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Do You Let Your Cats Outside?
- Thread starter Erin80
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I can think of about a million reasons why indoor is always better. Maybe 1-2 for outdoor. So the clear winner here is indoor lol. Always will be too. Small domesticated pet animals have no place being outside unsupervised
Nope. A month ago, the news talked about wild dogs that have killed 32 cats and dogs. Even if they're on leases. Because of that I won't take my cat on a walk. Every day someone posts about lost animals on fb and next door mostly. Too many things can happen
Most of my cats are indoor/outdoor. I live on an acreage in the middle of nowhere, in farm country, surround by hundreds or thousands of acres of fields depending on the direction you look. Although there is wildlife in the area I also have 3 large dogs to protect the property and are good about keeping predators away for the most part. My closest neighbors are over half a mile away, so I don't really need to worry about humans, and no real traffic. I live miles down narrow gravel roads (not really two lanes more like a little over 2 vehicles wide) and seeing more then a couple cars in one day is a busy day.
If I lived in town, or closer to neighbors or the highway (or a busy road) I wouldn't let any of them out though. I'm also pretty sure I wouldn't have as many cats either, all but two are in one way or another the result of cats being dumped out here. Keeping all 10 cats inside causes them to get on each others nerves.
They do all spend the winter inside, since it's so cold here though. They also do come inside at night, most of the time, there are random times in the summer that they just refuse. They help keep the mouse population in check, it's mostly grain fields around my house, so they are doing a job.
If I lived in town, or closer to neighbors or the highway (or a busy road) I wouldn't let any of them out though. I'm also pretty sure I wouldn't have as many cats either, all but two are in one way or another the result of cats being dumped out here. Keeping all 10 cats inside causes them to get on each others nerves.
They do all spend the winter inside, since it's so cold here though. They also do come inside at night, most of the time, there are random times in the summer that they just refuse. They help keep the mouse population in check, it's mostly grain fields around my house, so they are doing a job.
Several neighbors on our "reduced speed" street let their cats out, but we're rather close to the main drag, so I think it's too dangerous. Mowgli has a secured balcony he can hang out on, but otherwise stays indoors. Our last cat went for a walk in his harness every day, but Mowgli has some health problems (IBD and allergies), so I prefer not to get him the full round of "outdoor" vaccinations.
Count is indoor only. I live in a busy city so chances of him being ran over by a car is high, I live on the seventh floor so he has to climb a lot to come home, he is a purebred cat so chances of him being stolen is high, the neighborhood cats would destroy Count since he is a kitten, a lot of diesase out there, should I go on? I don't ever see myself letting my cat out.
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Greg and arnold go outside most days for an hour or two, even in the winter.
But they are in a fenced enclosure and I sit with them and watch over them.
I think it enhances their lives and improves their health........ think of kids today playing video games instead of going outside.
But I understand not everyone has the time to sit by their cats outside or an area to fence off.
I have had to chase away foxes and recently even a coyote.
I would not let the boys out on their own.
I hope to buy a neighbors catio who is selling her house. Then the boys will really be spoilt.
But they are in a fenced enclosure and I sit with them and watch over them.
I think it enhances their lives and improves their health........ think of kids today playing video games instead of going outside.
But I understand not everyone has the time to sit by their cats outside or an area to fence off.
I have had to chase away foxes and recently even a coyote.
I would not let the boys out on their own.
I hope to buy a neighbors catio who is selling her house. Then the boys will really be spoilt.
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My husband thinks it's boring for the cats to be inside all the time.....which is why I asked this question.
We live way out in the country on a gravel road - hardly any cars. Our neighbours all love animals, and one has 3 cats of their own (indoor). We do have large raptor birds here (eagles and hawks) which is why my neighbour keeps their cats inside. We are surrounded by forest. Some days I think our cats would be just fine going outside, and I wonder if it would improve their quality of life. There are zero other cats around. We did let our previous cat out, and he was fine out there.
As of now they are indoor only - I'm nervous to let them out, and I'm also nervous they will bother neighbours if they decide to poop in someone's garden (there are only 3 other houses on our road). Our neighbour two houses up just got a puppy who I know will run loose, so there's another strike against letting them out. I will most likely keep them indoors only. I wish my husband was up for building a catio, haha.....but I doubt that!
We live way out in the country on a gravel road - hardly any cars. Our neighbours all love animals, and one has 3 cats of their own (indoor). We do have large raptor birds here (eagles and hawks) which is why my neighbour keeps their cats inside. We are surrounded by forest. Some days I think our cats would be just fine going outside, and I wonder if it would improve their quality of life. There are zero other cats around. We did let our previous cat out, and he was fine out there.
