National road accident awareness day – options for your cat
There can be lots to consider if you are choosing an indoor or outdoor life for your cat. Cats Protection, Cats and Their State UK annual report, states that there are 3% of injuries have been down to a road traffic accident and 24 % have had injuries from fights with other cats or animals –these statistics can feel distressing. The report included 6829 cat owners from an online survey.
What option is right for you and your cat?
This can depend on a number of factors. Some cats, if they have been used to an outside environment and may be scared of human contact are likely to find indoor only access overwhelming and stressful.
Outside access means a cat can explore, have exercise, play and jump which are all wonderful benefits to a cats mental wellbeing. Wellbeing is not something that we can always create – it is an animals individual experience and can be influenced by their internal state such as health and their environment, and how they perceive it.
However, outside access on the other hand poses risks to our cats health – this can be physical and mental. It could be in the form of potential road traffic accidents, fighting with other cats and feeling worried by other animals (despots are cats who actively seek out other cat’s territory and urine spray and fight the other cat in an attempt to claim the area as their own). Even with the new microchipping law, cats can still get lost and people can claim them as theirs.
An indoor lifestyle means that a cat is protected from the above risks. If they have puzzle feeders, play sessions that mimic hunting opportunities (a long piece of string with a hairband is very popular and busts boredom – (Ellis, 2009) and even cat training their environment can be enriched, which can benefit welfare. Valerian toys and puzzle feeders to mimic hunting can all be very popular too! When first introducing a puzzle feeder leave some food in your cat’s bowl too and overfill the puzzle feeder to start off with so they understand what to do (then you can make it more challenging).
Indoor only access means that a cat will generally have less exercise and can be at risk of health related challenges such as obesity. Hardie and colleagues (2002) discovered and a 90% prevalence of various types of degenerative joint disease in cats over 12 years old. If you have more than one cat, competition and behavioural challenges can occur if there are not enough resources in separate areas such as vertical space to rest, hiding spots, feeding stations and toileting areas too. Feline idiopathic cystitis which can result in a cat urinating outside of the tray and/or passing very small amounts of urine may be exacerbated by stress in some cats, though there may be other factors such as a correlation with early life experiences and resilience to stress response (Sparkes, 2008).
A catio or cat fencing options is an excellent example of how to give cats controlled outdoor access to fresh air and outside access. It can be conflicting to know what is best to do for your cat to ensure their physical wellbeing is protected and their mental wellbeing is enhanced so can be a great option which also gives you peace of mind. There are lots of different bespoke options for your outside space meaning if you have trees that are trickier or odd shapes, Protectapet will be able to advise.
Guest Blog: Lisa Sinnott Cat Behaviourist St Claws Academy. Postgraduate dipolma in clinical animal behaviour - University of Edinburgh Royal (Dick) School of Vet Studies.
References
Ellis SL. Environmental Enrichment: Practical Strategies for Improving Feline Welfare. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 2009;11(11):901-912.
Hardie EM, Roe SC, Martin FR. Radiographic evidence of degenerative joint disease in geri- atric cats: 100 cases (1994–1997). J Am Vet Med Assoc 2002; 220: 628–32.
Sparkes, Andrew. Understanding feline idiopathic cystitis, In practice, British Veterinary Journal. 2008; 40(13)95-101.
Cats Protection (2023), CATS Report UK 2023. https://www.cats.org.uk/media/cjcekhtq/ed_685-cats-report-2023_uk_digi.pdf
