Are owners of Indoor Cats Selfish?

[Niamh.]

My in-laws are the same with their two dogs, made only slightly better by the fact that they're just little Jack Russells and have a decent sized garden to run around in whenever they want. But we walk them whenever we're down there (they live in Engerland) and they're always so happy to get out for a walk :(.

I don't get it really. Why get dogs if you don't want to take them out? It's like people who get cats and then keep them indoors as "house cats" :omgno:. I hear a million and one excuses for that but there just isn't one. Cats love being outdoors. It's what they live for. If you live somewhere that it's not possible for them to be out hunting / exploring, don't get a damned cat.

My cat is a mainly indoor cat, Gav built an enclosure for him at the side of the house that he can go in and out of from a window, we also leave him out in the garden when we're out there as he can only get out of the garden one way (through the gate) he's far too lazy to attempt jumping the fence.

You're completely wrong when you say people make up excuses because they live somewhere where a cat can't go outside by the way, I live in the country. The breeder I got my cat from specifically requests people she's selling kittens to to keep them as indoor cats

[Lostie!]

It's like people who get cats and then keep them indoors as "house cats" :omgno:. I hear a million and one excuses for that but there just isn't one. Cats love being outdoors. It's what they live for. If you live somewhere that it's not possible for them to be out hunting / exploring, don't get a damned cat.

Nonsense. My cat was absolutely an indoor cat, she'd go out briefly every now and again and in no time she'd be back sitting on the doorstep waiting to get in. We never once stopped her from going out, she simply didn't want to for the vast majority of the time. To force her out for long periods of time when she didn't want to be would have itself been cruelty.

Perhaps try to stick to speaking from your own experiences and refrain from acting like you know what applies to everyone and everything else. You certainly don't, I can assure you that.

[user104658]

Nonsense. My cat was absolutely an indoor cat, she'd go out briefly every now and again and in no time she'd be back sitting on the doorstep waiting to get in. We never once stopped her from going out, she simply didn't want to for the vast majority of the time. To force her out for long periods of time when she didn't want to be would have itself been cruelty.

Perhaps try to stick to speaking from your own experiences and refrain from acting like you know what applies to everyone and everything else. You certainly don't, I can assure you that.
Where did I say anything about forcing them out? If they have access to the outdoors and prefer to be in that's one thing. Specifically KEEPING them indoors - blocking them from getting out even if they want to - is cruel. And selfish. It's getting and owning an animal for ones own enjoyment whilst disregarding what's best for that animal.

[Niamh.]

Where did I say anything about forcing them out? If they have access to the outdoors and prefer to be in that's one thing. Specifically KEEPING them indoors - blocking them from getting out even if they want to - is cruel. And selfish. It's getting and owning an animal for ones own enjoyment whilst disregarding what's best for that animal.

You could apply the same rule to dogs and people who let them in their gardens and not roam the streets free :shrug:

[Lostie!]

Where did I say anything about forcing them out? If they have access to the outdoors and prefer to be in that's one thing. Specifically KEEPING them indoors - blocking them from getting out even if they want to - is cruel. And selfish. It's getting and owning an animal for ones own enjoyment whilst disregarding what's best for that animal.

You rather clearly suggested a belief that indoor cats simply don't exist and that all cats in general want to be outside on a regular basis. If you made it clear you were only referring to people who do keep their cats indoors against their will then that would be all fine and dandy, but that's not the suggestion you made at all.

For what it's worth, I agree with your point raised in this reply, but it's important to acknowledge that this doesn't apply to all cats.

[user104658]

You could apply the same rule to dogs and people who let them in their gardens and not roam the streets free :shrug:
Cats and dogs have completely different psychology though, dogs are pack animals and (in general) want to be in close proximity to their pack leader (in the case of domestic dogs, their owner) whereas cats are solo hunters and (in general) crave the freedom to roam / climb / explore etc.

In general.

I will add "in general" to every post similar to these in future in case someone gets upset about their emo pets that just HAVE to buck the trend.

[Niamh.]

