by Randi J Task

Created on: July 08, 2009

Ajahn Brahm is a British born Buddhist monk from Australia. When confronted with the difficult question of "should I put down my cat?" his consistent reply is "ask the cat!". We can never literally ask the cat, but we can be sensitive enough to their needs to know the answer after being with them. Personally my answer is outdoor unless there are some serious issues to do with health or where you live. When it comes to outdoors, I may be contradicting the "Ask the cat!" instruction, but normally when given the choice of outdoors it says YES!

We once had a loving ginger cat that was very attached to my mother. It went in and out of the house through a cat flap. My mother went on a long holiday and some strangers moved in - only I was around to feed the cat. Being a little upset, the cat spent most of its time outside. Being old it got killed by a neighbor's dog having strayed too far. This was a tragedy, but what that cat needed more than staying indoors was love and attention to make it feel secure inside and I'm ashamed to admit that it did not get it from me very much.

Now I have a white cat and it's very happy indoors and outdoors. Its preference is an excellent guide to the weather - this weathercock cat is out and about when it's sunny (or rather, out and sleepy) and in and asleep when it's miserable. However, when I'm gardening or leaving home, he runs out and may stay around for companionship. This can also used to make a point of staying out to greet the owners when they were back.

Cats do need the outdoors and their main enemies are dogs or snakes if you have them, traffic and potentially other, aggressive cats. We don't have snakes, so my cat only has to worry about foxes - but foxes never really attack cats as cats can defend themselves very well. They need the outdoors for sun, various green plants on which to nibble and opportunities to hide and explore. It keeps them more alive and gives them a minimal social life. It's also easier as I don't have to worry about cat litter. My cat happens to use bark mulch a great deal in the garden, and this I supply.

Indoor cats by contrast may scratch the furniture even more, become sickly without wild company and generally perhaps even live shorter. It's not just people who need exercise. This white cat is now into its 16th year, very old for a cat and although not as strong, is still enjoying the best of outdoors and indoors depending on the weather. It has a cat flap and also begs to use the front door when that what it wants.

So, give the cat a chance to choose for itself. As semi-wild or semi-domestic animals, I think cats like the chance to escape and hide. You need to give your cat lots of love so it does not dessert you and stray too far. Spaying or neutering is essential to stop cats straying too far and to keep them safe, otherwise, toms may be constantly hunting females - but in the end it's about giving the animal freedom. In this context, indoor cats are probably more like prisoners compared to their domestic relatives with the best of both.

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