Thread: One indoor one outdoor cat-problems?

I used to let my cats outside ( not at night) many years ago but after one got hit by a car ( recovered), one attacked by a tom requiring vet treatment and a friends cat killed by a snake I now have my cats inside. I do have the cat run down the side of the house for them.

Even my 2 recently deceased 17 3/4 year old cats took to being inside relatively easily after being allowed outside for about 8 years with only a few escapes early in the piece.

Timmy (7) doesnt look to go outside and once I took him out the front to see someone he paniced and tried to shred the door to get back in. He will step out the back a few steps if I am out there with the door open but soon runs back in as I think he is just seeing where I am if I have left the door open.

Sarah has never tried to get out either door and has never shown an interest at all.

Zack is copying her and when I come inside they step back from the door and walk inside with me.

They have constant access to the cat run 14m x 3 m with plants and bugs and I would say they are out there about 1 hour in 24 - maybe 2 on a summer night if I leave the light on and the moths start flying around. Other than having to use a tray I dont think it would make much difference to them if I shut them inside all the time - they chose to be in themselves.

I think if they have never been out then they dont miss it

I like to come home and know I have the 3 cats I left in the morning in one piece!

ps - the MC breeders require them to be inside cats anyway unless on leashes

Originally Posted by Heather2mc

ps - the MC breeders require them to be inside cats anyway unless on leashes

Mine didn't - she goes on peoples individual circumstances. Everyone is different I think you should do what you feel comfortable with and what you feel is best for your cats. For me Simba would be a very unhappy cat being kept indoors and I feel that loving him is letting him have his freedom. In my case the risks are too minimal to keep him shut in for all his life and so they are outweighed by his happiness.

I think it is just the Australian breeders that want the MC inside. We do have lots of venomous snakes, spiders and other dangers here. We also have some unique small animals that are dwindling in numbers.

Some of the councils here are even trying to limits cats to 2, register them and insist on them being inside!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Heather2mc

I think it is just the Australian breeders that want the MC inside. We do have lots of venomous snakes, spiders and other dangers here. We also have some unique small animals that are dwindling in numbers.

Some of the councils here are even trying to limits cats to 2, register them and insist on them being inside!!!!!!!

Blimey good job we dont live there or we'd be in bother Alot of breeders over here state indoor only homes to.

As a UK breeder, I would be horrified if any of my kitten owners let them outside. I state in my contract that all of our Maine Coons need to be indoor cats or go to homes where they have a garden enclosure.

Apart from anything else, they do not have any road sense like moggies seem to have bred into them and a family down the road from me had a Maine Coon who ran out in the road chasing a car and got knocked down and killed - I was the one who found her body. You also have to bear in mind that these are pedigree cats and therefore much more likely to be stolen, something which is made much easier by their nature which makes them want to be friends with everyone.

Just because your moggies goes out, doesn't mean your maine coons should. My opinion obviously but I do not know a single other reputable breeder that sells to outdoor homes.

I really don't want to get into a whole debate about this, you are not going to change my mind and I wont yours but just a few points. Firstly I rang at least 3 reputable breeders before I found the kitten I wanted and all would have sold me one knowing I intended to let it outside. Although I personally wouldn't have been dishonest with a breeder, how do you know all the kittens you have sold have been kept in - do you keep in contact with all of them? Although sad that humans are often dishonest it seems very likely to me that it would be easy for someone to say yes to keeping it in and then not.

Secondly I had a dog that chased cars once but just because one does doesn't mean they all do. Simba has had his freedom for 2 weeks now and he hasn't even left our back garden. If I am indoors he is often with me even though the door is open. He is frightened of loud noises and if he hears a tractor going down the road out the front he runs indoors to hide so I really can't see him chasing any.

As for theft, Simba is only outside when I'm at home, theft is extremely unlike here anyway and even more unlikely during the day when we are all at home with him.

There is a lady who lives across from our field who has a MC and she has let it out since it was a kitten - he is a big healthy boy now (I think about 7) and like me she brings him in at night. She said he never wonders far. I have spoken to a few people I know, not on this forum but on a dog one I'm involved with that have MC or other pure bread cats and they all let there's out, but like me they all live in safe environments. So I think it is probably more common than you may think. And for as many sad stories you hear about there are probably a lot more happy ones that you don't hear of.

