House Cats

HummuH1 said:
There is no evidence to suggest cats are "happier" being allowed to roam freely rather than being confined to indoors only. Cats have personalities too, and as has been demonstrated in this thread, some like to go outdoors, some don't.
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You just contradicted yourself in one paragraph.


HummuH1 said:
Whilst your post is very matter of fact, there are no facts in it. One fact that has been proven time and time again is that when cats are allowed outdoors, their life expectancy drops dramatically through increased exposure to risks such as injury, illness and infection.
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Life is full of risks every time you leave the house there's a chance you could be injured, keeping an animal inside for those reasons is oppressive.

HummuH1 said:
These are domesticated animals and we take on the responsibility for their health and welfare by keeping them as pets. One of the most important ways of monitoring your cats health is by regularly observing them and their toilet habits. Not much fun, but important. Not really possible to do when they go outside all the time.
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It's actually quiet possible to monitor your cats business outside as they like to go in the same areas. A better way to see if they are healthy is by the third membrane of the eye and of course how they are acting in themselves.

It sounds like a few posters have Munchausen by proxy with pets
 
Russinating said:
Anyone who says cats shouldn't be kept indoors has no idea about breeding.

Cats which are considered 'house cats', ie Ragdolls, Persians etc have been bred for centuries to live indoors.

I agree that yes you shouldn't really be keeping a sand cat or similar indoors because it's in their genes to be outdoors, enjoy hunting, exploring etc. House cats genuinely hate it.
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I just googled "Sand Cat" and they are so cute!
 
iamtheoneneo said:
I personally disagree with the idea of a house cat, mainly bc cats should have the right to explore and hunt and by independent, that's what their about and we shouldnt take that right away from them . (Cat Rights are important too! ;) )

I have two of my own and to be honest they only go out for a few hours a day max, the rest of the time their in the house sleeping - so its not as if there 24/7 outside destroying the place like many NON-cat owners seem to believe.
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It really depends, having an cat allowed to go outdoors means less effort from the owner.

Keeping an indoor cat that you don't play with and doesn't have a good amount of toys and equipment will result in a frustrated cat with pent up energy that will most likely become very destructive.

We spoil Winston, he gets at least 2 hours of energetic play every day, split in the morning and evening. The rest of the time he sleeps or has cuddles. He has a massive chest full of toys, and he often goes over to it and picks which ones he wants us to play with.

He has multiple scratching posts and plenty of things to climb and bound about on.

He is groomed every other day that he LOVES, we clean his eyes every day, feed him vastly superior stuff to the likes of Felix/Whiskas and just generally give him everything we can.

Letting him out would be bad for a number of reasons:

He's a bloody good looking pedigree and would get nicked in a shot.
We are surrounded by busy London roads.
There are loads of urban foxes about.

He has a far superior life currently than if we were to let him out.

When we move further out from London and get a garden, I will cat-proof it so he can enjoy some fresh air, but there is no way I want him roaming the neighbourhood possibly getting attacked by other animals, or indeed human cat-haters (there are a number of incidences of cats being purposefully poisoned by horrible people).
 
UncleRuckus said:
You just contradicted yourself in one paragraph.
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Where? Perhaps I'm thick because I don't see it.

UncleRuckus said:
Life is full of risks every time you leave the house there's a chance you could be injured, keeping an animal inside for those reasons is oppressive.
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Well, again, that is clearly an opinion you hold rather than a statement based on any fact. Forcing a cat to go outside when they don't want to as it would cause them stress (bullying by a neighbouring cat for example) is oppressive, no? I think you're missing my point, that being, that to make blanket statement saying keeps cats indoors is "horrifically unfair" is total bull.

UncleRuckus said:
It's actually quiet possible to monitor your cats business outside as they like to go in the same areas. A better way to see if they are healthy is by the third membrane of the eye and of course how they are acting in themselves.

It sounds like a few posters have Munchausen by proxy with pets
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Possible to monitor, yes. Possible to monitor accurately, no. How can you tell if their urine contains blood or crystals after they've pee'd in soil? How can you tell how often they are visiting their toilet spot? Like I said, possible but far easier to monitor if they are indoors.

Whilst the third eyelid can be an indicator of specific health problems, you're far more likely to notice behavioural and toilet changes before looking at the eyelid.

And to try and compare what's in this thread to a behaviour pattern that is generally considered child abuse is rather odd. You strike me as someone who maybe views having a pet differently to the way others might.
 
platypus said:
I don't see how he's contradicted himself? He said there is no evidence to say cats are happier outdoors than indoors, and in reality it depends on the individual cat. At least thats how I read it.
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He stated there's no evidence either way but then goes on to say that cats do have personality, so surely if a cat is out going and is not having that need met then that would make it unhappy and unstimulated.
 
There's lots of opinion here and very little fact.

