in the sun and enjoy the fresh air, and lie around. A word of warning about a loose mesh screen though- he figured out pretty quickly that he could slip under it and would wander- one time got all the way down the steps and into the yard before we noticed. Also one time a neighbor cat got in the mesh and was making his way inside to fight our 16 year old man. basically, cats are crafty. keep an eye on them if your option of letting them outside has any possible escape. they'll find it that said, i work with horses on and off and tbh i really love barn cats, a lot. It's really a luck game whether barn cats live forever or not long, the main barn I grew up riding at has two old brothers who are lasting forever, but a lady cat they adopted (read: she showed up and just hung out, also had a kitten like a month after showing up and managed to adopt another kitten, long story) died from getting hit at a pretty young age. Her kids are badasses though In the end, I think I agree with Emma that cats sorta decide for themselves what amount of outdoor/indoor time they want, if they're given the option, and if I was in a safe enough area to give them that option I would, but there are plenty of places in the world not at all safe for cats to wander around. It is easy to tell sometimes, though. One barn I was at a white cat showed up in the winter and spent all the time I ever saw them lying under the heating lamp next to the food- they'd clearly been an abandoned house cat and did not like living outdoors at all, eventually one family that boarded at the barn adopted him. and while i'm rambling about cats, I also actually managed to socialize one of the barn kittens successfully at that barn!! there was a whole litter but the black kitten was more daring and I got them to play with me and eventually let me pet them and they became the only cat of that section of the barn that would actually interact with people and I was so proud of myself. I miss them. And the other social barn cats at that barn. And the horse i leased ;3;
For me it really depends on the cat in question. My oldest cat was an outdoor cat. He fucking loved it and keeping him inside just wasn't great for him. He was happiest when he had free reign of going in and out. Since he's gotten older though he's now strictly indoors for his safety. He grumbles about it and he still tries to pick fights with other cats when he's in the garage at night but it's better for him. Stubborn bastard. Another of my cats meanwhile is strictly an indoor cat because she's nervous and terrified of the outside. Most we've had have liked going out though, which I'm more than fine with. It's upsetting when one gets lost due to coyotes or something, but I just don't feel right keeping them from doing what they want? Similar to Emma I just don't feel comfortable never allowing ones that want out out. Assuming it's safe enough for them which, where I am right now, it is.
@amberbydreams i think there's a big difference between pet cats and barn cats though. barn cats are really working animals and you shouldn't treat your working animals like you'd treat your house pets, y'know?
I gotta side-eye 'cats decide for themselves' - no. The human decides how much time to devote to training the cat and accommodating its wants and needs. Let's not pretend the humans aren't ultimately making the decisions, here. The responsibility for a pet's health and actions lies with its owner. If we generally don't pretend the same with other non-sapient animals, it's weird to do so with cats.
Personally, I really, really want an indoor-only cat - if nothing else, it really cranks up my anxiety on bad days when Lupin or Tiger don't immediately come running when I call from the back door, and I thoroughly regret Tiger's access to the local wildlife in her younger years. If it were up to me and I were the homeowner, no cat of mine would ever step foot outside without a harness or the very least supervision. But. My mum grew up with the typical british outdoor cat environment, she's very houseproud, and tbh, not as much of an animal lover as she thinks she is. She hates mess, and seems to think that the moment the girls are allowed free range of the house, there's gonna be shit and piss and puke and scratched furniture everywhere forever and always. So on weekends, when she's home, they're locked in the laundry if they're not kicked out into the garden either for making too much noise (aka meowing for attention) or getting in the way when she's trying to clean :/ I let them roam in the house during the week when she's at work as much as I can, and on nights when she's away I let them sleep on my bed, which they both love. (What mum doesn't know won't hurt her, lol) They're 16, which she and all her friends seem to think is ancient, but.... idk. I just. I love my cats, don't think I don't, but the only way I keep them is to conform to my mum's rules. She's never going to be one of those people who can accept and internalise that cats are just as valid and equal a lifeform as humans, and she is such a hypocrite when it comes to the garden birds. She once told me to fill the birdfeeders in midwinter and then told me to let the cats out in the same breath, without being able to understand how that was basically setting out a pokelure for Tiger's murder instinct. Urgh. I just. I wish she would understand.
Personally, I feel like the fact the average indoor cat's lifespan is ~15 years while the average outdoor cat's is ~3 is enough reason to stick with indoor only. Outdoor is too risky, imo. Plus if my childhood cat was anything to go by, entirely too many dead birds are involved with letting cats outdoors.