I really don't want to upset anyone - I assure you I love my cat just as much as you love yours - I'm just doing what I feel is right for me. I am not judging you and I ask you to do the same.

Curious about tick-borne diseases in UK? From a quick Internet search it appears that you do indeed have disease carrying ticks in UK. This is actually one of my primary concerns about our cats going outside--even supervised. Ticks in the US can carry a whole host of diseases that affect cats. One is essentially 100% fatal if contracted (Cytauxzoon felis), and cats in our town have died from it. When I take our one cat outside with me, I check her over very carefully multiple times. Ticks alone are reason enough for me to not take any of the other cats outside even supervised. In fact, I worry every time I have Bella out with me. I probably checked her over a dozen times last night. Even still, Lyme-carrying ticks are so small it is unlikely I would be able to detect them. (We do not use tick repellents because they don't really protect against disease transmission. E.g., the first two cats here that died from the previously mentioned disease had both been treated. Vets still push repellents, but really they just lull you into thinking you are protecting your cat when you are not. Can take 48hrs to cause tick to drop off--well after it has bitten.) So do people in UK worry about tick-borne diseases when you have your cats outside?

Originally Posted by Karena

I really don't want to get into a whole debate about this, you are not going to change my mind and I wont yours but just a few points. Firstly I rang at least 3 reputable breeders before I found the kitten I wanted and all would have sold me one knowing I intended to let it outside. Although I personally wouldn't have been dishonest with a breeder, how do you know all the kittens you have sold have been kept in - do you keep in contact with all of them? Although sad that humans are often dishonest it seems very likely to me that it would be easy for someone to say yes to keeping it in and then not.

Secondly I had a dog that chased cars once but just because one does doesn't mean they all do. Simba has had his freedom for 2 weeks now and he hasn't even left our back garden. If I am indoors he is often with me even though the door is open. He is frightened of loud noises and if he hears a tractor going down the road out the front he runs indoors to hide so I really can't see him chasing any.

As for theft, Simba is only outside when I'm at home, theft is extremely unlike here anyway and even more unlikely during the day when we are all at home with him.

There is a lady who lives across from our field who has a MC and she has let it out since it was a kitten - he is a big healthy boy now (I think about 7) and like me she brings him in at night. She said he never wonders far. I have spoken to a few people I know, not on this forum but on a dog one I'm involved with that have MC or other pure bread cats and they all let there's out, but like me they all live in safe environments. So I think it is probably more common than you may think. And for as many sad stories you hear about there are probably a lot more happy ones that you don't hear of.

I really don't want to upset anyone - I assure you I love my cat just as much as you love yours - I'm just doing what I feel is right for me. I am not judging you and I ask you to do the same.

First of all, I clearly stated at the bottom of my post that it was my opinion. I keep in touch with every single one of my kitten owners and I have built up enough of a relationship with them to trust that they aren't letting my babies outside. Those that do have taken my advice and either cat proofed the garden or had a cat run installed.

All I will say is that every breeder that I am in touch with, Maine Coon and otherwise, always state indoor homes only and we do actually tend to advise one another if people contact us for outdoor home kittens, so that we don't make the mistake of selling to them thinking our kittens will be kept indoors.

Originally Posted by Heather2mc

I think it is just the Australian breeders that want the MC inside. We do have lots of venomous snakes, spiders and other dangers here. We also have some unique small animals that are dwindling in numbers.

Most of what I would consider the serious US MC breeders insist that you keep their kittens inside (or possibly outside under your supervision). This is in the contract that you sign to purchase the kitten. Most contracts state that you can be forced to forfeit the cat if you fail to meet the obligations spelled out the contract. I would think these contracts would be very difficult to enforce, but they do impress on the potential buyers what is expected. Other obligations typically relate to neutering, access to vet care, food, vaccinations they are not to have, etc. I have seen some that are quite, er, comprehensive, requiring that you never leave the cat alone for more than n hours, etc. Actually, that reminded me of one of such breeders that I came across when we were looking at one point. Here is their questionnaire: http://www.bstreetcattery.com/Adopti...stionnaire.pdf and here is their contract: AGREEMENT FOR SALE OF CAT OR KITTEN

We have cat proofed our garden as well but didn't extend the hight of the fences and still works really well. I have 2 moggies that were used to going out and I, like you, thought the MCs might not like seeing the others go out. Now all four will eventually be able to go out into the garden.