British Blue Shorthair Cats
- Thread starter elh_2009
- Start date
Caporegime
Post that on a bloody cat forum! 
Permabanned
Get a cat from a shelter... forget about specific bread... a rescue cat will love you more.
I hope you have a big house at the very least and hopefully with an enclosed outdoor space.
I really don't think it's fair on a cat to be stuck indoors otherwise.
Would you take it for walks or allow supervised outdoor time?
I really don't think it's fair on a cat to be stuck indoors otherwise.
Would you take it for walks or allow supervised outdoor time?
Cats Protection won't let you adopt one of their cats as an indoor cat. Not sure if that's the norm or just them.
No need to hate on pedigree cats. There is certainly a place for pedigrees, and a place for people who do their research and are attracted to the traits of a specific breed.
However breed is not a cast-iron guarantee of personality. Cats are individuals.
';;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;y777777777777777777777777777777|\
However it is not cruel that she spends most of her time indoors. Sometimes after only a few minutes outdoors she will voluntarily walk back inside. She is quite content inside for long periods. But I know she appreciates her outdoors walks a lot. The extra stimulation from the smells, the sounds, watching the birds... really keeps her happy.
Indoors she has plenty of toys but most of them go ignored. After almost 3 years together I still can't get her to play mad games like other cats do. She's too smart to chase after stuffed, dead things, I think
Outdoors she will chase butterflies, stalk the pigeons, meet other cats... but always supervised; always on her harness.
This has the benefit of keeping her 100% safe, and keeping the wildlife we enjoy safe. She can't get involved in fights with other cats - and our estate is overflowing with cats. It doesn't matter that she has no road sense... I don't let her near the roads. Her territory is my garden, the public footpaths around our house, a bit of waste ground next to us. It's enough for her. A male cat might be different story.
P.S. The "extra punctuation" above your quote was added by HRH Princess Bella herself
One thing I've learned with Bella is that it's really, really hard to provide sufficent stimulation if your cat never goes outside. Bella has at least one or two outdoor excursions, albeit just around the garden, and she will meow and meow if I'm a bit tardy in taking her out.
However it is not cruel that she spends most of her time indoors. Sometimes after only a few minutes outdoors she will voluntarily walk back inside. She is quite content inside for long periods. But I know she appreciates her outdoors walks a lot. The extra stimulation from the smells, the sounds, watching the birds... really keeps her happy.
Indoors she has plenty of toys but most of them go ignored. After almost 3 years together I still can't get her to play mad games like other cats do. She's too smart to chase after stuffed, dead things, I think
Outdoors she will chase butterflies, stalk the pigeons, meet other cats... but always supervised; always on her harness.This has the benefit of keeping her 100% safe, and keeping the wildlife we enjoy safe. She can't get involved in fights with other cats - and our estate is overflowing with cats. It doesn't matter that she has no road sense... I don't let her near the roads. Her territory is my garden, the public footpaths around our house, a bit of waste ground next to us. It's enough for her. A male cat might be different story.
P.S. The "extra punctuation" above your quote was added by HRH Princess Bella herself
Permabanned
Cat's Protection are particularly bad.
They turned down my Grandmother to adopt a cat because they thought she lived on too busy a road. I've heard similar stories from others.
She had multiple cats there for years already and more after, never lost one to the road. They all died of old age and they were allowed out (the back of the house).
They approved me and my wife because our road looked quiet... and one of ours was run over
Go somewhere else... I have a distinct disdain for the CPL... they would rather kill a cat than give it to a good home they deem to be unsuitable...
There are many unwanted cats and kittens in shelters... too many get euthanised... I'd always advocate re-homing one of those guys. They'll appreciate it.
The most loving kitty I've ever come across was one we found at 4 weeks old playing in the middle of the road in the middle of nowhere... no house, no parent cat anywhere nearby. We took her in and you wouldn't believe the affection a cat can give... I didn't.
Please rescue... the bred cats won't go without a home or life.
The rules on keeping an indoor cat are... if they've always been an indoors cat... then that's ok because they haven't known different... if they've been outdoor cats, then you shouldn't keep them in (in fact, I think that's illegal in UK... amoung other countries).