Cats are domesticated animals not wild animals. It's no more cruel to keep them indoors than it is to keep a rat/hamster/rabbit in a cage or a farmer keeping cows/pigs/chickens in a shed. In addition the aforementioned animals don't kill thousands of birds and small mammals every year! You could actually argue that people who allow their cats unfettered access to the outdoors are being cruel to wild animals.

A very large proportion of pedigree cats are not allowed free access to the outdoors - particularly in urban areas. This is for some very valid reasons, not least of which is that much of their natural wariness/instinct has been bred out meaning they are much more prone to accidents and/or being stolen.


Keeping cats indoors is very easy to do cleanly and with no odour - just do some research into the best foods, litter materials, how to maintain/clean the litter tray and provide plenty of stimulation such as trees/toys to play with.
 
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covenantuk said:
There's lots of opinion here and very little fact.

Cats are domesticated animals not wild animals. It's no more cruel to keep them indoors than it is to keep a rat/hamster/rabbit in a cage or a farmer keeping cows/pigs/chickens in a shed. In addition the aforementioned animals don't kill thousands of birds and small mammals every year! You could actually argue that people who allow their cats unfettered access to the outdoors are being cruel to wild animals.

A very large proportion of pedigree cats are not allowed free access to the outdoors - particularly in urban areas. This is for some very valid reasons, not least of which is that much of their natural wariness/instinct has been bred out meaning they are much more prone to accidents and/or being stolen.


Keeping cats indoors is very easy to do cleanly and with no odour - just do some research into the best foods, litter materials, how to maintain/clean the litter tray and provide plenty of stimulation such as trees/toys to play with.
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I am inclined to agree with this. Let's keep the bickering down guys. Thanks for all the input from those with experience of keeping a house cat. It seems that good quality litter is indeed the most crucial thing to keeping the house smell free.
 
HummuH1 said:
Well, again, that is clearly an opinion you hold rather than a statement based on any fact. Forcing a cat to go outside when they don't want to as it would cause them stress (bullying by a neighbouring cat for example) is oppressive, no? I think you're missing my point, that being, that to make blanket statement saying keeps cats indoors is "horrifically unfair" is total bull.
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I don't force my cats to do anything, if they wish to go out they can, if they wish to stay in they can also do this. I give them the freedom to do as they want; I won't keep them indoors to satisfy my worries or insecurity about their safety.


HummuH1 said:
Possible to monitor, yes. Possible to monitor accurately, no. How can you tell if their urine contains blood or crystals after they've pee'd in soil? How can you tell how often they are visiting their toilet spot? Like I said, possible but far easier to monitor if they are indoors.

Whilst the third eyelid can be an indicator of specific health problems, you're far more likely to notice behavioural and toilet changes before looking at the eyelid.
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In every case where my cats have been unwell it has been blindingly obvious that they are under the weather by the way they act. You get to know there routines.

HummuH1 said:
And to try and compare what's in this thread to a behaviour pattern that is generally considered child abuse is rather odd. You strike me as someone who maybe views having a pet differently to the way others might.
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You can call it odd if you wish, but I if start noticing the similarities I will call it.

Yes, I probably do view pet ownership differently than most. :)
 
UncleRuckus said:
I don't force my cats to do anything, if they wish to go out they can, if they wish to stay in they can also do this. I give them the freedom to do as they want; I won't keep them indoors to satisfy my worries or insecurity about their safety.
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So you are ignoring the fact that many pedigree breeds have, over many generations, been specifically reared to not be outdoor creatures?

Much in the same way I wouldn't let a child be outdoors unsupervised, that is how I treat my cat. For all intents and purposes, he is a child under my care.
 
House cats are great i have 2 outdoor ones and an ragdoll cat and they are stunning, Edward-Bear preferes to stay in the house doesnt like the grass and he uses the tray like normal cats
 
I've got 2 cats
The wilko own brand non clumping litter is the best out of the ones I've tried and also pretty cheap.
this one
http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/cat-li...litter&VBMTC=42ab1d2a9a7c539e4d3f7060aa74d016
I usually get 4x bags delivered whenever I'm close to running out and use half a bag a week.

As long as you poop scoop daily and remove any wet litter it shouldn't smell at all, my cars only ever wee at the front part of the litter making it really easy for me to scoop it out.

All cats should be taught by there mum to use a litter tray so there should be no training needed just show the cat where the tray is and dont put it near the cat food bowls
 
i also have 2 indoor cats, they are brother and sister and half siamese and we had them since kittens. They are get housecats, never fight and are now 7yrs old. Yes their crap may smell as they have one "like most humans do", but that is the indicator to us humans to put it down the toilet.
 
I think it depends on the cat and the amount of space you have. The one I got a couple of months back was significantly happier once she was allowed out.

re: Litter I currently use catsan, clean it out as soon as it has solidified * (about an hour or two after the deposit it seems) and feed her high meat content food so there isn't much aroma and it fades fast.

* Cheap freezer food bags are invaluable for this - scoop up, tie up and put outside to be taken to the wheelie in the morning.
 
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