Indoor cats

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Pastrylil
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Indoor cats

Post by Pastrylil »

Hello, has anyone ever started to keep a cat who's used to going outdoors as an indoor cat? I feel it's cruel to start doing this when they're used to going outside, and I also feel there's going to be a lot more work for me: more play sessions, walks, clearing up etc. Me and DD1are at loggerheads, and we both think we're in the right.
If anyone has done this, how did you do it and what would I need to consider? If people agree it would be cruel does anyone know how we could stop him hunting so much?
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Mollycat
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Re: Indoor cats

Post by Mollycat »

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, a cat who hunts a lot is likely to be much harder to keep indoors than one who isn't all that bothered. Whether your boy is willing to become an indoor cat, that is the question, more than whether it's ok or not. In other words, it has to be up to the cat, regardless of the household humans' views.

I have indoor cats because an indoor home is all I have to offer. For that reason I took on cats that were adult and already indoor only, and the local rescue I got Molly from will not rehome kittens to indoor homes as they don't agree with forcing them. I don't really think it's possible to fill an outdoor cat's life with enough replacement stimulation in an indoor home, which is essentially just a big comfortable cage. Interactions with other cats and other animals, the breeze on fur and grass and giving life to dead leaves and litter, sunshine, roaming, marking a territory, we can't make up for the loss of all that with a fluffy thing on a string and a couple of platforms by the window for a cat that really wants them.
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fjm
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Re: Indoor cats

Post by fjm »

I agree with Mollycat - a cat who is used to living much of its life outside is going to find it very hard to adapt to confinement indoors. If the major concern is the impact on the local wildlife I think the ethical situation rather depends upon which country you are in. In the UK the small rodents that cats mostly prey upon have pretty robust populations, and the RSPB reckons they do not have a massive impact on the bird population - far less than habitat loss etc: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildl ... -declines/. But a break away collar and a couple of bells can help to warn prey in time and cut down significantly on the kill rate, as can keeping the cat in at night if he will accept it. Cats particularly like to hunt at dawn and dusk, so feeding and playing in the evening may help keep him at home. Another compromise would be to cat proof your garden - reducing his range while still giving him access to the great outdoors - but that might be difficult and expensive.
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susand
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Re: Indoor cats

Post by susand »

I have concerns about wildlife too but I take the following precautions to minimise the amount of birds caught and killed by my cat as follows;

1. I only let him out during daylight hours. From dusk until dawn he stays inside. Cats do most of their hunting in the twilight hours and at night so that should cut down on alot of fatalities, including the cats as 70% of cats that get killed by a car are hit when it’s dark.

2. I put two bells on his (safety!) collar. Cats can learn to control the sound from one bell whilst stalking but they can’t with two. Birds then get a bit of warning from the jingling and can fly off. A double bell cut down my cat’s hunting from everyday to about once a month as the birds could literally hear him coming. You can buy extra loud bells online if you want to but I’ve never tried them.

3. They can literally see him coming as well as I have taken to using brightly coloured collars since I heard birds see the bright colours (which is why berries are bright red) and are alerted to danger. You can buy special collars (called Protect Stop Cat) online which look like a garishly coloured Elizabethan ruff, which use this idea. I haven’t tried one of these myself though.

4. Bird feeders - not necessary, birds will find their own food - however if you have one, ensure it is located somewhere puss can’t reach and there is nowhere near for him to hide so he can leap out and pounce on any visiting feathered friends. A bird table on a stand in the middle of the lawn perhaps if you really want one.

Interesting link fjm, thanks. My neighbour has made it very clear she doesn’t like my cat and keeps making snide comments about cats killing birds so she might get a copy put through her door (or somewhere else that the sun doesn’t shine).
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Re: Indoor cats

Post by booktigger »

If he's a hunter, he's likely not going to be the kind of cat that will cope with an indoor only life, regardless of stimulation, I've found that the cats that tolerate it best are ones that have lived on the street fending for themselves and are grateful for somewhere safe with regular meals - I even fostered one litter of kittens where the owner hadn't bothered keeping them in till we took them about 6-7 weeks old, I didn't even think and homed one as an indoor only cat and the woman nearly gave her back, as she was constantly trying to escape (and she wanted indoor only as she lived on a busy road).
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susand
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Re: Indoor cats

Post by susand »

In my experience it is impossible to keep a cat that has previously been an outdoor cat inside 24/7. However, I have been able to make keeping them in at night work. There is complaining of course and the cat flap has to be barricaded to stop them breaking out but I’ve found that they do settle to the routine of out during the day and in at night after a week or so.

My first cat, George, was a previously outdoor cat and I tried to have him as indoor only but it was a disaster. He spent all day by the door miaowing to go out but was obviously really unhappy and was stress grooming to the point he had no trousers left! After about a month I relented and he was much happier. A couple of years later I decided to keep him in at night because of the road deaths/wildlife issue and he was OK with that once he got into a routine with it.

I’ve since had other previously outdoor cats that have also come round to the idea of being kept in at night. I’ve never tried to keep an outdoor cat inside full-time though since my experience with George.
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Mollycat
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Re: Indoor cats

Post by Mollycat »

That reminds me of my ex aunt in law's cat, a prolific fighter in a densely populated area who tested positive for "cat AIDS" - FelV I think. More than one disease has been referred to that way. He had to be kept in to prevent other cats that he fought with from catching it too. He went so stir crazy in the end the only kind thing was to have him put to sleep.
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susand
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Re: Indoor cats

Post by susand »

Oh, that is so sad! Bless him. I live in a very, very rural area and some of the local rescues will sometimes home cats like that to isolated farms.
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