For indoor, just make sure you tailor your home to them... Jackson Galaxy from "My Cat From Hell" TV show has shown some cool stuff. Check him out if you haven't already. I've learnt a lot from him and even this evening I was using the things I'd learnt from him in regards to cat body language to make friends with a wild cat who has started showing up at our new back door the last few nights.
Last edited:
I would never discourage anybody from adopting/rescuing a cat from a shelter; it's a brilliant thing to do.
It's not for everyone tho. And there is no guarantee I'm afraid that a rescued cat will be affectionate at all. This is reality speaking now
As for it being illegal to keep a cat indoors? That only applies if you don't own the cat. It is only illegal to shut a cat that does not belong to you inside your house and to prevent it leaving.
The law does not care whether you keep your own cat indoors. The law says your cat is your property.
Cat theft auto!I would never discourage anybody from adopting/rescuing a cat from a shelter; it's a brilliant thing to do.
It's not for everyone tho. And there is no guarantee I'm afraid that a rescued cat will be affectionate at all. This is reality speaking now
As for it being illegal to keep a cat indoors? That only applies if you don't own the cat. It is only illegal to shut a cat that does not belong to you inside your house and to prevent it leaving.
The law does not care whether you keep your own cat indoors. The law says your cat is your property.
if you need an indoor cat then one ethical option would perhaps be to get one with FIV (basically cat AIDS) then you have to keep it indoors, it also won't live as long as a regular cat so for a first cat you can see if you like keeping one and if not then meh, you've only got it for a handful of years at most anyway
other option I've heard of, if you get one as a kitten, is to keep them indoors for longer than you'd usually do before letting them explore outside, if they're also neutered then they'll be less likely to go so far, you might end up with them only really sticking around your garden and immediate neighbours
other option I've heard of, if you get one as a kitten, is to keep them indoors for longer than you'd usually do before letting them explore outside, if they're also neutered then they'll be less likely to go so far, you might end up with them only really sticking around your garden and immediate neighbours
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2012
- Posts
- 8,333
visiting a shelter and taking a look is definitely something worth doing.
they all have their different personalities and being a specific breed isn't going to guarantee that.
go to a shelter, take a look at what they have, make sure to handle any cat you're interested in and see if they take a shine to you.
perfect example is we currently have 2 cats, one was a stray who we've had for over 10 years now, but in those 10 years he's still terrified of me, i've never done anything to scare/hurt him, he just plain doesn't like me.
if you're looking for an indoor only cat then they'll likely have cats with conditions or backgrounds that require them to be indoor only cats, when i was there they had a completely blind cat that would have had to be kept inside.
they all have their different personalities and being a specific breed isn't going to guarantee that.
go to a shelter, take a look at what they have, make sure to handle any cat you're interested in and see if they take a shine to you.
perfect example is we currently have 2 cats, one was a stray who we've had for over 10 years now, but in those 10 years he's still terrified of me, i've never done anything to scare/hurt him, he just plain doesn't like me.
if you're looking for an indoor only cat then they'll likely have cats with conditions or backgrounds that require them to be indoor only cats, when i was there they had a completely blind cat that would have had to be kept inside.
Soldato
GD cat thread is here: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/show-us-your-kitty-cats.18049556/
Some excellent advice above, I'd only add that its worth getting insurance as Vet bills can go large quite quickly.
Some excellent advice above, I'd only add that its worth getting insurance as Vet bills can go large quite quickly.
Soldato
Worst I really want a dog thread ever!
Soldato
My cat ain't going outside the garden. With the cat killer around the area(Croydon) and foxes roaming everywhere she'll be in trouble in no time. She's let a few hours a week to roam outside, chew grass and what ever else she does. But not free walking around the area.
Especially after my previous cat got ripped to pieces by something big and we had to put him down due to injuries.
Especially after my previous cat got ripped to pieces by something big and we had to put him down due to injuries.
Soldato
BSH are often cited as an ideal indoor cat..they are bone idle!
Soldato
sounds like my spirit animal lol