Cats and dogs have completely different psychology though, dogs are pack animals and (in general) want to be in close proximity to their pack leader (in the case of domestic dogs, their owner) whereas cats are solo hunters and (in general) crave the freedom to roam / climb / explore etc.

In general.

I will add "in general" to every post similar to these in future in case someone gets upset about their emo pets that just HAVE to buck the trend.

If people let their dogs roam free they would form packs with other dogs regardless of whether their owner was the alpha at home or not.

Anyway like I said the breeder that I got my cat from won't sell you a kitten if you tell her that it will be an outdoor cat. I definitely do think that cats should spend some time outside which is why Gav built the enclosure for him and I let him in the garden. I know If I let him outside fulltime though he wouldn't last too long, he's too trusting and slobbish

Speaking of dogs wanting to be close to their owners though my "emo" cat follows me around the house :idc: They say Maine Coons are quite "dog like" personality wise though

[Niamh.]

Also can I add the life expectancy of an outdoor cat is 1-5 years where as an indoor cat has a life expectancy of 12-20 years

[Lostie!]

Yep, any cat that prefers spending time indoors is just trying to buck the trend. Wise words right there. :clap1:

:unsure:

[Kizzy]

Clean up in here again please, thread hijacked by mad cat people :idc:

[Niamh.]

Clean up in here again please, thread hijacked by mad cat people :idc:

:hehe:

I think this deserves it's own thread actually

[Will.]

Your cat is so cute Niamh!

[user104658]

Wtf is this Niamh you're supposed to back me up! We a free e Tibb soul mates no longer. Hashtag heartbroken.

(p.s. My cat growing up was an outdoor cat and lived until 16, though he barely went out fromfrom about 12+... Ans my wife's outdoor cat died at 22! So... Hah!)

[Liam-]

All of my cats are outdoor cats, two of them quite often spend the night out as well as the day, but one of them just spends the day out and comes home to sleep, I don't think people who keep their cats as indoor cats are selfish, just a little bit mad to put up with them 24/7 :laugh:

My oldest cat is 8 years old and she's always been an outdoor cat.

[arista]

Cats still need to go in the Garden
and become little tigers Killing Birds


Life In The Fast Lane

[LukeB]

No, my cat is an indoor cat and he seems happy, I've tried to get him to go outside but he doesn't want to unless he has a harness on.

[Niamh.]

Wtf is this Niamh you're supposed to back me up! We a free e Tibb soul mates no longer. Hashtag heartbroken.

(p.s. My cat growing up was an outdoor cat and lived until 16, though he barely went out fromfrom about 12+... Ans my wife's outdoor cat died at 22! So... Hah!)

Well clearly those two cats were Emo cats :idc:

but yeah, this may be our first disagreement :'(

[Niamh.]

Your cat is so cute Niamh!

Thanks Will :love:

[Niamh.]

Cats still need to go in the Garden
and become little tigers Killing Birds


Life In The Fast Lane

My cat does go in the garden but only when someone is outside with him

[Kizzy]

:hehe:

I think this deserves it's own thread actually

I was only joking... or maybe I am all powerful muhahahahaha!!!!!

If the cat is afraid of outside then no, if they are forced in like a little fluffy convict yes.
http://v1.aroundhawaii.com/assets/articles/2009/05/1716/images/cop_and_convict.jpg

[Niamh.]

I was only joking... or maybe I am all powerful muhahahahaha!!!!!

If the cat is afraid of outside then no, if they are forced in like a little fluffy convict yes.
http://v1.aroundhawaii.com/assets/articles/2009/05/1716/images/cop_and_convict.jpg

We did hijack the thread lol, no harm for another one to be made :laugh:

[Kazanne]

I don't have a cat anymore,but when I did they came in and went out,whenever they wanted as we had a catflap, they also had their own little shed,so the choice was really theirs.

[Lostie!]

If the cat is afraid of outside then no, if they are forced in like a little fluffy convict yes.

100% this.

[user104658]

Well clearly those two cats were Emo cats :idc:

but yeah, this may be our first disagreement :'(

Yeah! I'm a freedom fighter and you're running Irish cat guantanamo. Are these irreconcilable differences?

