Are indoor cats as happy as outdoor cats?

jefferd18

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Are indoor cats as happy as outdoor cats? I know that outdoor cats don't live as long, and an indoor cat is safer. But I see some of my indoor cat look longlingly outdoors. Are we robbing them from living their lives to the fullest, despite the dangers?

Bill Maher said of this issue, “Married men live longer. Yes. And an indoor cat also lives longer. It's a furball with a broken spirit, that can only look out on a world it can never enjoy. But it does technically live longer.”

My great- grandmother, who just loved cats, has always worried that people were begning to treat cats like hothouse plants. I would be one of the people she complained about because I always wanted my cats to be safe, but in wanting that for them, maybe I cheated them.
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ArtNJ

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There is no question that an only cat in a small space whose humans work all day is going to lie around and sleep all day and, if given the chance, get fat. But adopt a matched pair of the same age and they will be friends -- two kittens adopted at the same time always are. They will play. Play with them yourself. They will still get lazy, eventually, because they are cats, but less so and less likely to be fat.

Indoor/outdoor happier than a cat with a playmate? No idea, and I've had both. I'll say this: my indoor/outdoor cats generally wanted to spend a good chunk of time outside if the weather was good and could get pretty passionate about it if thwarted. And they wailed like their lives depended on it at the door to the house when enemy cats cornered them 6-7 times over the years. They came home with scratches, but never a serious wound like the neighbor's cat got. One of them may have died years early due to lung scarring from heart worm. I don't know that for sure, didn't pay for an autopsy, and if it was that, I could have minimized it if I had known to spend the extra money on Revolution rather than the standard flea & tick. But I didn't know that, and she didn't have much fun dying because she was unable to breathe. You don't have to look too far to find many members with far worse stories.

I might have an indoor/outdoor cat again, if it seems that I have a cat that seems to truly need that or with behavior problems that I absolutely can't solve despite trying everything else. But I wouldn't make a cat that is happy inside into an indoor/outdoor cat because of some speculation that they might be happier outside.
 

Katie M

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My cats seem to be very happy indoors, Charlie in particular. I know he likely has no memory of his first two months when he was a feral kitten, but I'd like to think that on some level, he recognizes that his situation improved immensely after that.
 

EmersonandEvie

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Cats are predators. I love them (obviously, since I'm here!) but they can wreak absolute havoc on small rodent and songbird populations (see New Zealand and Australia). In a perfect world, all cats would be spayed/neutered and be indoor only. Not only are they safer and likely to live significantly longer than their outdoor brethren, but inside cats give native a break. Populations are already plummeting due to human overuse of the environment- they need a few stressors as they can have.
 

She's a witch

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I have one cat that is afraid of open door, not mentioning the outdoor, so I'm sure he's happier as indoor cat, although he just loves the fresh air coming from open window. But I'm sure 100% it's enough for him.

My girl though would probably be super happy as outdoor cat, as she's active and curious. But she hasn't been out there since we grabbed her from busy freeway, so yeah, it's safer for her not only due to predators, but probably she'd be too curious for her own good.

I strongly believe that even such cats can be very happy as indoor cats provided they have enriched environment at home and enough interaction with other animals, humans included. I realize some people assume cats are self reliant and low maintenance but it's not true in the case of indoor cats, they do require effort to be truly happy.

And lets remember that cats can do some damage to environment, hunting endangered creatures, in some places of the World more than in the other.
 

Silver Crazy

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My cat goes where I go, so if I am inside he is inside..If I go outside he comes out too. But if I leave and go to work or shopping he goes indoors and stays indoors until I arrive home.
I think because he is so territorial of his house and now so bonded to me he self imposes an indoor regime while I am away.
So how do i classify him? 90% indoor and 10 % outdoor under supervision I suppose.
He is perfectly happy the way things are and so am I.
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rubysmama

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I'm pretty sure Ruby's happy being an indoor only cat. I've had her almost 6 years now, and 2 or 3 times she's tentatively stepped out the front door onto the landing. Each time I've simply guided her back inside, with zero fuss from her.

She was a stray before she was rescued and taken to the shelter where I adopted her. When she arrived at the shelter, she had broken upper canine teeth. which needed to be extracted, and a wiggly eye, probably from a fight. Having experienced the bad side of being outside, I think she knows it's better inside.
 

FeebysOwner

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Bill Maher said of this issue, “Married men live longer. Yes. And an indoor cat also lives longer. It's a furball with a broken spirit, that can only look out on a world it can never enjoy. But it does technically live longer.”
So, that is really a very sad and disturbing analogy, tbh. Broken spirit? Mental attitude plays as big of a part on overall health - and longevity, especially in humans - as does anything else.