As of now they are indoor only - I'm nervous to let them out, and I'm also nervous they will bother neighbours if they decide to poop in someone's garden (there are only 3 other houses on our road). Our neighbour two houses up just got a puppy who I know will run loose, so there's another strike against letting them out. I will most likely keep them indoors only. I wish my husband was up for building a catio, haha.....but I doubt that!
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I think you also have to worry about coyotes, foxes and other wild animals. I would not let my boys out unescorted if I lived where you do.
You can often buy large used chain link dog pens at very low prices. (far below the cost of a new one or buying the materials and making it yourself) Some even have a chain link roof on them. Even if its not very large, it will still give them fresh air, interesting things to see and smell, and they will be safe.
Mine are indoor/outdoor. We have an automatic cat door that locks and unlocks at specific times so they do have a curfew which I enforce by calling them in each evening. That same cat door denies access to other critters and our yard is set up with many escape routes should something be chasing them. We also keep up on their shots and I take them in for the slightest issue. We do have a catio for bad weather and evenings but the cats rarely use the litter box and go in it maybe once a week. Part of that though is Rocket claiming it as hers and not sharing well.
There is definitely a part of me who would like to do indoor only (which is not an invitation to try to convince me there are other factors in play that make it not my choice). I do realize the safety risk with going outside and try to mitigate them as much as possible. But they do get much more engagement from going outside and seem to enjoy zooming up trees in the neighborhood. I know they are physically stronger then if they were indoor only. Our street is a dead end loop deal with the neighboring street so we have less traffic. My parents are also home all day and spend a lot of that time outside, so the cats tend to stay closer to home and with them. I have done GPS collars on them so I know their normal route of travel (Link has the largest range while the other two stay near the house).
There is definitely a part of me who would like to do indoor only (which is not an invitation to try to convince me there are other factors in play that make it not my choice). I do realize the safety risk with going outside and try to mitigate them as much as possible. But they do get much more engagement from going outside and seem to enjoy zooming up trees in the neighborhood. I know they are physically stronger then if they were indoor only. Our street is a dead end loop deal with the neighboring street so we have less traffic. My parents are also home all day and spend a lot of that time outside, so the cats tend to stay closer to home and with them. I have done GPS collars on them so I know their normal route of travel (Link has the largest range while the other two stay near the house).
I'm in Tennessee, i live next to a cow field and my cats go in and out as they please. They love it, gives a cat a chance to do what is natural!
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after reading this thread and doing some thinking, i discovered that our indoor cats have lived an average of twice as long as our outdoor cats. i hadn't realized that.
btw, i once went outside in the '70s just as a huge owl was coming down on my cat - he had his claws extended to grab our kitty!
and indoor cats can have plenty of fun and exercise -
btw, i once went outside in the '70s just as a huge owl was coming down on my cat - he had his claws extended to grab our kitty!
and indoor cats can have plenty of fun and exercise -
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I am living with 2 purebred cats with some very dilute exotic blood, and they are confined to being indoor / leash walked or outdoor enclosure only. But living in a relatively low risk area I still feel conflicted about if this is really what is best for them and our local ecosystem.
I think it is debatable whether random bred cats are a true domestic species. Genetically they are virtually identical to their wild ancestors, and they seem to have began participating in our human agricultural ecosystem, primarily as hunters of the rodents our agriculture attracted. But up until recently cats have always been free agents who choose to come and go as they please. Just because they have become tame enough to share our homes, and are loved as family members, I am not sure we have a right to decide they no longer have a right to have a paw in both worlds. Most wild carnivores live longer in zoos, but this doesn't mean it would be better to "rescue" all wild animals, and get them housed indoors. I am not sure why cats should be thought of differently.
It is true that cats now live in a lot of places where they are recent arrivals, and in some areas act as an invasive species, damaging ecosystems, which rightly needs to be managed. But the reality is, free roaming cats with human family members have been part of healthy sustainable agricultural ecosystems in many areas, for hundreds or thousands of years, going back to the time the mastodon went extinct. Their main prey is house mice and rats that originated in Asia, and these rodents also act as invasive species in many ecosystems. Both rats and mice will feed on nestling birds and inter tidal species. In many areas, historically, cats had have an important role in keeping these other invasive species in check.
And according to the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds, in the UK at least, cats do not seem to be causing any decline in most species of birds, with the exception of a few small pockets of vulnerable species, that are being protected.
Considering this, I do not believe all natural random bred cats should be removed from all ecosystems.
And as much as I hate seeing anything suffer, most wild animals will die pretty horrific deaths, by human standards, and getting rid of all outdoor cats won't change that. Predators serve a purpose in weeding out the sick and weak and help to keep the larger population healthy, and cats are part of this.
