With thousands of forums and articles differing in opinion, here is everything you need to know about the ups and downs of indoor vs. outdoor cats, and how to meet the needs of both.
Many more cat owners are considering an indoor life for their furry friends, particularly kittens, rescues, and cats with health conditions. Some breeders may even require for you to keep your new furry family member inside with outdoor access being restricted to a Cat Fencing Solution or similar.
So what are the key aspects to be aware of? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons:
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Indoor Cat Pros: No risk of accidents from traffic, No injuries due to cat fights, Less risk of infection and disease, Safer against pet thieves, Longer life span (14-17 years).
Indoor Cat Cons: Boredom & restlessness, Frustration at not being able to show natural behaviours (ie. Hunting), Destroying furniture, Smelly litter box.
Outdoor Cat Pros: Healthier behaviour, Able to forage, Adaptation and alertness, More natural and happier state.
Outdoor Cat Cons: Shorter life span (2-5 years), At risk of injury through road traffic and fighting, Susceptible to pet thieves and disease, Territorial Disputes.
Although behaviourally an outdoor life for your cat is better, it offers little peace of mind for cat owners to know their pet is vulnerable. So how do we enrich our cats lives whilst keeping them safe from the outside world?
Top Tips If You Choose To Keep Your Cat Outdoors
Don’t free feed your cat! Build up a regimented routine with food so that when hungry, your cat will come back in when you call their name. This will give you more control over your outdoor cat.
For more advice, our friends at International Cat Care have a helpful blog for letting your cat outside here.
Top Tips If You Choose To Keep Your Cat Indoors
Try to mimic outside as much as possible with catnip plants and plenty of cat trees for scratching. Create a playground for your cat including places for them to climb. Stimulating them through play is key!
Cat Daddy and behaviourist Jackson Galaxy talks about the importance of mimicking the ‘Hunt, Catch, Kill, Eat’ routine, with more resolutions for healthy cat play in Jackson's blog here.
The Best Of Both Worlds
If you’re serious about keeping your cat safe but want to give them the most enriching life possible, then Fencetop Barriers, Catios or a Cat Enclosure offer the best of both worlds.
When Simon and Eve tragically lost their cat Lola in a road traffic accident, they developed a system to allow cats to safely experience the outdoors. Since then over 14,000 cats in the UK can happily and safely enjoy the outside without any risk of danger.
Our ethos is simple: a happy pet equals a happy owner. Understanding the behaviour of our pets is a good start to developing products that make pets feel closer to their natural habitat.
There are many options all of which are possible with professional installation (get a free, no obligation quote by sending us a message with a picture of your garden) or you can build them yourself by ordering through our online shop (browse our products here).
How do I get a quote from ProtectaPet®?
- Request a call back
- Ring us on 0800 999 4008
- Email us on info@protectapet.com
- Send us a message on Facebook