Indoors

by Dr. G. A. Anderson

Created on: May 15, 2010   Last Updated: June 12, 2010

There are many circumstances in pet ownership that almost make the decision for you as to whether your feline friends should live indoors or out - for example, your living conditions. If you are in a rural area, the options may be broader. If you live in a semi-rural area, you may prefer to keep your cats inside if that is solely up to you. The reality is that it is usually a cat's preference. They could be inside as much as they like, but if they wanted to be outside in good weather, they could be allowed that luxury.

Another variable would be allergies of the owners. If you have an allergy to cat dander, you're not going to be able to keep cats inside your home. If you live in an area that is cat-friendly and your cat stays close to home, it's fine to let kitty live outdoors in good weather if he or she is provided with adequate shelter and all the necessities that would be enjoyed inside. If the cat is going to live outside, it MUST keep the claws and be up to date on vaccinations. Neutering or spaying is also extremely important.

Our cats are both feral by nature but have been tamed to be primarily indoor cats. However, it is cruel and unnecessary to declaw cats, so both have their defense weaponry intact. If they decide they're going out, they're equipped to stand up for themselves if neighborhood cats stray onto our property. Our gray female is feisty and will take up for herself. Our Siamese is no fighter.

The feisty one is now nearly ten years of age and has preferred being more of an outdoor cat except when it is very cold outside, having kept her wilder instincts throughout her life. She comes into the house when she feels like it through her kitty door in the basement window, which was installed especially for her. She has remained disease free, injury free, and beautiful with her all-gray plush fur and mint green eyes. She has hunted, brought us gifts of her captured prey, and has cuddled with us all in the same evening. Her indoor/outdoor life has been very much at her own discretion. In winter or other types of harsh weather, she occupies her basement apartment quite happily with no coaxing from us. She always has her kibbles and water waiting for her there.

The other feral feline who is happy to be a mostly indoor cat is a seal point Siamese, born into a litter of ordinary-looking short-hair kittens by some stroke of luck - or some running around by the mother we never got to see. This litter was born three years ago under one of our outbuildings. (The neighborhood has no shortage of feral or dropped-off cats.) The one Siamese stood out like a sore thumb, so although we fed them all, he was the one we encouraged to become our house cat. And that is just what he gladly did, preferring to be inside sleeping on the bed. He's also been disease-free and is as beautiful a seal point Siamese as you'd ever want to see. If he goes outside, it's usually only as far as our second floor deck where he lies in the sun on nice days. You rarely see him on ground level, although there is a ramp built for him to get down to the ground if he wants to go that far.

Both cats are equipped with the essentials of food, water, litter boxes, and beds inside the house. They have their toys, as well. They have been spayed and neutered, of course. We keep their inoculations up to date, and provide anything else they might need. But cats demand very little, and are happy if they have the choice to live inside or outside, or if they get to experience the best of both worlds now and then. They also love human companionship and thrive on that attention while living their lives on their own terms.

Of course, in a town or city, it is a moot point as cats must live indoors. One way to give them a little taste of the outdoors, though, is to enclose a small area for them outside in the open air. Or if you live in an upstairs apartment, build a small, secure screened-in cage where they can get some fresh air and sunshine, perhaps outside a window, if possible. If there is no possibility of any outdoor exposure, city cats are fine living exclusively inside. Cats can and do exist very well living inside the home at all times.

So it is not so much a question of whether all cats should live indoors or outdoors, but rather a question of background, what your cats prefer, and what your living arrangements require. The main thing is to keep them safe, secure, healthy, and loved whether they live inside or out.

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