And while I do not doubt many places have many risks for outdoor cats, and in these areas keeping our beloved pet cats indoors makes sense, this is not true of all places. One of the most obvious examples is this large study done on cat mortality in the UK that found in a population of UK cats where 90% had free access to the outdoors at least part of each day, spayed and neutered cats on average lived to be 15 years old, which is exactly the same average age as indoor only cats in the USA.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6b3c/e424fc03715598ad477aab3e70204bff9783.pdf
This same study found that purebred cats on average lived a year and a half less than random bred cats, and other studies suggest this shorter life expectancy for purebred cats occurs even though they are more likely to receive quality health care, they are less likely to be euthanized, and they are more likely to be kept indoors.
I have yet to find the source of the claims I often see made in internet groups like this one, that on average cats that are allowed outside live only 2 to 5 years. Some students and a professor at the UC Davis did put out a "handout" claiming this, but they do not cite any sources and the handout seems to be largely opinion. The only studies I have been able to find that come close to this involved feral cats with no health care or protections at all.
Personally I feel the risks faced by outdoor cats in a specific area need to be weighed in the context of the risks we find acceptable as humans. According to the World Health Organization, not including self harm, worldwide on average about 7.5% of humans will die from injuries, and while that is tragic, most of us would fight for the right to take those risks.
Anyways... all this being said, I am doing what I can to keep my indoor only hybrid cats happy, and I have almost finished a series of enclosures and walkways that will allow them to walk full circle through the forest around the perimeter of the house. My main reason for keeping them in is because purebred cats are less robust and hybrids do not have a long history of coexisting with wildlife. I have no problem with the ethics of keeping one of them in, as he seems very content with his enclosures. But the other one longs to be out catching the mice he hears just beyond reach. And I struggle with the ethics of not letting him, as this is a very low risk sparsely populated rural area with no predators that normally bother cats. And there is lots of non-indigenous rodents.
I have done a lot of research and can cite sources for everything mentioned... I have also talked to neighbors and local vets. I want to decide what is best for my cats based on facts, and facts that are relevant to this area and their unique individual needs. Not something that might turn out to be a good idea for cats living thousands of miles from here, or that might turn out to be an impractical idealistic fad started by some kindhearted but misguided rodent rights activist group..
I think it is debatable whether random bred cats are a true domestic species. Genetically they are virtually identical to their wild ancestors, and they seem to have began participating in our human agricultural ecosystem, primarily as hunters of the rodents our agriculture attracted. But up until recently cats have always been free agents who choose to come and go as they please. Just because they have become tame enough to share our homes, and are loved as family members, I am not sure we have a right to decide they no longer have a right to have a paw in both worlds. Most wild carnivores live longer in zoos, but this doesn't mean it would be better to "rescue" all wild animals, and get them housed indoors. I am not sure why cats should be thought of differently.
It is true that cats now live in a lot of places where they are recent arrivals, and in some areas act as an invasive species, damaging ecosystems, which rightly needs to be managed. But the reality is, free roaming cats with human family members have been part of healthy sustainable agricultural ecosystems in many areas, for hundreds or thousands of years, going back to the time the mastodon went extinct. Their main prey is house mice and rats that originated in Asia, and these rodents also act as invasive species in many ecosystems. Both rats and mice will feed on nestling birds and inter tidal species. In many areas, historically, cats had have an important role in keeping these other invasive species in check.
And according to the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds, in the UK at least, cats do not seem to be causing any decline in most species of birds, with the exception of a few small pockets of vulnerable species, that are being protected.
Considering this, I do not believe all natural random bred cats should be removed from all ecosystems.
And as much as I hate seeing anything suffer, most wild animals will die pretty horrific deaths, by human standards, and getting rid of all outdoor cats won't change that. Predators serve a purpose in weeding out the sick and weak and help to keep the larger population healthy, and cats are part of this.
And while I do not doubt many places have many risks for outdoor cats, and in these areas keeping our beloved pet cats indoors makes sense, this is not true of all places. One of the most obvious examples is this large study done on cat mortality in the UK that found in a population of UK cats where 90% had free access to the outdoors at least part of each day, spayed and neutered cats on average lived to be 15 years old, which is exactly the same average age as indoor only cats in the USA.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6b3c/e424fc03715598ad477aab3e70204bff9783.pdf
This same study found that purebred cats on average lived a year and a half less than random bred cats, and other studies suggest this shorter life expectancy for purebred cats occurs even though they are more likely to receive quality health care, they are less likely to be euthanized, and they are more likely to be kept indoors.
I have yet to find the source of the claims I often see made in internet groups like this one, that on average cats that are allowed outside live only 2 to 5 years. Some students and a professor at the UC Davis did put out a "handout" claiming this, but they do not cite any sources and the handout seems to be largely opinion. The only studies I have been able to find that come close to this involved feral cats with no health care or protections at all.
