House Cats - Update page 2, and pictures added

[zack&buffysmum]

I was wondering what peoples opinions/experiences where with 'house cats'.
All the cats I've ever owned have been able to come and go as they please. In my adult life I've had 3. The first got shot - (long story, police involved etc). The second we got as an adult from a rescue and had him for 10+ years before he finally had to be PTS due to ill health and old age. The third Oscar went out 3 weeks ago today and hasn't been seen since
I think I know deep inside myself that he is dead - but we are still leaving the cat flap on 'in only' and leaving food down for him in the hope that he will turn up.
We have started to consider getting another (I can't stand not having an animal around the house) and my daughter is adamant that it MUST be a house cat and never go out!!
On one level I'm with her on this - for obvious reasons - but on another it seems cruel to never let a cat go out and hunt and do what cats do. And then there are the practicalities of how do you manage in the summer when you may want doors and windows open?
I would be interested to hear peoples opinions and experiences of this.
Thanks
Megan

[julz]

I've always had cats that have the option to go out if they want.. my female (died 18 months ago) was happy to stay in, whereas her brother is likes to go out (bit less these days as he's getting older)

My sister has had four cats all of which were/are housecats. She lives in the middle of town so is too busy her her cats (plus they were expensive) they do like to sit in the stair well sometimes but that's it...

You could get your next cat used to a harness and lead and take it out, some people think this is cruel but if the cat is used to it, and some breeds are very good at it, Siamese's or Turkish Vans for instance.. other than that, so long as you can stimulate the cat enough to keep it as an indoor cat then all should be fine. IMO

[gwenoakes]

All of my cats have been allowed to go in/out as they choose.

Youngest daughter came back to live with us and had two house cats. They were litter trained, never made a mess, but constantly and I mean constantly tried to escape as they had done at her house. Summer came, we couldnt leave doors or windows open and it was a nightmare, so out they went. Never had any bother with either of them and we lived in the middle of town and they were both brilliant mousers too, given the chance.

So for me it would be a definite no, no re the doors/windows, but also because they have had so much fun since being allowed out and they obviously missed that even with all the stimulating play they had.

Its a bit like keeping chickens, do you let them free range and take their chances or do you put them behind wire. I tried keeping ex batts behind wire but when they were pacing up and down at the wire I thought it wasnt very kind and let them out and they did seem much happier.

Is there another animal you could have that wouldnt need/want to roam?

Its the luck of the draw, you pays yer money and takes yer chances.

Sorry to hear about Oscar, but cats have turned up after a much longer period of roaming, so he could come back still. XX

[clipclop]

One of mine went missing 2 weeks ago. I'm still hoping that she's locked in somewhere when someone has got Christmas stuff out of a garage or shed. Cats have remarkable survival skills.

If she's not back by new year, I will have to look at getting a friend for her brother who isn't doing well as an only cat but I won't contemplate keeping them as house cats.

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[julz]

I believe Devon Rex cats make good indoor cats, as there coats aren't thick enough to cope with the outside cold.

[ladyndibs]

I think there's a Cornish Rex too. I'm not really a cat person so can't speak from experience but a friend's mother years ago had a load of house cats, very wierd, one lived in the bathroom, it wouldn't come out.
Most of them had a friend or two they shared with but there was only a couple that wandered around and mixed with the dogs and humans, they mostly stayed in their own rooms it always reminded me of a prison with cells as you had to be careful not to let a cat in or out of a door though there were two that lived outside all the time, lovely cozy bed in the greenhouse. I never did get round to asking WHY??

[julz]

Yes you're right.. there is a Cornish Rex too.. they are completely bald, the Devon's have a soft fine coat like you would find as an undercoat of "normal" cats, Personally I'd prefer the Devon Rex

[ladyndibs]

Dec 22, 2013 16:42:34 GMT 1 julz said:

Yes you're right.. there is a Cornish Rex too.. they are completely bald, the Devon's have a soft fine coat like you would find as an undercoat of "normal" cats, Personally I'd prefer the Devon Rex

The 'mad cat lady' had both plus a burmese I think and a whole host of others, about 30 altogether.

[cookie]

I've had three cats over the years. All rescue cats. The first was eight when I got her and showed very little interest in going out, so, when I moved into a flat in London she adapted well.

Windows and doors were never really an issue as she was quite content.

When we did get a house again she would come into the garden but not often without me.

My current two... Are a different kettle of fish. I think the boy cat would adapt ok. He just wants to be with you and only really goes into the garden for the toilet. But the girl cat you could never keep in in a million years.

My cousin got two kittens she planned as house cats. It was a night mare. They would sneak out the front door or an open window every opportunity. She re homed them.

