by Janet Farricelli CPDT-KA

Created on: September 06, 2007   Last Updated: August 13, 2009

As a long time cat owner the indoor/outdoor issue has been a long term debate in my life. I have owned indoor/outdoor cats all my life and just recently I have come to my own verdict after weighing out numerous pros and cons.I started raising cats as early as I was five. I lived in the country in the summer and have made many feline encounters in the wild.

My first cat was CottonBall he was a young kitten when I met him. He came to my home asking for food and love. He seemed to have it all, tall grass to play stalking, crickets all you can eat to munch on, quiet night walks under the moon and yet the choice to sleep on a couch in a cozy home whenever he wished.CottonBall was a very happy cat indeed. I thought that that was the highest level of happiness a cat could achieve.

With fall approaching though there was a thought clouding my mind. School would have started soon and we were going to leave that summer bliss for our routine return to the city. CottonBall had to come along. I never could have left him on his own.
Soon, after the foliage turned gold, high winds would have stripped all the trees naked, the wildlife would have disappeared leaving poor or no nourishment for my kitty, the climate would have turned bitter cold with no pity of this tiny little creature.

Our first days in the city were acceptable, he seemed to adapt easily, his curious eyes were all over in the large yet diverse apartment.However, I found my self often wondering if he missed the familiar nature sounds, the pleasant feel of the breeze through his fur,the soft feel of grass underneath his paws, the sharp smells of potential prey.

Now all was replaced by human made scenarios, the mechanical noises of traffic, the cold feel and weird texture of canned food, the hard impact of tiled floors, the total absence of breeze.I soon had to make him bug/lizard replacement toys made of tin foil balls and strings. He stared at them clueless when he noticed how easy they were to catch and how little or no resistance they had. Soon it was game over if I didn't move them all over again. Then he got a hang of it and understood that in order for the game to continue it was up to him to keep the action going by pushing the tin ball further when it stopped and "played dead".

Months went by and then all at a sudden CottonBall grew curious about the door. He discovered that beyond that door there was a mysterious world. He grew eager to learn what secrets there were to uncover.We had to be very

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