[Niamh.]

Yeah! I'm a freedom fighter and you're running Irish cat guantanamo. Are these irreconcilable differences?


Nah, we can work it out :laugh:

[Ammi]

..(I haven't got huge cat knowledge because I've never owned one...)...but I thought that many cats prefer to be indoors because they're just not very curious or like to wander...I'm sure that Sooty's cat..Fat Charlie, was an indoor cat because he was lazy and didn't like to go out at all...although animals have instincts, as humans also have...they're all individuals as well, my OH's mum once had a dog who hated walks and tried everything to avoid them...

[Ninastar]

depends the size of your house really. If you can make special accommodations for your cat then that's brilliant :love: but normally, I'm really against people keeping their cats indoors all the time. my dads wife has 3 indoor cats and they legit all have mental issues.

[Ammi]

depends the size of your house really. If you can make special accommodations for your cat then that's brilliant :love: but normally, I'm really against people keeping their cats indoors all the time. my dads wife has 3 indoor cats and they legit all have mental issues.

..is that not because they have to live with her...(this is his present wife/the anti wife..?..)...it sounds like she could give anyone or anything, mental issues...

[user104658]

Nah, we can work it out :laugh:

Probably, it's only really in general musing that I think it's unfair to keep cats as indoor pets. Thankfully, in practice, I only have mediocre regard for animal welfare. Whew! Crisis averted.

[Ninastar]

..is that not because they have to live with her...(this is his present wife/the anti wife..?..)...it sounds like she could give anyone or anything, mental issues...

lmao, probs tbh...

[Niamh.]

depends the size of your house really. If you can make special accommodations for your cat then that's brilliant :love: but normally, I'm really against people keeping their cats indoors all the time. my dads wife has 3 indoor cats and they legit all have mental issues.

This is Eddies "Catio" :laugh: I'm just afraid something would happen to him if i just let him wander, he's not very street wise and he trusts everyone and everything

http://i.imgur.com/YENtEUv.jpg

[Ninastar]

thats incredible! I kinda I wish I had one for Meowzie. I think she probably gets her brains from me. She's so thick its unreal. last night at like 2am, my mum shouted on me because Meowzie had gotten herself stuck on the roof (which was also covered in Ice...)

eventually she jumped down, but still, I was so scared. Shes just got no sense at all

[Niamh.]

thats incredible! I kinda I wish I had one for Meowzie. I think she probably gets her brains from me. She's so thick its unreal. last night at like 2am, my mum shouted on me because Meowzie had gotten herself stuck on the roof (which was also covered in Ice...)

eventually she jumped down, but still, I was so scared. Shes just got no sense at all

N'awww that's such a cute name btw :laugh:

[Crimson Dynamo]

Short answer is yes

No cat or dog shoukd be stuck inside without a very good reason

[arista]

This is Eddies "Catio" :laugh: I'm just afraid something would happen to him if i just let him wander, he's not very street wise and he trusts everyone and everything

http://i.imgur.com/YENtEUv.jpg


Bless him
he just wants to Kill a Bird
I can see it in his Eyes

[Lostie!]

Short answer is yes

No cat or dog shoukd be stuck inside without a very good reason

The very term "Indoor Cat" usually refers specifically to cats who want to be indoors. In those cases (yes, they exist), it's a lot more cruel and selfish to shove them outside when they don't wish to be there.

[MTVN]

Our neighbours have some strange breed of cat which should always be indoors for some reason, can't remember the name of it now. We've never kept ours indoors although they prefer to be in the day because they're quite old now and just sleep all the time. We put them out at night though cos otherwise they'd be annoying prowling the house all night waking us up. By 'out' I mean the back passageway where they do have a bed if they wanted to stay in, think they tend to spend most of the night outside though

[kirklancaster]

The very term "Indoor Cat" usually refers specifically to cats who want to be indoors. In those cases (yes, they exist), it's a lot more cruel and selfish to shove them outside when they don't wish to be there.

