posted
A friend of ours is currently out of town for a long weekend, which means his two 8-month old jet black kittens are temporarily rooming with us. We're having a great time watching them run around the house and wrestle with each other.
They're both 100% indoor cats, while my childhood cat, Spot, wasn't even allowed into the house for the first year we had him. I've never lived with just-indoor cats before, and it makes me think... I've heard people argue that cats should always be kept indoors, that it's cruel to let them outside where they might get killed by a car or another animal. But when I watch these two little guys chasing after a feather on a stick, I feel sorry that their entire world consists of the humans they're living with.
My cat loved being with me, and he was a wonderful house pet. He slept on the foot of my bed every night, and slept in front of the fireplace in the winter. But when we went to school and work during the day, he had free run of the outdoor world, both our half-acre of overgrown weeds and everything beyond. I have no idea what he used to do all day. When we came home, we'd go to the back porch and yell "Here, kitty kitty kitty" at the top of our lungs, and he'd appear in the distance, running at full speed to the house. Sometimes he'd bring a mouse or a lizard, or even a bird, which he'd play with for a while and then eat.
Every once in a while, he'd come home with a new notch in his ear or a scratch on his nose, and he dislocated his knee one time when he misjudged the height of a fence. He always healed up as good as new, if not a little wiser.
He lived 13 full years, as both a guest in our home and as ruler of the backyard. Though he was certainly at a higher risk running around outside than he would have been locked in our house all the time, I don't think it would have been right to deprive him of the rich life he led apart from us.
While I love them dearly, and understand that not all neighborhoods are as cat-friendly as our semi-rural cul-de-sac was, I can't help but feel like these little guys are missing out on a lot in life.
Posts: 2220 | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
I can relate completely. I never had an indoor-only cat until I moved to Baltimore. The city is just too dangerous for a cat to roam the street. Now that I'm in a 3rd floor apartment, there's no easy way to let them roam. But if I lived in a house in the suburbs, I'd probably let them come and go as they pleased. (And I'd probably be getting another one in the near future.)
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Yeah Aylear, I feel the same way. In some circumstances forcing a cat to stay indoors at all times is necessary, and some cats would just as soon stay inside 24x7 anyway, but not giving them the option does seem to me to deprive them of something huge.
We're going to be moving soon from the country into the city, and I think that our cat is going to have to become an indoor cat. I feel fairly bad about it; I'd really like to be able to let her run free. I don't think it'd be possible, but I'd like to.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I want to get a cat so badly, but he or she is staying inside... It's too dangerous out. There's the skunks, the water, the cars, random children. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my little kitty... But the way my apartment is now... I think outside would be safer.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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A cat who has never been outdoors could really care less if it can't go outside, while the possible side effects of a cat wandering around anywhere that has vehicles include death. Also, the effects of felines on the environment in some areas is pretty drastic. Not so much from cats with owners, it's true, but they are still a factor.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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The cat (Puss) I had growing up longed to be outside. I really felt bad for him. My mother would not have a cat in the house unless 1) It was declawed so it couldn't damage her house and 2) It must forever stay indoors because it is too dangerous outside, especially for a declawed cat. We tried to never let him outdoors, but it was in his blood. His mother was an outdoor cat belonging to my friend, and his father was a stray.
He could smell the outdoor air when we had the windows open or came through the door. He would stare out the window for hours. He was always trying to sneak out, and when he did, he got totally hostile to anyone who attempted to get near him. We neutered him, but he acted as male as ever including "spraying" the house and trying to "mate" with things. He was a very unhappy, unfulfilled cat.
When I was at college (I was the only one willing to put up with Puss' cattiness) my mom let him loose on a large rural property of a friend. Our friend was to look after the cat, but shortly afterward, Puss took off and was never seen again.
Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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But Storm, all cats will eventually die, no matter how carefully you try to protect them.
Having grown up with a cat who had the choice, I believe that they are generally better off with the autonomy (and risks) than they are in a closed space with no entertainment other than their humans. Especially when the humans are gone half the day, it seems like it can be a very unsatisfying life. A feather on a stick dragged around by a person who quickly loses interest in it is a poor substitute for the challenge of hunting a bird. I don't think Spot was a threat to the local bird population; he only caught one about every 6 months, but he sure did seem to enjoy it. He did catch a lot of mice, which were a nuisance to our neighbor's grain shed.
