Thread: Maine Coon cats as wanderers?

I think it's a tough decision though.
I've only ever owned moggies before now and it felt cruel to keep a cat that so desperately wants to be outdoors inside (and they ALL wanted to be outdoors). I wouldn't dream of it. But now I have Poif I really want her to be an indoor cat. At 12 weeks she's showed little interest in going outside, but i don't think she's worked out what the cat-flap does yet!
When she does work it out and if she wants to go out, I don't feel like it would be fair to stop her. And even if I did that means that I'd have to shut my normally free-roaming cats either in or out, which doesn't seem fair either...

Like I say...it's a toughie!

The research has been done, indoor only cats live over twice as long as cats that roam.
It can be an unfriendly world to a cat outside and the dangers are numerous.
When I was a child we had cat's that got run over and cats that ate something that poisoned them, we also had cats just disappear.
Since Samantha died I've been trying to wean Chiquita from going outside, I let her out then 15 minutes later I call her back in, most of the time she's either in the garage laying in her place on top of my convertible or close by.
To me the cruelty is exposing them to unnecessary dangers that could deprive them of years of life.
Indoors VS Outdoors - Cats Really Are Safer Inside
If you provide your cat with something to do and play with they can be perfectly happy spending their entire life inside.

I don't know if I mentioned this on here before but there was a massive scare in the village I used to live in - some guy was leaving out poisoned cat food and lots of cats were killed or made very ill by it. After that I swore that I'd never have a cat which could roam. One of our cats disappeared (we've assumed it was because he got ill and died) and the other was very ill and afterwards she wouldn't go any further away from the house than our back garden.

I think if a cat has been bred to be inside then they don't know any better and you're not denying them anything by keeping them indoors, you're protecting them. I'd love to have a garden enclosure or something like that but we live in a flat so can't have things like that at the moment. I'm sure if we ever move to a house with a garden we will do something like that.

I'd never dream of letting Teddy roam free.

(Just my two cents based on my personal experience!)

We have cats come into work who have used more than their fair share of "nine lives",after a second or sometimes third mishap some owners have decided to make their cats indoor only animals & are very surprised how happy they are & how much more attuned they become to each other.
Dogs used to roam wild,we have domesticated them to spend their days laying indoors except for the exercise we deem enough for them,there are notices up to tell you to clear up after them,if said dog was to go on a killing rampage be it sheep , pheasants etc your dog would be deemed to be running wild & as they are fed by us they can't be hungry,cats have been domesticated by us so why is it thought right that they should continue to roam,shit in other peoples gardens & kill all the wildlife they can,same applies,add on to that the injury factor be it accidental or sadly in lots of cases nowadays intentionally by humans then I am happy to entertain my cats in a safe home enviroment & no apologies for doing so....

Of course statistics show that indoor cats live longer. But statistics also show that animals such as tigers that live in captivity also live longer but that doesn't mean that it's a better life for them. I'm not sure if there's a happiness rating scale for cats, but I'd be interested to see how happy indoor cats are compared to the cats that are allowed to venture outdoors. Of course indoor cats are happy, I'm not denying that, but generally they are also lazier and at greater risk of being overweight.

Of my 3 previous cats who have sadly passed away 2 of them died at a young age from congenital heart failure. Sadly the other was hit by a car at 10 months, but she lived a very happy life. She often returned to the house with her recent 'killings' which mostly consisted of jammy dodgers and cooked sausage.

I'd like to say I don't think there is a right or a wrong answer to this debate. I just know that I strongly feel that my cats deserve to be able to go on outdoor cat adventures. That said, they spend 80% of their time in the house anyway!

Tigers aren't domesticated house cats they're wild animals, cat have been living with man for 10,000 years, that's comparing apples and oranges.
Any cat can get fat and lazy with an ample supply of food, it's up to the owner to provide their pets with exercise and play.
It's up to each owner to weigh the risks and rewards for keeping their pets indoors or allowing them to roam.
For me the risks (dead kitty) out way the rewards.
My cat lived 16 years and never went outside, she got cancer and I feel terrible about it even though she lived a wonderful life and was never sick until her final day, for me I couldn't bear the guilt I'd put myself through if she died outside run over by a car.
That's me that's my choice, I get choked up when ever I sees a cat lying on the side of the road dead, I wonder if it was loved or a stray and how it came to this end.

Any breeder I spoke to when we were looking said the kittens must be indoor cats - I didn't have to sign an agreement (well I did but it was just to agree to have him neutered) but it was mentioned right at the beginning.

We keep Rasputin inside and then occasionally take him out on a leash. He does show interest, particularly in going out the front door (which he only ever goes out of in a cat carrier).
At first, I really did feel it would be unfair to keep him indoors (garden's not really cat-proofable) as when I grew up we had moggies that were allowed out.
Thought about it though and decided that as we don't live in the best area and get quite a few chavs bombing down the roads at 60 (despite it being entirely 30 mph residential area) it just wouldn't be safe for him to go out. If we ever move to somewhere in the middle of nowhere with plenty of roaming space without coming across any major dangers then I would consider letting him outdoors but it's just not worth the risk round here!