So, I think there are cats who can suit an indoor lifestyle but I'd either choose a breed specifically suited to that eg rag dolls. Or I would get an older cat through a charity who have an idea if that lifestyle would suit the cat. I wouldn't do the kitten route as I think then its more pot luck as to their personalities.

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[rosemaryhannah]

Puddy Em started as an in and out cat. Then she was in collision with a car and broke her pelvis really badly, and was a long time at the vet and in a crate recovering. bit by bit she got more freedom. The day I let her out, I drove home from work and found her sitting on the white line in the middle of the road. She became an indoors cat. She never seemed to mind at all. Then we moved here, and as I am nearly a mile form tarmac, she has once again been allowed her freedom. She seemed happy with it, but not at all desperate to go out. She is not a special breed - her mother was a farm cat who got squashed on the road, and a friend hand reared the kittens. Her cousins are so wild nobody can touch them.

[ladyndibs]

Dec 22, 2013 19:14:09 GMT 1 rosemaryhannah said:

The day I let her out, I drove home from work and found her sitting on the white line in the middle of the road. She became an indoors cat.

I'm not surprised, I'd have been petrified at the thought of letting her out again.

[ruthp]

I think it really depends on the individual cat. We had two Abyssinians, one male, one female. Hobie-Cat, the male would wreck the house if he was shut in for any reason. He would jump on my desk, or a table, and deliberately push things off the edge- a pen, a phone, a knife, anything. He would also inflict random acts of violence on innocent dogs and humans! When given his freedom, he reverted to pussy cat! Unfortunately, having his freedom led to an early death, as he was only eight when he was involved in some sort of accident which ultimately killed him.

Moody-Blue, on the other hand, is a little princess, who would probably be quite content to stay in all the time. She goes out to do what she needs to, and often follows me and the dogs around when we're doing the horses, but I genuinely don't think she would mind if she wasn't let out at all. Right now she is asleep on her velvet blanket, and soon I will carry her up to bed, where she will burrow under the duvet, and then resurface to put her head on my pillow next to mine. (Note the "carry her ...." I should remind you that this is a princess......

[portiabuzz]

Thing is it's like keeping a horse stabled 24/7 to me in case they get injured, of my 4 rescue cats Ive had one the female never went out but sometimes on a hot day went for a sun bathe on the patio all day but the 3 boys had to be out to explore and play

[Karon]

As long as you can provide a) enough room b) enough stimulation (including hiding places, tall places, boxes etc as well as toys) and c) enough company I can't see why you shouldn't consider a house cat. Charities will often have cats that are too old/infirm/ill to be allowed out - they may well live for many years (Hedge lived as a house cat for 2.5 years after being feral for nearly 20 years) but just not be considered a safe bet for going outside. Some friends of mine have a house cat that they got when he was fairly young - he'd never been out so knows nothing different. If you get a kitten and keep it in, it's never going to miss being out.

I would suggest really good screens for windows so you can leave them wide open in summer in safety, and you'd need some sort of "air lock"(!) system so if the front door was opened there'd be no chance of the kitten/cat escaping through it (that takes some organising!) but it can certainly be done. If you have the space to fence part of, say, a patio or decking in so the cat can get outside but still be enclosed completely that would be even better.

I know it's normal for cats to be allowed free rein in this country but it's becoming more and more common for cats to be house cats in other countries especially where there's a big risk to or from wildlife and they do cope as long as you look at how their ideal environment is and how you can adapt that for indoors.

We will be letting our young cat out when he's a bit older, but that's really only because we have one (Pebble) who could never cope with being an indoor only cat and who just has to go out every day. If he'd settle as an indoor cat then the kitten would be indoors only, too, but Pebble spent too much of his youth being allowed to come and go as he pleases and although we have tried to keep him in more it just makes him miserable. If we were getting what would be an only cat or a pair of kittens that would be our only cats, they'd be house cats.

[jill]

I have had various cats over the years - all had access to outdoors but by and large it is the older ones who are content to stay inside. Benson in only 9 but this weather he sleeps, eats, uses his litter tray (he does look outside when the door is open and decides the weather is far too bad to venture out in) and, er, sleeps. His choice so as far as I am concerned it isn't totally against a cats nature to not let it out. In summer he does go out and I try to encourage him to be nocturnal, there is less traffic around at night, and now and again he does stay out for 24 hours, but that is hunting in my neighbours derelict greenhouses I think - he always comes from there when I call him.
The modern world isn't that kind to cats - I have had two run over on relatively quiet country roads, so maybe the best option is to offer a loving home to an older cat in need of one. They will be so grateful they will never leave!