If you are able to enrich cats' lives indoors, I see no reason why they aren't - actually - happier. They don't have to fend off other animals, get into fights for territory, contract a varying number of diseases, and etc., etc., etc. You know the litany of issues.

I have had a few cats - one whose first 2 years of background is unknown - who when they got out were terrified to be outside and were very happy to get back inside.

The key to a happy cat - and, a good marriage - is putting the effort in to the relationship that is required to make sure there is no broken spirit.
 
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jefferd18

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~ Yes. Sometimes cats will go out for a while and stay in the yard. But they are much safer indoors. :catrub:

I don't disagree t that indoor cats are safer- I would never let mine outside because the road I live on is way too busy. But I do worry about them being bored.
 
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jefferd18

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There is no question that an only cat in a small space whose humans work all day is going to lie around and sleep all day and, if given the chance, get fat. But adopt a matched pair of the same age and they will be friends -- two kittens adopted at the same time always are. They will play. Play with them yourself. They will still get lazy, eventually, because they are cats, but less so and less likely to be fat.

Indoor/outdoor happier than a cat with a playmate? No idea, and I've had both. I'll say this: my indoor/outdoor cats generally wanted to spend a good chunk of time outside if the weather was good and could get pretty passionate about it if thwarted. And they wailed like their lives depended on it at the door to the house when enemy cats cornered them 6-7 times over the years. They came home with scratches, but never a serious wound like the neighbor's cat got. One of them may have died years early due to lung scarring from heart worm. I don't know that for sure, didn't pay for an autopsy, and if it was that, I could have minimized it if I had known to spend the extra money on Revolution rather than the standard flea & tick. But I didn't know that, and she didn't have much fun dying because she was unable to breathe. You don't have to look too far to find many members with far worse stories.

I might have an indoor/outdoor cat again, if it seems that I have a cat that seems to truly need that or with behavior problems that I absolutely can't solve despite trying everything else. But I wouldn't make a cat that is happy inside into an indoor/outdoor cat because of some speculation that they might be happier outside.

Indoor/outdoor would be the best scenerio for any living creature- but due to my busy road I just can't allow them to go out. They would most undoubtable die sooner but they also may die happy. I just don't know.
 
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jefferd18

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My cats seem to be very happy indoors, Charlie in particular. I know he likely has no memory of his first two months when he was a feral kitten, but I'd like to think that on some level, he recognizes that his situation improved immensely after that.

Sometimes when a cat had to rough it outdoors, he/she has no desire to ever venture out again.
 
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jefferd18

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Cats are predators. I love them (obviously, since I'm here!) but they can wreak absolute havoc on small rodent and songbird populations (see New Zealand and Australia). In a perfect world, all cats would be spayed/neutered and be indoor only. Not only are they safer and likely to live significantly longer than their outdoor brethren, but inside cats give native a break. Populations are already plummeting due to human overuse of the environment- they need a few stressors as they can have.

I have a problem with that theory. Yes, I know that cats are not native to most countries and are considered an invasive species, but they are kept in more today than they were 50- to hundreds of years ago- but yet NOW they are a threat to wildlife? I still say wildlife is plummeting due to man not cat.
 

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i've always raised human kitties that are outside as much as they are inside. had 1 inside cat whe seemed perma depressed.
my kitties usually live 17-22yrs.
if its a well fed muscular cat lifes good out there the top dangers to the kitty.
#1 humans by far ive seen folks putting poisonous food out, my cat led me to some of it to destroy.
humans will try take bats, hockey sticks, hoes n everything with spikes to cats, punched out neighbors trying.
#2 predators dogs, coyotes, racoons, eagles, hawks n owls all eat cats but most regions only have dogs n racoons so your cats pretty safe.
the cats that get as much of both are the happiest strongest cats i've ever had
 

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Mine sits at the door and SCREAMS to go out. (as if somehow he suddenly forgot about the cat door right in front of him).
One minute later you can look out the window and he'll see you and start SCREAMING to come back in. And if you don't open the door, he'll climb the glass panes, screaming the whole time.
Oh yeah.....remember that kitty door? :lol: :lol: :lol:

It's not so much outside...as it is "the other side"
 
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jefferd18

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I'm pretty sure Ruby's happy being an indoor only cat. I've had her almost 6 years now, and 2 or 3 times she's tentatively stepped out the front door onto the landing. Each time I've simply guided her back inside, with zero fuss from her.