So true Lostie. I have not kept a cat for years but had cats for many years before that, and two of mine were 'indoor' breeds who just could not survive outside.

[Ninastar]

N'awww that's such a cute name btw :laugh:

lmao thank you. i think you're the only one ever to say that hahaha

-glares at shaun-

[King Gizzard]

#TeamMeowzie

[Z]

The mad girl I work with adopted a cat from a couple who are expecting a baby, it's an indoor cat but they lived on some big property apparently whereas this girl lives in a tiny council flat... anyway, first weekend of having the cat she accidentally left a window open and the cat fell out/jumped out the window and damaged its ligaments (lives on the third floor I think she said)... and she has the cheek to try and dump the bill on the cat's previous owners! Eh no, your fault you were stupid enough to leave a window open. Asshole. Cats belong outside and they should at least have the option to go out if they want to... otherwise it's no different than keeping them in a zoo.

[King Gizzard]

N'awww that's such a cute name btw :laugh:

Said no one ever!!!

[Vicky.]

Yes, I find it so cruel. My mother in law has a cat that has only ever been outside once, when it escaped. She is constantly trying to get out whenever the door is open and I swear she looks so sad when the suns out and shes stuck indoors :(

[Drew.]

Our neighbours have some strange breed of cat which should always be indoors for some reason, can't remember the name of it now. We've never kept ours indoors although they prefer to be in the day because they're quite old now and just sleep all the time. We put them out at night though cos otherwise they'd be annoying prowling the house all night waking us up. By 'out' I mean the back passageway where they do have a bed if they wanted to stay in, think they tend to spend most of the night outside though

We've got an elderly woman that lives next door on her own and she keeps her cat inside but its a pedigree cat, think it might be a Persian one and they are pretty expensive and aren't good with the outdoors life.

[DemolitionRed]

We inherited 2 Bengal brothers who were house cats. After six months and much destruction...Bengals are notorious for this, we sold our house and decided to go off and spend our summer out in the sticks in a North American Indian teepee. The cats were in seventh heaven and although they never roamed far, they lived under the stars with us and had what I would call, a proper cat life. When we moved back into suburbia, there was no way these two lads were going to accept the confines of four walls and so we did, cautiously let them out after rush-hour in the evening for about four hours.

Within two weeks Jaz came back with an injured front leg. We will never know what happened but he just lost complete feeling in that leg and it had to be amputated. Jaz no longer wanted to go out and even if he'd wanted to we probably would of prevented it. Only a few months later, his brother Boe got into a cat fight with a tom cat and ended up so badly injured that it was touch and go for a while. His personality changed and he wouldn't even go near the door or sit looking out of the window for about a year.

I think it very much depends on what breed of cat you own. If its an expensive pedigree and overly friendly, chances of it getting stolen are really high. Siamese are meant to make great house cats because they are more like dogs in nature but I'd advise buying a Bengal as a house cat because they will drive you nuts!

[Jordan.]

I wanted my cat to be an indoor cat but he was so desperate to get out I enventually allowed it. I think it depends on the cat itself whether it's cruel/selfish. If they're happy to be indoors and not trying to get out at every oppurtunity I don't see the problem.

[Ninastar]

We inherited 2 Bengal brothers who were house cats. After six months and much destruction...Bengals are notorious for this, we sold our house and decided to go off and spend our summer out in the sticks in a North American Indian teepee. The cats were in seventh heaven and although they never roamed far, they lived under the stars with us and had what I would call, a proper cat life. When we moved back into suburbia, there was no way these two lads were going to accept the confines of four walls and so we did, cautiously let them out after rush-hour in the evening for about four hours.

Within two weeks Jaz came back with an injured front leg. We will never know what happened but he just lost complete feeling in that leg and it had to be amputated. Jaz no longer wanted to go out and even if he'd wanted to we probably would of prevented it. Only a few months later, his brother Boe got into a cat fight with a tom cat and ended up so badly injured that it was touch and go for a while. His personality changed and he wouldn't even go near the door or sit looking out of the window for about a year.

