"Jeannie" wrote in message
...
"blair thompson" wrote in message
...
I recently lost my guy to the coyotes. I live adjacent to a
forested area where they are active, so I am thinking my next best
friend should be confined to quarters
I have been reading the many compelling arguments in favour of
keeping a cat inside---the safety angle, longevity cf to the
free-rangers, etc. I know there is much one can do to make indoor
living tolerable to a cat, such as cat tree, cat grass munchies, toys,
etc.
But I am still wondering what the consensus here might be to
just how pleasurable life really is for an indoor cat, Or am I just
anthropomorphizing human traits onto a cat, and they really don't need
as much stimuli in a day as we do, especially when they sleep 15-plus
hours out of every 24? 
What about the second-cat-to-keep-the
-first-one-company option?
Thanks for your input.
Blair Thompson
North Vancouver, B.C.
I think that keeping a cat inside is OK if the cat has always been an
indoor
only cat and doesn't know any different. I would also suggest getting two
cats rather than one as they will then keep each other company when your
not
there.
I do find that if you read this newsgroup regularly, you will find a
higher
incidence of things like, cats on Prozac (??), inappropriate illimination
issues, stress related behavior, e.g. fur biting, among indoor only cats.
I
would like to stress that this is my perception and it may just be because
there are a high proportion of Americans who post here and they are more
likely to keep their cats indoor only.
Having an indoor only cat is more challenging for the owner. You have to
provide opportunities for stimulation. You have the litterbox cleanup chores
and scratching issues that are either non-existent or minimal with an
indoor-outdoor cat. Furnishings will take more of a beating as energetic
cats will do their daily laps whether outside or inside.
From my personal observation (not scientific study so take it for what it's
worth) if a kitten hasn't been outside they aren't really keen to get there.
I got my Tigger as a kitten and had to pick her up and put her outside to
get her there. At first she just hovered near the back door. I bottle fed
Boots when we found his litter in my son's wrecked car last fall. When he
was a few months old I thought I'd try taking him out for supervised play
time (he's a maniac in the house). He was petrified and literally freaked
out. He now freaks if you carry him anywhere near a door and will hide if
someone that doesn't live here comes in the back door (but not if they come
in the front - I had carried him out the back door). He doesn't want to go
out there. He spends time in the bow window and will "chase" birds and
squirrels from there.
Mabel, Fluffer, Ralf and Isabelle had all been outside and were older when
we adopted them. The only one who demonstrated displeasure with being inside
was Mabel who was willing to claw her way through drywall to get out.
There are a number of people posting to this group who adopted older cats,
feral cats and strays who wander in. These are cats "with a past" and it's
not terribly surprising that they may have issues. These aren't the cute pet
store domesticated cats. That might account for some of the Prozac.
I'm wondering what the let your cats outdoors people think the benefit is.
Is it the fresh air and exercise? If so that can be accomplished by building
a large outside enclosure or having a screened in porch. If the point of
going outside is to let the cat be unfettered, have the freedom to wander
about and interact with the wildlife (translated chase/kill birds, mice and
rabbits), then the enclosure or screened porch only increased the sq.
footage of the "cage".
I don't claim to know what is right for a cat. I personally won't force a
cat to stay inside only if they indicate they hate it nor will I force a cat
outside who doesn't want to go. I've only had one cat who indicated she
hated being confined indoors so the rest stay inside because it's safer
where I live. I've cleared off the window sills and have a large cat tree,
tons of toys and more litter boxes than I'd like to think about.
W