Indoor Cats

In the UK, it’s considered normal to let your cats outside. However, there are situations where this may not be possible such as living in a heavy traffic area or if the cat has an illness or disability.

Cats can also be a nuisance as well as a delight. Some examples are:
1. Using other people’s gardens as a toilet.
2. Attacking pets and wildlife.
3. Climbing through house windows and stealing food.

The easiest solution could be to keep cats indoors. In doing this, however, does it damage the health or diminish the quality of life of the cat? In an attempt to find answers to this question, I decided to look at what two animal charities’ thoughts were on this as well as sharing some of my personal experiences with cats.

The Blue Cross does say on their website that keeping a cat indoors does cut down the ways that a cat can display some of its natural behaviours.

It is interesting to note that the Blue Cross will not re-home a cat that has no disabilities or health problems as an indoor cat unless they feel that this lifestyle would suit the cat. I could not locate anything about this on the RSPCA website.

The RSPCA states that stress, boredom and obesity are issues that need to be addressed if a cat is to be kept indoors. They advise that the cat needs to be kept active through play, interaction and having plenty of space in the house to roam. Leaving an indoor cat on its own for long periods is to be avoided as those within the house are the only source of interaction.

In regards to cats with disabilities or health issues, they state the following “However, for some cats – such as those with a disability or medical problem – living indoors could be a better option, and they may feel more comfortable.”

I grew up in a household where there was always at least one cat. It was generally left to the cat to decide if it wanted to go outdoors or not and most of them did. My parents were great believers that cats should have access to the outdoors if they wanted. We did have a couple of cats who preferred the indoor life and we ensured that they did not miss out on exercise, company or play. There was no discernible difference in the lifespans of the cats either. They all lived into their teens and in one case, into their mid-twenties.

Both the Blue Cross and the RSPCA advise that it’s more to do with how an indoor cat has been cared for that will have an impact on its health and quality of life. The Blue Cross, however, does seem to have a stronger stance on cats having access to the outdoors “Blue Cross does not recommend keeping cats as indoor-only house pets, unless there is a really good reason why the particular cat should be confined inside.”

Please see below the websites used while researching this topic:

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/cat/behaviour-and-training/indoor-cats

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats/environment/indoors

The opinion that is expressed in this post is my own and not that of the owners or other users of this website.