Again, I know that it's not always possible, in urban areas or on busy streets, to let a cat outdoors. But even if a cat doesn't know what it's missing, I still think they're better off with a big wide world to explore when humans aren't around to amuse them.
posted
This has promted me to check the classifieds for a cat for my family. My kids really need one. They would love it...
Posts: 995 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I would say that if it's a choice between the cat been really, really happy in the outdoors and probably dead within a couple of years, with the death probably being highly painful; or just kind of happy indoors, but alive for his full life span, I can't really see the choice.
In any case, the whole 'everything gotta die some time' argument is evidence of silliness of the worst kind. It's one of those reasons Matt Groening made fun of in his 'Life is Hell' series--you can use it to excuse pretty much everything.
I really groove on you, Ayelar. I hope I'm not coming across as being too much of a prick by saying this. Please, understand that I think a cat *should* be allowed outside if there is a low to nonexistent chance of being hit by a car. I'm not saying cats should never be allowed outside.
I do think that when we humans adopt or raise animals, we are signing on to an almost parental role to safeguard our animals and to help keep them from harm, or in the case where we are raising them for food, to let as little harm come to them as possible right up until the point where we quickly and humanely kill them.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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In the case of cats who have been raised indoors, I think they don't know what they're missing so they don't miss it. I've had indoor cats who were terrified of the outdoor world and had no interest in ever exploring it. I do sometimes feel bad for indoor cats who were once outdoor, although I do think that they can choose to be indoor cats (my parents have a cat that used to be wild kitty who has chosen in the last month that he wants to be a completely indoor kitty).
My cat, Bo, was a strictly outdoor cat before I got him (when he was 7 months old). He wasn't really even treated like a pet (my grandma had him because she wanted him to catch mice, but she said she never saw him with one). Because I don't live in a place where it is safe for outdoor kitties, I made him be an indoor kitty. He got outside once (about a year and a half ago) and I hadn't even realized he had gotten out until he howled and howled to be let back in (he couldn't have been out more than about 2 hours). Since then, I haven't ever seen him try to get get out, although he loves looking out doors (especially when they're open and there's only a screen door) and windows. I did feel bad about forcing him to be an indoor kitty, but he doesn't seem to be unhappy with it at all, so I no longer feel like I'm depriving him of happiness - he's one of the happiest cats I've ever seen. I also felt bad about him being home alone during the day, which is part of the reason we got a second cat (one we raised to be an indoor kitty from the time she was 3 weeks old) - so he has someone else who can play with him, besides just us.
posted
I'm sorry, not only is it better for your cat's health, but it is also a nuisance for those in your neighborhood to let your cat roam free. I love my cat and try to make sure he has a happy and adventuresome existence indoors. I also love the birds at my birdfeeder and the fish I keep in my pond in my backyard. I love the squirrels and bunnies in my neighborhood. However, my neighbors cats are allowed to roam free and we've had a couple of scuffles. Cats are predators and they don't kill to eat anymore since they are very well fed at home.
A feather on a stick is not the only entertainment our cat gets, either. Your house can provide a lot of excitement for your cat with various vanatage points, comfy spots and toys. My cat plays soccer with his toys and loves boxes and other cave like areas. He is active and curious.
posted
Two cats definitely seem to be a good solution for cats that must be kept indoors. The two we're catsitting have a lot of fun wrestling with each other, and I imagine they provide a lot more varied entertainment for each other than the ball with the bell in it. It's fun watching them play hide-and-seek.
quote:I would say that if it's a choice between the cat been really, really happy in the outdoors and probably dead within a couple of years, with the death probably being highly painful; or just kind of happy indoors, but alive for his full life span, I can't really see the choice.
And I can't see the choice, either, yet I've reached the opposite conclusion as you. If I were guaranteed to live to be 110 years old, but it meant I had to stay inside a single house for all 110 of those years? There's a reason that confinement in a jail cell is a punishment. It's possible that I'll die tomorrow, and I'm not thrilled about that. But it's a risk I'm willing to take to fully experience life on my own.
