Indoor vs Outdoor cats

First of all... sorry if this is the wrong forum :S I thought this might be best as I could see it fitting under "cat care".

What is the best/safest/kindest way of "housing" your cat? Is it best to keep them indoors all the time? Is it best to let them out during the day, and in at night?.... or is it better to have them roaming free... doing what they want?

The reason i'm asking this is because i've always had indoor/outdoor cats... but i've had rotten rotten luck with 2 of the 3 previous cats i've had. One was hit by a car, because we lived on a main road. The other jumped a fence when she was 5 months old, and got attacked by a dog and had to be put down.

Dad reckons it's absolutely cruel to keep a cat locked up indoors all day and night because they're meant to be able to go outside, and hunt and do all that other stuff that cats are naturally meant to do. Apparently it's also good for them to eat grass, so they don't get upset stomachs from all the furballs.

Since moving out of home last September, I knew straight away that I wanted a cat... so this is the first time i've ever had a cat to look after, truly on my own. I personally keep her indoors, even though she has a spack attack twice daily, and runs up all my screen doors. She's got one scratching post... but that's a little too small I think. Plus she's got a couple of "fishing rod" toys... which she absolutely loves. Is this enough to keep her mind occupied, or do you think she'd be going mental, being stuck indoors 24/7? Especially since she was apparently a stray cat before I got her.

She doesn't seem to want to be outside constantly... as she will come back on her own after an hour or two... and then rest inside. Though i've pretty much stopped her going outside, since the neighbours caught her, and were going to send her to the RSPCA... even though she was wearing a collar... because they thought she was a "stray".

So... opinions?

The modern domestic cat has no niche in the native ecology and should be indoors. Cats are a major factor in the reduced numbers of songbirds and small mammals.

Is it "cruel" to keep a cat indoors? I wouldn't think it's any more cruel than letting them out and exposing them to all the diseases, parasites, predators, dogs, cruel people, and cars that they'll find outdoors.

The best solution is probably what many of our members here do, and that is an enclosed outdoor cat run that protects both the cat and nature.

No queastion about it cats live much longer healthier lives inside. As you said you have had two cats die young due to being outside.
If you can afford to build a outside enclosure then let them out in that..many leash train their cats and take them out on a leash.
I also thought cats need to be outside to be happy. I now have a nice large fenced in Purrfect fence system that mine go out in that. But never will I let them roam...To many bad things can and do happen to cats allowed to come and go out as they want..

Yeah... i've recently been looking for leashes/harnesses suitable for cats. I live in a complex, and there are 3 other units in tis complex. It's pretty big. Marmalade likes to roam all through the place. I know there's another black cat that roams free around here as well, which she startled. I found that pretty funny. I don't let her go outside on her own... and I bring out her "fishing rod" toy, and dry food treats to try and keep her within my unit. Though that doesn't work for long. Once she's out of my unit, she's really hard to see in the thick bushes. I have no way of catching her at all either. Once I have enough money, I will by a cat run.... if my harness/leash idea doesn't work.

The benefit of an indoor/outdoor cat is that outdoors is a very mentally stimulating environment and outdoor cats tend to get more exercise.

The downside is that there are numerous hazards to both the cats and the environment, including cars, dogs, aggressive feral tomcats, communicable diseases, chemical spills, poisonous flora, fleas and other parasites, cruel humans, and even well fed cats can attack nests and hatchlings of endangered local songbirds for sport and ultimately they are a non-native predator to North America and Australia alike.

Unlike dogs, for which regular walks are very important for overall mental and physical health, there really is no good reason for a domestic cat to be outdoors, and they do thrive in indoor environments.

I would highly recommend an indoor only environment and investing in shelves/trees or other items for kitty to perch and jump/climb on, along with toys like little rattle mouse and a da bird for exercise, and your cat will be very happy and long-lived. You can do the leash walks, but its nothing like a dog and pretty slow-going or worse and some cats that regular walk outside can turn into door-dashers and get themselves lost.

I prefer indoors only, for the reasons you stated about your unfortunate deaths in cats. There's just too much danger outdoors for them.

If you want to give the cat the benefit of exploring the outdoors, try a harness and leash? At least they'd be under your supervision at all times and they can enjoy being outside at the same time.

Or another option is getting a nice cat enclosure for them to roam around a bit in your yard. I recently discovered the cat-tent for outdoors, but I am not sure if it's big enough. There's also an enclosure that you can attach to a window or door and your cat can come and go as pleased, in a safe enclosed environment.

I apologize if these suggestions has already been suggested.. I really glanced through the responses, lol.

I would either keep them in all the time (ours are 100% indoor cats) or only be outside under supervision. Either train to a harness/leash and go out with them or build/buy a sturdy enclosed cat enclosure where they can sit outside in safety.

Far too many dangers outside now to let them out the backdoor and not know if or when they will return.

There are a lot of risks letting a cat outside - from other domestic animals attacking, to wild animals attacking, ingesting a poison, getting hit by a car, getting injured by another human....the list goes on.

IMO they are far safer indoors. That said, I do have outdoor/farm cats. They're all S/N, receive vet care - and I live in the country. Many of them are seniors & have been born/raised outdoors.