Nee kitten. is it indoor or outdoor cat?

[Catherine_l90]

We are getting a kitten in 2 weeks. Its dad is a pedigree BSH and its mum a tabby BSH. The mum has been kept indoors and is very well looked after. We were planning on getting a cat that (once its old enough) we can let out during the day, while we are at work, and back in the evening.now we have seen the mum so happy, we are reconsidering. Do we keep this cat as a house cat or let it out eventually? What is best for the cat, particularly with our working life style during the week?

[Hunnybunny]

As many know I am completely opposed to enforcing confinement on a cat that doesn't want to be 'indoor only'. I know very few cats that this lifestyle suits. Saying that I'd love mine to 'choose' not to go out as it would do my blood pressure good.

I think you have the right attitude and want the best for your cat so go with the flow, let the cat decide. Honestly its mot a decision humans should make on behalf of our cats and I think its both selfish and wrong to take on a cat having made that decision for it so I say again, let the cat decide and if your very, very lucky it may not bother with wanting to go out but unfortunately I doubt that!!!

I must say there are exceptions to this, some medical conditions dictate a cat need to live a restricted life style although tripods, non aggressive/territorial FIV's I regard as NOT being indoor only.

If you want or circumstances dictate you need an indoor cat get one of the hundreds that are in rescues desperate for a home because they are inflicted with medical conditions. We currently have a blind and deaf duo that need restricted access but even these guys we'll hold out for a home with a 100% cat proofed garden to give them the best possible quality of life we can get them.

[Mave]

I agree with HB, in fact we had a deaf and blind cat and he even he loved to go out with us and smell the garden and fresh air in summer. I don't live near a main road though, if I did I think I'd have to catproof.

[Walesgang]

We have a blind cat. She, and her housemates have access to a large, cat proof garden.

I have lost 2 cats to traffic over a 15 year period and feel that our current arrangement is the best compromise for the cats to behave normally and for us to have piece of mind.

[lilynmitz]

I've been lucky in that my last two cats are self-imposed indoor cats - Lily has very little interest in going out, and Mitz, who was blind, would only stay out for short periods in our cat-safe garden, so as HunnyBunny says, it helped my blood pressure no end. But for more "normal" cats, I do feel some degree of freedom in outdoor access is better for them. But I would NEVER shut a cat out without it having the option to come back in when it wanted, ie via a catflap. And I would always keep it in at night, as this is when most cats get into fights, run over, go missing, and kill most prey (the latter at dusk and dawn). This also assumes that the area is reasonably safe for cats to go out. If not, cat proof your garden, so they can have free outdoor access without the risk and the heartache.

[booktigger]

While I would give the cat the choice, I don't agree with putting them out when you go to work and letting them in when you get home, if they get into a fight or something, they have no way of getting into a safe place, and you won't be able to deal with any injuries until you get back. I prefer my cats to only go out when I am around, and don't like going out and leaving them outside

[Mave]

I prefer my cats to only go out when I am around, and don't like going out and leaving them outside

Me too.

[Marmalade77]

I too think its unfair to keep a cat in as that would be like never letting a child out for fear of something bad happening. I think they need a choice. However I too would try to get them into a routine - maybe an hour or two outside when you get home from work, then in for meal and bed? We got our last two cats into that routine.

[Themogfather]

I have always had indoor cats due to living in flats and i believe that you cant make a outdoor cat into a indoor cat unless the cat wants to . I once took on a 18 month old who i was told was a indoor cat ( i took the cat on as the owners had said they would dump it or PTS. It was evedent within a few weeks that Lucy wanted/needed to be a outdoor cat. she drove my other two cats mad and took every chance to get outside. Luckly my friend took her on and she was very happy. Unfortunatly she was run over about 5 years latter but she had 5 happy years rather than 15 unhappy ones.
My two present cats are indoor and seem really happy , Beauty i think would like a garden to potter around in but i think she would be a devil with birds. Lilly aparently didnt venture out much at the rescue. they are both content.
If you are going to let your cat out i would have a cat flap so your cat can come and go as it wants once it is old enough. If you are worried about it getting lost you can buy trackers.
If your kitten shows interest in going out i would let it .
Good luck with your new kitten what ever you ( the cat) decide

[Carol B]

Over the years I have had 4 "indoor" cats, 2 of which are currently still enjoying a very pampered life.
The main reason they are indoors is I live in a 3rd floor flat, which is on a main road. But before anybody thinks in such circumstances I should never had had a cat all of them have arrived by choice or I have rescued them. My first little girl made her way up the stairs and was curled up by my kitchen window. I found her there when I was going to work so immediately took her back downstairs assuming she had mistaken the block she lived in. However when I got home that evening she was back. I opened my front door and in she strolled and that is where she chose to stay for about 7 years.
I then vowed not to have anymore. But a few months later I noticed a small black and white cat scavenging from one of the bins at the back of my block of flats. Went down a few times to give her some food and noticed she kept looking at the garages, and that is where she kept running back too.
So one very rainy Saturday morning me and my neighbour (bless him) got some step ladders and I climbed on the roof of the garage, looked down the side and there she was with 4 beautiful kittens wedged between the garage wall and a garden wall. A phone call to the RSPCA proved useless so in the end me and my neighbour managed to dig a brick out of the side of the garage and with a tin of tuna she came out followed by her babies.
Immediately they came up to my flat and there they stayed until old enough to be rehomed via Hounslow Animal Welfare. The two girls went together and I then got told that somebody was interested in one of my boys.....but how could I let him go on his own.
So I kept two boys and mum........and I do not think they have suffered for not being outside. The boys are now 17, mum passed away 8 years ago. They do have access to a balcony but only when I am home and they are always in and out of my neighbours flat.
They have the run of my flat, plenty of hiding places, load of things to play with and grass to eat. And I get peace of mind knowing that they are safe.