Personally I feel the risks faced by outdoor cats in a specific area need to be weighed in the context of the risks we find acceptable as humans. According to the World Health Organization, not including self harm, worldwide on average about 7.5% of humans will die from injuries, and while that is tragic, most of us would fight for the right to take those risks.
Anyways... all this being said, I am doing what I can to keep my indoor only hybrid cats happy, and I have almost finished a series of enclosures and walkways that will allow them to walk full circle through the forest around the perimeter of the house. My main reason for keeping them in is because purebred cats are less robust and hybrids do not have a long history of coexisting with wildlife. I have no problem with the ethics of keeping one of them in, as he seems very content with his enclosures. But the other one longs to be out catching the mice he hears just beyond reach. And I struggle with the ethics of not letting him, as this is a very low risk sparsely populated rural area with no predators that normally bother cats. And there is lots of non-indigenous rodents.
I have done a lot of research and can cite sources for everything mentioned... I have also talked to neighbors and local vets. I want to decide what is best for my cats based on facts, and facts that are relevant to this area and their unique individual needs. Not something that might turn out to be a good idea for cats living thousands of miles from here, or that might turn out to be an impractical idealistic fad started by some kindhearted but misguided rodent rights activist group..
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I'm not staunchly anti-outdoor but most of the time think indoor is better. But I think it really does depend on the environment. Those of us living in a busy city...cats would just get smooshed and hit unfortunately. I also live in a high rise so my cats wouldn't even be able to come back to me. My friends live in a busy area but their cats truly are good about staying very close to the house. So I'm not against them having the cats outside. But it's not too far off from an area where their friend's cat got eaten from a coyote.
Nope, mine don't go out if I can help it.
I care for a large colony of former feral cats, plus a few unwanted pet cats that were dumped near here. They have the run of the house and access to a huge enclosure. There's really no need for them to go beyond the enclosure fence.
Occasionally a tree will come down or part of the fence will collapse after heavy snow. Then I'll spend a few nerve racking hours or days trying to coax the escapees back inside. Other than that, they don't go outside.
I live in a forest. There are no proper roads here, only dirt tracks, and for most of the year there are no people around either. It probably is pretty safe for outdoor cats, but there are still dangers. Foxes and badgers and Asian Raccoon Dogs. Deer ticks, hornets, monk's hood and deadly nightshade. Plus when ever one of them has got out they've managed to kill a bird or a wood mouse. They've even had a few rabbits.
In the past five years two of the more feral ones have got out and never come back again. They may well be out there surviving on their own, but the thought that something awful happened to them still haunts me.
I try to keep them inside the enclosure as much as possible.
I care for a large colony of former feral cats, plus a few unwanted pet cats that were dumped near here. They have the run of the house and access to a huge enclosure. There's really no need for them to go beyond the enclosure fence.
Occasionally a tree will come down or part of the fence will collapse after heavy snow. Then I'll spend a few nerve racking hours or days trying to coax the escapees back inside. Other than that, they don't go outside.
I live in a forest. There are no proper roads here, only dirt tracks, and for most of the year there are no people around either. It probably is pretty safe for outdoor cats, but there are still dangers. Foxes and badgers and Asian Raccoon Dogs. Deer ticks, hornets, monk's hood and deadly nightshade. Plus when ever one of them has got out they've managed to kill a bird or a wood mouse. They've even had a few rabbits.
In the past five years two of the more feral ones have got out and never come back again. They may well be out there surviving on their own, but the thought that something awful happened to them still haunts me.
I try to keep them inside the enclosure as much as possible.
No. They stay inside where they belong.
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Rolling stone daddy. With chest wounds.
Enjoying a spot of sun in overgrown path
The kits on their first outdoor adventure, supervised. Nervous Nellies!
Spring is coming one of these days. We had two glorious days of sunshine. The next few days will be intermittent gloom, rain and snow.
I’ve always had indoor outdoor cats, but here there are definite dangers. The colony when I first arrived two years ago was nine strong with about three additional wandering toms.
Over the first year and a half, all vanished except for the mother of my two and the rolling stone papa. He has been hanging out more regularly over the last four months. I still don’t know if he is owned or feral.he seems feral, yet there are moments when he is nearly friendly and looks relatively healthy except the worms hanging from his rear aperture. The other day I noticed his chest had what looked like either healing abscesses or healing surgical incisions. If the later, it’s a bit frustrating as he has some large knackers and of course the worm issue. He lets Pye eat first so he is either hunting or feeding somewhere.
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none of my cats have ever been allowed outdoors. With the coat all of my cats have had, it would be a nightmare trying to keep the coat free of tangles. I own a walking dust mop!
I know what that's like. I call the girls the Swiffer sisters.