Of course, I also think that cats tend to be pretty good about looking out for themselves. Unless the road you live on is very busy, or has a lot of reckless speeders, your cat is probably going to figure out pretty quick that cars are nasty and just keep away from them. I guess I'm thinking along the lines of a good neighborhood being suburban to rural, where there is regular but light traffic never faster than 35 mph, and houses are more than 20 feet apart from each other. If people drive faster than that, or if traffic is heavy, then yes, that's too much to ask of a cat. But then, you never know. We live in an apartment complex with a parking lot for a yard, on a very busy street, and there's a sweet, streetwise cat wandering around our porches all the time. He seems well-cared-for, judging by the bird bell on his collar, healthy weight, and lack of fleas, and he's super friendly. I let him in our entryway one night when it was very cold out, and he was howling within 5 minutes to be let outside.
posted
I raised one of my favorite cats, Max, from kittenhood. At the time I lived on a commune out in the woods quite a way outside of town, so of course he had the run of the place. One of my favorite memories of him is the way he used to ride an elderly dog he was friends with around the property. The woman I was living with and I broke up, and she kept Max. When she moved back into town, she lived in an area not unlike the kind of setting you're describing, Ayelar, and she let Max go outside as he pleased. One night he was hit, and dragged himself about a block to her front door, where he died trying to get inside. This was over a decade ago, and I still miss that cat. I don't think that letting him outside was the right thing to do there, but I'm also not sure that taking him out of the country was either. I think that in that case, it might have been best to have given him to the woman's mother, who lived in another house on the property.
With my current cat, though, I don't think that it's that clear cut. I don't know anyone in village I live in that would like a cat right now, and besides, she's more attached to us than any other cat I've ever had. She very literally picked us, climbing up into our laps when we were sitting outside, "helping" me rake leaves last fall, hanging out in trees right next to my head when I was doing something she didn't want to be involved with, like watering, and joining us on walks. Now that we've started letting her into the house, she follows us everywhere, and sits on our laps if we sit down for even a second.
I think that, even if I could find somebody to take her, she'd be pretty unhappy if she lost us. I also think that she'll be pretty unhappy not being able to go outside. Right now she spends proably 80% of her time indoors, but every now and then she'll become very restless, and won't seem happy until she's gotten to spend a day or so outside hunting (she seems to hunt mice exclusively, and they're a bit of a problem in the area, so I haven't belled her or anything). I'm worried about how she'll do transitioning to an all-indoor cat, but I don't think I have any other choice once we've moved.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Noemon, the cat will adapt over time. My cats have gone from outdoor to indoor cats and there is a period of adjustment for the cat where you have to be very alert when you go in and out of the house, but after that, they acclimate.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
When living in the pseudo country, having an indoor only cat is a crime!
They LOVE the outdoors!
My car Skitty lived for 17 years and died of cancer as an indoor-outdoor cat. My cat Alley is going on 5 years now and is infinitely more happy than my brother's cats which were kept indoors all the time.
I understand that in the city having a cat indoors is the only option, but in any sort of area they can play and hunt and have fun, its awful to deprive them of that. Its like keeping a dog outside on a chain at all times.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Cats, despite their level of intelligence, are only acting on instinct when they try to get outside. It's not right to let your cat roam in the outdoors and let it get sick off of dead bird and get run over by drunk college students. As much as cats want to get outside, they don't know what will happen. You have to regulate its activities to indoors. Give the cat something to do when you are gone. Like other cats to play with. Put some catnip on their tree and the cats will have a few hours of psychopathic rampaging fun. Posts: 40 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I dunno, after Puss I am convinced that some cats will never be happy indoors even if they never set foot outside. The great outdoors calls to them from deep down in their DNA. All they have to do is smell it.
Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I wonder if Invisible Fence works for cats? (It's worked well with our dogs--they can run and explore anywhere they want within the bounds of our property. I have seen the younger dog chase deer across the yard up to the fence, then skid to a halt, barking, as if to say, "Get back here, you stupid deer! That's not fair!"
Posts: 1512 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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Well-fed domestic cats will kill without being hungry, unlike wild predators.
Domestic cats aren't as vulnerable to disease and scarcity of prey as wild predators.
Then there's the whole issue of the density of predators in a given area.
Whatever other rationale you might want to use for having cats outside, they are definitely not a "natural" addition to the ecosystem, which is already strained by other factors.
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