I think it very much depends on what breed of cat you own. If its an expensive pedigree and overly friendly, chances of it getting stolen are really high. Siamese are meant to make great house cats because they are more like dogs in nature but I'd advise buying a Bengal as a house cat because they will drive you nuts!

Bengals and other cats like Ragdoll cats are often targeted by humans because they are such a rare breed. If I owned any of those cats, I wouldn't let them outside either. Sorry to hear your cats went through so much :( sometimes some cats just arent meant for the outside

[Shaun]

(Basically no)

But we let all of ours out for at least 60% of the day anyway, unless it's getting this kind of weather when we'll keep them in most of the morning too. (Usually keep them in all night and then for a couple of hours in the early afternoon.)

[Jessica.]

We've had cats all my life, some indoor and some outdoor, you can usually tell early if they are wise enough. We had a cat called socks who was not intelligent at all, we always had outdoor cats before her, she escaped twice and got stuck in a tree each time, overnight in the rain. We tried harder to keep her in after that because we knew it didn't suit her. She got out again after she had turned a year old and got herself run over and died. :( We knew it wasn't right for her to be out and that confirmed it. I still miss her all the time, her death really had a bad effect on me. :sad:

[MB.]

Well if they live in a flat on the 10th floor then no

[Vicky.]

Well if they live in a flat on the 10th floor then no

People in high rise flats shouldn't have cats fullstop really.

[DemolitionRed]

Bengals and other cats like Ragdoll cats are often targeted by humans because they are such a rare breed. If I owned any of those cats, I wouldn't let them outside either. Sorry to hear your cats went through so much :( sometimes some cats just arent meant for the outside

Thanks Chaos. I agree about cat thefts. Fortunately these two boys don't like strangers and certainly wouldn't go purring round some strangers legs.

I think Bengals are very much outdoor cats because they are adventurers and keen hunters. They are probably the best climbers of all breeds of cat and will happily climb a telegraph pole with the stealth of a leopard. They don't have a lot of common sense though, so when it comes to getting down, they won't wait for the fire brigade like a regular cat, but jump and hope for the best.

My friends Bengal is presently in intensive care after jumping 25ft out of a tree :bawling:

[lostalex]

no, i think some cats are fine indoors, just like some humans. I'm an indoor human. some humans love and need to be outdoors though. it just depends on the cat. If the cat seems especially unhappy being indoors, you should try to find a home where they can be an outdoor cat though.

[Niamh.]

We inherited 2 Bengal brothers who were house cats. After six months and much destruction...Bengals are notorious for this, we sold our house and decided to go off and spend our summer out in the sticks in a North American Indian teepee. The cats were in seventh heaven and although they never roamed far, they lived under the stars with us and had what I would call, a proper cat life. When we moved back into suburbia, there was no way these two lads were going to accept the confines of four walls and so we did, cautiously let them out after rush-hour in the evening for about four hours.

Within two weeks Jaz came back with an injured front leg. We will never know what happened but he just lost complete feeling in that leg and it had to be amputated. Jaz no longer wanted to go out and even if he'd wanted to we probably would of prevented it. Only a few months later, his brother Boe got into a cat fight with a tom cat and ended up so badly injured that it was touch and go for a while. His personality changed and he wouldn't even go near the door or sit looking out of the window for about a year.

I think it very much depends on what breed of cat you own. If its an expensive pedigree and overly friendly, chances of it getting stolen are really high. Siamese are meant to make great house cats because they are more like dogs in nature but I'd advise buying a Bengal as a house cat because they will drive you nuts!

Yeah mine is a Maine Coon, he trusts everyone and has literally no street sense he wouldn't last 2 hours roaming free. Like I said though he does have his enclosure and I let him in the garden when I'm home. If he was a normal cat and wanted to roam he would just jump our fence but he literally looks at it and thinks "Ugh nah too much effort" and stays in the garden :laugh:

[Northern Monkey]

Our cat treats the house like a hotel.Out mostly but comes in for food and when the weather is bad.She loves to be outside.She stays close though.

[Livia]

My Reg only goes out by choice in the summer. I literally have to turf him out in the winter.