She was a stray before she was rescued and taken to the shelter where I adopted her. When she arrived at the shelter, she had broken upper canine teeth. which needed to be extracted, and a wiggly eye, probably from a fight. Having experienced the bad side of being outside, I think she knows it's better inside.

Hi rubysmom! :)

I believe that Ruby had such horrific experiences from being outdoors that she has no desire to return. She is happy because she is loved,
 

Willow's Mom

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I can't have an indoor/outdoor cat because I live in a rented house in a small city. I adopted a kitten who had never been inside of a house before in her life.

It may not have been a perfect fit, but Willow would have been euthanized if she hadn't found a home. We make it work with a harness and leash and an astronaut-style bubble backpack. I am retired, which makes a difference, and I have other pets, although they aren't cats, who adore the kitten, play with her, and nurture her.

Broken spirit? No. Willow is a real life #AdventureKitty who could give any Instagram superstar or Amazon Influencer some pointers. She goes hiking in the forest with the rest of the family weekly as well as accompanying the dogs on their daily walks, running errands to pet friendly establishments, and has recently started feeling okay about going into the dog park safely in her astronaut bubble.

It seems to be working so far. People are much more supportive and less likely to laugh or assume mental illness than they were in the '80s, when my then-husband was labeled "the (crazy) cat man" just for taking Wallaby and Koala out of the car on their leashes to pee while I was busking with Wombat on my shoulders.

I think she's happy. She tells me she loves me. She is curious and fearless and playful and very affectionate. She enjoys meeting people and doing things and then coming home to the best food I can provide for her and a warm, soft bed to sleep in at night.

Of course it isn't perfect, but it is life.
 

Kieka

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Mine sits at the door and SCREAMS to go out. (as if somehow he suddenly forgot about the cat door right in front of him).
One minute later you can look out the window and he'll see you and start SCREAMING to come back in. And if you don't open the door, he'll climb the glass panes, screaming the whole time.
Oh yeah.....remember that kitty door? :lol: :lol: :lol:

It's not so much outside...as it is "the other side"
We call that screaming yelling for their "door witch" (in polite company). The fun part is we have two cats doors leading into the house so the cats dont have to walk around and we still get it. I've watched them on the camera walk up to the cat door when we aren't home, stare through it, poke their head into it to make it click (we call it knocking because you can hear the click of the mechanized unlocking from two rooms away), and then step back to wait. They've even started staring at the camera as if saying "hello, lazy humans..... door...." before walking away and coming back 15 minutes later to try again.
 
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jefferd18

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I can't have an indoor/outdoor cat because I live in a rented house in a small city. I adopted a kitten who had never been inside of a house before in her life.

It may not have been a perfect fit, but Willow would have been euthanized if she hadn't found a home. We make it work with a harness and leash and an astronaut-style bubble backpack. I am retired, which makes a difference, and I have other pets, although they aren't cats, who adore the kitten, play with her, and nurture her.

Broken spirit? No. Willow is a real life #AdventureKitty who could give any Instagram superstar or Amazon Influencer some pointers. She goes hiking in the forest with the rest of the family weekly as well as accompanying the dogs on their daily walks, running errands to pet friendly establishments, and has recently started feeling okay about going into the dog park safely in her astronaut bubble.

It seems to be working so far. People are much more supportive and less likely to laugh or assume mental illness than they were in the '80s, when my then-husband was labeled "the (crazy) cat man" just for taking Wallaby and Koala out of the car on their leashes to pee while I was busking with Wombat on my shoulders.

I think she's happy. She tells me she loves me. She is curious and fearless and playful and very affectionate. She enjoys meeting people and doing things and then coming home to the best food I can provide for her and a warm, soft bed to sleep in at night.

Of course it isn't perfect, but it is life.

How could Willow not be happy- she has an enviable life. Thank you for giving it to her. I honestly think she would have been broken down if she had stayed as an outdoor feral.
 

She's a witch

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I have a problem with that theory. Yes, I know that cats are not native to most countries and are considered an invasive species, but they are kept in more today than they were 50- to hundreds of years ago- but yet NOW they are a threat to wildlife? I still say wildlife is plummeting due to man not cat.
"Our findings suggest that free-ranging cats cause substantially greater wildlife mortality than previously thought and are likely the single greatest source of anthropogenic mortality for US birds and mammals. "
"We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually."
The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States

Most of the damage is done by un-owned cats (two third), but in general I agree with you that it's men fault even if cats are direct killers: after all, we introduced cats and we're the reason the un-owned cats' population is so high.
 
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