It's difficult for me to find something more reputable than About.com or the ASPCA website on my phone, but those are usually the numbers given when you look up respective cat ages online. That's going to be impacted by ferals though, since I am almost positive that most shelters count feral cats in their numbers when talking about ages, and any sort of feral cat is going to be lacking the shots, food, and shelter an owned cat has even while being given free roam.
Not exactly, if you want a specific study (it's surprisingly difficult to hunt down anything for it), but you'll find that essentially every vet-based website and shelter will quote it. Appears to at least quote where the references are coming from, if that helps. It makes sense though, indoor cats have very few things to fear vs outdoor cats. If nothing else, they're less likely to be run over. Trauma (either via becoming roadkill or generally being eaten/killed) is the #1 killer of cats in England according to the study linked here. Like PR said though, there is a risk of ferals being included in those quotes (not in the latter study, though).
Spoiler: depressing outdoor cat stories, not described in gory detail buuuuut i feel pretty strongly about this because my experience with outdoor cats has been so poor. when i was younger, a friend's outdoor cat got his pelvis crushed in a bear trap set by their neighbor and he was missing for eight days before he managed to drag himself back to her house. my mum had a kid smash her kitten's skull in with a rock or something and then show her the not-yet-a-carcass, as well as break another cat's leg. the only indoor-outdoor i owned, wally, disappeared without a trace at age three. i've stepped in a cat in my yard before because i was sleepy and not paying attention, and sometimes i'll find kitty bones in the yard. both my friend's cat and mum's cats lived in quiet neighborhoods with little major traffic. my yard's a swamp but, excepting the alligators, it's not terribly wild. even if the risks associated with letting a cat outdoors were less than they are, i would not feel comfortable with doing it. as mercury said, people make the decisions, not the cats. cats lick their assholes for fun and have barely any object permanence, you can't pretend that any 'decision' they make carries any weight. in my opinion, letting a cat out when you have the means to do otherwise can be considered negligence at best. you are voluntarily and drastically shortening your cat's lifespan, and for what? so fluffy can have fun helping to extinguish a few more endangered species before she gets hit by a car or fucked with by some creep? it's bad for the cat, it's bad for the environment, and there's no real reason to allow it when you have the ability to do otherwise. (if it's not your cat, there's not much you can do. )8 ) if you are concerned about your kitty being bored inside, make enrichment! here's an article showing you how to do a couple things. (i would also recommend putting spices or perfume or something smelly in or on a paper bag and letting them at it. it worked for the tigers at big cat rescue when i did it, it'll work for the domestic variety. my cat loves it) (note: 'you' is general, i'm not trying to single anyone out!)
Could we please not talk in absolutes like this? It's pinging my 'I'm being ridiculed and insulted' button really hard. As the person who first brought up cat decision making it's also making me feel very attacked.
@Emma can do! i'll tread more lightly in the future, though if you want i can prolly edit my post in abt 20 min. 8)
Yeah, what @Emma said, I know putting cats outdoors is terribad, but some of us just don't have a choice! (And please don't follow that with 'so you shouldn't have a cat', please. My girls are my therapy animals and have helped me through so much. Dogs are not an option for me, so I literally could not survive without them.)
Probably a more accurate thing to say would be that indoor cats are safest, but sometimes circumstances like the ones @PotteryWalrus has makes that nonviable, so they've got to do other things to try to keep their indoor/outdoor cats safe. That being said, I'm personally strongly for keeping cats indoors if possible. My cat, Josie, was primarily an indoor cat, but we'd bring her outside for supervised yard times, and once she got used to that she'd make a break for going outside whenever she could. And then usually she'd wait by the door anywhere from 5 minutes to half an hour later to get let back in. So one night she got out after midnight, and I had just taken my sleeping pills, and I was too out of it to remember to check for her half an hour later, since I didn't want to try to chase her around the yard when she KNOWS she's smaller than me and can hide under the porch. And, uh. We haven't seen her since. It's been months. She was chipped and everything, so... probably guessing she's not still alive. She was only 4 years old and it really fucks me over, and we haven't let our new kitten out at all, supervised or not. Obviously anecdotal evidence isn't Totally Solid Proof or anything, but that's part of my reasoning, along with stats like @taxonomicAtrocity brought up and the fact that housecats are pretty bad for urban ecosystems. There's a few inside/outside cats in my neighborhood already.
